Threats and Compromise

After landing that blow, Natsume didn't stop.

Taking advantage of Setsuna's eightfold speed boost, he charged forward again.

In an instant, he turned into a streak of light, caught up with Obito, mounted him, and resumed pummeling him with one punch after another.

At least, that was how Natsume saw it.

Unless he beat him senseless and left a lesson etched into his bones,

this Obito-bro, whom Madara and Black Zetsu had thoroughly duped, would never come to his senses.

And so,

Natsume kept beating him.

If Natsume's body weren't still small, only ten years old and not fully grown,

a punch from an adult-sized fist would probably have left Obito half-dead.

Of course, with Setsuna's boost,

Natsume's fists were still incredibly fast and powerful, raining down like a storm.

What's more,

each punch, wrapped in Natsume's chakra, invaded Obito's body on impact, disrupting his chakra and ocular power.

That kept Obito from channeling his ocular power to activate Intangibility.

He couldn't escape Natsume's savage beating.

Besides, that first punch had nearly knocked Obito senseless.

Now he was being treated to one round of "love" after another.

Obito had probably forgotten who he was and where he was.

How could he possibly fight back?

In no time, Obito's rather handsome face had been beaten into a swollen mess.

It was bruised and swollen all over, a truly miserable sight.

Natsume, on the other hand, was having a great time.

He'd gotten a good release.

Before long,

the intense pain in his face and the overwhelming humiliation made Obito snap.

Seizing an opening, he forced his Mangekyō Sharingan to activate Kamui, enduring the backlash to his ocular power.

He meant to suck Natsume, who was straddling him, into the Kamui Dimension.

"Whoosh—"

Sensing the distortion in space, Natsume didn't linger.

He quickly pulled back and retreated.

With Setsuna's eightfold speed boost, he was already as fast as a ninja who had opened the first four gates of the Eight Inner Gates.

He instantly darted beyond Kamui's absorption range, leaving Obito with nothing.

After all, sucking someone in with Kamui was slower than activating Intangibility defensively.

Seeing his attempt fail, Obito had no choice but to switch targets.

He sucked himself into the Kamui Dimension, then quickly reappeared on a tree trunk dozens of meters away.

Having escaped,

Obito leaned against the tree, his face twisted with pain as he panted in resentment.

Every breath pulled at the muscles in his swollen face, sending waves of pain through him and making him grimace.

Ever since awakening the Mangekyō, he had never suffered such a crushing defeat!

A ten-year-old brat had beaten him, then straddled him and pummeled him into a swollen mess...

If word got out, wouldn't he be a laughingstock?

Even on the night of the Nine-Tails Incident, when he lost to his teacher, Minato, he hadn't been this humiliated!

That brat was despicable!

And why did he know the Hand Seals for the Dead Demon Consuming Seal?

Why did he know so much about Kamui?

How could he suddenly burst into several times his normal speed?

One question after another surfaced in Obito's mind.

He understood this young clansman less and less, and grew more wary of him by the moment!

Such strength, such intelligence, such cunning...

Was this damn kid really only ten years old?

"You're so twisted at such a young age! What'll you be like when you grow up?!"

Obito stared at Natsume in the distance, venting in his mind.

If he could, he would've loved to tear the brat apart right then and there!

Seeing Obito escape into the distance,

Natsume knew it would be almost impossible to catch him again.

But he'd gotten a satisfying beating in, at least.

So he magnanimously decided to overlook Obito-bro's provocation.

Only then did Natsume release Setsuna and deactivate the Mangekyō Sharingan.

After all, forcibly activating the third stage of Setsuna had drained a great deal of his ocular power. He shouldn't keep fighting.

"Had enough?"

"Want to keep going?"

"Still think you can kill me?"

Natsume glanced at Obito and taunted him mildly.

"Brat, don't get too cocky!"

Obito snarled through gritted teeth, his face swollen and his speech slurred.

He looked rather ridiculous.

"Judging by those clothes, you must've joined Akatsuki, right?"

"I know Akatsuki has plenty of capable fighters."

"Feel free to bring them all and gang up on me. I'll let them see you getting beaten to a pulp, too."

"Of course, you could also attack the Uchiha who escaped with me while I'm away."

"To be honest, with your abilities, I can't protect my people every moment."

"But if you dare lay a hand on them,"

"I'll tell Konoha who you are! I'll tell Kakashi!"

"Go ahead and try..."

Natsume raised an eyebrow, his expression grave as he issued the threat.

More valuable than his strength was his knowledge of the entire Naruto world.

At a time like this, he could put it to good use.

Of course, Natsume wasn't foolish enough to tell Obito outright that the Eye of the Moon Plan was a lie.

Without proof, Obito wouldn't believe a word of it.

Besides, Obito-bro had made that plan the cause he dedicated himself to.

Just imagine: you traveled back to World War II and told some dictator, without any proof, that fascism was doomed to fail and Germany was certain to fall.

Would he believe you?

Wouldn't he reward you with a bullet?

"You know who I am?!"

Obito was startled, and much of his anger vanished.

After all, in theory,

aside from a handful of people,

no one on Konoha's side should know his identity!

"We're both Uchiha, and we've both awakened the Mangekyō. Did you think I wouldn't recognize that you and Kakashi have the same Sharingan aura?"

Natsume offered a fairly plausible explanation.

Obito couldn't help believing him.

After all, the fact that Natsume had pointed out his connection to Kakashi said more than enough.

"You..."

"What do you want?"

Obito clenched his fists, his face dark as he asked, feeling utterly aggrieved.

The feeling of someone seeing through his disguise was unbearable.

And if his identity were exposed to Konoha, it would make his plans much harder to carry out!

Fortunately, the brat probably didn't know about the Eye of the Moon Plan.

Otherwise, that would be trouble.

"Just don't come after me again."

"If you do, I'll kill you!"

Natsume didn't waste words.

He gave Obito another glare and left him with a cold warning.

It looked like his threat had worked.

For one reason or another, Obito probably didn't want his identity exposed right now.

And Natsume didn't want his clansmen to be killed for nothing, either.

The two sides' stakes and concerns were evenly balanced. Obito-bro would make the right choice, he hoped.

With that,

Natsume bent his knees and leaped onto a branch, then hurried after the main group.

He soon disappeared into the forest.

Only Obito remained, his face bruised and battered as he stood there, seething in silence.

But he had to admit,

that brat Natsume was far too strong!

Continuing to fight him wasn't a good idea...

Fine. He'd let the brat go for now.

Pushing ahead with his Eye of the Moon Plan was what mattered!

Obito's face darkened as he had no choice but to compromise.

Meanwhile,

back in the Hidden Leaf Village,

news that Uchiha Natsume had defeated clan leader Fugaku, severely wounded Root leader Danzo, fought his way out, and led half the Uchiha Clan in their defection

spread like a depth charge, blowing apart the village's seemingly peaceful façade.

That night, the entire village erupted into chaos. Countless shinobi rushed about, scrambling to deal with the aftermath.

That night, no one was going to sleep.