Rei VS Obito (Part 1)

The person impersonating Uchiha Obito was, of course, not the real Obito, but Uchiha Rei.

Upon receiving the secret message from Kurama Yakumo, Uchiha Rei immediately activated the "Telescopic Technique" and conducted a long-distance, coordinate observation outside Konoha. He quickly locked onto two coordinates.

Using the Genjutsu mark he had previously placed on Uchiha Itachi, he easily determined their authenticity.

At the patrol base, on the utility pole, was Uchiha Itachi;

While lingering near the clan compound, filled with killing intent, was undoubtedly Uchiha Obito.

Uchiha Rei quickly weighed his options and made a decision in an instant. He knew that Uchiha Itachi had the Genjutsu mark on him, so as long as Itachi was within the village, Rei could sense and find him at any time. Obito, however, was different. He possessed the "Kamui," an almost unsolvable spatial pupil technique, allowing him to freely traverse between alternate dimensions and reality. If he missed this opportunity, it would likely be difficult to find his trace again.

Therefore, Uchiha Rei immediately settled Tsunade and Shizune, put on his mask, and quietly headed towards the Uchiha clan compound.

Upon arriving at the clan's location, the air was already filled with the smell of blood.

Uchiha Obito had just finished a battle with Root, and the ground was covered with charred corpses.

Among those figures with their eyes wide open in death, the majority were Root ninjas, clearly indicating that the battle had been exceptionally fierce.

Uchiha Rei hid in the shadows, silently following behind Obito. With his strength, defeating Obito wouldn't be difficult, but "keeping" Uchiha Obito would be quite challenging.

Obito's Kamui ability was simply too bizarre. The timing of the engagement was almost entirely dictated by Obito.

So, he changed his strategy.

Impersonate Obito and first rescue Uchiha Izumi.

As long as he could provoke Obito's arrogant and conceited heart, stir up his competitiveness and stubbornness, he would definitely not leave easily.

When he rescued Uchiha Izumi from the chains, Uchiha Rei stood on a high branch, watching the hesitant figure not far away.

As expected, Obito quickly made his move, and the chains roared out. However, the next second, his expression changed drastically.

The attack passed through Uchiha Rei's body.

"...?"

"Kamui?" Obito's pupils contracted slightly, and a trace of unease rose in his heart. He fiercely launched a second attack, but it still missed.

It felt like swatting at air, with no sense of substance.

"Something's wrong..."

Obito's nerves instantly tensed.

Obito calmly retreated, entering the intangible state again.

But in that brief exchange of offense and defense, Uchiha Izumi clung to Uchiha Rei with all her might. Her body trembled slightly, her face pale, her tear mole appearing even more fragile and alluring amidst her tears. Her cheek rested against Rei's chest, still warm from her recent crying, soft and damp, her breaths even fluttering with his heartbeat. Her fingers unconsciously clenched his collar tightly, as if it were the only anchor to a path of survival.

The soft body before him had long lost its earlier pride, replaced by an almost instinctive reliance. Izumi's arms wrapped tightly around Rei, as if trying to bury herself entirely within his chest. Her fingers trembled slightly several times, but she couldn't bring herself to let go.

Uchiha Rei frowned.

"Women are truly troublesome."

In the suffocating silence, Obito materialized from Kamui Space. He hadn't left after all, choosing a position where Uchiha Rei was most vulnerable.

Behind him!

A hand pierced through the void, accurately striking Rei's shoulder, intending to instantly pull him into Kamui Space.

"This time, you can't escape."

Obito's gaze was as cold as dead water.

However!

He missed again.

The touch was like grasping at clouds, like catching frost, with no substance.

Obito's expression finally turned serious. He suddenly realized that the person before him not only possessed spatial abilities similar to "Kamui" but was even more precise and agile than him.

In a short period, he couldn't defeat him, nor could he take him away.

He began to have a headache.

Kamui was his trump card, his reliance for dominating the Ninja World. But now, he felt like he was confronting another "him," someone who could also disappear into nothingness and manipulate space.

"Who exactly are you?" Obito asked, a hint of uncertainty in his tone for the first time.

Uchiha Rei stood on the treetop, the person in his arms still clinging to him tightly. He looked down at Obito, his voice as calm as the wind, yet carrying an inexplicable pressure:

"I am Obito."

"A dead hero of Konoha."

Obito phased out again, reappearing from Kamui Space and landing back on the ground, silently widening the distance between himself and Uchiha Rei.

That sentence, "I am Obito."

Like a blunt knife, it was slowly slicing away at his remaining sanity.

He didn't want to hear it, didn't want to think about it, yet in the scene before him, he saw an Illusionary Shadow of the past.

The next moment, Obito vanished, entering Kamui Space once more, preparing to launch his second assault.

Since a single attack couldn't shake the Masked Man's "Kamui," he decided to try a different approach. He made a cold resolve in his heart.

He could have left.

He should have left.

But when Obito saw that ninja, and the woman beside him, he didn't want to go.

Obito remembered Rin. The young girl he had held, but ultimately lost.

At that moment, he almost mistook Uchiha Izumi in the other person's arms for the Nohara Rin he deeply loved.

Uchiha Izumi, however, hadn't let go. Instead, she held on tighter. She buried herself in Uchiha Rei's embrace, her cheek pressed against his chest, rubbing gently as if confirming something, or perhaps seeking warmth.

That lingering, reluctant gesture was like a barb driven into Obito's heart, cruelly overlaying the past with the present.

This sudden intimacy pierced his nerves, causing his rage to erupt completely. Watching the scene of them clinging to each other, he felt only humiliation, hatred, jealousy, and unwillingness churning within him.

It was as if the one being held so tightly wasn't Uchiha Izumi, but Rin.

And the man holding Rin was the Illusionary Shadow he most wanted to tear apart.

"It's time to end this," he said, his voice icy.

Re-entering Kamui Space, Obito silently appeared around Uchiha Rei.

A roar exploded, and a dazzling red light suddenly flashed.

Countless Explosive Tags inscribed with seals flew out from all directions, like falling maple leaves in the autumn wind, layering and surrounding the space around Uchiha Rei.

These weren't ordinary Explosive Tags. They had been personally modified by him. Once activated, they would detonate continuously, forming an unavoidable chain of bombardments like waves. The impact of each explosion seemed to tear the entire space apart, turning it into a fiery inferno.

"Since single attacks are ineffective..."

"Then I'll let you taste... a continuously burning hell."

The scorching flames and deafening roars almost drowned out the entire field of vision. But at the center of this storm of light and fire.

Uchiha Izumi was terrified. She thought of the Nine-Tails' attack, and instead, she held on even tighter, as if entrusting her entire heart to Uchiha Rei.

Her body trembled slightly, her cheek pressed against Uchiha Rei's chest, as if saying: I won't let go, no matter the sea of fire or the mountain of blades.

Uchiha Rei, however, remained calm. The eyes beneath his mask were as deep and serene as an abyss. He didn't dodge; the flames burned freely around him.

The continuous explosions were as brilliant as fireworks. They illuminated the blush on Uchiha Izumi's face.

Izumi raised her face in his arms, wanting to get closer. The distance between her lips and his mask was less than an inch.

She looked up at him, her eyes holding a hint of intoxication and a silent plea.

Uchiha Rei tilted his head slightly, deliberately avoiding her. Now was not the time; women would only cause trouble.

Izumi, however, paid no mind. Instead, her face flushed red as she pressed closer, her arms wrapping around him with a strength that seemed to want to intertwine herself with his very bones and blood.

Amidst the flames, this scene appeared unspeakably tender, yet blindingly so.

Obito stood in the distance, his masked face flushed with heat.

His Explosive Tag bombardment had been utterly ineffective, and the entanglement of the man and woman was like needles piercing his eyes.

"Today, he's not leaving!"