Three Figures in Black

"I don't know. We'll find out once we take a look."

Obito shook his head, then activated his ocular power. His eyes turned from black to red, three tomoe spinning rapidly within them.

Sure enough, thin threads were wound around the bases of the trees on either side of the disturbed soil.

One end of each thread was connected to that patch of disturbed earth.

The trap was crudely made. Whoever had set it had probably been pressed for time and hadn't put much effort into it.

"They spotted it!! Attack!!"

A man's low shout rang out from the woods.

The three black-robed figures immediately swung their kunai, severing the threads wound around the tree trunks in front of them.

The traps set around the area were triggered instantly.

"Kurenai! Watch out! We're under attack!"

The moment he heard the shout, Obito drew a kunai in each hand and warned Kurenai.

Kurenai was a skilled ninja herself and didn't need Obito's warning.

She murmured an acknowledgment and immediately drew her kunai, her small face tense as she watched their surroundings.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-

A dense barrage of kunai and shuriken shot toward Obito and Kurenai from the front, left, and right.

The shuriken fell like raindrops, piercing through the dense canopy and slicing through every leaf and vine in their path.

Obito and Kurenai swung their pairs of kunai, weaving an impenetrable curtain of flashing blades in front of them.

Clangs rang out without pause.

Shuriken and kunai fell in heaps at their feet.

Several large logs suspended by ropes even came swinging toward them amid the barrage.

Fortunately, Obito's strength had increased enormously. He took Kurenai with him as he dodged and leaped from side to side, avoiding any injuries.

At last, all the traps had finished firing.

Kurenai pressed tightly against Obito's back, her small face solemn as she frowned and asked:

"Obito, who exactly is attacking us?"

The traps' assault had been unusually fierce. Kurenai knew she might already be dead if Obito hadn't been there.

She had never imagined anyone would be bold enough to attempt an assassination inside Konoha.

Obito shook his head and said gravely, "I don't know. Kurenai, stay close to me."

As he spoke, the dense branches and foliage around them rustled.

Three figures flashed into view one after another.

They surrounded Obito and Kurenai from the front, left, and right.

All three were dressed entirely in black, with black cloth covering their faces, making it impossible to see what they looked like.

"Who are you?! Why are you trying to kill us?!"

Kurenai's small face was tense. As she watched the three close in, a flicker of fear appeared in her eyes.

It wasn't that she was a coward. She could clearly feel the overwhelming pressure emanating from them, leaving her almost unable to breathe.

Even before they exchanged blows, Kurenai could tell that the gap between their strength and hers was enormous.

"Attack!!"

The three figures in black had no intention of answering.

One of them waved his hand, and the man directly opposite Kurenai suddenly thrust both hands forward.

But he neither threw a weapon nor unleashed any ninjutsu.

Instead, a dense swarm of black insects circled between his arms, their beating wings filling the air with a steady buzzing.

Then, as though following his commands, the black insects surged toward Kurenai and Obito.

"Obito..."

As the dense swarm grew larger in her vision, Kurenai's voice trembled with fear.

The suffocating pressure was unbearable, as though she could already see the two of them dying here today.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!!"

Obito had already finished forming his hand seals.

Without another word, he turned, tilted his head back, and breathed out.

Flames curled from his mouth, swiftly gathering into a huge fireball.

The fireball roared through the air, sweeping toward the approaching swarm.

The instant the insects touched the fireball, they caught fire and were burned black.

Rustle, rustle-

The dense mass of insects rained down from above. By the time they scattered across the ground, they were all dead.

But the swarm had only been the three attackers' first wave.

Immediately afterward, all three drew the ninja swords from their backs and charged at Obito and Kurenai.

"Kurenai! Sleep for a while!"

Obito raised his hand and lightly struck Kurenai's neck with its edge.

Kurenai immediately felt dizzy. Her eyes closed, and she went limp.

Obito hurriedly gathered the unconscious Kurenai into his arms.

Before the enemies' blades could slash down, Obito activated Kamui.

Space twisted into a spiral in front of him.

Kurenai was drawn from Obito's arms into the Alternate Dimension.

The three attackers' ninja swords came slashing toward Obito immediately afterward.

Yet their sharp blades seemed to meet no resistance at all.

They passed straight through Obito's body.

The momentum of their lunging strikes sent all three stumbling forward.

They turned back in disbelief to stare at the nine-year-old boy, looking as though they had seen a ghost.

Thud!!!

Taking advantage of the opening after evading their attacks, Obito raised his foot and drove a vicious kick into one attacker's back.

A dull thud sounded. The man cried out in pain, his already stumbling body pitching forward until he fell face-first onto the ground.

"Who are you? Did Hokoku Shimura send you? Or was it Danzo?"

Obito raised his hand and closed it around empty air. The nunchaku stored in his system inventory appeared in his grasp.

He calmly surveyed the three men and questioned them in a low voice.

Kurenai belonged to the Yuhi clan, and her clan was unlikely to have made enemies of anyone in Konoha.

So Obito knew these men had to be after him.

Aside from offending Hokoku Shimura, Obito had never had a grudge with anyone else.

"You'll be dead soon! Ask your questions in hell!" one of the black-clad men shouted in a low voice.

The other two warned:

"Wait! Something's strange about this brat! Why did our attacks pass through him? And where did he send that little girl?"

"Forget all that! Just test him again!"

The light was dim now, hampering their vision.

The three hadn't noticed that Obito's eyes had taken on the shape of Windmill Shuriken-the form of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

They exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and nodded before charging straight at Obito again.

According to their original plan,

They should have subdued Obito by the second wave at the latest, when they surrounded him and launched their attack.

But the current situation had already exceeded their expectations.

Still, they had no way to retreat.

Their superiors had given them an absolute order: make Obito Uchiha disappear and bring back his Sharingan.