Obito: I Will Create a World Where People Can Truly Smile!!

On the mountain peak, Kou stared at the masked man before him, feeling as though his blood pressure had not dropped once all night.

He took a deep breath and confirmed once more:

"Partner? Uchiha Itachi?"

Obito nodded, looking as if it were a matter of course.

Kou's face darkened instantly:

"Uchiha Runtu, if you want me dead, just say so! Does my being alive interfere with your insanity?!"

"...Use professional titles while on the job. Outside, you should call me Uchiha Madara."

"Professional titles, my foot!!"

Kou's voice exploded across the peak:

"Three-Tomoe against Mangekyo, are you kidding me! I can't believe you actually thought of this!"

Obito watched him throw this tantrum, no emotion visible in his single exposed eye.

His voice remained firm:

"I know your strength; Itachi... cannot do anything to you."

Kou's mouth twitched violently.

Was he afraid of Uchiha Itachi? He was afraid of the eye of Body Flicker Shisui that Itachi possessed—the strongest genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami!

What if that lunatic had a sudden lapse in judgment and hit him with a hypnosis app? Who would he even go to for justice?

Obito seemed not to notice Kou's complex internal struggle and continued:

"It is highly likely that Itachi is a mole sent by Konoha to the Akatsuki. To prevent him from interfering with our Eye of the Moon Plan, I need someone with sufficient strength and absolute trustworthiness to monitor him by his side."

He paused, his eye fixed directly on Kou:

"And you are the best candidate."

Feeling the "sincere" trust in Obito's words, Kou's handsome face couldn't help but twist.

This son of a b—... making it sound like I'm willingly helping him stir up trouble.

After the Nine-Tails Rebellion, Kou had actually still held a glimmer of hope for the future of the Uchiha clan.

After all, the fundamental reason the Uchiha clan eventually faced annihilation was not their attempt at a coup, but the severe lack of high-end combat power.

If you didn't count the fact that Body Flicker Shisui died, and that Itachi hadn't yet awakened his Mangekyo, as long as the clan head Fugaku and Body Flicker Shisui—the two top powerhouses who had awakened Mangekyo—stood united, Konoha, having experienced the Nine-Tails Rebellion and being in an unprecedented state of weakness, would never have taken such radical measures against a powerful Uchiha clan.

...Even if, in their eyes, the Uchiha clan was highly suspicious regarding the Nine-Tails Rebellion.

But unfortunately, Shisui was a "Fire-brain" brainwashed by the Will of Fire, belonging to the fiercely loyal Konoha faction.

Even the Anbu directly under the Hokage weren't as loyal as him! It was truly infuriating...

When your own main carry stops playing with the team, how are you supposed to win?

What was even more infuriating was that after he fed the enemy a kill, he sacrificed himself, summoning an even more heaven-defying "Big Daddy" for the Uchiha.

Traitor, spy, anti-Uchiha element, psychopath, capitulationist, mastermind, gang boss!!

Uchiha Itachi, courtesy name Senju, the strictest father of the Uchiha, the record holder for the highest Uchiha kill count, a record no one in history could ever break!

If Shisui was just a nuclear weapon failing to launch, then this bastard Itachi was the enemy frantically pressing the button on your own nuclear weapon, causing it to detonate right inside your own home!

And there was no doubt that Shisui's suicidal behavior was the primary reason Itachi walked such an extreme path!

Therefore, the Uchiha effectively perished because of Shisui!

In Kou's eyes, as long as he could properly train Shisui and Itachi, everything would be fine!

Although there was the failed educational case of Uchiha Obito, Kou still had confidence in his own teaching abilities.

If a child had an IQ problem, how could one blame the teacher?

Now that he had two smart ones, there would definitely be no problems this time!

He would win!!

...But the result was obvious: his education had failed yet again.

These two kids were more stubborn than the last, and they wouldn't listen to a word he said!

But this was absolutely not a problem with his teaching method; it must have been the evil Will of Fire at work!

The Will of Fire is too evil!!!

In the end, after realizing that despite his best efforts, events were still gradually drifting toward their original trajectory, the suppressed emotions he had been holding back finally erupted during an argument with Shisui.

During that argument, after cursing Shisui until he was blue in the face, he resolutely chose to defect.

At that time, he had truly been beaten into numbness, having lost all his spirit, and like a stray dog on the side of the road, he was prepared to find some small village, lie flat, and finish out his life.

I'm done serving! Do whatever you want; my abilities are limited, and the Uchiha clan cannot be saved!

Protecting his own life was the absolute limit of what he could do.

However, just as he was searching for a place to retire, he "coincidentally" ran into Obito, who had already donned the mask of a murderer.

At that moment, he was completely stunned. He just wanted to slack off and retire, not rush to reincarnate!!

The guy in front of him was no longer the naive, sweet Obito he could casually pat on the head. This was a bloodthirsty lunatic!

Who knew if he would start shouting, "You're just a fake imposter, the world of the Infinite Tsukuyomi is the real one!" and other nonsense, then just stab him to death!

Facing the silent Obito before him, he fell into a massive brainstorming session.

Ultimately, he made the most adventurous decision since transmigrating into this world—he directly exposed his identity!

Weaponized information, activate!!

In the end, after a "touching" reunion between brothers, he successfully survived.

It was just that after this, Uchiha Kou, who had tried to slack off, disappeared.

He, Uchiha Kou, brought his talent to the Akatsuki.

Although it was forced, he was indeed safe in a sense, and from his adopted son, he received an unexpected opportunity to become stronger (Prisoner Madara's legacy)...

Kou withdrew his thoughts from his memories and looked at Obito before him.

Obito looked at the resistance in his eyes, remained silent for a moment, then said slowly in a hoarse voice:

"Since you're unwilling, then forget it."

"Itachi's partner, I will reconsider."

Surprise flashed in Kou's eyes.

"Did this guy vent all his anger while slaughtering the Uchiha Police Force, or did he enter the Sage Mode after finishing in the Kamui Dimension? He's so agreeable today?"

If it were any other time, he might have chatted with him more, but now, he really wasn't in the mood.

He just wanted to leave quickly—he didn't want to see either Uchiha Itachi or the masked man before him.

A hint of gloom flashed in Kou's eyes, but it was quickly suppressed, and he put on his usual flippant demeanor:

"Then I'll head back to the Mist Village on my own. Contact me if anything comes up."

Kou turned around, preparing to leave.

"Wait a moment."

Kou didn't turn back. His steps paused, and his voice was so calm that no emotion could be detected:

"Is there anything else?"

The silence behind him lasted for a few seconds before Obito's voice rang out, carrying something Kou couldn't quite place:

"...Regarding the Uchiha Izuna sword technique you discussed with me before, I've found it within Madara's legacy and left it with Yagura."

"You... remember to pick it up."

Kou's body stiffened slightly.

After a moment of silence, he turned his head and looked at Obito behind him.

The moonlight fell on his face, illuminating the forced, unrestrained smile on his lips:

"...Thanks."

As soon as the words fell, his figure instantly vanished from the mountaintop.

On the mountaintop, only Obito remained.

The moonlight stretched his shadow on the ground, merging it with the dark mountain forest behind him.

Obito stood there quietly, silent for a long time.

After a moment, an aloe-like creature slowly emerged from the ground.

White Zetsu, and Black Zetsu possessing it.

Black Zetsu looked at Obito before him, its hoarse voice echoing in the moonlight, with a hint of malicious probing:

"That guy doesn't seem to agree with your ideas as much as you said, 'Madara'."

"You should still guard against him..."

"Shut up."

Obito didn't turn around. The exposed eye reflected the full moon in the sky:

"Everything is within my plan."

"Know your place, Black Zetsu."

"You... just need to do what you're supposed to do."

As the words fell, his figure disappeared in a swirl of spatial distortion.

Black Zetsu watched the direction Obito disappeared, its eyes filled with malice.

"He's ultimately an unreliable fellow..."

It paused, and its voice carried a hint of hatred:

"Uchiha Obito, one day, you will regret this!!"

Kamui Dimension.

Countless square platforms floated in the void, like silent tombstones.

Obito stood in the center of the space.

His mask had been removed, revealing a face half-scarred and half-youthful.

His one remaining eye was fixed on the space ahead.

There, countless sealed corpses were laid out.

The Uchiha clansmen slaughtered tonight, and all the people he had killed with his own hands over the years—one after another, they lay quietly in this silent space.

In the central position were the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki Uzumaki Kushina.

Their expressions were peaceful, as if they were merely asleep.

And beside them was a young girl.

Rin.

Obito's gaze rested on the girl's face for a long time.

His lips moved slightly, but he did not make a sound.

He shifted his gaze to another direction.

There was nothing there, only the void.

Yet, in his mind, familiar profiles couldn't help but emerge...

His childhood self, laughing heartily, with Kakashi laughing just as brightly beside him.

Rin watched them quietly from the side, a gentle smile on her lips...

"You are still as good at hiding your emotions as ever... Kakashi."

His voice was very soft, so soft it sounded like he was talking to himself:

"It's just that the me from back then couldn't see clearly how much truth there actually was in that smile of yours."

He recalled those years in Konoha.

Kakashi was always smiling, carefree, looking as if he feared nothing even if the sky were to fall.

He had thought that was who Kakashi was; he had thought that the guy who was never serious was just like that.

It wasn't until later that he realized that... was just a mask.

Just like him now, Kakashi had also been wearing a mask.

"Now, my eyes can see the darkness of this world, and they can also see the real you..."

Obito's gaze pierced through the void, landing on that non-existent face.

That guy who clearly didn't want to smile, yet was always smiling...

His voice dropped, and in that low, deep tone, there was a madness bordering on obsession:

"You no longer need to continue pretending in this fake world."

"In the dream world I create, Rin, Kakashi, and even you, Kakashi... you will all live happily."

"I will create a world... where you can truly smile from the bottom of your heart!!!"