All three turned toward the voice and saw someone wearing an orange mask appear a short distance away.
The newcomer was Obito. He looked their way too, curious why they were crouching on a utility pole, but he had waited and waited without Itachi returning. He needed Itachi, his butcher's blade, to strike first. Otherwise, if he made the first move himself, he would be the only one to suffer when the time came.
He thought someone might have stopped Itachi, but when he arrived, he found that the ones stopping him were two children.
They were no ordinary children, though. More precisely, they were Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. Seeing Itachi held up by two six- or seven-year-olds, Obito snorted with laughter.
"To think the great Uchiha Itachi would be stopped by two little brats."
"And you expect me to look up at you? Get down here."
As Obito spoke, he had to tilt his head up to look at the three of them. Feeling that this did not befit his status, he swung the sword in his hand and cut down the utility pole in a single stroke. The three on top had no choice but to come down to the ground.
Hearing Obito's mockery, Itachi said nothing, perhaps having reservations because he did not know his identity. Naruto and Sasuke, however, were not about to indulge him. One was not afraid of him at all, while the other simply wanted to protect his older brother.
"Damn you! Don't talk about my big brother like that!"
"Seriously, dude, you're laughing? Did you forget how your hands shook when you held me? Obito Uchiha."
Naruto's words struck like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky, especially for Itachi. Sasuke might not recognize the name, but Itachi knew this man. He had even met him as a child. He remembered that Obito Uchiha was supposed to be dead.
Besides, if he remembered correctly, hadn't Obito Uchiha always been a dead last? Sure enough, you couldn't judge a book by its cover or measure the sea with a cup.
Still, that did nothing to lessen Itachi's shock.
"What? Obito Uchiha? That clansman who died? How is that possible? Didn't you say you were Madara Uchiha?"
Damn it, that little brat! I should have killed him back then.
Obito first shot Naruto Uzumaki a vicious glare. It was all this blabbermouth's fault that the identity he had concealed for so many years had been exposed.
"Itachi, what are you waiting for? Why haven't you acted yet? Do you still want your little brother to live?"
Seeing his plan about to go wrong, Obito simply dropped the act, laid his cards on the table, and threatened Uchiha Itachi outright. But before Itachi could say anything, Sasuke could no longer hold back.
"Big brother, who is he? What are you two talking about? What does he mean, do you want me to live? Is he the one threatening you?"
Uchiha Itachi fell silent. The answer was obvious, but Naruto was not going to shut up so easily.
"Oh, him? Just a rat who hides in the shadows. He's threatening your brother with your life right now, making him kill every Uchiha except you. Naturally, that includes your parents, as well as your future sister-in-law, Uchiha Izumi."
Hearing this, Sasuke's face filled with disbelief. His own brother would actually kill every member of their clan for his sake, not even sparing their parents.
Sasuke's feelings were complicated. His little face had gone completely bloodless, as though he had heard something horrifying. In particular, he knew that his brother really might slaughter their entire clan for his sake.
All sorts of complicated feelings welled up in his heart, more than the young Sasuke could bear. He covered his ears and broke down sobbing, leaving Itachi looking heartbroken.
Of course, Naruto did not let Sasuke off either. He would not merely watch the show; he would provoke Sasuke with his words too.
"Sasuke, do you know why your brother would agree? This is a world where the strong prey on the weak, where all the rules are written by the strong. It's because you're too weak. Someone wants to wipe out your Uchiha Clan. Your brother could have escaped on his own, but to protect a burden like you, he had no choice but to agree to someone else's terms."
As Naruto spoke, he grabbed Sasuke by the collar and lifted him up, making him look straight into his eyes. By now, Sasuke was bawling, tears and snot streaming down his face, looking utterly miserable.
Itachi, standing nearby, tried several times to step forward, but Naruto stopped him with a look each time.
"Naruto, what should I do? I don't want Mom and Dad to die, and I don't want my brother to do this. I don't want those clansmen to die either. Sob, sob... Naruto, what should I do?"
As though clutching a lifeline, Sasuke gripped Naruto's sleeve tightly. He believed Naruto must have a way. After all, even he had not known his brother was being threatened, yet Naruto knew, and even knew some of his brother's plans.
"Naruto, I don't know what to do. I'm so scared. Big brother Naruto, please, you must have a way, right?"
Finally hearing what he wanted to hear, Naruto gave an intriguing smile and set Sasuke down, even helping straighten his clothes.
"Don't worry. Just leave it to me."
"Brat, I suggest you stay out of this. Back then, I saw how pitiful you were, losing your parents right after being born, so I spared you. If you insist on courting death today, you can't blame me."
Obito's shameless words made Naruto laugh. Other people might not know why he had lost his parents right after being born, but how could Obito not know what had happened? Most importantly, those had been his teacher and his teacher's wife! As far as Naruto was concerned, there was no whitewashing Obito.
Everyone, step aside. Time for me to show off...
"Obito, I'll collect a little interest from you today. You'd better be tough enough to survive. Otherwise, you're in for a world of suffering."
The moment Naruto finished speaking, he vanished. When he reappeared, he was already in front of Obito, lightning crackling around his elbow. Wonderful, it was [Boss Jail]'s elbow strike.
But how could an attack like that possibly hit Obito, who possessed the god-tier ability of intangibility?
Sure enough, Naruto passed straight through Obito. Obito also spotted the opening Naruto had left. Today, he was definitely going to grab this newborn's life.
Then came a bang. The moment Obito's hand touched Naruto, Naruto exploded.
"Clone Great Explosion."
When Naruto appeared again, he was already standing on another utility pole nearby. Only now, he was holding a large jar. The sight of the little Naruto carrying a jar bigger than himself could hardly have looked more incongruous.
"Well, Obito? Go on, react to my ninjutsu. Aren't you supposed to be so amazing?"
Left covered in dust and soot by the blast, Obito gave Naruto a displeased look. His Sharingan had not even recognized that as a clone just now. How strange.
"Tch, brat. I was careless just now and didn't dodge. Now I'm going to get serious."
Hearing this, Naruto gave a meaningful smile. He opened the seal on the jar in his hands, and his chakra began draining rapidly as the jar erupted with a powerful light.
"Obito, you just answered me, didn't you?"
"Hm?"
A terrifying suction came from the jar in Naruto's hands, pulling Obito uncontrollably toward it.
The sight left everyone present dumbfounded. What was this?