Moonlight was faint. In a canyon somewhere within the Land of Fire—
Space suddenly twisted.
The next instant, Obito's figure stumbled out of the distortion, swaying as he landed.
"Damn it…"
His mask had already returned to his face, but the eye exposed beneath it burned with ferocity and rage.
He had never imagined he'd lose so badly.
If he hadn't set Izanagi out of habit…
He probably wouldn't have made it back at all.
"Obito… are you alright?"
The ground rumbled.
A Venus-flytrap-like plant rose from beneath the earth, and Black Zetsu's half-face emerged, staring at the furious Obito. After a moment of hesitation, he asked.
Even he hadn't expected Obito to get beaten into this state.
From the start, he hadn't been optimistic about Obito's so-called plan—
But Kamui, at least, should've made escape easy.
Yet now…
Obito looked worse than expected.
"I'm fine," Obito said hoarsely. "It was Izanagi."
But his gaze flickered as he spoke.
"Still… those two… are honestly impressive."
"What exactly happened?" Black Zetsu asked. "Even with a Flying Thunder God mark on you, it shouldn't have turned out like this."
He already suspected it was Shisui's doing, but he still asked—
Because beyond Shisui, the one he truly cared about was Ren.
Wood Release.
That power was special.
Or rather—
Ren's Wood Release had been forced out… indirectly, by them.
Across a thousand years, Indra and Asura's conflict had always looked like this:
Indra challenged Asura—who commanded tailed beasts—and rallied clans.
But when it reached Madara Uchiha…
The tailed beasts became Madara's.
And Asura's side still pushed through—with Asura's reincarnation alone.
It was hard to tell whether that was Asura's potential—
Or Hashirama Senju's personal potential.
Especially that terrifying power called Wood Release.
"Did the God Tree's fruit mutate into something this extreme…?"
Asura inherited Hagoromo's Yang Release power, and in Hashirama's hands, that Yang Release bloomed even further.
Physical strength. Chakra strength.
And most importantly—
He externalized that Yang Release, creating a power resembling the God Tree itself.
Ren, of course, couldn't be compared to Hashirama.
There was no God Tree aura in that brat's Wood Release.
"But Ren's Wood Release still carries an astonishing vitality."
"And his Yang Release… is being fully utilized."
Fully utilizing Yang Release meant potential.
Why could no one inherit Hashirama's Wood Release?
The answer was simple—
Yang Release wasn't easy to mobilize.
Even if Konoha tried experiments, the best they could manage was blending Earth and Water Release.
They could never reach Hashirama's level.
Yes, Asura's "destiny" played a role—
But Asura's power was Yang Release.
"That brat needs to be watched carefully…"
Black Zetsu muttered inwardly.
Beside him, Obito's gaze grew even colder.
"Uchiha Shisui…" Obito said slowly. "That Mangekyō of his."
"So that's it," Black Zetsu nodded. Exactly as he suspected.
"That eye of his is a problem. His genjutsu is terrifying."
Obito took a slow breath, his voice rough.
"There wasn't even eye contact."
And yet he could forcibly drag me into a mental space through ocular power—
Burning my consciousness down from the inside."
He exhaled.
"That pair of eyes… is not ordinary."
"Agreed," Black Zetsu frowned.
No eye contact needed. Directly targeting the opponent's mind.
It was domineering.
Exaggerated.
And extremely dangerous.
"You'll need to be careful," Black Zetsu warned. "Even hiding in Kamui might not keep you safe."
"I know," Obito said, nodding. "But I still have to take those eyes."
Shisui's eyes were too dangerous.
Something like that only felt "safe" if it was in his own hands.
But that required planning.
And compared to Shisui and Ren…
What Obito was thinking about even more was Kakashi.
"My other eye…"
Ren being able to cut him through Kamui—
That was largely Kakashi's doing.
Or rather—
It was his own doing.
Based on what Kakashi had displayed, Obito had essentially figured out the nature of his other eye.
"The offensive side of Kamui…" Obito murmured. "Is the left eye?"
He'd used his right eye for years. He knew it leaned heavily toward defense.
It could phase his body and shift him into a separate dimension, avoiding any physical harm.
But its offensive capability was weak.
At best, it could suck enemies into Kamui.
Today, he finally understood—
His left eye was the attack type.
It could twist and rip apart whatever his gaze landed on.
"Can it even open into my space… and threaten me directly?"
Obito's fist tightened slightly.
His exposed Sharingan flickered faintly.
No one knew what he was truly thinking.
— — —
"Clan Head… Shisui's eyes…"
At the same time, within the Uchiha clan—
A high-level meeting was pushed into motion yet again.
To fight Obito, Shisui had used the Mangekyō Sharingan.
And the appearance of those eyes instantly ignited a fire in many hearts.
Originally, the clan had still been shaken by the appearance of Wood Release—
But no one expected Shisui to bring them an even bigger "surprise" so quickly.
"Mm. If nothing unexpected happened… it's the Mangekyō Sharingan."
Uchiha Fugaku nodded coldly.
He truly hadn't expected Shisui to possess those eyes.
For a moment, he even felt something was off.
He knew better than anyone how difficult it was to awaken the Mangekyō.
So why did two pairs suddenly appear?
One belonged to Uchiha Obito.
One belonged to Shisui.
What did that mean?
"Clan Head, we must properly cultivate Shisui," an elder said abruptly, voice sharp and unwavering.
"We can't let him be deceived."
"Konoha will not let Shisui go easily."
"Only here can he be protected."
"And only we can help him truly master the power of those eyes!"
"That's right, Clan Head!"
"Konoha must not lay a finger on Shisui!"
"And Clan Head—Kakashi's eye—"
The meeting room grew loud at once, arguments overlapping, voices surging.
Fugaku listened in silence.
Inside, he sighed.
Shisui's Mangekyō had brought a massive surge of morale to the clan—
Like a single spark thrown into dry grass.
It wasn't hard to imagine how violently that fire would spread.
But…
Once the flames were lit—
Would they really burn the target the clan wanted?
And with such a blaze…
Could anyone still put it out?
Fugaku felt uncertain.
Yet the fire inside his chest—
Had been lit as well.
Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon -> patreon.com/lucarioTL