Chapter 276: The Lie Named Rin

Mountains' Graveyard.

Orochimaru, Uchiha Izuna, and Uchiha Madara had rushed toward the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. In order to restore Madara's vitality as fast as possible and bring him back to his prime, none of them wanted to waste even a single second.

Obito, however, wasn't interested.

Unlike Uchiha Izuna—who wanted to use Kazuki as a test subject—Obito didn't believe Kazuki would fail.

Hadn't Kazuki obtained the power of the Rinnegan even without the Demonic Statue?

Now that Kazuki wielded the Rinnegan, Obito knew he had no chance in a head-on fight. Even Madara returning to his peak wouldn't change much—it was just an old man clinging to pride, thinking that youth alone could let him wrestle with Kazuki again!

In Obito's view, a truly wise man would do the opposite: even if negotiations with Kazuki failed, he should at least avoid turning against him.

Once the Tailed Beasts were revived, Obito could use his Kamui mobility to swiftly gather the chakra required for the Demonic Statue, resurrect the Ten-Tails, and cast Infinite Tsukuyomi!

At that point, everything would be irreversible—even Kazuki wouldn't have many options.

So why the rush?

In Uchiha Obito's eyes, Madara and the others were bound to fail…

The reason they couldn't wait was because they didn't trust Kamui and feared something might go wrong—so they insisted on fighting Kazuki head-on.

Well then, if they wanted to pick a fight with Kazuki, that was their business.

Obito certainly wasn't going to follow them. Getting himself beat up for no reason wasn't the act of a wise man—and besides, he had no desire to raise a hand against Kazuki.

Lying in bed, Obito picked up a treasured diary.

It was something Rin had left him.

Whenever he felt lost or empty, Obito would take it out and read it—doing so always brought him the illusion that Rin was still talking to him, bringing a faint warmth to his heart.

And just as Obito was becoming deeply absorbed in the diary…

A dark shadow slowly emerged from the floor beneath his bedroom. Two yellow eyes, without pupils, locked onto him.

Obito sprang to his feet!

It didn't matter if it was Black Zetsu—

Even if it had been Uchiha Izuna or Uchiha Madara barging in while he was reading Rin's diary, he still wouldn't have let it slide!

The Kamui pattern immediately appeared in his eyes. In a flash, he grabbed Black Zetsu by the throat and hoisted him into the air.

"Have you gone mad?" he said coldly. "You monster…"

"You're here to spy on me? And you dare show yourself in my bedroom? Do you think I fear Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna?"

Even though Izuna's Dōjutsu had a countering effect on Kamui…

Obito didn't believe that the Mangekyō he awakened because of Rin would ever lose to anyone—anyone except Kazuki!

So what if Madara had the Rinnegan?

He still couldn't do anything to him!

Right now, Obito saw Black Zetsu as nothing more than a vicious dog raised by Uchiha Madara—one that didn't know its place and had come to intimidate him!

And being gripped by the throat like that, Black Zetsu couldn't help but feel a hint of confusion…

Truth be told, he had never actually seen Uchiha Obito truly angry—and had no idea just how paranoid and deranged Obito could become once provoked.

Back then, Uchiha Setsuna had been torn apart by Kamui in an instant.

It was just that the people Obito encountered later were Uchiha Madara, who possessed the Rinnegan…

And Uchiha Izuna, whose ocular powers countered his and who deeply understood the Uchiha psyche…

Under the dual pressure of superior strength and emotional manipulation, Obito had learned to restrain his more violent tendencies—but that didn't mean he'd show the same restraint to everyone!

A being like Black Zetsu? Even Uchiha Sasuke—the most mentally stable of the Uchiha in the original timeline—once slaughtered a bunch of White Zetsu just for fun after awakening his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan…

And Uchiha Obito was far more extreme than that. He didn't see humanoid life as anything of value.

He'd kill on a whim.

Obito narrowed his eyes dangerously, and sharp waves of spatial turbulence began to whirl around Black Zetsu like blades—

—just moments away from shredding him into pieces.

At that critical instant—

Black Zetsu summoned all his strength and managed to shout, barely audibly: "Rin… Rin!"

The moment he heard the name 'Rin',

It was as if Uchiha Obito had been struck by lightning. He immediately withdrew the Kamui storm—but the ferocity in his eyes only intensified.

You heartless monster… you dare speak her name here?

What the hell are you?!

He had always regretted killing Uchiha Setsuna too quickly back then—it had been too clean, too merciful…

There hadn't been enough time to vent his rage.

And now?

A creature created by Uchiha Madara dared to come here and taunt him—using Rin's name?

He would have to die in the most brutal way imaginable. Then Obito would go confront Uchiha Madara and demand an explanation.

Obito clenched his fist, hoisted Black Zetsu high into the air, then smashed him down onto the ground.

The force was so immense that the entire cave shook slightly.

A twisted grin crept across Obito's face—but even as he laughed, he carefully tucked the diary close to his body for safekeeping.

And it was in that small moment—while he stored the diary—that Black Zetsu finally got the chance to speak.

Still dizzy from being slammed into the ground, Black Zetsu forced himself to sit up and croaked, "Obito… I'm Rin… I am Uchiha Rin…"

Obito immediately snapped—falling into a frenzy of uncontrollable rage.

You're Rin?

You dare claim to be Rin?

But just as he was about to erupt completely, Black Zetsu hurriedly continued: "Obito, your favorite food was always sanshoku dango and deep-fried oden egg—but you thought those foods were too childish. You were afraid others would laugh at you, so you told everyone your favorites were grilled fish and sushi. But every time you came home, you always begged me to make them for you…"

Obito, who had just been on the brink of violent fury, suddenly fell silent. His lips parted slightly in disbelief.

That was something… he'd only ever told Rin.

"You're a very detail-oriented person. Do you remember when we first started living together? I used to wash your training clothes every day. But one day I got sick and didn't have the strength to scrub them properly—and you asked me if I had sent them to a laundry service…"

Black Zetsu was digging deep into his memories, pulling out every personal detail.

Because all of it was true.

At the beginning, Black Zetsu couldn't be bothered with looking after Obito—after a few days of housework, it had started delegating the laundry to a few White Zetsu clones…

But unexpectedly, Obito could tell—he even noticed the change in the scrubbing technique.

So Black Zetsu had been forced to lie, claiming it was sick and didn't have the strength. From that day on, it had no choice but to handle the laundry itself.

Now, Obito was so shaken he could barely stand.

Sensing an opportunity, Black Zetsu pushed on—desperate to prove its identity. It even invoked Kazuki: "You always told me that you felt guilty for misunderstanding Kazuki… that you hoped one day to become his right-hand man as Hokage…"

"Enough!" Obito roared, his voice thunderous.

"Stop trying to fool me!"

"You think I don't see through it?!"

A flicker of madness flashed in Uchiha Obito's eyes.

"With all the White Zetsu you possess, you can monitor most of the shinobi world. Given my abilities, I wouldn't be surprised if you've been spying on the house Rin and I lived in."

"You're saying all this just to pose as Rin and make me obey your commands!"

"Don't even try to fool me. I've known for a long time that something was off with Uchiha Madara. How else could I have survived Ōnoki's assassination attempt? It had to be a setup orchestrated by him!"

Obito let out a cold laugh.

"Ōnoki came personally to kill me. Right before I was suffocated by his Earth Release, I sensed Dust Release chakra forming… If not for Madara's intervention, how could I have survived that technique?"

Black Zetsu's heart skipped a beat.

Was this the result of prolonged exposure?

After spending so much time with it, Uchiha Obito had actually started to grow suspicious of Uchiha Madara…

In truth, it was related to Black Zetsu.

After it revealed that it was Rin, the overwhelming emotional shock had activated Obito's mind—

Temporarily elevating his rationality from a level-two thinker to a level-nine. He was finally beginning to connect all the pieces that had once felt off but hadn't made sense until now…

"I was the one who saved you, Obito…"

Black Zetsu took a deep breath and slowly knelt down before him.

"I am Rin—Uchiha Rin. But I'm also a lifeform created by Uchiha Madara using Yin-Yang Release and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. To confuse you, he even used a forbidden technique to graft Uchiha bloodline into my physical body."

"I shouldn't have deceived you, Obito… but I can't just stand by and watch you fall into an even more terrifying trap!"

"Obito, don't you remember? Those things you said to me about Kazuki… they were whispered under the covers, just between the two of us. Do you really think something like that could have been overheard by the White Zetsu network?"

Black Zetsu lowered its voice, as if afraid others might hear. Its tone was filled with guilt and sorrow.

The moment those words left its mouth, Obito felt like his brain had exploded.

He remembered!

That night…

After a fight with Rin, he'd run into Kazuki. The tension between them melted away, and they ended up talking happily. Kazuki had gifted him a large amount of ryo, pointed him toward a flower shop, and taught him how to get along with Rin.

And because she'd been so happy to receive the flowers, Rin had made an exception that night and shared the same bed with him.

The fact that Black Zetsu knew even that detail… could only mean it was Rin.

Rin was created by Uchiha Madara?

Then didn't that mean… the most precious love he'd ever known was nothing more than a manipulated joke?

It was as if a clown mask had emerged from the void—ready to be strapped onto Uchiha Obito's face.

In that moment, Obito couldn't even feel anger.

If all of this were true, then he had surpassed the peak of fury.

All he wanted now… was to die.

To leave this world and rest in peace.

The red glow in Obito's eyes faded. But then—suddenly—it flickered with a new light.

Wait a minute…

If everything Black Zetsu had said was true, why was it telling him this now?

Didn't that mean… Rin still loved him?

Obito did care about Rin's appearance—it fit his ideal type perfectly, after all.

But after so many years together, what he truly cherished was the soul he called 'Uchiha Rin'.

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