Izumi had already returned to the Uchiha clan compound. But Uchiha Keizumi and Tachibana Jirō were still outside.
"Keizumi-sama, aren't you heading back?" Jirō asked, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he suddenly realized something. "Ah! You must be trying to pinpoint exactly where that cockroach Danzō is hiding!"
Jirō added at once, "Please don't worry, Keizumi-sama. I'll dispatch all my feline children and grandchildren—they'll turn Konoha upside down if they have to!"
His cat-like face was set in an expression that said, Leave it all to me.
Uchiha Keizumi responded coolly, "The Heaven's Punishment Flame left a mark on Danzō's soul. I can faintly sense his general location. Even if the Hokage pulls out every trick he has, it won't be enough to save him."
"Konoha has an uninvited guest tonight. One of them—Danzō—is already paralyzed and can be dealt with anytime. But the other… if we miss our chance, it'll be gone."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "Whether it's the 'evil' within Konoha or the 'evil' outside it, [Absolute Justice] must purge them all—one by one. Not a single one can be allowed to escape."
Tachibana Jirō noticed that Keizumi seemed to be heading in the direction of the Shinobi Cemetery.
He didn't dare leap onto Uchiha Keizumi's shoulder the way he did with Izumi.
All he could do was hastily keep pace at his side.
"Keizumi-sama… this 'uninvited guest' you mentioned—who is it?"
Jirō looked genuinely puzzled.
Uchiha Keizumi uttered a name: "Uchiha Obito."
Jirō: "!!!"
…
Konoha Shinobi Cemetery.
Beneath the shroud of night, a lone figure stood quietly before a gravestone. He had been there for several minutes.
Obito, draped in a black cloak, stared at a wilted bouquet of white flowers—likely placed there three days ago—beside the grave.
Beneath his mask, his brows furrowed slightly.
Disgust flashed in his eyes.
He bent down, picked up the wilted flowers with distaste, and tossed them aside. Then, with deliberate care, he placed a fresh bouquet of white blossoms at the foot of the grave.
"…Rin."
A faint smile tugged at Obito's lips as he murmured softly, "Sorry I'm a few days late. Letting that bastard Kakashi come here… must've sullied your eyes."
He exhaled slowly, and his fingers gently traced the name engraved on Nohara Rin's tombstone. His mind drifted back to half an hour ago—when a White Zetsu clone delivered intel about Shimura Danzō.
Or more precisely—
About Uchiha Keizumi's Mangekyō Sharingan!
Everything that had happened to Danzō—White Zetsu had witnessed it all.
"The unknown dōjutsu in his left eye instantly rendered Shimura Danzō incapable of resisting—left him flailing on the ground like a helpless fool."
"The unknown technique in his right eye set Danzō's body ablaze from a distance… flames that couldn't be extinguished by Sealing Jutsu, Water Release, or even Izanagi."
What disturbed Obito most was the mysterious fire unleashed by the right eye.
He couldn't figure out how Uchiha Keizumi's right eye had managed to strike Danzō from such a distance.
Could it really ignore the limits of direct line-of-sight? Or was it somehow intrinsically linked to the left eye's technique?
"Still not enough intel…"
A troubling question suddenly rose in Obito's mind—If he were to get caught by it by mistake…
Would hiding inside the Kamui space even work?
After a few seconds of silence, Uchiha Obito let out a sudden laugh, shaking off the unrealistic concerns clouding his mind.
He hadn't expected to run into Uchiha Keizumi so soon.
After all, every time he returned to Konohagakure, he was never discovered. The so-called tightly monitored village was, in truth, nothing more than a giant sieve.
As long as he had enough time, he was confident he could figure out the true ability of Uchiha Keizumi's Mangekyō Sharingan.
Yes—
Obito had already marked Uchiha Keizumi as a top surveillance target.
That old grudge—nearly dying at the hands of that bastard…
Obito had never let it go.
"Rin…" he murmured. "Everything is going exactly according to plan. It won't be long before I create a new world. That world will be the most beautiful one you've ever lived in. It will be far, far better than this rotting shinobi world."
He glanced at the wilted white flower he had tossed aside.
"In that new world, you'll live well. And the bond between you and me… will be deeper than anything that exists now."
"Wait for me, Rin."
"…Hm?"
Suddenly, Obito's expression shifted. His gaze darted sharply to the left. He clearly sensed that two of the White Zetsu clones he'd stationed nearby had just died.
And to think—not even Root or ANBU shinobi had managed to detect those clones within Konohagakure.
Who could it be?
Obito immediately tensed.
[Tap… tap… tap…]
Faint footsteps reached his ears. The other person wasn't even trying to hide. It was obvious they knew that killing the two clones would reveal their presence. So instead of sneaking in, they approached openly.
Under the moonlight—
A figure slowly entered Obito's line of sight, causing his pupils to contract slightly. A flicker of surprise passed through his eyes.
Uchiha Keizumi!!!
"Hehe…"
In the next moment, Obito shifted his voice, making it low and hoarse as he slowly said: "And here I thought it was someone important… turns out it's just a junior from the Uchiha clan."
At the moment, Obito was still playing the role of Uchiha Madara.
However—
"Uchiha Obito."
Keizumi calmly spoke a name that made Obito's face twist in disbelief.
"It's been years… and yet the crimes on you are so thick with blood, they've turned nearly black."
—How did he recognize me!!!
Obito's mind screamed in shock. Almost instinctively, he glanced at the gravestone beside him.
Was it… because of Rin's grave?
"Youngster, you're speaking nonsense," Obito said coldly.
He had already activated Kamui's intangibility. In the end, he still harbored deep wariness toward Uchiha Keizumi's dōjutsu.
According to the White Zetsu clones' reports, Danzō had been utterly tormented by this man—so much so that 'a fate worse than death' was no exaggeration. That phrase fit Danzō perfectly.
Obito had no intention of ending up the same way.
Only by activating Kamui's intangibility could he feel secure enough to face him.
But Keizumi was slightly taller than him, and Obito wasn't used to looking up to make eye contact.
So—
He lightly leapt onto a nearby gravestone—not Rin's.
From his elevated position, he looked down at Uchiha Keizumi with a scornful gaze and rasped: "I am not this 'Uchiha Obito' you speak of. I've heard of you… the so-called enforcer of Konohagakure's 'Absolute Justice.' The Lava Release demon beast of the Third Great Ninja War. The once-in-a-millennium dual-kekkei genkai prodigy of the Uchiha clan—Uchiha Keizumi."
"Hehe…"
Obito gave a low chuckle, deliberately revealing the Mangekyō Sharingan in one eye.
"Aren't you even a little curious who I really am, boy?"
But to his surprise, Keizumi's gaze remained utterly calm.
All his theatrics had failed to mislead him.
In fact, he felt more like a clown performing a one-man act on stage.
Damn it!
Can't this bastard at least play along a little?! Even the members of Akatsuki had believed in his Uchiha Madara persona!
"Hmph! What's wrong with Uchiha brats these days? Have you all forgotten how to show respect?"
Obito snorted coldly. "I am your forefather—Uchiha Madara! That name... surely it's not unfamiliar to you?"
Uchiha Keizumi replied slowly, "Dressing up a monkey won't make it a king."
"…What?" Obito frowned. At nine years old, he had already become a genin, but he'd never completed a full academy education.
"Meow. Keizumi-sama says you're a monkey in a hat, trying to look like a human."
Tachibana Jirō licked his paw mockingly and added, "Are you illiterate or something?"
The cat lifted his head proudly.
"In front of Keizumi-sama's eyes… no disguise holds up! Uchiha Obito—when Keizumi-sama called out your name, it meant he had already seen through your pathetic little charade!"
A thick vein pulsed suddenly on Obito's forehead.
His face flushed red in an instant.
…
Elsewhere—
Having shed his exhaustion along with his ANBU mask, Hatake Kakashi had been asking around nonstop. At last, one of the Konohagakure shinobi gave him an answer regarding Uchiha Keizumi's whereabouts.
"Uchiha Keizumi, huh… I think I saw him heading in that direction not long ago. He was probably going to the cemetery?"
As he spoke, the shinobi cast a strange glance at Kakashi.
He couldn't understand why anyone would willingly go looking for that Uchiha plague-bringer.
Wasn't he afraid that Uchiha jinx would turn on him and cause trouble instead?
The Konohagakure cemetery…
Kakashi's eyes grew distant for a moment, as if lost in thought.
He steadied himself, then said, "Thank you."
...
"I don't understand what you people are even talking about…" Obito racked his brain, unable to figure out how his identity had been exposed.
Could it have been Uchiha Keizumi's dōjutsu? But the Sharingan isn't the Byakugan—how the hell did this guy see through his mask?
Coldly, Obito said, "Uchiha Keizumi, I must admit… I admire brats like you. If you're willing to serve me, I can tell you the Uchiha clan's secrets—and the secrets of the shinobi world."
"How long can Kamui's intangibility last?"
That sudden question from Uchiha Keizumi made Obito's face change drastically.
Keizumi followed with words that struck like thunder: "You activated Kamui before even facing me directly. That must mean you already know about my Mangekyō Sharingan. So that's it—your strategy is to place your body into a separate dimension. That's how you've chosen to respond to me, isn't it?"
"...You!!!"
Obito's heart raced, his breath caught in his throat, and horror washed over his face as if he'd seen a ghost.
—How the hell does he know about Kamui's intangibility?!
That was one of his greatest trump cards in the entire shinobi world—and now, it felt like someone had stripped him bare like a little girl whose skirt had been yanked off.
A wave of intense unease surged up from within.
The composed, theatrical posture he'd been projecting completely collapsed.
Cold sweat had already begun to bead in his palms.
"Uchiha Keizumi…" Obito masked his panic with killing intent in his eyes. He said in a low, icy voice: "Knowing too much can get you killed. You fought Danzō not long ago—you must've used up quite a bit of chakra, right?"
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