Obito's Probing

Hui and Sasuke were on their way home.

Upon reaching the Uchiha Compound and seeing that no one else was around, Sasuke finally couldn't hold back his complaints, kicking a pebble on the roadside.

"Hui, I guarantee you, Iruka-sensei definitely didn't write that test. There was so much stuff we haven't even learned yet—is it really possible for anyone to score above an 80?"

Hui found this strange; in truth, he had felt bored during the exam and had been practicing his Four-Dimensional Perception while taking it.

Hui figured that must have been the reason he got some questions wrong.

However, as a side effect, he had roughly gauged everyone's scores in the class. It seemed Naruto had even scored around an 85.

Uh, he'd better not tell Sasuke; he had a feeling that would lead to major trouble.

Just as Hui was about to comfort Sasuke, he perceived a phenomenon that left him deeply shocked.

Within his Four-Dimensional Perception, it appeared that a small, independent space parallel to the main three-dimensional world was moving in their direction.

It was clearly headed straight for him and Sasuke.

"Sasuke, run! Head toward my house!" Hui shoved Sasuke away.

Sasuke was pushed over ten meters by Hui's chakra-infused hand; thanks to Hui's precise control, he only ended up looking slightly disheveled.

Sasuke was still dazed as he flew through the air—what on earth had just happened?

By the time he finally managed to stop, he realized the gravity of the situation.

Sasuke urgently looked up toward Hui's position, only to witness a truly bizarre sight.

A hand clad in a black glove emerged from thin air, reaching toward Hui's back.

With his back to the danger, Hui suddenly ducked as if he had foreseen it.

The moment his hand touched the ground, he transitioned from a lunge into a roll, his ninja boots carving a semi-circular mark in the dust.

As that eerie hand grazed the tips of his hair, Hui had already completed a clean backflip and was now standing in a combat stance, facing the "severed arm" suspended in mid-air.

Even though he wasn't the one facing that hand, Sasuke felt cold sweat drenching his entire body.

Move... move, you idiot! This damn body, just move!!!

Sasuke's hands flew through seals, his movements driven entirely by the muscle memory from his recent training.

[Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique]!

A massive fireball, wreathed in scorching heat, streaked past Hui's head, but it passed straight through that eerie hand before slamming into the wall behind it.

Boom!

The sound of the massive explosion echoed through the empty street.

Sasuke stared at the scene, stunned.

Why? I aimed so precisely; it's impossible that I missed!

I clearly saw it hit that hand!

Hui remained calm, asking in a low voice, "Who are you?"

The suspended arm seemed to grow violently, and in less than a second, a masked man appeared before Sasuke and Hui.

Obito was bewildered. How had this brat known he was coming in advance? He hadn't even emerged from the [Kamui] dimension yet.

He looked down at his right hand and, ignoring Hui's question, asked directly in the voice of Uchiha Madara: "Kid, how did you know beforehand?"

Hui flashed a wide, fake smile: "Guess. Also, you haven't answered my question yet."

"Hmph, ignorant brat."

Within the holes of the strange mask, that single eye suddenly shifted, and three black tomoe slowly rotated within the blood-red iris—the genjutsu of the Sharingan had been activated.

Obito had no intention of wasting words; against a brat, using genjutsu to take direct control was the most efficient method.

[Genjutsu: Sharingan]

However, the expected mental erosion never occurred. Hui remained standing in place, his dark eyes as calm as ever, even carrying a faint trace of mockery.

"How is this possible?!" Obito's brow furrowed beneath his mask. The Sharingan's genjutsu had actually failed?

In that split second of hesitation, Sasuke had already rushed to Hui's side, gripping a Kunai tightly as he glared at the enemy.

Though his breathing was slightly ragged, his gaze was exceptionally firm.

"Didn't I tell you to run? This guy is dangerous!" Hui hissed, his eyes locked onto Obito, not even sparing a glance for Sasuke.

Hui's voice sounded strange, but Sasuke didn't notice; his eyes were fixed unblinkingly on the masked man.

"Are you kidding me! How could I leave you here alone!" Sasuke gritted his teeth, his knuckles turning white from the pressure.

Although he tried his best to remain composed, his slightly trembling arms betrayed his inner tension.

This was... the first time facing a real enemy...

Sasuke's throat tightened, his heart pounding violently.

Yet Hui was terrifyingly calm, as if he were already accustomed to such standoffs; the disparity made him feel unwilling to accept it.

The genjutsu hadn't worked because of the necklace around his neck.

The real Hui, in fact, had long since silently relocated to a rooftop on the side, observing the battle from a high vantage point.

What remained in his original spot was merely an illusionary projection created by a pre-set ninjutsu stored within his necklace.

At this moment, Hui was sweating for Sasuke.

You idiot Sasuke! Why did you come back!

The reason Obito had not discovered this was that he was not particularly skilled in genjutsu.

However, being a Mangekyou user, it was only a matter of time before he realized the truth.

Obito's scarlet Sharingan narrowed slightly, and a cold sneer curled the corners of his lips beneath the mask.

"Heh... so that's how it is. Just an illusion?"

He had seen through Hui's ruse, yet he feigned ignorance. While rapidly weaving hand seals, he asked in a low, gravelly voice, "Kid, you've got some skill... how did you break my genjutsu?"

[Shadow Clone Technique]

As for the real Obito, the moment he finished his hand seals, his right Mangekyou Sharingan rotated slightly.

[Kamui]

Space twisted, and his figure vanished into thin air without a sound, as if sucked into a vortex.

"Damn it!" Sasuke watched the three enemies charging toward him, his heart hammering against his ribs, his palms slick with cold sweat.

But he forced himself to stay calm, his hands moving in a blur to weave seals.

[Shadow Clone Technique]!

"Poof! Poof!" Two clouds of white smoke exploded, and two clones appeared at his sides, barely managing to form a defensive stance against Obito's shadow clones.

"You're a member of the Uchiha clan, aren't you?" Sasuke growled through gritted teeth, his eyes filled with both fury and confusion.

"Why would you lay a hand on your own kin?!"

However, Obito's shadow clones did not respond, merely charging forward in silence, their movements sharp yet deliberately holding back any killing intent.

As fists and feet clashed, Sasuke barely managed to parry, but the opponent's strength was clearly far superior to his own; every collision left his arms numb.

Obito naturally would not harm Sasuke; after all, this was something he had promised Itachi.

On the rooftop where Hui stood, Obito was once again attempting to drag Hui into [Kamui].

But Hui seemed to anticipate Obito's movements; without a moment's hesitation, he leaped, plummeting toward the street below as Obito's fingertips grazed his afterimage.

Obito's figure fully materialized, his pupils contracting sharply beneath the mask.

He dodged it again?!

This was definitely not a coincidence. Once might have been luck... but this kid was clearly able to precisely predict the exact moment he activated [Kamui]!

Can he see me? No, that's impossible... unless?

An absurd yet only logical hypothesis surfaced in Obito's mind: Precognition?!

The thought struck like a thunderclap, causing his chakra to fluctuate violently for a split second.

"Ugh! Ugh—"

A muffled sound of struggling came from below. Obito's shadow clone had easily subdued Sasuke, the boy's neck gripped by a hand like an iron vice, leaving him dangling in mid-air.

Despite his legs kicking frantically, all resistance was futile in the face of such absolute power.

"Kid." Obito's true body stood in the shadows, his voice sounding even more sinister through the filter of his mask.

"If you keep hiding, your friend's life will..."

The shadow clone tightened its fingers in coordination, and Sasuke immediately struggled for breath, his face flushing red as his eyes unconsciously activated a single tomoe.

In truth, Sasuke had a little secret: he had already awakened the Sharingan when he used the secret medicine to enhance his chakra last time.

But a mere single-tomoe Sharingan was completely useless in the current situation.

Hui regretted not being more decisive earlier; now, he had no choice but to take a risk.

It wasn't that Hui didn't care about his companion, but his combat experience was too shallow, and he was relying entirely on instinct—perhaps with some help from Yuki.

"Kid, are you still holding out? Then say goodbye to your friend."

Obito's voice was laced with icy killing intent, and the kunai in his hand glinted with a chilling light.

His movements appeared ruthless, but in reality, he was deliberately slowing down by half a beat.

Using such a despicable method was a last resort; he was still suspicious that Hui had awakened a Mangekyou Sharingan capable of seeing the future, as that was the only logical explanation.

[Space Leap]!

Hui used the kunai in his hand to shatter Obito's shadow clone.

Sasuke collapsed onto the ground in a heap, clutching his throat and coughing violently.

"Did you get him?" Sasuke asked, gasping for air, his Sharingan already deactivated.

Hui remained silent, for he noticed that the space had quickly moved away from them after a brief moment of stagnation.

Because at that moment, a squad from the Uchiha Police Force had arrived; their response had been quite fast, but the battle itself had been far too brief.

If the battle had dragged on for another five seconds, Hui would have performed the hand seals for a shadow clone and used the [Flame Explosion Technique] to teleport directly into Obito's [Kamui].

But all of this was interrupted by the arrival of the Police Force.

In the distant forest, space suddenly twisted and swirled.

Obito appeared, without a single scratch on him.

"Predicting the future?... Space-time ninjutsu?..." He chuckled softly.

"Uchiha Hui... you are more interesting than I imagined. Is it a Mangekyou?"

Although this kidnapping had ended hastily, he had already obtained more important intelligence: there was a massive problem with Chuanhe's family.

Itachi was right; Chuanhe was quite dangerous.

If even his son was this dangerous, could he really still be considered a spy?

"I need intelligence... Itachi, I will leave the probing to you."

At this moment, Obito no longer held any expectations for Itachi's actions, but in order to gain more information, he chose to conceal everything that happened today and provide Itachi with only partial intelligence.

He would let these people in Konoha continue to sink into the abyss of misunderstanding; only then could Obito obtain what he desired.

As for how Itachi would react if he knew he had used Sasuke to threaten others? He did not care at all—if anything, it would be better if he knew.

Chuanhe and his family would be the greatest stumbling blocks in his plan.

"Rin, wait for me!"