Uchiha Obito's Defense Shattered!

"Why? Why? Why did this happen?!"

After a while, Yahiko finally came back to his senses somewhat. Still unable to believe it, he stared at Konan's corpse and cried out in agony.

"This is reality!" Uchiha Obito spoke, his voice full of temptation. "To protect Konan, you had to betray Nagato. If you didn't betray Nagato, Konan would be hurt!"

"And you refused to choose between the two. You hesitated, wavered, ran away, and didn't dare face reality!"

"So Konan made the choice herself, sacrificing herself to save you!"

"That is how this real world is. There is no such thing as the best of both worlds! If you want to protect love, hatred will inevitably arise!"

Uchiha Obito continued to ramble on, but Yahiko suddenly realized something was wrong.

"It was you!" Yahiko glared furiously at the man dressed as a Konoha Anbu Ninja and roared, "You're not a Konoha Anbu Ninja! You're the Masked Man who tried to tempt Nagato!"

Yahiko was both shocked and enraged. He had never imagined that Uchiha Obito would not take advantage of the chaos to attack Akatsuki Camp, but would instead intercept and kill him and Konan on the way.

Uchiha Obito neither admitted nor denied it, merely continuing, "Who I am is irrelevant! What matters is that I showed you the reality of this world!"

"Well?"

"After going through all this, do you still naively believe your previous ideals were right? Do you truly think people in this world can understand one another and resolve conflicts through talk?!"

"Or can you understand me now, and are you willing to resolve the conflict between us through talk?"

"How could I?! You bastard!" Yahiko roared with a ferocious expression, his rage reaching its peak. "You killed Konan!"

"Exactly!" Uchiha Obito was delighted by this. "Those Konoha and Iwagakure ninja also had comrades killed by the other side. They feel exactly as you do now!"

"Now that you understand their feelings, why do you expect them to do something that even you yourself cannot do?"

"Admit it, Yahiko!"

"Your ideals are wrong!"

"This world is beyond saving. The only correct path is to create a new world!"

Uchiha Obito did not know why he had suddenly abandoned his original plan to kill Yahiko. Now, he wanted more to draw this passionate young man over to his side.

Yet Yahiko merely stared fixedly at Uchiha Obito and said through clenched teeth, "Konan is dead. I have no heart left to distinguish right from wrong!"

"Right now, I only want to kill you and avenge Konan!"

"Water Style: Wild Water Wave!"

Yahiko rapidly formed seals with both hands, opened his mouth, and spat several surging streams of water toward Uchiha Obito!

Uchiha Obito frowned slightly. His body turned intangible, directly evading Yahiko's attack. Standing where he was, he lightly shook his head. "A leaf obscures the mountain, Yahiko. Is this truly the extent of your capacity?"

"You've greatly disappointed me."

Yahiko remained silent. He pulled a kunai from his Ninja Tool Bag and charged at Uchiha Obito, launching a frenzied assault.

But the gap between them was simply too vast!

Uchiha Obito could not even be bothered to turn intangible. With a few effortless shifts of his body, he easily avoided Yahiko's attacks.

Seizing an opening, Uchiha Obito turned sideways and kicked Yahiko in the abdomen, sending him flying more than ten meters away!

"Cough, cough..."

Blood trickled from the corner of Yahiko's mouth as he struggled to rise from the ground. But the twisting pain in his abdomen drained most of his strength, and no matter how long he tried, he could not get up.

Uchiha Obito walked toward Yahiko and said, "Hatred has clouded your mind. If you were still clear-headed, you would know that I was not the one who killed Konan. It was this real world!"

"The people of this world are all driven by hatred, inevitably fighting and killing one another!"

"Your Akatsuki seeks to protect peace, but such ideals will threaten the interests of certain conspirators. They will never tolerate your existence!"

"Just like Shimura Danzō's ambush against you!"

"Even if Konan had not died here, she would have met death tomorrow or the day after for the very same reason!"

"To protect peace will inevitably lead to war! That is the karma of this Real World!"

"And the beautiful world I intend to create—a world with only victors and only love—is meant to sever that karma!"

"Join me, Yahiko!"

"Create a beautiful world with me, one where Konan will never die again!"

Uchiha Obito made one final effort, wanting Yahiko to acknowledge his ideals!

"What kind of nonsense are you talking about?! You're the bastard who killed Konan! What does it have to do with this world?!"

"This world may not be perfect, but it is by no means utterly worthless!"

"There are flowers in this world, and sunlight. There are kind people like Konan and Nagato, and gentle people like Teacher Jiraiya..."

"You bastard, don't take the suffering you've experienced and use it to condemn this entire world and everyone in it!"

Yahiko fixed his gaze on Uchiha Obito, who had approached him, and loudly refuted Uchiha Obito's beliefs!

Unlike Uchiha Obito, Yahiko was a war orphan. He had lived as a wanderer since childhood and had seen all the warmth and coldness of human nature.

But Yahiko's life had not been nothing but hardship and suffering. It had also held moments of happiness and joy!

Meeting Konan and Nagato had made Yahiko no longer feel alone. Meeting Jiraiya had allowed him to feel the care of an elder. Meeting Kyūsuke and the others had let him experience the feeling of being accepted...

Perhaps because he had grown accustomed to suffering, Yahiko treasured those hard-won glimmers of light deep in his heart!

Even after seeing through the reality of this world, he could still maintain a love for life!

His blazing heart would never be swallowed by darkness!

"What stubborn foolishness!"

Uchiha Obito felt an inexplicable panic at the firmness in Yahiko's gaze, and a sense of shame rose within him!

Yahiko shakily pushed himself to his feet, stared straight into Uchiha Obito's eyes beneath the mask, and said in a deep voice, "Jin Big Brother's book said that true warriors dare to face bleak lives and confront the dripping blood before them!"

"And you, Bastard, who keeps talking about severing the world's karma and escaping into an illusory world—when all is said and done, you're nothing but a coward who doesn't dare face reality!"

"You coward, go curl up in a corner with your head in your hands and keep deceiving yourself!"

"Even if I die, I will never bow to this world's reality! And I will never acknowledge your cowardly way of thinking!"

Yahiko's eyes burned brightly, and his aura was so overwhelming that Uchiha Obito did not dare meet his gaze!

"Damn it! Then die!"

Uchiha Obito flew into a rage out of humiliation and reached out to grab Yahiko!