Not Just a Nightmare!

The sky was clear and sunny, with not a cloud for miles.

It was a deep, cloudless blue, with a few wisps of cloud drifting lazily overhead. Sunlight poured down without restraint, bathing the entire training ground in warmth.

At the center of the practice field, several badly worn wooden posts stood quietly, their surfaces scored with marks from Kunai and Shuriken.

"Where... am I?" Obito opened his eyes groggily. The familiar surroundings left his mind hazy for a moment.

Suddenly, pain throbbed in his head, and a familiar voice came from behind him.

"Idiot Obito! You can't even use Shuriken properly!"

Obito turned around and saw Rin pulling her hand back, cheeks puffed in annoyance.

She had just smacked him on the head.

"Rin..." Tears welled in Obito's eyes, and that familiar, overwhelming joy rose in his heart once more.

The confusion in his mind was swept away by Rin's punch. His thoughts were filled with her and nothing else.

"Hey, Obito, could I talk to you about something?" Rin rubbed the hem of her clothes between her hands, wearing an unusually bashful expression.

"Sure!" Obito was instantly smitten. He jumped to his feet without a second thought and thumped his chest. "Rin, you don't even have to ask! Anything you want, I'll give it to you!"

"Anything?" Rin's eyes lit up with delight, sparkling so brightly that Obito's heart nearly burst with happiness.

Obito nodded again and again without hesitation.

"Anything!"

"Then thank you so much, Obito." Rin bowed to him solemnly to show her gratitude.

"Aw, Rin, you don't have to thank me! What's mine is yours..."

Obito chuckled sheepishly, rubbing his head. His eyes squeezed shut with his grin.

But before he could finish, Rin blushed and stepped in front of him, reaching out toward his face.

"..." Obito's mind went blank with joy. He gaped at her, completely forgetting where he was.

Then pain struck him. His vision went black, and the blue sky, white clouds, green hills, and clear water all vanished. Only darkness remained.

And yet Rin's delighted voice rang in his ears.

"Look, Kakashi! This Sharingan suits you so well!"

"It's fine if the other one's gone. We can just transplant this one. Don't be sad!"

What made Obito feel even colder was the sound of Kakashi's familiar voice.

"Rin, why are you taking Obito's things again?"

"Come on, Obito said himself that what's his is mine. What's wrong with taking something that belongs to me?"

"What about Obito, then?"

"Come on, why do you care so much? He's a Simp, after all."

In an instant, the world spun around Obito. It wasn't just his heart that hurt—he felt like his whole being was falling apart.

"No..." Obito let out a wail and jolted awake from the nightmare, sitting up in bed and gasping for breath.

He waved his hand in front of his eyes. Only after he could clearly see the lines in his palm did he confirm that it had all been a nightmare.

Had he dreamed it because he'd learned from Uchiha An during the day that the eye he'd given Kakashi had been destroyed?

It wasn't impossible. One dreamed of what occupied one's thoughts during the day.

But when he touched his chest and felt the White Zetsu Cells repairing the cracks there, suspicion crept into his heart.

Just now, his heart had really "cracked"!

If not for the absurdly powerful White Zetsu Cells, he would have died on the spot.

Who had ever heard of someone being scared to death by a nightmare?

Was this really just a case of dreaming about what he'd been thinking of, or was someone secretly trying to harm him?

Obito widened his eyes, and his Mangekyō Sharingan spun rapidly. He examined himself over and over, but no matter how closely he looked, he couldn't find any trace of Genjutsu.

"So it wasn't Genjutsu?"

Obito furrowed his brow and thought it through. If someone was trying to hurt him, who could it be?

The first suspect was obviously that damn Uchiha An. He had the biggest grudge against Obito, was petty and vindictive, and possessed a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan. Both motive and ability fit.

But many people had already witnessed his Mangekyō's abilities for themselves: healing and prophecy.

So, as much as he despised the man, he could rule him out.

The next suspect was Uchiha Itachi.

Although Itachi and Obito had worked together to carry out the Uchiha Massacre, Obito now knew that Konoha had been involved, too. Itachi hadn't truly betrayed Konoha.

Now that the Akatsuki Organization was preparing to move against Konoha, it would make sense if Itachi wanted to secretly eliminate a powerful enemy in order to protect the village.

But the same problem remained: Obito had personally confirmed that Itachi's Mangekyō abilities were Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi.

That meant he could rule Itachi out as well.

There were only three people in the Ninja World with Mangekyō Sharingan. Could this ability be something other than a Mangekyō power?

But something so strange and powerful couldn't be ordinary Genjutsu. It had to be some kind of secret art or Forbidden Technique.

Not just anyone could possess something like that. The culprit would have to be a shinobi from one of the great villages, at the very least.

The idiots in Kirigakure didn't even know Obito existed, so they were even less likely to target him.

It was probably an enemy from Konoha!

Could it be Danzo?

No one knew how many secret arts and Forbidden Techniques Root had. Maybe it was some harmful jutsu that Senju Tobirama had developed in his spare time.

And using a nightmare to harm someone in secret was exactly the sort of thing Danzo would do.

He was famously known as the "Darkness of the Ninja World." That wasn't an empty title!

Everyone knew it!

So many people had died without ever knowing Danzo had been behind it.

If Itachi had leaked Obito's information to Konoha, it would make perfect sense for Danzo to secretly target him.

It would eliminate a powerful enemy while also preventing the former "Village Hero, Obito" from being disgraced.

It was a win-win. Even if Sarutobi Hiruzen found out, he wouldn't object.

The more Obito thought about it, the more convinced he became that Danzo was behind this.

But how had Danzo placed the curse on him?

He hadn't had any physical contact with anyone lately.

Had Root infiltrated the village?

Or had Root already planted spies in Amegakure?

Or had they used his flesh and blood left behind in Konoha to cast a bloodline curse?

Obito tossed and turned in bed, growing more and more frustrated.

He would have to steal the Scroll of Seals and see if it contained a way to break this Forbidden Technique. Otherwise, having nightmares every night would be unbearable.

Especially... that nightmare!

Now, whenever Obito closed his eyes, he couldn't help recalling it.

It had felt so real!

As if it had actually happened!

His rational mind told him it had been a nightmare, a falsehood. Nothing like that would happen in real life.

But his subconscious kept wandering back to it!

"Rin, Kakashi..."

Obito murmured their names, sinking into a gloomy state.

Not far away, Uchiha An quietly wiped away the Blood Tears beneath his right eye, then smiled in silence once more.

He opened his right hand, revealing a Sharingan in his palm—the very Mangekyō that had supposedly been "crushed."

It was only a little sleight of hand.

Using Genjutsu in a fight might not fool Kakashi and the others, but using it to trick someone was effortless.

He held two fingers together like a blade, cut open his chest, and gently implanted the Mangekyō inside.

Hey, Obito, enjoy yourself!

With your eye as the medium, this Dojutsu won't be just a nightmare anymore!

Mangekyō Sharingan abilities didn't have to make sense. Take Shisui's Kotoamatsukami, for example. It brainwashed people without them noticing anything unusual; they simply believed the thoughts were their own.

Uchiha An's Right Eye Dojutsu worked the same way.

It didn't take effect immediately. Instead, like a curse, it clung stubbornly to its victim.

The curse only activated while the target was asleep. Once they woke, it went dormant without leaving a trace!

As long as the target didn't realize they'd been affected and couldn't remove the Mangekyō's Pupil Power in time, the curse would gradually burrow deeper and deeper, growing stronger and stronger!

It would never stop until one of them was dead!