Obito: I didn't expect you'd like this kind of thing too?!!

He did not want to hear those damned orders anymore, nor did he want to go to the battlefield to serve the interests of the groups behind the ninjas for the sake of some bullshit Will of Fire, and he was unwilling to fight against those powerhouses who could take his life.

He was even less willing to kill children who were about his age, forced to slaughter each other for the same rotten reasons, some of whom were not even ten years old yet!!

Escape—that was the most intense thought in Kou's mind at that time.

It was cowardly, truly cowardly.

But it was precisely after witnessing this cruel battlefield with his own eyes that he developed this "cowardly" thought, and relying on the intense emotions it brought, he awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan.

Relying on these eyes, he saw through the chakra operation method of the Lightning Release Armor used by the Third Raikage at that time.

The flow of chakra, the contraction of muscles, the conversion of energy... everything became clearly visible in his eyes!

Although, with his brain at the time, he was unable to fully comprehend it...

After that, with his mind in chaos, he witnessed the scene of the Third Raikage exhausting his strength and dying in battle, and he returned to Konoha with the mission of reporting this intelligence.

At that time, he had no one by his side; he simply held onto one thought, sealed himself off completely, and relied on the meager inspiration in his mind to research frantically.

He had only one thought in his mind at the time—escape.

To be faster than everyone else, so that no one could catch up.

Only in this way could he survive, only then could he survive!!

After a period of isolated research that even Kou himself did not know how he survived, he created a unique ninjutsu of his own based solely on his one-sided study of the Lightning Release Armor used by the Third Raikage.

Lightning Release: Swift Thunder, rated as... A-rank.

The principle and effect of this technique were very simple, referencing the physical activation under the stimulation of lightning-attribute chakra from the Lightning Release Armor to bring about extreme speed.

Due to the differences in chakra operation and the addition of hand seal control, it relaxed the requirements for the user's physical strength, but it increased the requirements for reaction ability, chakra control, and the understanding and mastery of Lightning Release ninjutsu, making it extremely difficult to learn.

And the effect it brought was significant—fast, extremely fast!

It even earned the heartfelt praise of the Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato, who had once fought against the AB combination of Kumogakure.

At that time, the thought, "Could I really be a genius?" couldn't help but sprout in his heart.

But the reality that happened later proved that it was just a miracle that had descended upon him...

(The chakra of the Sharingan evolution secreted in the brain: Child, this brain does not belong to you!!)

In just an instant, Kou had returned to the Mist Village.

He climbed into his residence through the open window and then glanced at the wall clock.

From the karst cave to the Mist Village, fifty kilometers, taking seven seconds.

"Seven seconds, huh..."

He calculated silently in his heart:

"It seems that wanting to surpass the speed of the Fourth Raikage in his full-power state is still a bit lacking."

"Well, stacking the Eight Inner Gates buff should be about enough..."

He muttered in a low voice, and just as he was about to walk to the bedroom, he paused as if he had sensed something.

His gaze swept across the living room, then he walked quickly to the sofa and sat down, then casually grabbed a book from the coffee table, opened the title page, and pretended to read it deeply.

That posture, that expression, looked just like a middle-aged uncle waiting for a guest.

A moment later, a vortex-like spatial distortion appeared in front of him.

A man wearing the Akatsuki Black Cloak with Red Clouds and an orange spiral mask stepped out from the distorted space.

His feet landed on the ground, making a dull sound.

"Yo, you're slower than I expected, Obito."

Kou pretended to move his eyes away from the title page of the book and gave a roguish, handsome smile toward Obito.

That smile carried a bit of teasing and smugness.

Obito looked at his usual punchable face, and the corner of his mouth under the mask couldn't help but twitch.

He had intended to follow his instincts and suppress him with a few words, but when he caught a glimpse of the book in Kou's hand, he was suddenly choked up.

His gaze froze on the cover of that book.

Kou instantly sensed that something was wrong.

He frowned slightly, and the laziness in his eyes faded a little:

"What's wrong? Did you yawn too much and break your lungs?"

Obito did not retort; he just coughed awkwardly and then tacitly shifted his gaze.

"...No, it's just that I didn't expect you to like this type as well."

His voice was a bit stiff, as if he were covering up something.

"Huh?"

Kou seemed to realize something. He lowered his head and looked at the cover of the book he had picked up at random.

It was a magazine. The cover featured a stylish young girl with a radiant smile and clear, bright eyes. Beside her, a few large characters were printed:

"Fashionable Girl Photo Collection: Models limited to... girls between twelve and sixteen years old?!!"

Kou's eyes slowly, ever so slowly, widened.

"No way?!"

His voice rose by several octaves, his handsome face filled with utter bewilderment:

"I don't remember ever buying this book! Who put this in my house?!"

He flipped the magazine over and over, as if confirming whether it was some kind of genjutsu.

Meanwhile, at Mei Terumi's house.

In the bedroom, the lighting was soft.

Outside the window, the mist swirled, filtering the moonlight into a hazy white glow.

Mei Terumi wore a light purple nightgown; though loose and comfortable, it could not hide her curvaceous figure.

Her face still retained a touch of girlishness, creating a strange contrast with her mature physique.

She lazily stretched, then picked up a pen and finished the last letter at her desk.

She stood up and walked to the bookshelf, intending to grab the magazine she loved reading as a child to make up for the girlhood she had spent entirely occupied by training and missions.

Her fingers traced across the shelf—one book, two books, three books...

"Huh? That's strange, why is one missing?"

She muttered softly, a flicker of confusion crossing her emerald-green eyes.

"Did I leave it at Sora's place when I went there before?"

She thought back; she had indeed brought a few magazines when she went to Sora's residence to discuss business, intending to flip through them while waiting for him.

She had left in a hurry later, so it was possible she had left it behind.

"Well, I'll just ask him for it after I finish this trip!"

She chuckled softly, her smile filled with relaxation and anticipation.

She pulled a different magazine from the shelf, held it in her hands, and curled up into her soft blankets, reading it with great interest.

The mist outside the window continued to churn, and the night remained deep.

At this moment, in Kou's house.

Kou looked up and met Obito's meaningful gaze.

"It's over..."

Kou whispered in his heart with vacant eyes:

"Kids, Uncle Kou here... seems to have died of social embarrassment just a little bit..."