"That's right, Obito! That isn't your eye!"
A clear voice came from behind Kakashi.
Kakashi whipped his head around. The searing pain in his eye socket briefly slowed him, but the moment he recognized the newcomer, delight lit up his face.
"Tianyi!"
Hyuga Tianyi stood three paces behind Kakashi, his white haori fluttering gently in the night breeze, his expression as calm as still water.
His gaze passed over Kakashi and settled on Obito nearby. The Byakugan unique to the Hyuga Clan narrowed slightly, and the faintest smile curved his lips.
At the sound of his name, Obito's body tensed almost imperceptibly.
Hyuga Tianyi. He swiftly reviewed everything he knew about the man: a wielder of the Flying Thunder God Technique, the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai, Sage Mode... and more.
Even Nagato's Six Paths of Pain had failed to gain the slightest advantage against him.
And not long ago, he had briefly fought Tianyi himself.
That encounter had cost him an arm.
But just now, the name Hyuga Tianyi had blurted out was "Obito."
He had been exposed!
When? Where? How had he been exposed?
Countless thoughts surged through Obito's mind in the space of a single breath, but his expression remained unchanged.
He slowly steadied his breathing, suppressed that instinctive flicker of panic, and probed in a low, hoarse voice:
"Obito? You Hyuga brat, what nonsense are you spouting? I am Uchiha Madara!"
He deliberately drew out his words, projecting an air of lofty disdain as he tried to use the weight of Madara's name to seize control of the exchange.
Hearing the name Obito, Kakashi frowned slightly and turned toward Tianyi behind him, confusion in his eyes.
Tianyi did not rush to answer. He merely waved lightly at Kakashi, signaling him to step back.
Then his gaze returned