Minutes later.
Urashiki Ōtsutsuki, drenched in sweat, stared at Danzo Shimura.
He had already killed the old man six times, yet Danzo would reappear in the distance, unharmed, and immediately resume launching Ninjutsu.
A twitch of annoyance crossed Urashiki's lips.
If no one else were present, this old man—who wasn't particularly skilled and relied solely on Izanagi to cheat death—would be nothing more than a plaything for him to kill repeatedly.
But now, there were others engaging him in direct combat.
This old man, whose sole job was to run interference and who feared no attack, had become a massive thorn in his side.
Fleeing wasn't an option either.
The moment he tried to run, someone else would intervene to cut off his escape route.
A one-versus-four battle was putting him at a severe disadvantage.
Urashiki spun mid-air, nimbly dodging an attack from Minato Namikaze behind him.
Then, he dove rapidly toward the ground, narrowly avoiding two gargantuan green skeletal fists that smashed through the space he had occupied a split-second earlier.
Urashiki flickered through the air like a phantom, elusive and unpredictable.
During the dodge, he glanced inadvertently into the distance.
Seeing the reinforcements of Konoha ninjas rushing toward the scene, the ominous feeling in his gut intensified.
Sensing his own Chakra reserves depleting, he gritted his teeth, his voice icy:
"You forced my hand!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Urashiki reached up and gouged out his own eyes without hesitation, swallowing them whole.
In the blink of an eye, a golden Rinnegan opened on his forehead.
Black stripes appeared across his face, massive bird-like horns sprouted from his head, and his feet transformed into black talons.
In less than a second, his appearance underwent a horrifying transformation, radiating a chilling aura.
"Father, look out!"
Seeing this, Sasuke Uchiha shouted a desperate warning to his father.
Hearing Sasuke's shout, Fugaku Uchiha—who had been vigilantly watching Urashiki—froze for a moment, confusion flashing in his eyes.
"What did you call me?"
"My son hasn't even been b—CRACK!"
In the split second that Fugaku was distracted by Sasuke's words.
The transformed Urashiki seized the opportunity.
He flashed across the hundred-meter gap with blinding speed, appearing instantly before Fugaku.
With a vicious "Black Tiger Steals the Heart" strike, Urashiki's claw easily shattered the defense of Fugaku's Semi-Complete Susanoo and pierced straight through Fugaku's chest, impaling his heart!
Then, giving Fugaku no chance to breathe or activate Izanagi, Urashiki followed up with a brutal kick.
The kick carried immense force, tearing Fugaku's head clean off his shoulders!
Fugaku's severed head spun through the air, his eyes staring blankly at his own blood-spurting neck.
The light faded from his eyes as his head fell, crashing into the ruins below.
It rolled to a stop in the dust, a silent testament to the cruelty and suddenness of his end.
Seeing his father die because of his distraction, caused by his own warning...
Sasuke's body shuddered violently. Regret and horror flashed in his eyes.
He had never imagined that his attempt to save his father would be the very thing that killed him.
Wait. If my father dies here, before I'm even born... does that mean I will...?
Not far away, Danzo blinked rapidly.
With Fugaku's death, the Genjutsu controlling him began to unravel.
The moment clarity returned to Danzo's eyes.
He was shocked to find a monstrous creature standing right in front of him—and a sharp, agonizing pain radiating from his chest!
Danzo looked down to see a gaping hole where his heart used to be.
Scalding blood poured from the empty cavity like a waterfall, pooling on the ground and filling the air with the metallic scent of death.
Danzo's face turned deathly pale, his body swaying as if about to collapse.
Urashiki sneered coldly. Without a shred of hesitation, he raised his hand and sliced downward, severing Danzo's pale arm cleanly at the shoulder.
Then, with practiced ease, he plucked the spinning Three-Tomoe Sharingan from the severed limb one by one, swallowing them into his stomach.
He looked as if he were enjoying a delicacy.
Danzo watched in horror as the monster devoured his collection of eyes.
His gaze was filled with despair and terror.
But he could no longer make a sound, collapsing weakly to the ground as life left him.
Looking at Danzo's lifeless corpse, Urashiki laughed coldly.
The laugh was full of contempt and disdain.
"For trash like you, these eyes are a massive waste. They merely give you a few extra, useless lives."
Urashiki's mocking voice echoed through the air.
But just as he finished speaking.
Urashiki's eyes widened in shock.
He looked down to see several Rasengans protruding from his chest, having pierced him from behind. His eyes filled with disbelief.
He snapped his head around to see Boruto emerging from the side, a look of grim determination on the boy's face.
Urashiki glared at him with murder in his eyes.
Boruto met the gaze fearlessly.
"Did you forget I was watching too?"
Urashiki's eyes bulged. He tried to move, but suddenly felt a lightness in his head.
His body collapsed forward.
As his severed head flew through the air, he saw Minato Namikaze standing beside his falling body, a kunai in hand.
Seeing Minato's move, Boruto cheered excitedly:
"Old man! That was awesome! Great teamwork, we got him!"
Minato glanced at Danzo's corpse on the ground, sighing softly with a look of regret and helplessness.
Then, he looked deeply at Boruto, shook his head slightly, and scanned the surroundings vigilantly.
"If this were before, then yes, we would have got him."
Minato's voice was low and powerful.
"But now... it's hard to say."
His gaze sharpened as if expecting a hidden danger.
At the same time, Sasuke finally snapped out of his boundless horror.
He stared quietly at the battlefield, which had changed drastically in mere seconds, his gaze landing on the surviving Boruto.
A flicker of relief crossed his eyes.
Thank god Boruto is safe.
As for his own existence... Sasuke had figured it out in those few seconds.
This past likely wasn't the past of his world.
The sight of Danzo standing with his father earlier, and the sounds of battle from the Hokage Building, made that clear enough.
Suddenly, a manic voice rang out from nearby:
"Haha! That was close! Truly a harmonious grandfather-grandson team!"
Urashiki reappeared in an empty space nearby, touching his own body as he laughed wildly:
"Haha! As expected of Izanagi!"
Urashiki narrowed his eyes, his tone greedy:
"This era of Konoha should still have plenty of Uchiha clansmen. Once I kill you all, I'll harvest every last Sharingan!"
"With that, my weakness will be completely compensated!"
Just then, a violent spatial vortex appeared not far from Urashiki.
A mysterious man wearing a swirl mask, with a Mangekyō Sharingan visible in the single eyehole, walked slowly out of the vortex.
"Feel despair. I am... SQUELCH!"
"ARGH!"
Before he could even finish his introduction, Obito Uchiha felt a sharp pain in his chest.
It felt as if his soul were being torn apart, forcing a wretched scream from his throat.
Obito looked down to see an arm piercing straight through his chest.
He looked up, staring in shock at the monstrous man before him.
What is happening?
I've only been gone from Konoha for six months, and I never stopped gathering intel.
When did Konoha get a monster like this?
Why did I know nothing about it?
Are Black Zetsu and the others hiding things from me?
Urashiki stared greedily at the Mangekyō in Obito's eye socket, as if it were the world's most precious treasure.
He reached out, intending to pluck the eye from its socket.
But suddenly, the masked man retreated, collapsing back into the vortex which then vanished, taking him with it.
Urashiki frowned, confusion on his face, before shaking his head helplessly.
He turned back to face the three opponents staring him down.
Minato stared at Urashiki gravely, asking with confusion:
"Who was that masked man who showed up just to get killed? Did he have a Mangekyō too?"
Sasuke, his face solemn, felt a mix of shock and strange amusement.
He hadn't expected Obito to get taken out in a single encounter.
After a moment of hesitation, Sasuke spoke slowly:
"I don't know. He's dead anyway, so his identity doesn't matter."
In reality, Sasuke didn't believe Obito would die so easily.
After all, if Danzo had so many Sharingan at this point in time.
Obito must have already found a spare Three-Tomoe for his other eye socket.
Furthermore, the fact that he could activate Kamui to escape at the last second meant he could likely use Izanagi to rewrite the reality of his destroyed heart.
Urashiki laughed coldly, a sound that chilled the blood, before vanishing instantly.
Only his arrogant laughter remained, echoing through the surroundings.
"Haha! Now I have several lives to burn freely."
"Combined with my current form, I don't believe you can outlast me!"
Meanwhile, the once majestic Hokage Building had been reduced to a ruined shell.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, covered in dust and grime, held the Adamantine Staff high, standing firmly atop the corpses of a dozen Root ninjas and Uchiha rebels.
He gazed calmly at the encroaching enemies, his eyes revealing the steadiness and resolve of a man who had weathered countless storms.
Further out, the sounds of slaughter and explosions continued.
That was the sound of Konoha ninjas clashing with the Uchiha forces tasked with blocking reinforcements.
"Old Man, can you still hold on?"
A gruff, powerful voice came from the Adamantine Staff in Hiruzen's hands.
Hearing the voice of Enma, a tired but determined smile appeared on Hiruzen's dusty face.
"Hehe. No problem at all!"
By now, Hiruzen had roughly deduced the sequence of events, including why Minato hadn't arrived.
The massive explosions coming from the Hokage Rock in the distance told him everything he needed to know.
In a cave somewhere in the Land of Earth.
Suddenly, a violent spatial vortex appeared without warning.
Obito Uchiha leaped out of the rift and collapsed onto the ground.
He slowly removed his mask, revealing a spinning Mangekyō in one eye and a blinded Three-Tomoe in the other.
"What is the reason?"
"I only arrived a few minutes late. Why is the situation completely different from what I imagined?"
Obito lowered his head, muttering to himself in confusion.
His heart was filled with suspicion entwined with deep bewilderment.
It was precisely because of this suspicion that he had decided not to return to Iwagakure.
Did Black Zetsu and the others know about this bizarre situation?
Was all of this orchestrated by them?
If they could deceive him...
Could this entire plan have been a setup from the very beginning?
just as Obito was drowning in doubt.
The sound of steady footsteps echoed from outside the cave.
Hearing the approaching steps.
Obito frowned, a sneer full of disdain curling his lips.
He had a belly full of rage with nowhere to vent it!
As the owner of the footsteps walked into the cave.
Obito raised an eyebrow, his tone questioning:
"Who are you? You see my Sharingan and show no fear?"
The man, seeing Obito's eye, also smiled—a smile full of meaning.
He wore a white haori, his hair gathered high on his head with a long braid trailing down his back. His appearance was distinctive.
He raised a hand, showing off his black-painted fingernails, and spoke with an alluring tone:
"First time meeting. I am Jigen!"
The World of Manyū Hiken-chō.
Rasa watched the busy people around him, trying to calm the anxiety in his heart.
He knew he could only return to the Ninja World after properly settling the aftermath here.
But what exactly happened in the Ninja World?