Foreseen...

"Worthy of calling yourself Uchiha Madara!"

Watching Obito rise to his feet as the space around him twisted.

Itachi withdrew Amaterasu, and his Mangekyo Sharingan closed.

He let out a quiet sigh.

Obito, whose chakra had already surged as he prepared to unleash Wood Release, froze for a moment. Remembering the grand plan in his heart, he calmed his chakra.

But his body did not stop.

"Kid, don't you know it's very rude to casually interrupt someone's thoughts? And hasn't anyone told you not to attack someone stronger than yourself so lightly?"

Obito grabbed Itachi by the throat and lifted him up, though Itachi did not resist.

Seeing the whites of Itachi's eyes covered in bloodshot veins, as though they were about to bleed, the killing intent in Obito's heart faded. He loosened his grip.

He looked down at Itachi, who had fallen onto the ground.

"Hehe, just joking. After all, Uchiha Madara isn't that easy to kill. The title of Demon of the Shinobi World was earned through slaughter."

Looking at the completely unharmed Obito, Itachi felt a wave of displeasure.

Even with Obito completely off guard, Amaterasu at full power had accomplished nothing. That had caught him entirely by surprise.

Amaterasu at full power consumed too much chakra. That was also why he had not kept it going.

And as far as he knew, Obito's intangibility could last at least five minutes, and he only became tangible when attacking.

"Hehe, it seems that little girl meant quite a lot to you. When she died, she was even calling your name..."

Seeing a trace of defeat deep in Itachi's eyes, Obito smiled lightly and ruthlessly tore open his wound.

He had nearly been killed for no reason at all. He was not such a magnanimous person.

"Oh? Which woman are you talking about? I merely wanted to test your mettle and see whether your organization was strong enough."

Itachi patted the dust from his backside, walked a few steps closer to the fire, and sat down. He calmly shaved a branch to use as a skewer for roasting the prey.

"Hehe, don't let there be a next time! If there is, this so-called genius of yours will fall."

Obito looked down at Itachi, who sat on the ground shaving the branch, and spoke with a mild threat.

Sensing that Obito's killing intent had faded, Itachi let out a slight breath of relief.

Just now, he had believed he had an eighty percent chance of success, so he had attacked without hesitation.

Once he realized he could not kill Obito, he immediately stopped.

He still had value to Obito. Unless things reached a certain point, Obito would not kill him.

That was the source of his confidence.

With a paranoid lunatic like Obito, if their positions differed, it would be best to send him to see Rin sooner rather than later.

"But what exactly is my position?"

Itachi became somewhat lost.

"What an interesting kid."

Just as Itachi had expected, Obito had no desire to make another move.

Instead, he sat down quietly beside the fire and watched Itachi meticulously roast the prey as though nothing had happened.

It was as if everything that had just occurred had been an illusion.

"If one day, I can create a peaceful world without war, and all the dead can be resurrected, what would you do?"

Obito spoke softly.

He had long been prepared for Itachi's counterattack. After all, a genius who saw himself as one and was praised as one by others would not be so easy to win over.

As long as he casually received the other's counterattack and made them despair at the difference in their strength, this so-called genius could be used by him.

Itachi's hand paused as he turned the skewer. Hearing Obito's words, he froze and came back to his senses.

Wasn't that just an enhanced version of brainwashing rhetoric?

"That would be the power of a god..."

Hearing that Obito intended to recruit him, Itachi spoke softly.

His thoughts began to race.

"Does this guy think I attacked him because I wanted revenge for Izumi?"

Recalling what Obito had just said, Itachi eventually arrived at the most likely answer.

"Isn't that so?"

Hearing Itachi's words, Obito answered softly.

He was also lost inside, but that was his only lifeline.

He had to persuade himself to believe in that vague plan, one that even sounded like pure fantasy.

Waves of fragrance began to fill the area.

"Let's switch."

Obito took the food Itachi handed him but did not eat it.

Instead, he handed back the food in his own hand and suggested they exchange food.

Itachi froze slightly, then smiled faintly.

He handed the roasted meat in his hand to Obito and took the roasted meat from Obito.

Seeing Itachi's smile, Obito felt a wave of displeasure.

He then turned his back. The mouth area of his mask wriggled slightly, revealing his mouth.

Then he began to eat, while the chakra within his body remained constantly on guard.

He was like this at every moment, which was why Itachi had failed.

He could no longer remember when this habit had begun.

In fact, he had watched Itachi the entire time he was roasting the meat. Itachi had no opportunity to poison it, and this was also meant to give Itachi the illusion that he feared poison.

In truth, with Hashirama Senju's cells, he did not fear such so-called poisons at all.

If Itachi still refused to give up and attacked him again, compared to those troublesome flames, he would rather face other methods.

After all, geniuses like Itachi were truly rare, and the organization was indeed lacking in combat power...

After all, if you wanted to enjoy the convenience someone brought you, you had to tolerate their flaws.

Watching Obito start to eat and smelling the aroma of the roasted meat in his hand, Itachi was starving as well.

He began to devour it in large mouthfuls.

His image was quickly tossed aside as he ate to his heart's content.

"So what position do I need? When the time comes, I can revive my parents in name, train Sasuke, enjoy good food, and enjoy life. How wonderful."

After tasting the delicious roasted meat, Itachi found an answer in his heart to the doubts from before.

Knowing how the story would unfold, he became calm once more.

With knowledge in his heart, he was not flustered in the slightest.

Itachi soon finished the seemingly enormous piece of roasted meat in his hand. He took out a piece of paper from his pack and wiped his mouth.

Then he found a thin branch and began shaving it.

Since he had not brought a toothpick, he planned to make one on the spot.

After finishing the roasted meat in his hand, Obito felt wonderfully content.

Fortunately, Itachi had not attacked while he was enjoying the food. Otherwise, it would have been infuriating.

Obito casually wiped his mouth with his sleeve. His mask wriggled and returned to its original shape.

Then he turned around and saw Itachi seriously using a kunai to carve a tiny toothpick.

He felt a wave of disdain.

He stood up, found a tree nearby, and leaned against it.

He was preparing to rest and digest his food.

"Kid, do they not teach your ninja academy how to kill people anymore? Do they only teach little life skills now?"

Obito spoke mockingly in a lazy tone.

He discovered that teasing this kid for no reason was rather interesting.

"Yeah. Using senbon would be too wasteful."

"If senbon have already been used and you still have to carry them around, it feels rather uncomfortable."

Itachi answered casually, paused for a moment, then added.

"Hehe, what a corrupt village. How pathetic."

Obito raised his head and stared at the beautiful sky in silence.

Who knew what he was thinking about again.