There was no doubt about it.
Three years ago, after Itachi became a Genin, he and his teammates had been assigned an escort mission. Along the way, they encountered this Masked Man.
At the time,
Itachi's teammate Tenma had been killed by the Masked Man while protecting him, causing Itachi to awaken his Two-Tomoe Sharingan on the spot.
Strangely enough,
the Masked Man had killed everyone present, yet spared Itachi alone.
Was it because they were both Uchiha?
"Don't be nervous, Itachi. Thanks to me, you awakened your Sharingan and earned the name of a genius. Isn't that right?"
Obito examined Itachi's Sharingan and teased him. "Come to think of it, you should be thanking me."
"I'd rather not have these eyes."
Itachi tried to speak calmly, but unconsciously clenched his fists.
Why?
He had lost a precious teammate, yet the killer, the Masked Man, claimed he had helped him. His father had only congratulated him on awakening the Sharingan, as if Tenma's life meant nothing to them.
"These eyes chose you of their own accord, because you're an Uchiha."
Obito saw the anger in Itachi's heart and spread his arms toward him. "Accept your true self, Itachi. You and I might even become good friends."
As soon as he finished speaking,
whoosh.
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan beneath Obito's mask spun violently, then transformed into a triangular pinwheel pattern.
The Mangekyō Sharingan.
Under the gaze of that eye,
Itachi shuddered. Fear enveloped him, rooting him to the spot, just as it had three years ago.
He had thought he'd grown a lot since then. He hadn't realized he still had such a long way to go.
Move!
Itachi shouted at himself inwardly. Veins bulged on his forehead as his nails dug into his palms, drawing blood.
Just then,
a large hand landed lightly on Itachi's shoulder from behind.
"Mr. Masked Man, Itachi is my nephew, the beloved of me, Uchiha Dan. You can't just take what someone else loves."
As Dan spoke, he pulled Itachi back to his side as easily as if he were lifting a chicken.
"Uncle."
Itachi looked up at Dan, surprised to hear him say that. At the same time, he felt a sense of... security, as though someone were protecting him.
Obito laughed.
With a sharp shing, he drew the Ninja Sword at his waist and pointed its tip at Dan, speaking with an air of superiority.
"Uchiha Dan, it's time we picked up where we left off last night. Show me what you can do. Let's see if you can entertain me—and whether you're worth cultivating."
At that, Dan glanced down at Itachi and told his nephew to step aside.
He didn't want Itachi caught in the crossfire.
Itachi nodded. He knew he couldn't help, but still reminded his uncle:
"Be careful of the Masked Man's strange Sharingan, Uncle. He seems to be able to manipulate space somehow."
Before he'd even finished,
Boom!
Dan kicked off the ground and charged forward, hurtling toward Obito like a speeding train.
His fist shot out with devastating force.
"Goodness, you're certainly full of energy. Trying to strike first, are you? Too bad..."
Obito sneered, standing motionless and fearless as Dan's fist, wrapped in a fierce blast of air, smashed into his face.
A bizarre scene unfolded.
Dan's fist, along with his entire arm, passed straight through Obito without the slightest resistance, as though the latter were merely an incorporeal illusion.
Bang!
Dan's punch finally landed on a tree behind Obito.
With a tremendous crash, the tree—which would have taken several people to wrap their arms around and stood over twenty meters tall—came thundering down, sending a flock of birds scattering from the forest.
"Tsk, tsk. You're an Uchiha, yet you've got strength on par with the Senju Clan's Monster Strength. How frightening."
Obito was astonished by Dan's strength. He called it frightening, but at the same time gripped his Ninja Sword in both hands and flashed behind Dan.
Lightning Speed.
He slashed down diagonally.
Dan didn't have time to turn, but he didn't panic. Instead, he tensed, instantly tightening all the muscles in his back.
Szzzt, szzzt.
Obito's blade struck Dan's back, throwing off a string of sparks, as if it had hit a bronze bell instead of human flesh.
Dan had long since trained himself to have Steel Muscles and Bones.
His back in particular had more muscle than anywhere else on his body, making it his strongest defense—harder than a turtle's shell.
The slash left only a faint white mark on Dan's back. It hadn't even cut through his skin, let alone drawn blood.
Dan wasn't just unharmed.
He flexed the muscles in his back and exerted his strength again. With a sharp crack, he snapped Obito's Ninja Sword.
The next moment,
without even turning his head, Dan swung his massive arm backward. A string of explosive cracks rang out as he struck at Obito's face once more.
But this attack passed right through Obito's body too, hitting nothing but air.
Obito calmly took a few light steps backward and began to applaud, praising him:
"Not bad. Very good.
"Your speed could use some work, but your strength and defense are both astonishing. To train your Taijutsu to this level makes you one in ten thousand.
"Uchiha Dan, I acknowledge that you're qualified to replace that Yashiro fellow as the new leader of the Radical Faction."
Obito's words meant that he recognized Dan's strength and considered him qualified to become his dog.
But after praising him, he changed his tone and asked Dan with a doubtful expression, "Still, haven't you forgotten that you're an Uchiha? Where's your Sharingan? Don't tell me you haven't awakened it yet."
Faced with Obito's mockery,
Dan said nothing. He reached up and yanked off his cumbersome shirt, revealing a body covered in fearsome muscles.
"Roar!"
With a furious roar like a Fierce Tiger Descending the Mountain, Dan charged at Obito again. The veins in his arm bulged as he drew strength from his entire body and unleashed an even more powerful punch.
Before the fist even landed, its Fist Wind sent sand and stones flying.
Obito sighed and shook his head.
"You still don't understand, do you? No matter how strong or fast your punches are, you can't hit me. This Mangekyō Sharingan of mine is the true power of the Uchiha."
As he spoke, the familiar scene played out once more.
Dan's punch passed through Obito's body again.
And because he'd put too much force into it, Dan's whole body pitched forward with the momentum, briefly losing his balance.
At that moment,
Dan's punch had run out of strength.
His old strength was spent, and his new strength had yet to gather. His entire body was vulnerable, completely exposed before Obito.
Obito naturally wouldn't miss this chance.
With a clatter,
an Iron Chain slipped from his sleeve. Both ends were shackled to his wrists, making it a weapon he'd designed to complement his own abilities.
With Dan's defenses wide open,
whoosh.
Obito flicked his hand, wrapping the Iron Chain around Dan's neck and body to restrain him.
The next moment,
he seized Dan's wrist. His right eye once more released a powerful surge of Pupil Power, twisting space as he attempted to suck Dan into the Kamui World.
Whenever Obito activated Kamui, everyone except him fell unconscious while being transported through space.
Once Dan was inside the Kamui Space, he'd be a prisoner with nowhere to run. To regain his freedom, he'd have no choice but to kneel and submit to Obito.
Otherwise, he'd spend the rest of his life locked away in the Kamui Space, until he died.
I've won.
On the verge of victory, the corner of Obito's mouth lifted into a faint smile.
But he had no idea that his opponent had been waiting for just this moment!
Before you continue