Brother Obito, you're not dead

Phasing!

At the critical moment, Obito twisted his body, dodging Youhu's lethal blade like a maggot.

Even so, the blade still sliced through Obito's mask, leaving a clearly visible bloodstain on his face.

How long has it been since I was last injured?

After the mask lost its support and slid off, Obito subconsciously touched his cheek. His expression was dazed, and he found the fact that he had been injured unbelievable.

He had always believed that after Teacher Minato died, no one in the Ninja World could ever hurt him again.

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

Yet today, he had been outmaneuvered by a mere Anbu, and if he hadn't phased in time, he might already be dead.

Youhu looked shocked, his tone filled with disbelief as he muttered, "Brother Obito, you didn't die?!"

Brother Obito?

Upon hearing this familiar name, Obito was slightly startled.

Does he know this Anbu? Why did he blurt out his name the moment he saw his true face? Could this Anbu also be a ninja from the Uchiha Clan?

Kakashi and Itachi, who were preparing to rescue Youhu, both looked toward Obito upon hearing this.

Itachi did not know Obito very well. Although he had participated in the Third Ninja World War, he was not close to Obito and had only met him a few times in total.

Kakashi stood frozen on the spot, his eyes filled with complexity.

After the tiger-patterned mask slid off, Kakashi saw the weathered face of the masked man. He could vaguely see the shadow of Obito, and combined with the inexplicable sense of familiarity he felt during their previous battle, Kakashi could almost conclude that the masked man was his close friend who had died many years ago, Uchiha Obito.

But why was it Obito? Why was Obito the masked man who attacked Mistress Kushina and caused the Nine-Tails' Rampage? That sunny and cheerful Uchiha youth.

How did he turn into a masked man who disregarded human life and nearly plunged the village into the abyss?

Faced with this reality that was hard to accept, Kakashi was on the verge of a breakdown.

However, the first to break down was not Kakashi, but Youhu, the first person to recognize the masked man's identity.

At this moment, Youhu was like a straw in the wind, swaying unsteadily. He couldn't even hold his short sword firmly. He looked at Obito, disheartened, muttering that it was impossible.

"Impossible, Brother Obito cannot be the masked man."

"This is fake. Brother Obito is the glory of the Uchiha, a hero who gave his life for the village..."

Faced with the heartbroken Youhu, Itachi felt somewhat bewildered. He was certainly surprised that the Masked Man was Obito, but at most, he was merely curious about Obito's change in identity.

Itachi believed that Obito must have experienced something before becoming the Masked Man.

Kakashi sighed inwardly. Setting aside his own internal conflict, he hurriedly used Body Flicker to steady Youhu and comforted him:

"Youhu."

"The past is in the past, and he might not even be Obito..."

Kakashi knew that Youhu regarded Obito as his idol, which was why he had been pestering him all day to tell stories about Obito.

Yet, no sooner had he finished the story of the Kannabi Bridge than Obito appeared before him and Youhu as the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails' Rampage.

An idol who had sacrificed himself to protect the village had suddenly turned into a villain bent on destroying it.

Faced with such a massive disparity, it was impossible for anyone to take it well.

As the captain, although he was also in great pain, he had to prioritize his comrade. He could not just stand by and watch Youhu become a second Obito.

"A clan member who admires me?"

Obito, having regained his composure, was full of confusion. He had no idea that someone remembered his former self, let alone regarded him as an idol.

He remembered that he had never been well-received within the clan.

It was only after becoming Minato's disciple that the clan's attitude toward him had changed slightly.

However, this clan member who admired him possessed terrifying combat intuition. The first time he saw his Phasing Ability, he had already thought of a way to break it.

He had unexpectedly hidden toxic smoke within his Fire Dragon Bullet, causing him to fall into the trap unknowingly after he deactivated his Phasing.

Then, by using the tactic of a feigned escape to draw his attention, he had successfully allowed Kakashi and Itachi to avoid the poison mist while waiting for an opportunity to land a fatal blow.

Unfortunately, he was no ordinary Uchiha; half of his body was White Zetsu, granting him a high resistance to toxins.

He would need at most ten minutes to metabolize the toxin, at which point he would return to his full state and be able to escape from this place.

"Captain Kakashi, you're right. This guy is definitely not Brother Obito."

The disappointment in Youhu's eyes vanished, replaced by a touch of resolve. He gripped his short sword tightly and said earnestly, "Captain Kakashi, let's work together to drive this imposter out of Konoha."

"Right, he isn't Obito. He's just a Masked Man impersonating Obito."

Kakashi tried to convince himself; he did not want to point his weapon at his former friend.

But the system prompt in Youhu's ears indicated that Kakashi lacked the resolve to convince himself. Kakashi was convinced that Obito had resurrected and become the Masked Man.

[Detected intense emotional fluctuation in Kakashi. He is firmly convinced that "Obito and Rin have resurrected."]

[Reward: 500 Deception Points]

"Unexpectedly, there are five hundred Deception Points. Kakashi Hatake truly lives up to his reputation as the 'Fifty-fifty' ninja. It seems that besides strength, the closer the relationship between the plot character and the person involved, the more Deception Points are generated."

"I wonder how many Deception Points I'll harvest once the news that Obito is still alive spreads."

"It was worth all the painstaking effort to reveal the Masked Man's true identity."

After calculating this in his mind, Youhu, along with Kakashi and Itachi, stared down Obito, who was currently in a state of phasing, waiting for time to pass.

This was the only way; Obito was invincible while in his phasing state.

As long as he didn't voluntarily deactivate his phasing, no ninjutsu, genjutsu, or taijutsu could do anything to him.

Regardless, time was on their side. As time passed, the village's main force would gradually arrive at this location, and even the Hokage might be mobilized as a result.

Obito also knew that time was not on his side; he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

Others might not be clear on the limits of his phasing, but he knew that the time limit for his phasing was five minutes. Furthermore, after deactivating his phasing, the ability would enter a cooldown period.

Sometimes the cooldown was five seconds, and other times it lasted up to half a minute.

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

He hadn't even realized the Moon Eye Plan yet.

For now, he could only hope that Black Zetsu and Tobi would arrive quickly; without them, it would be difficult for him to escape.

Several minutes passed, but the ones who arrived first were not Black Zetsu or Tobi. Instead, it was the final member of Team Kakashi, Yamato, who had mastered the power of Wood Style.