The Show Begins

This was reality, not some fictional fairy tale.

Asami Ri understood that perfectly. He was merely an extra in this play, yet he had to cooperate with Madara Uchiha to bring this grand performance to completion.

As they raced toward Kannabi Bridge, Asami Ri occasionally watched Kakashi beside him. In the eyes exposed above his mask, reason was slowly crumbling.

Obito's parting words—"People who don't treasure their comrades are worse than trash"—echoed over and over in his mind. His breathing had lost its rhythm, and he even nearly ran into a tree.

It was time to give him a push.

Asami Ri came to a steady stop on a branch of an enormous tree. Momentum carried Kakashi several meters farther before he turned back in confusion.

"Kakashi, go back." Asami Ri's voice was perfectly level.

"What did you say?" Kakashi froze, even wondering whether he had misheard.

"Go help Obito." Asami Ri walked slowly toward him, his tone carrying a compelling firmness. "Those are two Iwagakure Jonin. On his own, Obito will probably be killed before he can even send a distress signal. With his impulsive nature, he won't stay hidden from elite ninja for long."

"But... what about the mission?" Kakashi's voice trembled. He was still trying to uphold the "rules" in his heart.

"Leave Kannabi Bridge to me." Asami Ri raised his head and looked into the distance, a deceptively calm smile on his lips. "Most of Iwagakure's forces are on the front lines. There are hardly any guards left at the bridge. With my strength, I can handle them."

His argument was riddled with flaws.

Under normal circumstances, sending a teammate alone to a strategic location would have been extremely reckless and irresponsible.

But by then, concern for Rin's safety and guilt toward Obito had tangled Kakashi's thoughts into a hopeless mess.

Under Asami Ri's guidance, built half on facts and half on conjecture, his ordinarily cool mind could find no grounds for a rebuttal.

Or rather, deep down, he wanted to accept the proposal.

"Ri... then you..."

"Go. Don't let that guy actually die out there." Asami Ri waved him off.

Kakashi gritted his teeth and said with deep emphasis, "I'm counting on you!"

He left all his Explosive Tags with Asami Ri. Then, in a silver flash, Kakashi changed direction and raced toward the markers Obito had left behind.

Standing atop the tree, Asami Ri watched Kakashi recede into the distance, then turned and rushed toward Kannabi Bridge.

He had to finish the demolition as quickly as possible, then reach the stage on time before the "main show" began.

Like a shadow, Asami Ri lay concealed among the scattered rocks at the edge of the gorge.

Ahead, the magnificent stone span of Kannabi Bridge stretched across the natural chasm, casting a heavy silhouette into the depths below.

On the bridge, three Iwagakure Chunin and five Genin patrolled listlessly, an air of complacency hanging over them.

They clearly had not expected an attack here, so far behind the front lines.

Once a bridge spanning such treacherous terrain collapses, there's no chance of rebuilding it anytime soon, Ri assessed coldly, his gaze sweeping over the bridge's joints like an icy blade. Celestial Pivot, load the bridge's stress model, analyze structural weaknesses, and mark the optimal demolition points.

[Command confirmed. Scanning stress distribution... Modeling data...]

As the cold system voice sounded in his consciousness, a pale blue scanning grid quickly appeared across Ri's vision.

Seconds later, several geometric coordinates flashing a piercing red aligned precisely with the joints between the piers and arches.

"Found them."

Asami Ri flicked his fingertips, and with a soft pop, a shadow clone wearing an identical expression appeared beside him.

He handed it a stack of Explosive Tags.

"Put these on the marked points." Asami Ri glanced at the Iwagakure ninja still patrolling. "Make it quick. I'll eliminate these lookouts."

The shadow clone cast a sidelong glance at the original with its dark eyes. Without another word, it took the Explosive Tags and slipped down the steep cliff like a silent wisp of smoke, disappearing into the shadows beneath the bridge.

Asami Ri slowly rose, turning his gaze toward the unsuspecting Iwagakure ninja.

"Make it quick," he told himself. "I can't be late for the show over there."

The next instant, he vanished.

Asami Ri moved through the scattered rocks like a ghost until he had crept within ten meters of the outpost.

He snapped his wrist, sending several Kunai wrapped with Explosive Tags slicing through the air with a shrill whistle.

"Enemy attack!"

An Iwagakure ninja cried out, but flames shot skyward immediately afterward.

Amid the deafening explosions, three Genin who reacted too slowly were swallowed by the flames, reduced to charcoal before they could even scream.

As thick smoke billowed, Asami Ri shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, heading straight for the remaining three Chunin.

He brought his hands together, forming seals so quickly they blurred. "Water Release: Water Clone Technique!"

Three streams of water instantly took shape and launched an unflinching suicide charge.

The Iwagakure Chunin snorted at the sight, easily slicing through the Water Clones' chests with their Kunai.

Just as contemptuous smiles crossed their faces, as if to say, "Is that all?" the severed masses of water did not disperse. Instead, they instantly transformed into raging electrical currents.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Ball!"

The moment the Water Clones broke apart, the electricity stored within them surged outward through the water.

Before the three Chunin could even withdraw their Kunai, terrifying high-voltage currents tore through their bodies. They convulsed and became three charred corpses.

The remaining two Genin tried to retreat in utter terror, but Ri closed in instantly. Two powerful kicks delivered with the Body Flicker Technique shattered their necks with deadly precision.

By then, the Iwagakure main camp across the bridge had finally been alerted. The clamor of a large force of ninja and their hurried footsteps surged toward the bridge.

"Too late." Asami Ri stood at the bridgehead, his expression cold.

At the very last moment, as he leaped clear of the bridge, the shadow clone hidden underneath detonated every Explosive Tag.

With a mountain-shaking roar, the stone bridge spanning the gorge began collapsing at its load-bearing points. Massive rocks plunged into the abyss like meteors, and the dust from the collapse instantly sealed off the pursuers' route.

"Ugh!"

Asami Ri staggered violently in the Dense Forest.

The memories from his dispelled shadow clone slammed into his brain like a tsunami.

The searing heat of being instantly vaporized, the despair of being crushed alive beneath enormous rocks, and the phantom pain of bones shattering into pieces—all felt as vivid as if he had experienced them himself.

He braced one hand against a large tree, his fingers gouging deep marks into the trunk.

He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were bloodshot, but the corners of his mouth curled into a smile.

"Ha... so this is what Obito feels?"

Enduring the phantom pain churning through his mind, he did not stop. Instead, he accelerated.

"If you want the rewards, you have to pay a price..."

Asami Ri blurred into motion once more, racing along the markers Kakashi had left.

Inside the cave, the dim air was damp and heavy with the smell of blood and dust.

Obito's scarlet, two-tomoe Sharingan turned faintly in the darkness. Beside him stood Kakashi, his face covered in blood and his left eye squeezed shut.

Opposite them, Kakkō panted rapidly, the short blades attached to his arms trembling slightly from the violent clashes.

"Looks like... you really aren't ordinary brats." Kakkō wiped blood from his face, his gaze frighteningly sinister. "You've already killed that useless Taiseki, haven't you?"

Before his words had faded, the two sides clashed again.

The instant they exchanged blows, Kakkō realized the Uchiha brat before him seemed like a completely different person. His movements no longer lagged behind, and the Sharingan's perception let him precisely track the paths of Kakkō's incoming blades.

"Now!"

Obito roared, twisting and leaping at an exceptionally tricky angle. He planted both feet hard on Kakkō's blade-bound arms, forcing a gaping opening in his defense.

Though Kakashi's left eye throbbed with pain, the combat instincts honed over years turned him into a silver flash.

The Kunai in his hand sliced through the air. Seizing the fleeting opening Obito had created, he viciously slashed open Kakkō's chest.

Blood sprayed, and Kakkō collapsed heavily to the ground with a dull thud.

Desperate to rescue their friend, neither boy had the attention to spare to check whether the enemy was dead.

To them, that fatal strike was enough to end the battle.

"Rin!" Obito shouted hoarsely, stumbling toward Rin Nohara, who was bound to a rock.

Kakashi followed close behind. With trembling hands, they began undoing the ropes, their hearts filled only with the joy of freeing their comrade. Neither noticed that behind them, the fingers of the fallen figure were quietly curling against the rock beneath him.