Obito, You're Alive!

Phasing!

At the last possible moment, Obito twisted his body, wriggling like a maggot to dodge Youhu's fatal slash.

Even so, the blade still cut through Obito's mask, leaving a clear, visible gash across his face.

How long had it been since I was last injured?

After his unsupported mask slid off, Obito instinctively touched his face, his expression distant as he struggled to believe he'd been wounded.

He'd always thought that after Teacher Minato's death, no one in the Ninja World could hurt him anymore.

Even Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan, was merely a pawn in his plan.

But today, he'd been outsmarted by a lowly Anbu member. If he hadn't phased in time, he might already be dead.

Youhu looked utterly shocked, his voice full of disbelief as he murmured, "Brother Obito, you're alive?!"

Brother Obito?

Hearing that familiar name, Obito froze.

Did this Anbu know him? Why had he called Obito by name the moment he saw his real face? Could this Anbu be a member of the Uchiha Clan too?

Kakashi and Itachi, who had been preparing to rescue Youhu, both turned to look at Obito.

Itachi didn't know Obito very well. Though he'd fought in the Third Ninja World War, he hadn't been close to Obito and had only seen him a handful of times.

Kakashi stood frozen in place, his eyes filled with complicated emotions.

After the Tiger-patterned Mask fell away, Kakashi saw the Masked Man's weathered face. He could make out a trace of Obito in it, and that, combined with the inexplicable familiarity he'd felt during their earlier fight—

Kakashi could almost be certain that the Masked Man was his dear friend, Uchiha Obito, who had died years ago.

But why was it Obito? Why was Obito the Masked Man who had attacked his teacher's wife, Kushina, and caused the Nine-Tails' Rampage—the bright, cheerful Uchiha boy?

Why had he become the Masked Man who callously took lives and nearly plunged the village into an abyss?

Faced with this unbearable reality, Kakashi was on the verge of breaking down.

But Kakashi wasn't the first to break. That was Youhu, the first to recognize the Masked Man's identity.

Youhu swayed like a stalk of rice in the wind, barely able to keep his footing or hold on to his short blade. He stared at Obito in a daze, muttering that it couldn't be true.

"No, Brother Obito can't be the Masked Man."

"This has to be fake. Brother Obito is the pride of the Uchiha, a hero who gave his life for the village..."

Faced with Youhu's grief, Itachi was baffled. He was extremely surprised that the Masked Man was Obito, but mostly he was curious about how Obito had changed so much.

Itachi figured that Obito must have gone through something before becoming the Masked Man.

Kakashi sighed inwardly. Setting his own turmoil aside, he hurried over with the Body Flicker Technique to steady Youhu and comfort him:

"Youhu."

"What happened in the past is over. He might not even be Obito..."

Kakashi knew that Youhu had idolized Obito, which was why he'd kept pestering him to tell Obito's story.

Yet right after Kakashi had finished recounting the story of Kannabi Bridge, Obito had appeared before him and Youhu as the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails' Rampage.

The hero who had sacrificed himself to protect the village had suddenly become the villain who'd tried to destroy it.

Anyone would struggle to bear such a drastic reversal.

As their captain, Kakashi was hurting too, but he had to look after his teammates first. He couldn't stand by and watch Youhu become another Obito.

"One of my clansmen admired me?"

Coming back to his senses, Obito looked confused. How had he not known that someone remembered who he used to be, let alone idolized him?

He remembered never being well liked within the clan.

It was only after he became Minato's Disciple that his family's attitude toward him had improved a little.

Still, the clansman who admired him had terrifyingly sharp Combat Intuition. After seeing his Phasing Ability just once, he'd already figured out how to counter it.

He'd hidden poisonous mist inside the Fire Dragon Bullet, making Obito unknowingly inhale it as soon as he stopped phasing.

Then he'd deliberately fled to draw Obito's attention. That had allowed Kakashi and Itachi to avoid the Poison Mist, while giving Youhu an opening to strike a fatal blow.

Unfortunately, Obito wasn't an ordinary Uchiha. Half his body was made of White Zetsu, so he had a strong resistance to poison.

At most, he'd need ten minutes to metabolize the toxin. Then he'd be back to full strength and could escape from here.

"Captain Kakashi, you're right. This guy definitely isn't Brother Obito."

The despondency vanished from Youhu's eyes, replaced by a look of resolve. He tightened his grip on his short blade and said earnestly, "Captain Kakashi, let's drive this impostor out of Konoha together."

"That's right. He's not Obito, just a Masked Man pretending to be him."

Kakashi tried to convince himself. He didn't want to point his weapon at an old friend.

But the System Prompt Tone in Youhu's ear proved that Kakashi hadn't truly convinced himself. Kakashi was certain that Obito had been resurrected and become the Masked Man.

[Detected a severe emotional fluctuation in Kakashi. He firmly believes that "Obito and Rin have been resurrected"]

[Reward: 500 Deception Points]

"Five hundred Deception Points! No wonder Kakashi Hatake is known as Fifty-fifty. Looks like, aside from strength, Plot Characters give more Deception Points when they're closer to the person involved."

"I wonder how many Deception Points I'll earn if I spread the news that Obito is still alive."

"All this effort to reveal the Masked Man's true identity wasn't for nothing."

After considering it all, Youhu stood with Kakashi and Itachi, staring down the phasing Obito as they waited for time to pass.

It was the only option they had. While Obito was phasing, he was invincible.

As long as he didn't stop phasing, no ninjutsu, Illusion Technique, or Taijutsu could affect him.

Besides, time was on their side. As it passed, more of the village's forces would arrive, and even the Hokage might come out.

Obito knew time wasn't on his side either. He was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

Others might not know the limits of Phasing, but he did: he could only maintain it for five minutes. Once he stopped, the ability would enter a Cooldown Period.

Sometimes the cooldown lasted five seconds; other times, it stretched to half a minute.

If he stopped phasing while poisoned, he'd be at their mercy. He didn't want his life to end in such a humiliating way.

He hadn't even carried out the Moon Eye Plan.

For now, he could only hope that Black Zetsu and Tobi would hurry over. Without them, it would be hard to escape.

A few minutes later, the first to arrive wasn't Black Zetsu or Tobi, but the last member of Kakashi Squad: Yamato, who wielded the power of Wood Style.