"Mangekyō Sharingan."
Uchiha Gen stared straight at the eye beneath Obito's mask. His face showed "three parts surprise, three parts confusion, and four parts wariness"—his emotions perfectly layered. He was putting on an Oscar-worthy performance.
"You can control Tailed Beasts, too! You were behind the Night of the Nine-Tails, weren't you? You wouldn't happen to be..."
"That's right. It was I."
Obito Uchiha nodded, affecting a world-weary air.
"I never expected a descendant of the Uchiha to remember me after all these decades.
Even more surprising, someone in the clan has awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan."
"So it really was you, evil Senju Tobirama!"
Uchiha Gen planted one hand on his hip, striking the classic pose of the pint-sized detective from Death Note: "There's only one truth!"
"I suspected as much when I discovered Madara's body had disappeared from the village.
You old Tobirama, coveting the power of the Sharingan—you turned yourself into this inhuman monster through human experimentation, didn't you?"
Obito was stunned by Uchiha Gen's utterly confident "deduction." For a moment, he was at a loss for words.
"See? I was right, wasn't I?"
"I am Uchiha Madara!"
Obito was growing annoyed, but he kept his emotions in check, doing his best to feign the melancholy of a man forgotten by the world.
"Has no one in the clan even mentioned me anymore? Hah, Konoha."
"You're really Uchiha Madara? One Mangekyō Sharingan isn't enough to convince me. What proof do you have that you're Uchiha Madara?"
Uchiha Gen dropped his earlier theatrical act. He narrowed his eyes like a fox and sized Obito up, as if trying to see through his mask and black robes.
He was spouting nonsense to distract me and test me. What a cunning brat!
Obito cursed inwardly. Recalling Uchiha Madara's manner of speaking and acting, he tilted his head slightly and looked down at Uchiha Gen with disdain. A cold snort came from deep in his throat.
"Believe what you want. I, Uchiha Madara, have never explained myself to anyone!"
"That's better. That line actually sounds a bit like Madara. Though you're so arrogantly cliché—you've got the look, but none of Madara's spirit!"
Uchiha Gen clapped, his eyes full of mockery and a sneer on his lips.
"Your acting is stiff and overdone. And that's not even the worst part. You're cosplaying Uchiha Madara, but you didn't even bother to learn about his life?
Madara's beloved younger brother died at Senju Tobirama's hands. I mentioned Senju Tobirama, even called you Senju Tobirama, and you didn't react at all?
You fail. Utterly!"
Watching Uchiha Gen continue to critique him, Obito could no longer hold back his anger and murderous intent. He glared viciously at Uchiha Gen.
[Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique]
Metal spikes appeared out of thin air, blotting out the sky like a torrential downpour as they plunged toward Uchiha Gen.
In the Mental Space, genjutsu—or Yin Release—was the only way to harm an enemy.
As it happened, every Sharingan wielder was an expert in this field, and Uchiha Gen was no exception.
[Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change]
Uchiha Gen treated the spikes that could damage his spirit as if they were nothing and used this genjutsu to reflect them.
The number of spikes doubled. They turned back along their original path and shot toward Obito, who used Mirror Heaven and Earth Change as well.
I reflect your reflection of my reflection.
They both had the same ancestor, and both their Sharingan and genjutsu came from the same source. Neither could break the stalemate.
At last, Obito couldn't stand this childish back-and-forth any longer and changed tactics first.
"Boy, let me show you what a real fight in the Mental Space looks like!"
Though Uchiha Gen had already stripped away his "Madara" disguise, Obito still did his best to maintain his "Madara" persona.
Slash!
Obito suddenly pulled a long blade from his own "body" and brought it down on Uchiha Gen. The blade twisted and turned, and a spray of blood burst from Uchiha Gen's neck.
Getting your throat cut in the Mental Space wouldn't kill you, of course. But each injury to the spirit took its toll, and healing it required high-quality Yin Release Chakra, such as Eye Power.
"Die!"
The blade in Obito's hand flashed. In an instant, his strikes rained down in a dense flurry. Uchiha Gen did his best to dodge and counterattack, but he still couldn't avoid them all. Several more cuts appeared on his body.
"So this is what it feels like..."
Though he was on the defensive, Uchiha Gen remained calm. As he used his Eye Power to repair his spirit, he focused on the sensation of Obito's weapon cutting through it.
"I get it!" After Obito cut him yet again, Uchiha Gen suddenly cried out and burst into laughter.
"What do you get?"
Obito Uchiha's voice was cold and vicious. His long blade attacked Uchiha Gen relentlessly, like a pile driver, each strike aimed at inflicting the most damage possible.
Clang, clang, clang, clang—
For the first time, sharp, rapid metallic clanging rang through the enclosed Mental Space.
Uchiha Gen blocked Obito's attack with a crooked, twisted fire poker that appeared out of thin air, then burst into laughter.
"Ahahahaha!
The secret of Yin Release is to create form from nothing!
By using your will to give high-quality Yin Release Chakra concepts like 'hardness,' 'sharpness,' and 'blade-shaped,' you can create the corresponding forms."
Back then, Kaido had helped Luffy level up into the Sun God with three swings of his club.
Today, it took me thirty slashes from Obito just to grasp Yin Release. My talent really can't compare to a protagonist who's basically cheating!
Uchiha Gen's eyes gradually burned brighter as he looked at Obito.
He finally understood one thing:
The most precious thing about Obito wasn't his Kamui eye or his half-body of Hashirama Cells. It was the knowledge and instruction he'd received from Uchiha Madara.
That knowledge included Yin-Yang Release, the Uchiha's various secret techniques, and even the Six Paths Ten-Tails Coffin Seal.
So, at that moment, Uchiha Gen made a bold decision.
Uchiha Gen's original plan had been to use the permanent Kotoamatsukami he had replicated on Karatachi Yagura. Once Yagura became Mizukage, Kirigakure—one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages—would fall into his hands.
Now, he had changed his mind.
He closed his right eye, then covered his left with one hand. The black Tomoe began spinning rapidly, transforming into the Mangekyō's shuriken shape as an overwhelmingly powerful Eye Power began to build.
[Kotoamatsukami]
More than ten years of cooldown and dozens of times the Eye Power consumption of ordinary ocular techniques—those were the price for a miraculous power that could permanently change another person's will and turn them into his puppet.
"What are you doing?"
Realizing something was wrong, Obito immediately hurled the long blade in his hand, but it was too late.
Because they were in the Mental Space, Uchiha Gen didn't even need to meet Obito's eyes to activate Kotoamatsukami. He only had to look at Obito's spirit.
A torrent of Eye Power surged forth like a mighty river, transforming into a strange, twisted shadow that instantly linked itself to Obito's spirit.
Kotoamatsukami had activated successfully.
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