In a cave somewhere in the Land of Earth.
Obito Uchiha stared suspiciously at the man before him, his tone laced with doubt.
"Jigen?"
"Why have I never heard of such a figure in the Ninja World?"
Jigen flicked the long braid trailing behind his head, a playful glint in his eyes.
"Because I have lived a life of seclusion for many years. It is only natural that you do not know me."
"Now, could you perhaps restrain that restless killing intent in your heart?"
"In truth, as long as I am willing to pay a small price, I am perfectly capable of killing you right here and now."
Obito fell silent for a moment. Eventually, he forcibly suppressed the murderous urge stirring within him.
Seeing this, Jigen nodded with satisfaction.
"I can choose to cooperate with you."
"I can help you realize your anger and achieve the things you wish to do."
Hearing this, Obito raised an eyebrow slightly. His Mangekyō Sharingan and the blinded Three-Tomoe eye in his other socket spun slowly as he chuckled coldly.
"Based on what? Just you?"
Jigen shook his head lightly, unbothered, and changed the subject.
"Is the Third Tsuchikage of the Hidden Stone currently under your control?"
"Although you harbor much resentment, your actions have been excessive."
"The Kages of the various villages have likely noticed the situation in Iwagakure by now—especially their allies."
"If you truly wish to realize your ambitions, you should restrain yourself slightly and use the resources of the Hidden Stone to quietly build your own power base."
Hearing Jigen's words, the sneer on Obito's face slowly faded. He straightened his posture, his voice deepening.
"What you say makes some sense."
"But you have to—"
However, before Obito could finish, his eyes widened slightly, staring in shock at the scene unfolding before him.
Seeing Obito's stunned expression, Jigen's smile widened as he slowly retracted his power.
"Well? Do I have the qualifications now?"
The cold sneer on Obito's face vanished completely, replaced by a brilliant, welcoming smile.
Obito stood up slowly, walked briskly to Jigen, and extended his hand.
"Hehe. Of course, you are absolutely qualified!"
"This is our first meeting. Hello, I am Obito!"
Jigen also reached out, firmly shaking Obito's hand, his face radiating confidence.
"I know. I have been observing you for a long time."
"In the past, I could never find a suitable opportunity to approach you, as you were always with Black Zetsu and White Zetsu."
Hearing Jigen mention Black and White Zetsu, Obito's face darkened instantly.
Seeing Obito's gloomy expression, a look of understanding flashed in Jigen's eyes.
Having witnessed everything, he could roughly guess what Obito was thinking.
However, despite his guess.
Jigen had no intention of explaining anything to Obito. Instead, pretending not to notice Obito's mood, he continued:
"To realize your inner ambitions, a powerful organization is indeed indispensable."
"But building an organization from scratch consumes both time and energy."
"Coincidentally, I have established an organization myself. Although it isn't famous and doesn't have many members, it has everything it needs."
"If you don't mind, you can join me as the Vice Leader. You will have the freedom to recruit anyone you choose into the organization."
"Our organization can also rely on the resources of the Hidden Stone to expand rapidly."
Obito frowned slightly. An instinct told him something was off.
But after thinking it over repeatedly, he found that Jigen's points made sense.
Originally, Obito's target had been the Akatsuki.
But after discovering that the Akatsuki had completely exceeded his expectations—beating Hanzo half to death and rightfully taking over the Land of Rain—Obito realized things had become tricky.
After some thought, Obito nodded.
"Fine. I will join your organization."
"What is it called?"
Jigen narrowed his eyes slightly, speaking softly:
"Kara!"
Meanwhile, in Konoha.
Boruto's face was as pale as paper. He stared blankly at the shocking scene before him, his eyes filled with a mix of confusion and terror.
On the smoke-filled streets of Konoha, a colossal Perfect Susanoo stood silently, motionless like an ancient god of war.
Inside the Susanoo, two figures faced each other.
Urashiki Ōtsutsuki's heart and stomach had been torn to shreds. Blood flowed from his body like a broken dam.
Feeling the immense pain from his body, Urashiki suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood mixed with visceral chunks.
The blood sprayed like a torrent onto Sasuke's head.
However, despite such severe injuries, Urashiki showed no fear.
Instead, his face was filled with joy as he stared intently at Sasuke.
"Hehe. Using two of my lives to exchange for one of yours... it's worth it!"
"Who told you to push me this far?"
After saying this, Urashiki slowly withdrew his bloody hands from Sasuke's chest.
Several black rods remained embedded in Sasuke's body.
Then, two massive Great Rasengans appeared in Urashiki's blood-soaked hands.
Without hesitation or mercy, Urashiki slammed them directly into Sasuke's upper body.
"Haha! Have a taste of Boruto's Rasengan yourself!"
Sasuke, on the verge of losing consciousness, had no defense. He took the direct hit of the two Rasengans without resistance.
His body instantly shattered into countless fragments.
With Sasuke's dissipation, the Perfect Susanoo also began to fade away into nothingness.
Seeing this, Urashiki smirked triumphantly, letting out a peal of victorious laughter. Then, his eyes rolled back, and he stopped breathing, his body slowly beginning to vanish.
Just one second later.
Urashiki reappeared on a nearby rooftop, completely unharmed, without a single scratch on him.
He slowly touched his chest, a smug expression on his face as he muttered to himself:
"Haha. Trading lives with Minato Namikaze, then using two lives as the price to blast into Sasuke's Susanoo and take him down with me... what a bargain."
At this point, a look of heartache crossed Urashiki's face, but it vanished quickly.
"Anyway, all these Three-Tomoe Sharingan were plucked from that old man. I don't feel bad about using them up!"
After saying this, Urashiki suddenly sidestepped.
With casual ease, he dodged the attacks of several Konoha ninjas who had sneaked up behind him.
After dodging, he didn't even glance at them. Like a bolt of lightning, he flew rapidly to Boruto's side.
Looking at Boruto, who was still immersed in grief and hadn't reacted to his arrival.
Urashiki raised a mocking smile, fighting to suppress his killing intent.
After all, this brat was Momoshiki's vessel.
Unless absolutely necessary, it was better to keep him alive.
But is this timeline really the past of my timeline?
While pondering these thoughts, Urashiki reached directly into Boruto's clothes and pulled out a turtle.
"Hehe. Very good. Once I collect the Nine-Tails' Chakra and scrape up all the remaining Sharingan, I'll head back!"
Hearing Urashiki's arrogant words, clarity finally returned to Boruto's grief-stricken eyes.
Boruto stared deathly at the gloating Urashiki, his heart filled with rage and unwillingness.
Summoning every ounce of Chakra in his body, Boruto swung his hands violently.
Two Rasengans, compressed to the limit and draining his entire reserves, flew toward Urashiki's unsuspecting body with incredible speed.
Urashiki, immersed in his triumph, had zero defense.
He took the two Rasengans directly to the torso, flying backward like a broken kite.
Moments later, the Rasengans exploded violently on his body.
Smoke and fire filled the air.
"Bastard!"
Urashiki walked out of the dust, roaring in fury.
His clothes were tattered, and his face was covered in grime.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with difficulty, a trace of fear in his eyes.
Looking down at the gruesome wound on his abdomen—where bone was faintly visible—his heart tightened.
He had already used up all the eyes he took from the old man. He was on his last life.
Thinking of this, Urashiki instinctively reached into his robe, only to touch fragments of a shattered, blood-stained turtle shell!
Seeing the pieces, Urashiki felt a chill run through his body, an ominous feeling rising in his heart.
Karasuki was broken?
How was that possible?!
Was it hit directly by those two Rasengans just now?
Thinking of this, Urashiki began to tremble with fear.
Even Karasuki had been destroyed.
In this situation, suffering such heavy injuries...
If Karasuki hadn't absorbed some of the damage for him, wouldn't he be dead right now?
At this thought, Urashiki waved his hand in rage. A massive black-purple snake appeared out of thin air.
It opened its maw and swallowed the exhausted Boruto, who was lying on the ground, in one gulp.
Terrified and shaken, he no longer cared about preserving Boruto's life.
Just then, a gigantic golden staff suddenly smashed the snake to pieces.
Boruto fell from the snake's belly, dropping four or five meters to the ground.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, covered in blood, ran breathlessly to Boruto's side.
He shrank the massive staff back down and gripped it tightly.
Hiruzen glanced at Danzo's corpse lying in the distance and Minato's body not far away.
A flash of grief crossed his eyes, followed by a look of steely resolve as he faced Urashiki.
Urashiki frowned. He wanted to attack again but suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Feeling his worsening injuries and seeing more Konoha ninjas closing in.
Urashiki gave a cold laugh, flew rapidly into the sky, and vanished into the distance.
Seeing Urashiki leave.
Hiruzen let out a breath of relief. He bent down with difficulty to pick up the unconscious Boruto.
He looked at the ninja beside him, his tone devoid of emotion:
"Immediately seal off the Uchiha compound. Let no Uchiha leave."
"Yes, Lord Third."
Meanwhile, dozens of miles outside Konoha.
Dozens of Uchiha clansmen were fleeing desperately.
Among them was a young woman, nine months pregnant.
One Uchiha clansman looked at the sweating woman and whispered:
"Madam, should we rest for a moment?"
"No. We must speed up and leave the Land of Fire. If we wait until Konoha reacts, we are finished."
Mikoto Uchiha shook her head with a complicated expression, gently stroking her swollen belly as she leaped agilely onto a massive tree branch.
Suddenly, a spatial vortex appeared in front of the group.
A man wearing a swirl mask and a man with a long braid appeared before them.
"Hehe. Looks like you're in trouble?"
"By the way, allow me to introduce myself. I am Madara Uchiha!"
December 1st, Konoha Year 46.
Kazekage Office.
The moment Rasa appeared in his office, he was immediately surrounded.
"Rasa, you're finally back! Something huge happened in Konoha last night!"