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(The matter has temporarily come to an end; negative emotions must not affect the readers.)

Wonderful times were always fleeting.

Lunch passed in the blink of an eye, and Josuke had to return to Orochimaru's base.

But before that, Josuke went to the Hidden Leaf Village Cemetery.

Following the footprints, he arrived at a secluded spot.

First Row

Second Row

Josuke stopped before the second row.

He came to two nameless gravestones.

They were his parents. Even in death, their names could not be engraved upon their gravestones.

This was the Hidden Leaf Village.

The darkness that lay within it now could not be illuminated by a few rays of light. It was rather laughable, really.

His parents had not even qualified for burial in the public cemetery. It was only because that old man, the Third Hokage, had "mercifully bestowed" his grace that Mikoto and Fugaku had a place to rest.

The cemetery was hidden deep within the dense forest. Though it never saw sunlight, it was quite good this way.

It kept his parents undisturbed and safe from worldly conflicts.

Withered yellow leaves and branches lay scattered around the gravestones.

Josuke carefully cleared away every branch with his hands.

"Father, Mother, Sasuke and I are doing well. Itachi... well, he's doing well too. We're living happily."

Life really was ironic.

Josuke thought so as he looked to his left. Beyond the gloomy forest stood a statue of the Third Hokage.

It was prominently inscribed: The Third Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, the Hero of the Shinobi, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Josuke sneered.

If not for his indecisiveness, the Uchiha would not have been reduced to just two and a half people.

And then there was Danzō, a vermin of the shinobi world.

The two of them truly were birds of a feather.

However, Josuke had no intention of killing Danzō. His foolish little brother still needed a suitable sparring tool.

Didn't he?

Clap, clap, clap.

Applause came from the distance.

"Who's there?"

Josuke shouted toward the sound, his Flying Thunder God kunai poised and ready.

A figure slowly emerged from the woods and raised a hand in a dismissive gesture.

"There's no need for this. I believe we have many topics to discuss."

The newcomer wore black and a tiger-patterned mask. Josuke was startled. Was it him?

Even so, Josuke assumed an attacking stance, and three-tomoe Sharingan appeared in his eyes.

"Oh? Three tomoe? Then take a look at this."

As he spoke, the tiger-masked man activated the Sharingan in his right eye. It spun rapidly and transformed into a shuriken-like pattern.

At that moment, Josuke had his answer.

"Who exactly are you? How do you possess the eyes of my clan?"

Josuke feigned shock, looking every bit like an ignorant outsider.

Likewise, the enraged brat—no, Obito, the Uchiha clan's greatest romantic—sneered inwardly.

Sure enough, he was merely a lucky child who had never seen these beautiful eyes.

She gave them to me!

This world was filled with despair. A world without Rin was meaningless. A world without Rin had no meaning!

Rin, again and again, I will create a world with you in it!

Rin, you are my everything.

I remember every moment with Rin. This world was full of pain.

(Obito fell into his memories.)

A Little Interlude

"Rin, good morning~ Do I look handsome today?"

Although it was already noon, this clearly was not Obito's first time doing this.

Rin rolled her eyes at him irritably.

"You're late again, Obito!"

╯^╰

Obito scratched his head awkwardly.

The classmates around them cast amused looks at Obito.

Kakashi, the genius boy from the same squad, likewise looked at Obito with disdain.

Seeing even Kakashi act this way, Obito was unconvinced.

He declared confidently, "What are you all laughing at? You don't understand anything. The future me will be incredibly powerful.

I'm a man who's going to become Hokage!"

It seemed he had actually succeeded.

Naturally, Obito's words drew laughter from the entire class.

Only Rin, his deskmate, spoke up for him.

"Don't laugh at Obito!"

(Laughter)

The little interlude came to an abrupt end here.

My Rin~ Why did you kill my Rin, my beloved Rin~

It wasn't me who was wrong. This world was wrong!

Obito laughed madly, covering the left side of his face and revealing only that single Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Do you know what this is? This is the power of the Uchiha god!"

Josuke narrowed his eyes. So what? Who was he? Madara? Just a relic of a bygone era, yet he still dared to come out and make a fool of himself. (This year seemed to be the Year of the Boomerang.)

Hearing Josuke's youthful and reckless words, Obito sneered inwardly as well.

Just wait. I'll show you the power of the love between Rin and me.

Starting at zero frames, he was as composed as ever.

Obito clapped his hands. Fine, fine, fine. You don't believe me? Then I'll show you that power.

"Then there's nothing left to discuss. It seems I'll have to show you what I'm capable of."

With that, Obito used Kamui and sucked Josuke into the lovers' space—pah, the Kamui dimension.

The Kamui dimension was deathly silent, just like Obito's heart at that moment, utterly without ripples.

"What are you trying to do?"

Josuke knowingly asked.

Obito could not be bothered to waste words on Josuke and hurled a Great Fireball at him.

Josuke used the Body Flicker Technique to evade it, after which Obito unleashed even more Great Fireballs.

Josuke used a ninjutsu. Water Release: Nine-Dragon Water Bullet!

This was the Pro version of the Water Dragon Bullet that Josuke had developed based on the original technique.

It consumed more chakra and unleashed nine water dragons.

Josuke would never have dared to use it like this before, but now he had fused with Hashirama Cells.

He could use them however he wanted.

Nine-Dragon Water Bullet?

Satisfaction appeared in Obito's eyes. This child was surely promising.

He would certainly contribute to Obito's grand plan.

But...

This move was useless against him.

Obito phased through it and sent himself out of the dimension.

Josuke's Nine-Dragon Water Bullet struck nothing but air.

Oh?

He phased?

You ran pretty fast, kid. Perfect, then I can proceed with the next step.

Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!

Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique!

More than a dozen shadow clones released the mist technique together, producing mist thicker than what many people could create.

Josuke began the next phase of his plan.

A certain blond pineapple-haired man had once said:

"Obito, Flying Thunder God markings do not disappear. I never told you that, did I?"

Thus, Josuke began randomly stamping Flying Thunder God markings everywhere. The instant they came into contact with the ground—

Josuke's Flying Thunder God markings appeared.

They then vanished swiftly.

After the ninjutsu ended, Obito outside also returned to the Kamui dimension.

Everything around him was a vast expanse of white.

It left Obito completely bewildered.

What kind of technique was this?

Had it been specifically created to deal with him?

Obito shook his head. These were merely childish tricks. With such meager methods, the boy still needed much more practice.

With a wave of his hand, the thick mist in the air dispersed, thinning to a normal density.

Obito then saw a group of Josuke's clones surrounding him. What were they trying to do?

Focus their fire on him?

Just as Obito had said.

More than ten Great Fireballs flew toward Obito at once.

Obito shook his head. This would not do. So, he formed seals with one hand.

Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!

In an instant, the environment of the Kamui dimension transformed into a forest.

Obito could freely control the trees within the forest, and every vine lunged at Josuke.

A troublesome opponent.

Josuke thought to himself. The key was that he could not use the Mangekyō Sharingan.

If he used it, wouldn't that be a disaster?

He would probably no longer be comforting Sasuke by then, but planning to take Sasuke's life.

Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!

The flames continuously burned the branches growing toward him, while the branches continuously grew in his direction, until they were finally burned away.

Huff.

Damn, Josuke's throat was practically smoking from all that fire-breathing. He had finally burned them all away.

However, Obito's assault had only just begun. (One hundred thousand words.)