Chapter 18 — I, Uchiha Yujiro, the God of Civil War Illusions!
Just as Zetsu muttered, Obito's attacks were all bark and very little bite.
The earth shook with forests of sharpened Mokuton spikes. The sky howled with volleys of shuriken raining down like hail. Space itself warped with flashes of Kamui that could tear a man apart.
And yet—every single one of them missed.
Yujiro slipped through it all, weaving in and out of certain death, his body flickering like smoke.
Shunshin. Shunshin. And again—Shunshin.
The man was untouchable.
Even in the middle of that storm, Yujiro still had time to roast him:
"Too slow. Way too slow."
"What are you, Shaquille O'Neal's grandma?"
"Your form is sloppy, your reaction laggy, your footwork weak, your strikes pathetic. You think you're fit to stand on the same stage as me? Keep dreaming!"
"Damn you, brat!" Obito snarled. "I was holding back, and you dare mock me?!"
Yujiro's words were taunts, sure—but buried inside was a brutal truth: Obito was slow.
Not Kamui-slow. His Kamui was terrifying.
But his brain—his reaction speed—was lagging behind Yujiro by more than a beat.
Madara's training, the Mangekyō, the Rinnegan, Hashirama's cells… none of it could change the fact. Every swing, every jutsu—always a fraction too late. Close enough to "almost hit." But in reality? That "almost" was a gulf the size of a canyon. Yujiro was reading his reads before he even made them.
"You done yet? Then it's my turn."
Yujiro drew two kunai, his voice calm, almost casual.
"Uchiha's trademark jutsu—Manipulating Shuriken. I've made a few improvements."
Obito bared his teeth. "Don't tell me you're—"
Yujiro interrupted. "Relax, I'm not surrendering. Why would I? You're the one playing the clown here. Speaking of which… you already know, don't you? Rin never liked you. It was always Kakashi."
"—LIES!!!"
Obito's roar was instinctual, raw—and in that single instant, his focus cracked.
That was all Yujiro needed.
His body blurred forward, red chakra dancing along his kunai. The distance between them collapsed in a heartbeat.
"!!" Obito's stomach dropped.
Damn it. With Hashirama's cells, the Mangekyō, and Kamui, he was a six-god build. On paper, he could take on Kaguya herself. But if he lost to Yujiro—a so-called "elite jōnin"? Forget creating a gentler world for Rin. He might as well smash his head on a tofu block.
And yet, here he was—on the verge of being cut down.
Yujiro was no ordinary opponent. His title, Flame Claw of Konoha, was earned atop a mountain of enemy corpses. His crimson chakra blades made even seasoned shinobi tremble. And once he closed the distance? Even Kage-level opponents had no guarantee of survival.
Obito's heart pounded in his chest. Flame Claw… they said he had seven-tenths of White Fang's power even back then. How much now? Eight-tenths? Nine?
No! Impossible. Even if White Fang rose from the grave, my Kamui makes me untouchable! Kamui is invincible!
He prepared to phase—
But then two kunai whistled through the air. Not simple throws—deadly, precise, tethered with wires.
"Manipulating Kunai Technique."
The same principle as the shuriken version, but heavier, sharper, nastier. And with wires, Yujiro could pivot them mid-air like extensions of his bladework. The killing power? Well beyond a "mere D-rank." This was easily B-rank, maybe higher.
What's a secret technique? This is.
What's a finisher? This is.
Obito cursed. I'll have to Kamui it.
But spamming Kamui burned him out fast. With both eyes, maybe he could get away with it. But his left Mangekyō—the one Rin died for—was with Kakashi. That useless trash who couldn't even protect her.
"Damn it… if I still had both eyes…"
Kamui activated. Agony ripped through his socket as blood ran down his cheek. The kunai warped, barely grazing past his body—
But Yujiro's wires snapped taut.
The blades curved. Like snakes, they whipped back around, hissing toward him again.
Obito's heart stuttered. They're still coming?!
The next instant, a sharp sting bloomed across Obito's back.
A kunai was pressing right against his heart.
Not two… three? His breath caught. Damn it, when did he—?!
"So," Yujiro's voice came lightly, almost teasing, "can we talk properly now, Obito?"
As he spoke, the wires recoiled. The three kunai snapped back into his hands with practiced ease.
The way he smiled, you'd think the two of them were just sparring for fun.
Obito snorted. "One kunai isn't enough to kill me."
He'd been pushed, outmaneuvered, forced into a corner—but his pride refused to break.
Yujiro nodded, humoring him with mock cheer. "Mm-hmm, yes, yes, Obito's the strongest, of course~."
On the surface he sounded casual, but deep down, he was anything but.
He hadn't struck to kill—and precisely because he knew one kunai wouldn't finish Obito off.
"That's fine," Yujiro said smoothly. "Now we can actually talk."
Obito scowled, fists clenching. Part of him wanted to smash that infuriating smile right off Yujiro's face. But in the end, all he did was huff coldly and fall silent. His silence was as good as agreement.
[Mission Complete: Crush the Uchiha]
The system's chime rang crisply in Yujiro's ears.
And with it—just like the last two times—a surge of chakra welled up inside him out of nowhere.
But unlike before, Yujiro didn't lose composure. No wild grin, no crazed laugh. This time, he held steady—though joy still glimmered in his eyes.
This was no shallow victory.
With Shisui, it had been restricted sparring.
But Obito—Obito had fought nearly at full strength, with Kamui, with Mokuton, with everything he had… and still lost by a single, decisive step.
Sure, you could argue Obito wasn't fully matured yet.
Sure, you could say his Hashirama cells gave him insane vitality, that a kunai through the chest wasn't enough to kill him.
Sure, you could point out Yujiro's fighting style was the perfect counter to Obito's reckless, big-move spam.
But none of that mattered.
A loss was still a loss.
This was Yujiro's second Kage-level opponent defeated.
His third so-called "Uchiha prodigy" toppled.
And ironically enough, both of those Kage-level opponents had been Uchiha themselves.
At this point, the clan had no choice but to acknowledge it:
Uchiha Yujiro. The Uchiha-Slayer. The God of Civil War Illusions.