With Yorin deliberately letting up, Black Zetsu managed to escape. His concealment was absurd from the start—fresh out of the womb, he slipped away right under the noses of Ōtsutsuki's two most "filial sons."
Which is to say: the moment he dove, catching him again was no longer possible… If only Yorin had marked him with a Flying Thunder God seal beforehand, it'd be a different story.
Right—once this fight is over, it's time to learn that hopeful technique from his best bro.
So Yorin thought, while to outsiders it looked like he'd casually blown that yin–yang-faced weirdo to pieces with a wave of his hand. As the thing "died," a lump of black sloughed off—apparently nothing to write home about.
Uchiha Yorin's already invincible—killing some inexplicable Wood Release user is only natural.
A pity they didn't bag and torture him first—ask where he got that Wood Release.
But think for a moment and it must be on Danzō. That yin–yang face must be a Root remnant. Only Danzō stole the First's cells and researched Wood Release in secret.
So this guy had to be a Danzō diehard, mixing with Kiri to betray the village and avenge Danzō!
Even dead, the old man still carries the can—truly the legendary Scapegoat Kage.
…
Obito: "…"
Scapegoats and Danzō—Obito didn't care. He couldn't think that far right now.
He only knew one thing: he was about to be finished.
Namikaze Minato… If he'd known, he should have taken care of his dear teacher first.
With a Flying Thunder God mark on him, even running wouldn't be easy. He couldn't ooze into the earth like Zetsu.
So—is it over?
Before his plan even began, was it already finished?
"No. Absolutely not. I will not allow it!"
Obito knew his judgment—his decisions—everything was wrong.
He should have listened to Zetsu, should have withdrawn earlier. No—perhaps he should have taken it further—never come here in the first place, but kept building up Kiri's strength.
But it was too late now.
Kakashi looked at him with sorrow.
Shisui with anger and incomprehension.
And Minato—Minato turned his head away and wouldn't look.
Why?
Because next, Namikaze Minato intended to do the hardest thing of his life.
He would no longer allow Obito to live in this world full of hope.
If it were only himself at stake, he could give Obito another chance—forgive him.
But Obito's hand had reached for his wife and child, even planned to unleash the Nine-Tails on the village.
In that case, he could not forgive Obito.
Uchiha Yorin pondered the question while watching Kakashi and Obito fight with interest.
As expected, Kakashi as he was now could not match Obito. He lacked the chakra to feed a Mangekyō and use Kamui—no, he didn't even have that Mangekyō.
Obito, however, did—and used it.
Beyond that, Obito's other levels had risen sharply. His Manipulated Shuriken Technique faintly echoed Yorin's manipulated kunai; his physical prowess had jumped. Yorin guessed it was Zetsu's coaching.
And perhaps because he'd taken Zetsu's lessons—he now felt ashamed, patience burned away, and clung to his own course, refusing to heed Zetsu's advice?
In any case—was it Minato's turn to step in? Or that hole Yorin dug for Obito—ah, he stepped right in it!
"Kakashi—give me back my eye!!"
Seeing an opening, Obito roared and grabbed for the eye hidden behind Kakashi's forehead protector—once he reclaimed it, once he reclaimed his Mangekyō, Kamui perfected, he would stand at the summit!
Then, whether Minato or Uchiha Yorin—he'd make them pay back double every humiliation they'd dealt him!
"Hahahahahaha!!!"
Snatching the eye, Obito cackled—shoved the apparently paralyzed Kakashi aside—and shoved the eyeball into his own socket—hot-swap indeed, not a trace of surgery—and the next second, the eye exploded.
"AAAHH!!" Feeling something horribly wrong, Obito Kamui'd the "eye" away, barely avoiding having his head blown open. Even so he was badly hurt, clutching his head and howling:
"AAH—it hurts! That's not my eye—what—what was that?! Kakashi! Kakashi—where is my eye?!"
Uchiha Yorin decided it was time to enter.
"Looking for this?"
From a sealing scroll he summoned a beautiful, almost art-like eyeball.
A Mangekyō Sharingan.
The one he'd swapped when he bumped into Kakashi earlier.
As for the thing Obito dug out just now—it was a fake packed with explosive tags.
"Counterfeits are handy. Obito, next time you get a Sharingan from nowhere, don't rush to plug it in. Check it first.
"Not that you're likely to have a 'next time.'"
Yorin said lightly.
Obito heard his voice: "Uchiha Yorin—you set me up?!"
Yorin: "We're enemies, Obito. Me setting you up is perfectly reasonable, isn't it?"
Obito: "AAAAHHH!!"
He roared and charged Yorin. If he was doomed, he'd drag this bastard down with him!
Minato: "…"
Seeing it, Minato readied himself to end it. Before he moved, Yorin stopped him. "Leave it, Minato. If you're going to help—help to the end. Let me be the bad guy."
Minato: "…"
"…Then I leave it to you."
As the words fell, Obito's brainless charge was upon them.
The next instant—Yorin's blade rose and fell—wrapped in lightning—straight at Obito's neck.
Did Obito react? Did he realize? Or was his speed and reaction not enough?
Whatever the case—when the lightning blade fell, Obito still wore his furious glare and forward lunge—right up until his head flew. It tumbled in the air, then thumped to the ground.
His body, still in mid-sprint, took two more steps—then slowly fell forward.
As his body fell and his soul rose, Obito, in the haze, seemed to see Rin smiling at him—holding out a hand—inviting him to leave this hopeless world.
His love, his hate, his regrets, his fury, his unwillingness, his dreams—everything dissolved in that instant.
Uchiha Obito—died.
~~~
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