"Yo, Kakashi. You look pretty miserable."
"Shimizu-senpai… you…" Covered in blood, Kakashi could hardly believe his eyes. Standing before him was Shimizu Uzuki, who should have been fighting in Kirigakure.
From Kirigakure to the Valley of the End was nearly half the world away.
Had Shimizu-senpai really rushed here in a single stretch?!
"You're hurt that badly? You're not dying, are you?"
"…It's not that serious yet."
"That's good." Shimizu let out a slight sigh of relief. What he had seen from the air earlier had nearly made him think Kakashi had already been killed by Obito. "How'd you get beaten up this badly? Can't even handle a dead-last loser anymore?"
"I…" Kakashi wanted to explain that these injuries weren't caused by Obito, but by the backlash from overloading his body with Lightning Release chakra. Unfortunately, Shimizu gave him no chance to explain.
"Don't explain. Explanations are just excuses."
"…Shimizu-senpai, am I really that useless?"
The son of the White Fang of Konoha.
A chūnin at six years old.
Konoha's genius who became a jōnin at eleven.
And yet he had lost to Uchiha Obito—the academy dead last from back then.
It was obvious that Kakashi's mental state was shaken badly.
Anyone who had never fought against the Sharingan before would inevitably be thrown into confusion when facing those eyes for the first time. Losing under those circumstances was perfectly normal.
Hopefully, this defeat wouldn't dull his spirit because of a Kekkei Genkai.
"One loss doesn't mean anything. Watch how I beat him up."
Kakashi looked toward the distant battlefield, where another Shimizu was confronting Obito, and warned him:
"Senpai, be careful. Obito's Sharingan evolved."
So the emotional shock triggered its evolution?
"He's still a dead-last."
However, the moment the third "Shimizu" and Kakashi's conversation reached Obito's ears, he immediately shouted:
"I, Uchiha Obito—!"
Blue chakra erupted violently from his body like an exploding star.
"Am not dead last anymore!"
Shimizu's sudden appearance had only stunned Obito for an instant.
Because immediately afterward, the killing intent contained within that utterly uncompromising punch made Obito understand his current situation with absolute clarity.
He was now a rogue shinobi of Konoha.
Facing an elite like Shimizu Uzuki, even if the person before him only had a one-third chance of being the real body, that despair-inducing speed alone was enough to make conventional counterattacks impossible.
Even the Mangekyō Sharingan struggled to track him.
If he didn't use his trump card now, then in his current state, survival was practically impossible.
For himself—
And even more for Rin—
He would force this body beyond its limits one more time!
And Shimizu-senpai…
Now you'll witness the true power of the Uchiha clan.
Two more trails of bloody tears flowed from his black-and-red eyes.
Mangekyō Sharingan: Kamui!
Twist, space-time itself!
But at the very instant the distortion in space began to form, Shimizu's low murmur suddenly reached Obito's ears.
"Kekkei Genkai…"
In the next moment, within the Sharingan's vision, Shimizu's fist rapidly grew larger.
Bang!
Obito, who had only just stabilized himself and attempted to counterattack moments earlier, was once again struck squarely in the stomach by Shimizu's heavy punch. His body bent like a shrimp as he was blasted backward at high speed.
It wasn't that Shimizu's raw physical strength had become monstrously overwhelming.
Rather, at such extreme velocity, even an ordinary punch carried terrifying impact force.
And that terrifying force abruptly interrupted the Mangekyō's activation process just as it had begun.
'So it really is the Mangekyō.'
Shimizu immediately understood.
That strange distortion in space just now could only have been Obito's Kamui.
Which meant Kakashi had only lost because he lacked experience against the Mangekyō Sharingan.
After taking another direct hit, Obito was now reaching the limits of his endurance. The earlier massive chakra consumption, the backlash from the Mangekyō, and Shimizu's overwhelming speed—
Until now, he had only heard rumors about the godlike speed of "Shunshin Shimizu." But never before had he personally fought an opponent possessing such terrifying speed.
And now that he truly faced him in battle, Obito finally understood.
Even though the Sharingan could capture and perceive his opponent's movements, his body simply could not keep up with the rhythm of Shimizu's attacks!
Just like moments ago with Kamui—
Before he could even fully gather the chakra necessary to activate the technique, Shimizu had violently and brutally interrupted him.
Under circumstances like these…
How was he supposed to defend himself?!
In the instant Obito's mind wavered, Shimizu's fist was already right in front of him again.
This time, the attack came upward from below.
That demonic voice echoed beside his ear once more:
"Seriously…"
Bang!
A second heavy impact exploded out.
Obito's body shot into the sky like a rocket.
His face twisted grotesquely as he spat out a mouthful of blood, countless crimson droplets scattering across the earth.
At this point, Obito no longer had any defensive posture left.
The consecutive heavy blows had forced him to fully realize one thing:
Against someone with Shimizu's level of speed, dodging was completely meaningless.
And in that fleeting moment, he thought of Genjutsu.
He knew Shimizu's weakness. Genjutsu was not Shimizu's specialty.
But Genjutsu was the pride of the Uchiha clan!
So he attempted to use Sharingan Genjutsu to interfere with Shimizu while he was moving at high speed, hoping to suppress the relentless assault.
The Sharingan immediately began squeezing out the last remnants of his chakra—
However…
From beginning to end, Shimizu had never once made direct eye contact with him.
At this moment, the famed Sharingan Genjutsu felt like a pale and pathetic joke.
Instantly, Obito felt as if he had fallen into an icy abyss.
Then came the final verdict.
"You're just too weak!"
Bang!
The third strike landed.
A vicious downward kick from Shimizu sent Obito crashing back toward the earth.
BOOM!!!
Dust and debris exploded into the air.
These two punches and one kick had all happened within the span of Shimizu casually remarking:
"Kekkei Genkai are seriously too weak."
The entire exchange had lasted little more than a single breath.
"Cough… cough…"
Obito lay motionless at the center of the crater, coughing violently.
The continuous battles had already exhausted the little chakra he had left, and Shimizu's merciless barrage had shattered every last shred of hope he still possessed.
He lost.
The Sharingan lost.
And Rin…
Rin was going to die.
The crimson color faded slowly from his Sharingan.
"Looks like, when it comes to speed, Kamui's slower than me."
How did Shimizu-senpai know that?
The question in Obito's mind went unanswered.
Shimizu suddenly grabbed him by the throat and slowly lifted him into the air. Then, in a cold voice devoid of emotion, he said:
"So this is the Mangekyō."
"That's all it amounts to."
He spoke plainly and directly, simply stating his honest impression.
Obito stared blankly, unable to say a word.
The pride of the Uchiha clan—
The source of his overwhelming confidence—
Had been trampled completely into the dirt.
Meanwhile, Kakashi, who had watched Obito get brutally beaten into total helplessness within the span of a single breath, was equally stunned.
This…
Was Shimizu-senpai.
"Shunshin Shimizu" of Konoha, now spoken of alongside the Legendary Sannin.
Kakashi had thought that through desperate training, he was finally beginning to catch up to him.
But instead, Shimizu had effortlessly crushed Obito—and his evolved Sharingan—through speed alone.
This hadn't been a battle.
It was a complete and one-sided slaughter.
Shimizu held Obito high in the air with one hand, then glanced toward Rin's motionless body lying in the distance.
"So Rin's dead."
"If you're willing to do anything for her…"
"Then you can die together."
As he spoke, Shimizu slowly raised his left hand, blue chakra light beginning to gather around it.
"Cough… cough…"
More blood spilled from the corner of Obito's mouth as he struggled to speak.
"Rin… is still alive!"
Shimizu's expression instantly froze in shock. "She's not dead?!"