Chapter 17: Uchiha Obito  

Obito's tone was calm and arrogant, a reflection of his confidence and disdain. In truth, the wisest choice for Obito would have been to use Kamui to escape immediately.

However, his unresolved resentment and bitterness toward the Uchiha clan seemed to demand release.

The chain on Obito's wrist had been incinerated by Amaterasu, but he simply pulled out a sickle and a large circular fan from the Kamui dimension.

These were no ordinary weapons—they were Uchiha Madara's Gunbai and the Seven Star Scythe.

Fugaku's eyes widened in shock as he recognized the fan. "The Uchiha Gunbai? Wasn't this taken away by Madara long ago?"

Obito ignored Fugaku's question and, holding the Gunbai, walked directly towards him. Fugaku, still in disbelief, watched as Obito's body slowly phased through the black Susanoo he had summoned.

Seeing that his Susanoo was useless against Obito, Fugaku dispelled it and instead held a kunai at the ready, his gaze locked on Obito.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" Fugaku formed hand seals, and a massive fireball erupted from his mouth, heading straight for Obito. But just like before, the attack passed through Obito harmlessly.

Obito swung his sickle at Fugaku, who raised his kunai to block. But the sickle phased through the kunai as well, slicing towards Fugaku's head.

At that critical moment, Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan flashed red, and Obito's movements slowed for a split second, allowing Fugaku to narrowly evade the blow.

Obito looked at Fugaku with mild surprise. "A time-altering eye technique?"

Fugaku remained silent, his fear of Obito growing. Susanoo was ineffective, and his attacks couldn't touch Obito. He wasn't even sure if Obito's attacks could harm him, but the uncertainty was unsettling.

The shape of Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan was unfamiliar—it wasn't recorded in any of the Uchiha's historical archives.

Fugaku turned to Itachi. "Itachi, we must fight him together!"

Itachi's body dispersed into a flock of crows, which then reformed behind Obito. His eyes bled as he focused his Amaterasu flames on Obito.

"Amaterasu!"

Obito reacted instantly, raising the Gunbai to absorb the black flames entirely. He then swung the fan at Fugaku, shouting, "Uchiha Reflection!"

The dark flames of Amaterasu rebounded towards Fugaku, who was horrified. He quickly used 'Heavenly Hand Power' to slow down time around him, giving himself just enough time to summon Susanoo again.

But as the dark Susanoo appeared, the rebounded Amaterasu flames began to burn it as well. In the midst of this, Obito seized the opportunity and rushed towards Itachi.

Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan focused, ready to strike Obito with Amaterasu again. Yet Obito, as if anticipating Itachi's move, didn't even glance at his eyes.

A massive shuriken shot from Obito's eye, slashing toward Itachi. Itachi's body once again dissolved into crows and reformed at a distance, narrowly avoiding the attack.

Sasuke, watching the intense battle between Obito, Itachi, and Fugaku, felt his heart race. Even though Obito only had one Sharingan, his Kamui ability allowed him to avoid all attacks except for Genjutsu.

However, for Itachi's Tsukuyomi to work, eye contact was necessary, and Obito was careful not to meet Itachi's gaze.

Sasuke's heartbeat quickened. A crow flew to his side, and he grasped it nervously—this was his one chance.

Running behind Obito, Sasuke quickly formed hand seals. "Instant Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Five Sasukes appeared, all charging at Obito from different directions, surrounding him. Obito dismissed one of the clones with a wave of his fan, turning it into white mist.

Obito couldn't discern which Sasuke was the real one. "I'll just destroy them all!" he declared.

"Fire Style: Storm Dance!" Obito combined his Kamui with Fire Style, creating a swirling inferno that engulfed Sasuke's clones. As one of the clones dissipated into mist, a black crow emerged from the cloud.

The crow's sudden appearance alarmed Obito. When he saw the crow's Mangekyō Sharingan, Obito instinctively tried to flee, but it was too late.

The crow's eye gradually lost its brilliance, reverting to a standard three-tomoe Sharingan. This was Shisui's Kotoamatsukami!

In that crucial moment when the clone dissipated, Sasuke had positioned the crow to make eye contact with Obito. Kotoamatsukami activated, and Sasuke issued a command: '"Unconditionally obey Uchiha Sasuke's orders!"'

The effect of Kotoamatsukami was overwhelming. Once hit by its technique, it was almost impossible to resist. With a cooling time of fifteen years, Sasuke had used this powerful tool to control Obito.

Obito felt strange, his thoughts clouded. He knew he had been hit by Kotoamatsukami, understood what had happened, yet he felt that Sasuke's command was right. He should follow Sasuke's orders without question.

With the plan successful, Fugaku and Itachi both let out a sigh of relief. They had feared that the mysterious masked man might truly be Uchiha Madara.

Itachi asked, "Who are you? Take off your mask!"

Obito looked at Itachi with a teasing glint in his eyes. Sasuke repeated the command, "Do as Itachi said."

Obito hesitated, then slowly began to remove his mask. What was revealed was a face marred by deep scars, with a Mangekyō Sharingan in the left eye. The right eye was tightly shut, the eye itself long gone.

"I am... Uchiha... Obito," he said slowly.

Fugaku was stunned. "Obito? I remember you… You were the Fourth Hokage's disciple. But… didn't you die at the Kannabi Bridge?"

Obito stared coldly at the red moon in the sky, memories flooding back. The day he saw Rin killed by Kakashi, the moon had also been red.

Obito spoke quietly, "Thanks to my space-time jutsu, I survived. My body was caught between reality and the void, allowing me to survive. It was Madara who saved me."

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