"So that's how it is..."
Kakashi fell silent, standing where he was as he reflected on his father.
Senya picked up the Forehead Protector Kakashi had just tossed aside and handed it to him.
"Look at your left eye."
Kakashi took the Forehead Protector. Using the moonlight, he held it up and looked at his left eye in its reflection.
"Th-this is!"
The Three-Tomoe in his left eye had transformed into the shape of a spiral shuriken. Kakashi's pupil trembled.
"That's right. For some reason, you awakened our Uchiha Mangekyō. But why did yours awaken so naturally? Had you awakened it before?"
Senya posed another question for Kakashi, waiting for him to work out the answer that would shock him.
Kakashi immediately shook his head, rejecting Senya's claim.
"Impossible. When Obito entrusted his Sharingan to me, it had two tomoe. Later, Rin... It was only after Rin died that it became Three-Tomoe."
Pain surfaced on Kakashi's face as he remembered.
But Senya, standing nearby, rejected Kakashi's denial.
"You're wrong, Kakashi. The Sharingan can evolve only when the Uchiha Clan's members experience extreme sorrow, causing their brains to release a special kind of chakra. You don't have Uchiha blood, so your Sharingan should have remained at two tomoe forever. But there's another possibility..."
"What other possibility?!"
Kakashi made no effort to hide the urgency in his voice. This was the will Obito had entrusted to him. He couldn't afford to make a mistake!
Senya looked at Kakashi meaningfully, intending to lead him step by step toward the ultimate conclusion.
"In theory, if Obito Uchiha had been near you at the time, and the same event had driven both of you to the depths of despair, then when Obito awakened his Mangekyō, the chakra released by that awakening might have connected with your left eye. At the same time, your shared grief would have put both your chakra and emotions in an extreme state. Obito's released chakra would have acted as a seed in your brain. As your Sharingan tried to evolve into a Mangekyō, it would have drained your chakra, allowing you and Obito to awaken the Mangekyō at the same time."
"If I'm right, you passed out on the spot, didn't you?"
Kakashi stared at Senya in disbelief, a rush of complicated emotions flooding his heart—excitement, confusion, and more.
Obito might still be alive! But if he was, why hadn't he returned to Konoha? What had happened after that?
Just as Kakashi was still thinking it over, Senya suddenly sensed something. He shoved Kakashi aside and swiftly formed Hand Seals.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
"Clang!"
A huge Fuma Shuriken shot out of the woods and embedded itself in Senya's Earth Wall.
A figure slowly emerged from the trees. A pair of scarlet Sharingan appeared before Senya and Kakashi, beneath an orange-red, tiger-striped, single-eyed mask.
"As expected of the Uchiha Vice Clan Head. Looks like you have some skill."
The Masked Man's voice was cold, edged with mockery.
The intruder's sudden appearance had disrupted Senya's plan. But that was fine. With the Masked Man here, he might be able to take the other man's Hashirama Cells.
After all, Senya knew the man before him, who was playing at being mysterious, was none other than Obito. He had attacked Senya now either because Senya and Kakashi were close to figuring out that Obito was alive, or because Senya had interfered with his plan to contact Danzo and Itachi about the Uchiha Clan's massacre, and he wanted to eliminate him.
None of that mattered, though. Senya was still no match for Uchiha Madara or Hashirama Senju at their peaks, but against someone like Obito, who was at the pinnacle of Kage Level, Senya's greatly enhanced ocular power made victory easy. What's more, his ocular techniques, Word Spirit and Illusion Weapon, were simply too overpowered.
Obito also had the drawback of possessing only one Mangekyō ability: he could phase through attacks to evade them, but only for five minutes at a time. If Senya wanted to capture him here, he could, but it would cost too much ocular power—and there was no need. The "plot" still needed this guy to drive it forward.
Senya stepped forward and released the "Seal" on his left wrist. Qianyue appeared, and he gripped it in his left hand.
On the night he awakened his Mangekyō, Senya had fused the spirit weapon Qianyue with the chakra-forged long saber. He had done so with his Illusion Weapon technique, allowing Qianyue to transform into whatever shape he needed.
He drew Qianyue with his right hand. Its blade was now a shadowy black, glinting coldly.
"I don't know where you got that Sharingan, but attacking me takes some nerve."
In Senya's eye, three evenly spaced, thick black lines stretched from the pupil's center to its edge, linked together by a black circle.
He would go all out and defeat his opponent. Unlike those characters in anime who dragged out fights and wasted their strength, Senya knew that a ninja's best bet was to end things quickly.
"What?! You awakened the Mangekyō!"
The Masked Man's voice was filled with shock.
He swiftly drew the Ninja Blade on his back. At the same time, the Three-Tomoe in his eye spun rapidly, transforming into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Obito began cursing the White Zetsu he had killed not long ago. The Uchiha Vice Clan Head had awakened the Mangekyō! How had White Zetsu failed to uncover such important information? What had he been doing? All he ever thought about was "dung"! Though Obito could use his Hashirama Cells to restore his ocular power, he still had only one ability. Against a complete pair of Mangekyō, there was no way he could take his opponent down quickly.
That meant his assassination attempt on Senya was doomed to fail—and would put Senya on guard against him.
Worst of all, this impressive-looking man had already guessed that he might still be alive! Damn it! And he couldn't kill Senya!
No, he had to leave at once. If he kept this up, and it turned out the Uchiha Clan had another Mangekyō wielder, he'd be done for.
Space began to distort around the eye of the Masked Man's right side.
"Hmph. I'll let you off this time. Next time we meet, you, Uchiha Senya, will die!"
After delivering his threat, Obito prepared to slip away.
"Wait! Why do you have Obito's eye? What did you do to him?!"
The moment Kakashi noticed the Mangekyō in the Masked Man's eye, he recognized that its pattern was identical to the one in his own left eye!
That meant Obito might be in the man's hands! If his last eye had been taken, there was little chance he was still alive.
The Masked Man looked at Kakashi. His expression beneath the mask was complicated, but he still answered coldly.
"Obito... That man is already dead."
!!!
Kakashi charged at the Masked Man, no longer able to stay calm. The last shred of hope in his heart had been snuffed out. He didn't know what to believe anymore. He only wanted to kill the "Masked Man" before him and avenge Obito!
He lunged forward, blue Lightning Release Chakra gathering in his right hand. The high concentration of lightning chakra coalesced into a visible mass, as if ten thousand birds were chirping at once!
"Chirp...!"
"You bastard! You'll pay for what you did to Obito!"
"Chidori!"
The Masked Man let out a cold snort.
"How foolish. It won't work."
Obito was already phasing through reality and preparing to leave. The attack couldn't possibly hurt him.
At that moment, Senya drew Qianyue beside him and pointed its blade at the Masked Man, watching him with an amused expression.
"Transform into shackles and bind him, Qianyue."
The two ocular techniques, Word Spirit and Illusion Weapon, activated at the same time!
Before you continue