Night Moon's Sorrow

Kumogakure, at dusk.

The setting sun draped the peaceful village in a blood-red coat.

A spatial vortex suddenly appeared. Uchiha Obito, standing atop Tianyun Mountain, looked down at the stable and prosperous Kumogakure.

Pitcher Plants emerged from the ground. Black Zetsu asked in a hoarse voice, "Obito, you're five days later than agreed."

Obito glanced indifferently at Black Zetsu. "There were some urgent matters in Kirigakure that needed handling, which delayed me a bit. Also, call me Uchiha Madara from now on."

What urgent matters needed handling?

It was nothing more than a meaningless bloody purge.

Uchiha Madara would never do such a thing.

He's just a substitute!

Black Zetsu grumbled inwardly for a while, then got down to business. "Madara, our mission is complete. Now it's your turn to act."

"Then let's begin."

Obito's voice was cold. He took a step back and vanished into the spatial vortex.

Black and White Zetsu quickly closed the Pitcher Plants and burrowed underground.

In a training ground in Kumogakure.

Yozuki Rei, who had been training all day (the Yozuki woman mentioned earlier, her gender has been changed), stuck his long sword into the ground and picked up the nearby water flask, drinking heartily.

His crushing defeat against Neji previously had left him, a self-proclaimed genius, unable to let go for a long time.

His daily training volume had doubled.

"Fortunately, these days of hard training haven't been in vain. Once I thoroughly master Black Lightning, I'll challenge him again."

After finishing the water in his flask, Yozuki Rei wiped the sweat from his forehead, preparing to continue training. A spatial vortex appeared before him without any warning.

Yozuki Rei became vigilant.

Then, he saw a mysterious person wearing a single-holed tiger-skin mask slowly walk out of the spatial vortex.

Obito's sudden appearance made Yozuki Rei realize the visitor was not friendly.

The next moment, Yozuki Rei gripped his Chakra Blade with both hands, his face full of caution.

Obito examined Yozuki Rei with amusement and said calmly, "Nice sword."

Yozuki Rei asked tentatively, "Who are you? Why are you here?"

As soon as the words fell, Yozuki Rei didn't wait for Obito to reply before heavily slashing down with his Chakra Blade.

A wisp of black lightning appeared on the gleaming blade.

Obito stood in place, neither dodging nor evading.

Whoosh!

Accompanied by the whistling sound of air being torn apart and the crackling of black lightning, Yozuki Rei's Chakra Blade struck Obito's neck from an unbelievable angle.

"..."

The blade passed through.

However, the sensation transmitted through the hilt made Yozuki Rei realize that the powerful, heavy blow had not hit the opponent at all.

[It passed through, not his real body?]

Yozuki Rei turned his head to look at Obito, who remained standing in place without moving, his eyes wide open.

After a brief moment of shock, he reacted quickly.

His feet stomped on the ground, and he flipped backward. While in mid-air, his eyes spun wildly, scanning his surroundings, trying to find the enemy's true form.

Swish!

A long chain shot out from Obito's sleeve, darting towards Yozuki Rei like a sentient venomous snake.

Only upon catching the whistling sound of the chain piercing the air did Yozuki Rei realize the strangeness of this mysterious masked man before him.

"Lightning Style: Lightning Ball!"

[My sword can't hurt him, I'll try ninjutsu.]

With fifty percent of his chakra rapidly depleting, a lightning ball condensed in front of Yozuki Rei, a full seven to eight meters in diameter.

The lightning ball was not azure blue or white; it was mixed with black lightning, representing the ultimate nature transformation of the lightning attribute chakra. Even from over ten meters away, one could feel its violent aura.

This giant lightning ball served not only to test Obito's abilities but also to inform the Patrol Team of an enemy invasion.

Boom!

An explosion sounded.

A terrifying shockwave swept across half the training ground.

Yozuki Rei retreated, gasping for breath.

Soon, he saw Obito walking over, completely unharmed, as if strolling leisurely.

[Blade techniques and ninjutsu are both ineffective.]

[No wonder he's so composed.]

[He has absolute confidence in his own strength.]

Yozuki Rei's body turned cold.

He then noticed that within Obito's single-holed mask, a Three-Tomoe Sharingan was rapidly spinning.

[Sharingan?!]

Just as he was about to close his eyes, Yozuki Rei found himself unable to move.

Obito walked in front of Yozuki Rei, his wild long hair dancing in the wind. The katana at his waist was unsheathed, easily slicing through Yozuki Rei's body.

The intense pain allowed Yozuki Rei to break free from the genjutsu and regain consciousness.

He plunged his Chakra Blade into the ground, attempting to stand up, but his lower body was no longer obeying him.

[Is death about to come?]

[So fake.]

[I was just thinking about sparring with that kid.]

Obito stopped in front of Yozuki Rei, interrupting his thoughts.

He struggled to twist his neck, looking up at the Three-Tomoe in Obito's right eye.

"Sharingan... are you Uchiha?"

Obito's cold gaze fixed on Yozuki Rei. Perhaps the young man lying in a pool of blood reminded him of the past, so he decided to say a few more words.

"I was once Uchiha. Now I am a specter, and the only meaning of my existence is to bury this meaningless, false world."

Yozuki Rei was shocked by Obito's mad ravings.

He couldn't understand.

But he chose to believe.

Because no one would lie to the dead.

[What a lunatic.]

[At this moment, perhaps I can still do something.]

Feeling his consciousness gradually fading, Yozuki Rei gripped his Chakra Blade and threw it heavily towards Obito.

The Chakra Blade, wreathed in Black Lightning, passed through Obito's body and flew out of the training ground, embedding itself deeply into a tree that required two people to embrace.

Seeing the long blade lodged in the tree, Yozuki Rei closed his eyes and breathed his last.

Obito reached into the Ninja Tool Pouch at Yozuki Rei's waist and fumbled out a red gourd.

A Six Paths Ninja Tool, the Red Gourd.

Obito nodded in satisfaction, then absorbed the Red Gourd, along with Yozuki Rei's corpse, into the Kamui Space.

"Where is the Amber Bottle?"

Of the five Six Paths Ninja Tools, the Seven-Star Sword, the Golden Rope, and the Basho Fan were of little use.

The Amber Bottle and the Red Gourd could store Tailed Beasts, which would be very useful when the Akatsuki Organization collected Tailed Beasts in the future.

Black and White Zetsu emerged from the ground, and Black Zetsu said, "The Amber Bottle is in Hyuga Neji's hands."

"Hyuga Neji?"

Beneath the mask, Obito's expression froze slightly.

That name shouldn't belong in Kumogakure.

White Zetsu said cheerfully, "Madara, you forgot. This Hyuga Neji is the Byakugan Cub captured by the Kumogakure envoy two years ago."

Obito thought for a moment and indeed, there was such a person.

He didn't pay much attention to the Hyuga clan. When White Zetsu mentioned this intelligence back then, he quickly dismissed it.

"He didn't end up as a breeding pig, but was instead meticulously cultivated as a Cloud ninja."

"The Fourth Raikage is truly a hero."

Obito mused for a few seconds, then the corners of his mouth beneath the mask curled into a malicious arc.

"Take me to find that child."

Black Zetsu's voice was hoarse, like an old father earnestly advising.

"Madara, having the Red Gourd, one Six Paths Ninja Tool, is enough."

"Yozuki Rei was no match for Hyuga Neji. If you kill Hyuga Neji, the Fourth Raikage will fly into a rage, and the consequences will be severe."

"Besides, the battle here has already alerted the Patrol Team."

"Even you cannot kill Hyuga Neji."

"White Zetsu and I will handle the scene. You should leave as soon as possible."