Obito woke up surrounded by piercing cold and the feeling of hard stone beneath him.
His consciousness slowly struggled up from the endless darkness like a sunken ship rising from the depths of the sea.
His head throbbed with pain, and the wound on his right shoulder still ached faintly.
He suddenly opened his eyes.
Only to find himself in even deeper darkness.
An almost absolute darkness that made it difficult to breathe.
"Where... am I?"
He murmured instinctively.
His voice echoed weakly through the cramped space, filled with obvious panic.
"Rin? Kakashi?"
There was no answer.
Only deathly silence.
Along with the faint smell of mold and damp earth lingering in the air.
He struggled to sit up, only to find his arms and legs incredibly heavy.
A strange sense of weakness clung to his body.
He reached out and felt around.
His hands touched nothing but cold, rough stone walls.
The space seemed incredibly small.
Like...
A prison cell?
Fragments of memory flooded chaotically into his mind.
The fog covered canyon.
The fake Teacher Minato.
Kirigakure's ambush.
Being wounded while protecting Rin.
Awakening his Sharingan.
Lady Mikoto arriving just in time to save them...
And then?
Then he had passed out.
When he woke up again, he was here.
"Is anyone there?! Let me out! I'm Uchiha Obito of Konoha!"
He pounded hard against the stone walls and shouted.
Only the hollow echo of his own voice answered him.
Fear slowly wrapped around his heart like icy vines.
This was definitely not Konoha Hospital.
Just then...
An old, hoarse voice, as rough as sandpaper scraping against stone, suddenly echoed through the endless darkness without warning.
It carried the decayed weight of countless years and an authority that chilled the soul.
"Konoha... Uchiha..."
"Hmph."
"What a noisy little brat."
"W-Who's there?!"
Obito immediately turned toward the direction of the voice, even though he could see absolutely nothing.
He widened his eyes with all his strength.
His newly awakened two tomoe Sharingan grew slightly warm.
Within the darkness, it barely outlined a blurry figure sitting not far away.
The figure seemed to have become one with the darkness itself.
"I am someone who can show you the true nature of this world."
The old man spoke slowly.
His tone was calm, yet filled with unquestionable authority.
"I am someone who can give you the true power needed to fulfill that wish of yours..."
"The wish to protect."
"That's nonsense!"
"Who are you?! Let me out! I have to get back to Konoha! Rin and Kakashi are waiting for me!"
Obito shouted in protest.
Yet the unease in his heart only grew stronger.
Everything about this voice...
Everything about this place...
Reeked of evil.
The old man's voice overflowed with open ridicule and hatred.
"Everything you treasure will eventually betray you."
"And that so called Will of Fire is nothing more than a beautiful lie created by the strong to control the weak."
"Shut up!"
"Don't you dare insult the Hokage and the village!"
Obito angrily slammed his fists against the stone wall.
"I won't listen to your nonsense! Let me out!"
"Foolish."
The old man's voice turned colder.
"You are just as naive as Hashirama once was."
"You think that with a brief moment of courage and those immature eyes you have only just awakened, you can change anything?"
"Look at yourself."
"You cannot even protect yourself."
"So how do you expect to protect anyone else?"
"You managed to save that little girl named Rin this time."
"But what about next time?"
"When an even stronger enemy appears..."
"When your so called companions retreat because of fear or personal gain..."
"What will you be able to do then?"
Obito froze.
The old man's words were like icy needles, striking directly at the deepest fears hidden inside his heart.
He wanted to argue.
But the helplessness he had felt in the canyon...
The fear of facing overwhelming enemies...
The humiliation of needing Kakashi and Lady Mikoto to rescue him...
Those memories surfaced uncontrollably.
"N-No..."
"It's not like that!"
"As long as I become stronger..."
"As long as I keep working hard..."
"Working hard?"
The old man let out a deep, mocking laugh.
"If you work hard while walking the wrong path, you will only move farther away from your destination."
"The power of the Uchiha is born from love."
"But only the pain of losing that love..."
"And the hatred that follows..."
"Can awaken its true potential."
Obito's heart shook violently.
How did this old man know so much about the Uchiha?
"Y-You..."
"Who are you?!"
Within the darkness...
It seemed as though an even deeper...
Even more terrifying pair of eyes slowly opened.
Even though he could not see them, Obito could feel that gaze piercing straight through his soul.
"Who I am is not important."
"What matters..."
"Is whether you wish to continue living inside that false dream of peace as livestock raised inside a pen..."
"Or open your eyes..."
"See the cruel truth of this world..."
"And obtain the power needed to truly protect what you cherish."
"I..."
"I..."
Obito's thoughts became a complete mess.
The mysterious old man's words were both tempting and dangerous.
Yet they also struck directly at his desperate wish to become stronger and stop holding everyone back.
But those words...
"Betrayal."
"Hatred."
"Truth."
He could neither understand them...
Nor did he want to.
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
"I just want to return to my companions!"
"Let me out!"
In the end, Obito chose to follow his most honest instinct.
He refused to think about those complicated and dark ideas.
A soft sigh echoed through the darkness.
It carried a trace of disappointment.
Yet it also sounded as though everything was already under control.
"It seems..."
"The time has not yet come."
"The despair of reality has not yet carved itself into your bones."
"In the end..."
"Words alone are powerless."
The voice fell silent.
"Hey!"
"Say something!"
"What do you mean by that?!"
"Let me out!"
Obito shouted once more.
But no matter how much he yelled, cursed, or even begged...
The old man's voice never answered again.
It was as though everything that had just happened had been nothing more than an illusion.
Only endless darkness and freezing silence remained.
They wrapped around him like a real tomb.
A bone chilling cold spread through Obito's body.
Not because of the temperature.
But because of the unknown terror of being completely isolated...
And completely under someone else's control.
He was trapped here.
Completely.
...
Meanwhile.
Far away across the ocean.
Three figures raced across the sea at astonishing speed.
Their destination was the island nation forever hidden beneath thick mist.
The Land of Water.
Chiya led the way.
His black clothes fluttered loudly in the sea breeze as his expression remained cold.
Beside him, Tsunade wore a serious expression.
Her blonde twin ponytails swayed gracefully through the air.
From time to time, she glanced toward Chiya with complicated emotions.
She was amazed by the absolute power he had displayed while crushing Sunagakure.
Yet she also felt worried...
And heartbroken...
About the even harsher methods he might use this time.
She was afraid...
Afraid that Uchiha Chiya would lose himself...
And eventually walk the same lonely road as Uchiha Madara.
Kushina followed closely behind.
Her long red hair resembled burning flames.
She tried her best to keep a serious expression.
Yet her eyes still revealed both nervousness about the coming battle and a faint excitement.
"Kirigakure is different."
"It has remained isolated for years."
"The Bloody Mist policy has made its ninja even more ruthless and unreasonable."
Chiya spoke calmly.
His voice carried clearly through the sea wind.
"From the way they started this war and carried out such a precise ambush against Konoha, it is obvious they have been paying very close attention to us."
"I don't care if it's Bloody Mist or ordinary mist."
"We'll just smash it all apart!"
Kushina cracked her knuckles loudly.
The violent little golden girl seemed to have become even more violent.
"We'll settle both old and new grudges at once!"
"That's right!"
"We'll never let them hurt the people of the village again!"
Chiya smiled at her.
He gently reached out and rubbed her head with affection.
Then his gaze shifted toward the increasingly dense sea fog ahead.
A profound light flowed within his scarlet Sharingan.
"Kirigakure will not surrender as easily as Sunagakure."
"This time..."
"The mist itself may have to become stained with blood before they truly learn what fear is."
His voice remained calm.
Yet both Tsunade and Kushina could clearly feel the chilling killing intent within those words.
The thick fog drew closer.
It resembled the enormous mouth of a monster waiting to devour every intruder.
The outline of the Land of Water gradually appeared within the mist like a gigantic beast lying in ambush.
"Kirigakure is in that direction."
Chiya stopped moving.
His Sharingan rapidly transformed into a six petaled Red Spider Lily pattern.
His eye power erupted.
Susano'o began to transform.
Standing beside him, Tsunade and Kushina were lifted into the air together with Uchiha Chiya.
In the blink of an eye...
A towering Complete Body Susano'o, as massive as a mountain and radiating terrifying power, took shape.
Chiya stood at the center of Susano'o's head.
On either side of him, Tsunade and Kushina unconsciously looked toward him.
"Let's greet them with a slash first."
"Consider it..."
"An appetizer before the war."
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