Obito, Your Eyes Were Crushed By My Foot Like Bubbles!

Uchiha An was paralyzed by the lightning, his reactions slightly slower.

Kakashi's left arm, dragging lightning behind it, drove straight through his defenses and blasted toward him in an instant.

He instinctively reached out his left hand to press against his own right arm.

Should he use it now?

But the thought only flashed through his mind before he immediately dismissed it.

His eyes sharpened, and instead of retreating, he advanced, pressing his left hand's two fingers together like a spear, stabbing straight at Kakashi's crimson left eye.

"Come on!"

"Who's afraid of who!"

"Whoever dodges is a coward!"

Kakashi's gaze was resolute. His left arm thrust forward with force, and with a "puff," it plunged straight into Uchiha An's abdomen, piercing through to the back.

Gushing blood poured from the wound, instantly vaporized by the lightning.

But Uchiha An's fingers had already reached Kakashi's cheek.

Kakashi instinctively tilted his head to the left, even exposing his right eye to Uchiha An's fingers, just to protect the relic left to him by his friend.

At the same time, he stepped back, preparing to retreat.

But Uchiha An followed his retreat, moving forward in tandem, bending his fingers and lightly plucking out that Sharingan eye.

Once he had the prize, Uchiha An immediately stopped and leaped backward, separating completely from Kakashi.

Kakashi retreated to a distance, one hand covering his bleeding eye, panting heavily.

Sarutobi Asuma and Yūhi Kurenai had already stepped in front of him, shielding him firmly.

Across from them, Uchiha An was in worse shape.

A gaping hole pierced through his stomach, front to back, a bloody cavity with severed intestines spilling out. The flesh around the wound was scorched black by lightning, which ironically helped stop the bleeding.

His Mangekyo Sharingan spun wildly, and the flesh around his abdomen visibly began to grow and writhe, slowly grinding away the residual lightning.

Uchiha An swayed, barely able to stand, but he held the plucked eye in one hand and laughed wildly, as if the wound on his body didn't exist.

"Haha..."

"Kakashi, this eye is Obito's, isn't it?"

"I'll take it back for him!"

He clenched his left palm with force, and with a "puff," he crushed that precious Kamui Mangekyo Sharingan!

"Poor Obito!"

"He'll never get both eyes back now!"

"Let's see how he pilots his Susanoo!"

"He must be heartbroken right now!"

"Haha..."

Kakashi had no idea Obito was still alive. Watching the precious eye his friend had left him get crushed by Uchiha An, Kakashi's remaining eye burned with pain and hatred, nearly spitting fire.

He gasped for breath and said urgently:

"His regeneration is strong—don't give him time to recover! Let's go!"

"Alright!" Asuma and Kurenai agreed, charging forward again, unleashing ninjutsu from a distance.

"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"

"Demonic Illusion: Hell Fire!"

The two techniques combined, engulfing the entire ground in flames, blurring the line between reality and illusion.

"Hmph!" Uchiha An snorted coldly, pressing one hand against the hole in his abdomen to continue healing, while with a thought, his Susanoo rose from the ground again.

When Kakashi had attacked earlier, the Susanoo had been caught by the "Raijin Thousand-Hand Kill" and hadn't been much use.

But this time was different. As he activated the Susanoo, he controlled it to reach back, pull off the Herb Gourd, and pour its contents downward.

A torrent of Phosphorus Corrosive Insects poured out like a waterfall.

After finishing, he looked down and saw the ground bulge upward—Kakashi had tunneled in with Earth Style again.

With Kakashi's swordsmanship, if he tried to engage in close combat while severely injured, he'd likely meet his end on the spot.

So Uchiha An had no intention of trading blows up close. Instead, he played to his strengths and simply outlasted him.

The result was that when Kakashi burst in this time, he looked up to see a rolling tide of Phosphorus Corrosive Insects rushing at him, startling him.

But his reaction was fast enough. His fingers blurred into motion, and with a "shwoosh," he slipped right back out.

"Haha..." Uchiha An stood amidst the swarm, controlling the Herb Gourd to retract the insects, and laughed loudly:

"My Mangekyo has no other tricks—it's just tough!"

"Want to trade wounds? Trade lives?"

"Come on, then!"

"Let's see who comes out on top!"

The three of them stared grimly at the medicinal gourd suspended high in the air, silent for a long moment. After a while, Kakashi spoke in a low voice:

"Until we crack the Phosphorus Corrosive Insects' poison, there's nothing we can do against him."

"This infiltration operation is a failure, and the rogue ninja capture mission is a failure too."

"As for intelligence, though, it's not a complete loss."

"At least we can confirm that Uchiha An is still alive, and Uchiha Itachi may not have betrayed us yet—we can try to make further contact."

"Let's retreat. Next time we meet, with sufficient intel and preparation, we'll definitely take down this Uchiha An."

Having finished their discussion, the three didn't hesitate and immediately withdrew.

Uchiha An was busy healing his wounds and couldn't stop them, so he had no choice but to let them leave.

After a long while, Uchiha An finally patched up the hole in his abdomen and returned to Amegakure in a sullen mood.

Neither of his eyes was a Dojutsu that directly boosted attack power, and that really stung.

Susanoo was good, but in the end, it was too monotonous.

As if troubles never come singly, the moment he entered the High Tower, he saw Obito already waiting for him there. As soon as he returned, Obito sneered sarcastically:

"Oh, if it isn't the all-knowing Uchiha An?"

"I suppose this time you struck out and annihilated all the invading ninja, right?"

"Huh? How come you're injured?"

"Don't tell me you didn't foresee the enemy's intel?"

Seeing Obito's snide attitude, Uchiha An felt a flare of anger, but he didn't lose his temper. Instead, he grinned and said to Obito:

"Oh dear, I'm really sorry, Obito."

"I promised you before that I'd help you take out your good buddy Kakashi!"

"Who knew he'd be so slippery, running off with his new teammates!"

"I was planning to keep him here, but after all that effort, all I got was one of his eyes!"

At this point, Uchiha An suddenly looked as if a lightbulb had gone off, clapped his hands together, and exclaimed:

"Ara!"

"It just hit me—that eye of Kakashi's originally belonged to you, Obito!"

"Oh dear, oh dear, if I'd remembered that sooner, I'd have brought that eye back for you."

"Look at me, how careless of me. Such a precious Mangekyo Sharingan, and I went and stomped it like a bubble!"

"Nani?" This time Obito really broke, unable to contain his rage as he charged straight over.

"You deserve to die!"

"How dare you!"

Uchiha An watched him coldly, making no move to defend himself, only pointing upward.

"Hey, Obito, the leader said no infighting within the organization!"

"No infighting!"

"You..." The Mangekyo in Obito's eyes spun violently. Several times he nearly lunged to tear into him, but in the end, he pulled back.

"Once the plan succeeds, I won't let you off!"

He spat out a vicious threat, then turned and left, leaving Uchiha An laughing wildly behind him.

"Haha... Obito, you really are good at backing down!"

Obito's whole body trembled, but considering the importance of the ultimate "Moon Eye" plan, he could only grit his teeth and endure.

He hurried away from the High Tower, afraid that if he didn't, he'd lose control and kill that damned bastard on the spot.

Just you wait!

Once Nagato's body recovers, you'll be useless!

He cursed Uchiha An viciously in his heart, swearing vengeance, but his mouth said one thing and his body another—his feet kept moving, quickly distancing himself from the place.