Daddy Misses You

"After the Third Shinobi World War, I became someone everyone in the village despised."

Kazuna smiled. "At that time, Minato Namikaze hadn't stepped in either. By then, he had already been chosen as the Fourth Hokage."

"He couldn't possibly have been unaware of what happened to me. Whether or not he had any say in it, at the very least, he never spoke up for me."

"If the heir to the Will of Fire could watch me be framed and attacked, then why couldn't I watch him die?"

Minato Namikaze did not hold such deep prejudices against the Uchiha. After taking office, he had even eased the conflict between the Uchiha and the village.

However, he would not give too much for the Uchiha, either.

He merely chose to do what a Hokage was supposed to do.

Kazuna understood that.

Then Minato should not blame him for refusing to save him.

It went both ways. Kazuna's relationship with Minato Namikaze had never reached that point, either.

Even though the two had worked together many times during the Third Shinobi World War.

If Minato Namikaze had spoken for him when he was framed, would he have acted on the Night of the Nine-Tails?

He didn't know!

There was no need to speculate about things that had never happened.

"Hahahaha!" Obito suddenly burst into laughter. He seemed delighted, as though he had thought of something—or perhaps understood something.

Kazuna watched him with a smile, though his fingers trembled slightly.

He had said so much just now mainly because he sensed that Obito was actually indignant.

It was absurd!

Minato Namikaze and his wife had been killed by your own hand, and now you were indignant?

Were you kidding?

Obito's laughter stopped abruptly. He stared fixedly at Kazuna, his expression wary. "Uchiha Kazuna, you really are interesting. How about we wor—"

"Sure!"

Before Obito could finish, Kazuna answered.

Obito: "...k together?"

"What's wrong?" Kazuna asked in surprise. "Didn't you say we should cooperate?"

Obito took a deep breath. "Do you know who I am?"

Fuck, other than knowing that the Night of the Nine-Tails happened because of me, what else do you know?

You know nothing, yet you agreed to work with me the moment you opened your mouth?

And you even cut me off to answer?

You're such a powerful person, but you agreed too quickly. It makes my skin crawl!

Kazuna looked disdainful. "When I, Madara Uchiha, choose someone to work with, I don't need to know who they are. Of course, I do need to know your name. I can't just call you Masked Man, can I? Showing off in front of me—do you want to dance?"

Obito: "...Fuck."

"Huff, huff!"

"Don't mention that name!"

Obito gritted his teeth. "As for me, you may call me... Tobi!"

Originally, I should have been the one calling myself Madara Uchiha!

"Tobi?" Kazuna muttered it once, then raised a thumbs-up, his teeth gleaming. "Great name!"

"...Don't use that gesture!"

"Fuck, you're hard to please, aren't you?" Kazuna raised a brow. "Don't do this, don't do that—who the hell do you think you are? You dare speak to me, Madara Uchiha, like that? Believe it or not, I'll make you dance forever?"

"Hmph, it's only Wood Style. Do you think you're Hashirama Senju?"

"Huh?" Kazuna suddenly seemed to think of something. Stroking his chin, he looked at Obito. "Come to think of it, that might actually be possible. First the Sharingan, then Wood Style... are you some kind of Senju-Uchiha hybrid?"

Fuck you.

Obito's expression turned indescribably cold as the Mangekyo spun in his eyes.

"It seems the only Senju who could use Wood Style was Hashirama Senju..." Kazuna stared at Obito in shock. "Could it be that you're the child of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha?"

Obito took a deep breath and said coldly, "Didn't you just say that you were Madara Uchiha?"

"My child!" Kazuna spread his arms and ran toward Obito with tears streaming down his face. "Daddy missed you so damn much."

"Wood Style: Cutting Sprigs!"

Obito roared, and countless thin branches shot toward Kazuna, piercing through him.

Kazuna was impaled in an instant.

"Bang!"

Smoke erupted, and a wooden log appeared.

Substitution Technique!

Kazuna appeared some distance away, looking pitifully at Obito. "My child, how could you be so cruel? Just like your damned father... uh, mother, uh... damn it, 'it' back then at the Valley of the End, viciously stabbed me in the back."

"Uchiha Kazuna, do you want a fight to the death?"

Obito's voice was so cold it seemed capable of freezing the earth.

Kazuna curled his lip. "And you want to cooperate with me? You can't even take a joke. You're not someone who can accomplish great things."

Damn it, damn it, damn it.

Trees continuously grew beneath Obito's feet.

He was going to kill this bastard!

Kazuna formed hand seals with both hands.

Shadow Clone Technique!

Four clouds of smoke burst out around him, and four Kazunas appeared. "Still want to fight?"

Obito looked coldly at Kazuna. "Uchiha Kazuna, don't force me to kill you."

"You make it sound like you can kill me whenever you want?" Kazuna laughed. "That was Time-Space Ninjutsu just now, wasn't it?"

"Phasing, becoming intangible, then turning solid again..."

"So here's the question: have you heard of the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique?"

Obito did not answer, continuing to stare coldly at Kazuna.

As an Uchiha Clan Mangekyo user, he was also an expert in Fire Release.

"Looks like you have!" Kazuna smiled faintly. "The C-rank Ninjutsu Phoenix Sage Fire isn't especially powerful, and it doesn't consume much Chakra. But it has one advantage: a very wide range. Tell me, what would happen if my four shadow clones kept firing Phoenix Sage Fire all around us without stopping?"

Obito fell silent.

Kazuna chuckled. "Can your Time-Space Ninjutsu be used indefinitely? Can you keep yourself in a phased state forever?"

Obito's gaze turned icy.

If it had been an ordinary C-rank Ninjutsu, he naturally would not have cared. But his opponent was Blood Flame Kazuna.

That blood-red flame was renowned for its extreme heat. It could even melt steel. Enhanced by the Blood Flame, a C-rank Ninjutsu would rise to B-rank, perhaps even higher.

Even Obito, whose body had been modified with Hashirama Cells, had no desire whatsoever to taste the Blood Flame.

His meaning was perfectly clear.

Your Time-Space Ninjutsu cannot be maintained forever, while my Phoenix Sage Fire consumes little and can be used continuously.

That did not mean Kazuna had Obito completely figured out. He was merely telling him that he understood his abilities and had come up with corresponding countermeasures.

Phoenix Sage Fire was only one of them!

If they really fought, you would be at a disadvantage!

At the very least, aside from Blood Flame, Obito knew nothing about Kazuna's abilities.

"If you think it'll work, we can try it."

"Why bother?" Kazuna flashed a brilliant smile. "Aren't we supposed to cooperate? Why decide life and death?"

"Hmph, it had better be that way!"

Obito tossed Kazuna a list.

Kazuna had a shadow clone catch it, glance over it a few times, then dispel itself.

The clone's information returned to Kazuna's main body.

"Root's list?" Kazuna smiled. "Impressive. Root's list must be even harder to get than the Anbu's, right?"

"To me, it's nothing," Obito said calmly. "This is my sincerity."

"Then what sincerity do I need to offer?"

Obito's body slowly sank into the ground. "That, you can decide for yourself!"

Kazuna stared at the spot where he had vanished and smiled faintly, then turned toward one side. "Enjoy the show?"

Whoosh!

Kazuna vanished. When he reappeared, he was holding a pale white corpse in his hand.

White Zetsu!

Although it had blended almost perfectly with the surrounding trees, sorry, but I, Kazuna, am your counter!

Kazuna's cheat was the Divine Tree. Though he could not use Wood Release, he possessed a special perception for trees.

Creatures like White Zetsu, which fused with trees and hid within them, were like lights in the darkness to him.

And besides...

Kazuna looked at the White Zetsu in his hand and activated his cheat, slowly devouring it.

At once, the Divine Tree began to change.