Why Was Obito Here?!

Ling Yue did not know how long had passed before she finally woke up. The intense pain and suffocating feeling nearly made her pass out again.

She struggled to look toward where the shadow had been.

There was nothing there.

Only the rustling of leaves in the wind and the low growls of unknown beasts in the distance.

Was it an illusion? Had her severe injuries caused hallucinations?

She did not dare let her guard down. Enduring the agonizing pain that felt as if her entire body had fallen apart, she painstakingly crawled over to Naruto, who was closest to her, and checked his breathing.

His breathing was steady. He had merely fainted. Sakura was the same.

She then painfully moved over to Sasuke.

When she saw the two blackened fang marks on his neck and the dark markings slowly spreading from them, Ling Yue's heart sank.

The curse mark... It had still appeared. That freak Orochimaru!

She tried to circulate her chakra, but needle-like pain shot through her meridians. Resilient Body was working hard to heal her injuries, but it needed time.

Right now, she was more fragile than an ordinary genin.

They had to leave immediately!

The commotion from the battle had been too great. It could easily draw other teams here, or... something even more dangerous.

Gritting her teeth, she first dragged Naruto and Sakura beneath relatively concealed tree roots, then turned to help Sasuke.

Just then...

"Oh my, oh my. What a miserable sight."

A flippant, slightly warped male voice rang out nearby.

Every hair on Ling Yue's body stood on end as she immediately whipped her head around!

On a thick branch of a large tree not far away, a figure had appeared at some unknown time, leaning against the trunk.

The man wore loose black clothing and an orange spiral mask that revealed only his right eye. That lone exposed eye watched the miserable scene below through the mask's eyehole with great interest.

...It was Uchiha Obito!

Terror instantly engulfed Ling Yue, even worse than when she had faced Orochimaru! Why was this guy here?! At this point in time?! What did he want?!

"Who are you?!" Ling Yue feigned calm, though her voice trembled slightly. Her hand quietly reached for her ninja tool pouch, even though she knew it was pointless.

"Hm? You can actually remain conscious? Pretty tenacious." Obito tilted his head, his tone teasing. His gaze swept over the three unconscious figures before settling on Ling Yue. "Don't worry. I'm just a passing... hmm, observer. I merely stopped by to see how the little Uchiha boy was doing."

His gaze lingered on Sasuke's curse mark, and he seemed to smile. "Orochimaru is still as tasteless as ever."

Ling Yue's mind raced.

What was Obito's goal? To observe Sasuke? Or... was he here for her? Had she attracted his attention because of what happened in the Land of Waves or during the battle just now?

"W-what do you want?" Ling Yue slowly backed away, attempting to stand in front of the unconscious three, though she knew the gesture probably looked utterly ridiculous to him.

"What do I want?" Obito jumped down from the tree, landing without a sound. He slowly walked toward Ling Yue, his steps leisurely, yet the pressure he radiated made her retreat unconsciously. "I'm just a little curious. You... seem somewhat special."

His lone eye seemed to see through everything from behind the mask. "That strange footwork, and your Lightning Release... they don't resemble any Hidden Leaf Village style. Who are you?"

Cold sweat instantly soaked Ling Yue's back. So she had been targeted after all!

"Just a genin of the Hidden Leaf Village." She tried her best to keep her voice from shaking. "A few unorthodox tricks passed down through my family."

"Passed down through your family? Unorthodox tricks?" Obito seemed amused and chuckled softly. "There aren't many unorthodox tricks that can exchange a few moves with Orochimaru."

He suddenly raised a hand and pointed at Ling Yue. "Let me see what exactly you're hiding."

Ling Yue's pupils contracted. She wanted to use Flash Step to retreat!

But the instant the thought arose—

The space around her suddenly twisted!

An enormous force, utterly irresistible and incomprehensible, seized every cell in her body in an instant! It felt as though it would tear her apart, crush her to pieces, and pull her into another dimension!

"Agh!" Ling Yue could not even offer the slightest resistance before the force of space bound her, lifted her, and left her floating in midair! She could not move at all!

Kamui! So this was the power of Kamui?! It was a crushing force on the level of natural laws, something speed and strength could never contend with!

Despair! Deep despair surged into her heart!

"Let me go!" She struggled futilely. Her chakra vanished like a stone sinking into the sea, completely impossible to mobilize.

"Don't be nervous. I'm just saying hello." Obito's voice remained flippant. He strolled over to Ling Yue and looked up at her suspended in the air, dangerous curiosity glinting in his lone eye. "Hmm... your physical strength is average, and your chakra reserves are ordinary too. It seems the secret isn't in your body..."

His gaze seemed to penetrate her clothes and skin, examining her very insides.

Ling Yue felt a cold, probing sensation sweep over her entire body. Even the system interface flickered slightly, frightening her out of her wits!

The system won't be discovered, will it?!

Fortunately, the probing sensation merely passed over her. Obito did not seem to have discovered the system's existence. His attention had been drawn to something else.

"Oh? This recovery speed... is a little interesting." He noticed the wounds on Ling Yue's body slowly healing. "And this lingering Lightning-nature chakra—violent, yet brimming with vitality... an interesting mixture."

He extended a finger, as if he wanted to touch one of the faint electric arcs lingering on Ling Yue's body.

Ling Yue watched in horror as that black-gloved finger approached. She desperately tried to dodge, but she could not even move a single finger.

Just as his fingertip was about to touch her—

"Hm?" Obito suddenly froze. He turned toward a certain direction in the forest, surprise and displeasure flashing through his lone eye. "Tch... what terrible timing."

He seemed to have sensed something and lost interest in continuing his game.

The warped space abruptly vanished!

Ling Yue fell from midair with a thud, crashing onto the thick layer of fallen leaves. The impact made her bare her teeth in pain, but she had regained control of her body.

Still shaken, she looked up to see Obito's figure already turning blurry and transparent, slowly vanishing as though dissolving into water.

"Forget it. That's enough for today." Obito gave her one last glance, his tone tinged with amusement. "Try your best to survive, special little one. Perhaps... we'll meet again."

With that, his figure vanished completely, as though he had never been there at all.

Only the sound of wind rustling through the forest and Ling Yue's pounding heartbeat remained.

She slumped to the ground, gasping for breath. Her entire body was drenched in cold sweat as the exhaustion of having narrowly escaped death swept over her.

Too terrifying! Was this the strength of a Kage-level expert?

No, it even surpassed her understanding of what "strength" meant! Before that spatial power, she had not even earned the right to struggle!

If someone had not suddenly arrived... the consequences would have been unimaginable!

Who had come? Someone capable of driving Obito away?

Ling Yue forced herself to stand. She warily stared in the direction Obito had been looking while quickly moving to her unconscious companions and trying to wake them.

"Naruto! Sasuke! Sakura! Wake up!"

Sasuke was the first to react. He sucked in a sharp breath and jolted awake, his Sharingan activating instantly as he scanned their surroundings vigilantly. "Where is that man?!"

"He's gone." Ling Yue was brief. "Hurry, we need to leave this place immediately!"

Naruto and Sakura woke one after another, both looking confused and shaken.

"What happened? Where's that long-haired freak who looked like a snake?" Naruto asked, rubbing his aching neck.

"He's gone too. Don't ask questions. Move!" Ling Yue urged. She could feel the presence that had driven Obito away rapidly approaching.

Sasuke sensed something as well. His expression darkened as he immediately hoisted the still-weak Sakura onto his back. "Naruto, help Yue! Let's go!"

Ignoring their injuries and exhaustion, the four stumbled deeper into the forest, wanting only to get away from this dangerous place as quickly as possible.

Not long after they left.

A figure clad in a black windbreaker silently appeared on the former battlefield.

The newcomer looked over the marks of battle on the ground, the lingering chakra fluctuations, and especially the dense remnants of distorted space. Beneath the hood, his brows knitted tightly together.

"That nauseating feeling of space... so it really was him." The man muttered in a low, icy voice. "Why would he be interested in a few genin?"

His gaze swept toward the direction Ling Yue and the others had left, and he fell silent for a moment.

"It seems I need to speed things up."

With a flicker, he too vanished from the spot.

The Forest of Death seemed to have become even more fraught with danger and hidden currents as certain major figures appeared one after another.

Team 7's exam was destined not to be peaceful.