The pitch-black vortex silently swallowed the long sword Nuibari, and the killing intent in the secret chamber came to an abrupt halt.
A figure slowly emerged from the distorted space.
He stood before Genji, wearing an orange spiral mask. The single eyehole stared indifferently at Hozuki Mangetsu, who was fighting bloodily.
"What a splendid performance."
Obito's voice carried a hint of mocking amusement as it echoed through the deathly silent chamber.
"Throwing away your life for a decaying village, for an illusory future."
"How... laughable."
He glanced at Yagura beside him, who was in Partial Tailed Beast Transformation, and extended one arm as though displaying a beloved collectible.
"Do you see it? The Fourth Mizukage you all take such pride in is nothing more than a dog on a leash to me."
Hozuki Mangetsu's body stiffened.
He looked at the masked man, then at Yagura, whose hollow eyes showed that he had completely become a weapon of slaughter.
An unprecedented chill shot up his spine and into his skull.
From the very beginning, he and all of Kirigakure had merely been toys in this man's palm.
Unwillingness, rage, and a deep-rooted sense of powerlessness swept through his entire body in an instant.
"So... so it wasn't that Lord Mizukage changed..."
Hozuki Mangetsu's voice was incomparably dry.
"It was you bastard meddling behind the scenes!"
His gaze locked onto the mask's eyehole. In that instant, he caught sight of a flash of crimson and the slowly revolving Tomoe within it.
Sharingan!
His mind went completely blank.
"How is that possible... Wasn't the Uchiha clan already..."
There was no change in Obito's face beneath the mask, but the aura leaking from the eyehole suddenly filled with bone-deep hatred.
"Come to think of it, I want more than anyone to see this village