In Free Fighting, experienced boxers often chose to take a punch from their opponent.
Not because they were careless, but to feel their opponent's true strength. Only by taking a hit could they judge the rhythm and speed of the other person's punches.
Uchiha Rei was the same. In his earlier clash with Uchiha Obito, he had deliberately entered Kamui Space.
None of this was accidental. It had all been planned.
After Rei entered Kamui Space, he learned two crucial things.
The first piece of information.
Once he was sucked into Kamui Space, he could use Yellow Springs Space as a stepping stone to return to the real world.
More importantly, moving between Yellow Springs Space and Kamui Space consumed very little chakra.
Uchiha Obito could also break through Kaguya's dimensions, but it cost him a great deal of chakra.
This showed that Kaguya's Yomotsu Hirasaka was an entire dimension above Kamui.
But Yellow Springs Space and Kamui Space were on equal footing.
This also meant that if Uchiha Rei could freely enter and leave Kamui Space,
then Uchiha Obito could do the same in reverse and escape Yellow Springs Space.
If he rashly trapped Obito in Yellow Springs Space, all his effort would be wasted.
After entering Kamui Space, Uchiha Rei felt even more confident about his next move.
Unlike Rei, however, Uchiha Obito felt shaken.
He stared blankly as the Masked Man vanished from Kamui Space, then appeared in front of him a moment later. In that instant, the confidence he had placed in his ability to Dominate Space was utterly shattered.
Kamui didn't belong to him alone.
All his past strategies had been designed around one final goal: sucking his opponent into Kamui Space. That was his Divine Realm, the absolute space where he controlled everything.
No matter how troublesome his opponent was, once he sent them there, he could win without a fight. It might take two months, or it might take just three days.
But this time was different.
The Masked Man, who called himself "Uchiha Obito," had stepped out of Kamui Space in a mere instant, without the slightest hesitation.
His manner wasn't that of someone escaping. It was more like he was inspecting the place.
He stood before Obito like a god.
This guy... A strange unease rose in Obito's heart.
He looked at the other man's mask, then at the exposed left eye. Suddenly, he shuddered.
Could that eye... be the one I gave Kakashi all those years ago?
Obito's fists clenched silently.
It might actually be possible.
The man before him had one eye covered and the other exposed.
Perhaps his Sharingan had come from Kakashi Hatake—the gift Obito himself had once given his friend.
Kakashi... that useless fool. He couldn't even protect his friend's eye.
Obito's teeth clenched, and his mind seemed to return to that day once again.
The moment Rin died.
Kakashi had failed to protect Rin, and he had failed to protect that Eye of Promise.
If... that really is the same eye...
Who was this man?
Obito couldn't be sure, but he knew there was only one way to find out.
He had to see the shape of the other man's Mangekyō Sharingan.
Every Mangekyō's pattern was unique. Few people knew what Obito's looked like. It was his greatest secret.
If I can force him to activate his Mangekyō, I'll know who he is...
But the man was extremely cautious. Despite coming close to death several times during the battle, he had never revealed his Mangekyō.
I have to... find a way to enter Kamui Space with him again.
If the other man escaped Kamui again, he would definitely use his Mangekyō.
But how can I pull him in again?
How could he make the other man enter Kamui Space again? If he had succeeded the first time thanks to his teacher's help, he would have to find a completely new way now.
If the other man really was Uchiha Obito, he would have the same weakness Obito did.
If Obito could force him to reveal that weakness, he might be able to lure him back into Kamui.
He had to get him back there. He had to make him fall into Kamui again!
"You're not Uchiha Obito."
The moment Obito finished speaking, his body turned intangible and he appeared before Uchiha Rei in an instant, moving like a beast unleashed as he brought his blade down in a vicious strike!
But Uchiha Rei dodged the slash with casual ease. Obito had poured all his strength into that blow. Even the ground behind Rei was cleaved into a ditch several meters deep, and dust billowed through the air—a testament to the blow's ferocity and Obito's fury.
Yet Rei seemed to have seen its trajectory in advance and came away without a scratch.
"Bang!" Obito swung his blade in a horizontal sweep, his momentum unstoppable, and slashed nine waves of sword energy toward Uchiha Rei.
But as the nine waves neared Rei, they seemed to pass through empty air, going straight through his body without making contact.
What a disgusting ability. Uchiha Obito thought to himself, the corner of his eye twitching slightly.
He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so helpless in battle. His opponent's ability was stranger than anything he could have imagined—more troublesome even than that of his teacher, Minato Namikaze!
This time, Obito didn't use Wood Style. He quickly formed Hand Seals, drawing a dragon's breath into his throat. Scorching chakra gathered there before he suddenly spewed it out!
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Flames formed into a massive sphere, trailing fire as it fell like a meteor and roared toward Uchiha Rei. Waves of fire surged forth, as if ready to devour everything.
Unfortunately, Uchiha Rei simply swung his blade, cleaving the Great Fireball into fragments of flame. The blaze burst into a shower of sparks, like flowers scattering from the sky, illuminating the space around them.
And it was amid those interwoven flames that a blurry figure slowly appeared.
Her short brown hair fluttered in the breeze, a few loose strands brushing across her forehead. Her deep brown eyes were clear and gentle, as if filled with all the tenderness in the world.
The two pale purple markings on her cheeks softened as she smiled, like wisteria petals quietly unfolding. She was like a bluebell swaying gently in the firelight after the rain.
Nohara Rin.
She had appeared.
In the flames, like a dream.
"Please, stop fighting..." Her voice was so gentle it seemed able to pierce steel and touch the heart.
In that moment, it was as though time had turned back and everything had returned to the past. The purest longing of Obito's youth, his warmest bond, was being forced to resurface.
This wasn't a simple illusion. It was a sophisticated Genjutsu blending memories with reality. Her voice, expression, tone, every detail—even the fluctuations of her emotions—had been recreated with such precision that it was almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
Uchiha Rei sneered inwardly. He's trying to use Genjutsu on me? Even Uchiha Itachi's Tsukuyomi couldn't shake me.
But he gave nothing away. Instead, he pretended to be mentally shaken, furrowing his brow and letting his gaze grow unfocused, as if he had already fallen into Rin's illusion.
The fury in Obito's eyes burned even brighter. He didn't want the Genjutsu to actually work on his opponent. Because that would mean the Masked Man before him really cared about Rin—perhaps even more than Obito did.
Rin should belong to me alone!
"If you can be shaken, then she can draw you into my space, too."
Obito's eyes flashed coldly. Rin approached Uchiha Rei with a smile, her gaze as gentle as water and her footsteps silent. The next instant, she suddenly reached out with her right hand and gripped Uchiha Rei's arm tightly!
"Now!"
A moment later, Kamui activated.
A vortex of space-time appeared abruptly, like an invisible abyss, and swallowed them both in an instant.
Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Rei entered Kamui Space together.
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