Obito's Tragic State, Seeking Lodging

Uchiha Senya's words completely shattered Obito's composure, sending him into an instant frenzy.

Countless black branches erupted wildly from Obito's right shoulder, spiraling and intertwining as they grew unchecked, demolishing the majority of Uchiha Senya's house in a heartbeat and leaving nothing but a scene of devastation.

Uchiha Senya grabbed Kakashi by the back of his collar and retreated, summoning "Qianyue" with his right hand once more as the Mangekyou Sharingan manifested in his eyes.

"Burn to nothingness, Qianyue—Flowing Blade Like Fire!"

He swung Qianyue diagonally downward, the blade instantly erupting with blue firelight. White-blue flames coated the steel, and as Uchiha Senya slashed, a blade of twisted, swirling white-blue fire surged toward the black wood ahead.

The black wood was incinerated by the strike in an instant.

Uchiha Senya looked at his once-intact home, now reduced to ruins, and felt a slight headache; still, it was a minor issue, nothing to dwell on.

He tossed Kakashi onto the ground nearby.

Cold sweat trickled down Kakashi's temple; it was fortunate he had been polite upon arrival, otherwise, if he had angered Uchiha Senya into attacking, he would have at least ended up severely wounded.

"Has Obito... already escaped?"

Kakashi asked tentatively, feeling uncertain.

Uchiha Senya sheathed Qianyue and turned to leave.

"He slipped away while I was switching ocular techniques, and he destroyed my house in the process. I'll deal with him next time. You should head back; I still need to find a place to stay for the night."

Kakashi turned to look at the ruins, mentally calculating the remaining assets of the Hatake Clan. There was still plenty left; he would compensate Uchiha Senya with 5 million ryo in a few days so he could rebuild a larger courtyard. After all, Kakashi had learned quite a lot from Uchiha Senya.

He had even uncovered the truth about his father, though these matters had to remain buried deep within his heart until the time was right.

Kakashi retied his forehead protector and departed.

Faint orange candlelight illuminated the brown rock walls. Deep within the cavern, Obito sat slumped against the stone, gasping for air.

His right arm had been severed and discarded due to the rampage of the Hashirama Cells.

"Black Zetsu, bring a White Zetsu here immediately. Accelerate the cultivation of Tobi."

Enduring the agony, Obito issued the new command to Black Zetsu.

Black Zetsu emerged from the ground, observing Obito's wretched state with a hint of confusion.

"Who could have wounded you like this? It's even worse than the injuries Minato Namikaze inflicted upon you back then."

At this moment, blood-red tears were still streaming from Obito's right eye. To escape, Obito had overdrawn his ocular power and chakra, using Kamui to travel directly from Konoha to this secret base in the Land of Water.

While the Hashirama Cells could replenish ocular power, it took time. Furthermore, the loss of an arm had disrupted his internal chakra circulation, causing his energy to become chaotic.

The emotional turmoil and physical trauma kept Obito in constant agony, and he had to maintain control over the Hashirama Cells to prevent another runaway mutation.

Obito looked up at Black Zetsu, his voice raspy as he relayed the intelligence he had gathered.

"Uchiha Senya has also awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan. I know of two ocular techniques so far: one that seals space and another that produces white-blue flames. Both my Wood Release and intangibility were countered! Damn it!"

As he spoke, Obito slammed his left hand against the rock wall behind him, his face twisted in frustration.

Black Zetsu watched him, unable to comprehend the situation, and spoke up to ask for clarification.

"If you couldn't win, why didn't you just run away like you did when you encountered Minato Namikaze? Even if he counters your ocular techniques, there must be a range limit. How did you..."

Black Zetsu stopped mid-sentence, scrutinizing Obito's injuries.

Obito felt the veins on his forehead bulge as he recalled the fight. Right, why didn't I run? That damn Senya, he actually manipulated me into losing my composure. What a disgusting guy, his heart is truly filthy.

Seeing Obito's expression grow increasingly savage, Black Zetsu decided to hold his tongue. It was better to stop talking and hurry to Madara's ruins to fetch a White Zetsu so Obito could replace his arm.

Inside Konoha.

"Knock, knock, knock."

After thirty seconds, a woman's cursing voice drifted from behind the door; clearly, she was displeased at being woken up in the middle of the night.

"Who is it in the middle of the night, disturbing my beauty sleep? I didn't receive any missions that require me to head out at this hour. How annoying..."

The door was yanked open from the inside, and the light from the incandescent bulb shone upon the man outside.

The moment the woman saw who it was, her words died in her throat, and she quietly released her grip on the khaki coat she had been holding against her chest.

"Uh, haha, Senya, what are you doing coming to see me so late?"

Uchiha Senya used the light from the room to lock his gaze onto Anko, whose smooth thighs were exposed to the air, wearing only a pair of shorts.

The hem of her top rested above her breasts, held together by a white tank top, leaving the view above fully visible to Uchiha Senya.

"Had a bit of a situation tonight. My house is gone, so would you mind if I stayed the night? I also brought you some pills I had custom-made by the Nara Clan to help nourish your body."

Uchiha Senya stood at the doorway, admiring the scenery before him as he explained his reason for coming, holding up a box in his right hand for Anko to see.

Anko snatched the medicine box, tossed her coat onto the living room sofa, and pulled Uchiha Senya inside.

Uchiha Senya sat back on the sofa while Anko sat beside him, taking the box and opening it immediately. She pulled out one of the pills, unwrapped it, and examined the soldier pill in her hand.

The special soldier pill was clearly different from the outside; it was a vibrant, attractive red and significantly larger in size. Anko hesitated, fearing it might taste bad, so she tentatively licked it. It was slightly sweet—it seemed the flavor was decent—so she opened her mouth wide and swallowed it in one go.

She then looked up at Uchiha Senya, her pink tongue darting out from the corner of her mouth, much like a brightly colored viper discovering its prey.

"Since you're crashing here, I can't let you off easy. You'll have to give me something in return; this Special Military Ration Pill is just compensation for waking me up in the middle of the night."

Senya watched Anko's sly expression, spreading his hands to his sides with a look of helplessness, his face resembling a little white rabbit being hunted by a venomous snake.

Yet, deep in his eyes lay a trace of imperceptible cunning; it seemed he was the hunter after all.

"Of course. I'm not that impolite. This was just a gift for visiting; I came prepared for this."

Anko received the answer she was satisfied with and crunched down on the Special Military Ration Pill. The texture was somewhat hard, but unlike the foul taste of ordinary ration pills, it emitted a refreshing, sweet fragrance.

As soon as it hit her stomach, she felt waves of warmth surging within her abdomen, spreading out toward her limbs.

Seeing that Anko had consumed the Special Military Ration Pill and was feeling the restorative effects on her body, Senya spread his arms and slumped back against the sofa. Between his earlier taijutsu training with Kurenai and the subsequent ambush by Obito, Senya was exhausted; he could finally relax and rest for a while.

After a short while, the Special Military Ration Pill began to take effect, even easing the chronic injuries left behind from her past training, making her body feel much more comfortable.

Senya lowered his head from the back of the sofa and reached out to stroke Anko's forehead.

It was certainly delicious, and the medicinal efficacy was spot on; after all, he had paid a high price to have it custom-made by the Nara clan.

After a long while, the tranquil atmosphere was broken by Anko.

She pushed her luck, indicating that the benefits Senya had provided were not enough.

Senya felt helpless; there was no helping it, having nowhere to sleep was just that miserable, so he had no choice but to keep satisfying the demands Anko put forward.

But little did Anko know, Senya had made full preparations for this, and it wasn't until Anko couldn't hold on any longer, overcome by exhaustion and drifting into a deep sleep, that he finally called it a night...

I'm really not driving, dear reviewer, please let this pass...