Rain lashed at the ruins of the Naka Shrine, mixing with blood and pooling into dark red streams.
Sasuke knelt beside Itachi's body, his eyes hollow. The touch of that finger still lingered on his forehead—cold, yet carrying a warmth that made his heart spasm.
"Why..."
He muttered to himself, repeating it endlessly.
"Why... Why..."
At that moment, a strange ripple stirred the air. Space distorted like a vortex, and a figure wearing an orange spiral mask appeared silently atop the crumbling walls.
"What a magnificent performance."
Obito looked down upon the scene from above, a hint of playfulness in his tone, though his solitary eye beneath the mask remained cold. "Although the ending was somewhat unexpected, the winner is you, Sasuke."
Sasuke made no reaction, as if he had not heard the words at all.
"Are you going to ask why he didn't take your eyes in the end, right?" Obito spread his hands, as though guiding a stray lamb. "Because he never intended to kill you from the start. All along, this was prepared for you as a..."
"This is within the territory of the Land of Fire."
An abrupt voice forcefully interrupted Obito's sermon.
Obito's body stiffened violently, his gaze instantly shifting to the other side of the ruins.
There, standing atop a massive fragment of rock, Naruto Uzumaki had appeared from nowhere. He was not wearing his iconic black military overcoat, but rather a tactical vest designed for mobility, casually toppling a kunai engraved with a Flying Thunder God Formula in his hand.
Rain fell upon Naruto's blonde hair, sliding down his cheeks.
"According to Article 7 of the Konoha Wartime Special Management Ordinance," Naruto said indifferently, his voice not loud, yet clearly piercing through the rain curtain, "any combat occurring within the territory of the