Thud! Thud! Thud!
Like wheat scythed down, all seventeen Iwagakure ninja, including the Jonin-
Their eyes rolled back in unison, and they collapsed without a sound, unconscious.
Dead silence.
The sudden silence was more unnerving than the fierce battle moments before.
Obito stood frozen in his blocking stance, his chest heaving, his mind blank.
What happened?
Just now... what was that terrifying sensation?
Why... did they all suddenly collapse?
Was it me? Was it my power?
He lowered his head and looked at his trembling hands.
Was it the Sharingan?
But... my eyes didn't feel especially hot, and my vision hadn't changed.
Kakashi was stunned as well. He scanned their surroundings warily, the White Fang Short Blade held across his chest.
No enemies, no ambush, no lingering traces of ninjutsu.
It was as though those people had... all passed out from exhaustion at once.
But how was that possible?
"Obito! Kakashi!" Rin's shout broke the silence as she ran out from behind a nearby rock.
Her face showed the fear and bewilderment of a narrow escape. "Are you two all right? What... what happened to them?"
"I... I don't know." Obito shook his head blankly, looking at the Iwagakure ninja sprawled across the ground.
An absurd thought that made his heart race rose uncontrollably within him.
Could it... really have been me?
Had I unleashed the Uchiha Clan's true power at the crucial moment?
Had I protected my comrades?
A mixture of lingering fear, confusion, and a faint, swelling excitement took root in his heart.
Kakashi's brow furrowed. He was calmer, and found it even more suspicious. But this was no time to investigate.
"Forget about that! Move! The mission comes first!" Forcing down his doubts, he shouted to Rin, "Rin, keep up!"
Yet just as they were about to