Can't be wrong.
Three years ago, not long after Itachi became a ninja, he carried out a high-level mission with his teammates. On the way, they encountered a masked man.
At that time—
Itachi's teammate, Gastrodia, was killed by the masked man while shielding him. That tragedy forced Itachi's eyes to awaken into the double-tomoe Sharingan on the spot.
The strange part was—
The masked man slaughtered everyone present… yet spared Itachi's life.
Was it simply because they were both Uchiha?
"Don't be nervous, Itachi. Thanks to me, you awakened your Sharingan and gained your so-called genius reputation, right?"
Obito's single visible eye curved in amusement as he looked at Itachi's Sharingan. "In fact, you should be grateful to me."
"I'd rather never have awakened these eyes."
Itachi's voice was steady, but his fist clenched on its own.
Why?
He had lost a precious comrade—yet the murderer claimed it was for his own good. And worse, his own father had cared only about congratulating him on unlocking the Sharingan, as if Gastrodia's life had been meaningless.
"These eyes chose you, Itachi," Obito said, reading the anger in his heart. He spread his arms as though inviting him in. "Accept your truest self. You and I… could become good friends."
The words had barely left his mouth when—
Shua.
The three-tomoe in Obito's eye spun wildly, shifting into a twisted triangular pattern.
Kaleidoscope Sharingan.
Under that gaze—
Itachi froze, his body stiffening like prey before a predator, fear rooting him in place exactly as it had three years ago.
He had thought he'd grown stronger. But in that instant, he knew—he was still far from enough.
Move!
He roared the command in his heart. Veins stood out on his forehead, nails digging into his palm until blood welled.
At that moment—
A large hand settled firmly on his shoulder from behind.
"Mr. Masked Man," Duan's deep voice cut in, "Itachi is my nephew—and my Uchiha's true blood. You don't get to take away someone's precious bonds."
He pulled Itachi back toward him as if lifting a chicken.
"Uncle…"
Itachi looked up, startled not just by Duan's words but by the unfamiliar sense of being shielded—an unexpected feeling of security.
Obito only smiled.
With a sharp metallic sound, he drew the ninja blade from his waist and leveled its tip toward Duan. "Uchiha Duan, let's finish what we started last night. Show me if your strength can entertain me—and whether you're worth cultivating."
Duan glanced down at Itachi and motioned for him to step aside.
"Don't get caught up in this."
Itachi obeyed, though he couldn't help but warn, "Be careful, Uncle. That masked man's Sharingan… it manipulates space somehow."
Before the words even finished—
Boom!
Duan exploded forward, tearing the ground beneath his feet, his whole body hurtling toward Obito like a high-speed train.
A punch, heavy enough to shake gods and ghosts.
"Oh? Impatient to make the first move? A pity…"
Obito's tone was mocking, his body utterly still. The fist—wrapped in the roar of compressed air—struck…
And passed through him as though he were a phantom.
Boom!
The blow landed instead on a towering tree behind Obito. The massive trunk, over twenty meters tall, snapped and crashed down, sending flocks of birds fleeing in panic.
"Tsk tsk… truly an Uchiha, yet with brute strength rivaling the Senju clan. Frightening."
Obito's voice was light, but his hands moved—both gripping his ninja blade as he flickered behind Duan.
Lightning-fast.
The slash came in diagonally—
Duan didn't turn. He didn't need to. His back muscles contracted all at once, hardened like forged steel.
Zizizi.
Sparks flew as the blade met flesh, as though striking a bronze bell.
Years of training had built Duan's body into an iron fortress. His back—thick with layered muscle—was the most heavily fortified point of all, harder than a tortoise shell.
The strike left only a pale mark, not even breaking skin.
In the same motion, Duan flexed his back muscles, clamping down on the blade—
Snap.
The ninja sword broke clean in two.
Without turning, Duan whipped his massive arm backward, the air crackling, and smashed another punch toward Obito's face.
Again, the blow passed through without resistance.
Obito took a light step back, calmly clapping. "Good. Very good. Your speed may lag a little, but your power and defense… one in a million. To reach this level in taijutsu is rare indeed."
His tone shifted, sly. "Uchiha Duan, I'd say you're fit to replace Yatsushiro as leader of the radical faction."
It was praise—laced with the implication that Duan was still a tool to be owned.
Then Obito tilted his head. "But… have you forgotten you're Uchiha? Where's your Sharingan? Or have you not even awakened it yet?"
Duan said nothing. He stripped off his shirt in one motion, revealing the mountainous muscles beneath.
"Roar!"
Like a tiger bursting from the mountains, he lunged. Veins bulged along his arms as he poured every ounce of strength into another punch. The sheer force whipped sand and leaves into the air before it even landed.
Obito shook his head. "Don't you get it? No matter how strong, your punches can't touch me. Because my Mangekyō Sharingan… is the true power of Uchiha."
Once again, the blow passed harmlessly through him.
This time, Duan's momentum tipped him forward, leaving him off balance—
And exposed.
With a metallic clink, a weighted chain slipped from Obito's sleeve, each end fastened to his wrists. His favored weapon, designed for his phasing ability.
Shua.
In one motion, the chain coiled around Duan's neck and torso, locking his arms and legs in place.
A heartbeat later—
Obito seized Duan's wrist. His right eye flared, space twisting violently around them. The pull of Kamui began to drag Duan toward the other dimension.
For most, that meant certain capture—trapped in a void with no escape, forced to submit or remain until death.
"I've won," Obito thought, lips curling into a thin smile.
He didn't realize—
This was exactly the opening Duan had been waiting for.