Naruto: The Hyuga Mastermind

Chapter 213: Don't Try to Remind Someone Walking in Darkness—They're Not Blind

"The only Tailed Beast currently unaccounted for in the ninja world is the Seven-Tails. It's inside you, isn't it?"

Behind his mask, Obito's expression grew increasingly conflicted. "During the last Great Ninja War, the Seven-Tails vanished from Takigakure. It was rumored to have been taken by Kirigakure, but they never used it in battle. Now it seems Hyuga Fuji intervened in secret and seized the Seven-Tails for himself."

Takigakure, knowing it wasn't a match for Kirigakure, had kept the disappearance of the Seven-Tails a secret and only contacted Kirigakure privately in an attempt to reclaim their beast.

However, due to his grudge against Kirigakure for what had happened to Rin, Obito had deployed White Zetsu spies to investigate and discovered information about the stolen Seven-Tails.

His original plan had been to retrieve his other Sharingan before attacking Kirigakure, exacting revenge while seizing the Seven-Tails. He hadn't expected to encounter the Seven-Tails' jinchuriki here—and as the person he least wanted to harm.

"Hyuga Fuji couldn't keep me here by force, so he's trying to bind me emotionally? Foolish!"

Hearing Obito's off-track yet eerily accurate deduction, Rin's eyes flickered, and she said in a low voice, "The Seven-Tails inside me has nothing to do with Senior Fuji. It's Uchiha Madara's doing! Back then, the reason I sought death myself was because he placed a curse mark on me that prevented me from taking my own life."

"Enough!" Obito shouted, cutting her off.

Rin paused for a moment, her gaze resolute as she looked at Obito. Then she continued, "Obito, I can tell—you haven't truly changed. You're still the same kind, gentle boy who dreamed of becoming Hokage! You've been deceived by Madara. There's still time—come back!"

"I said enough!" Obito's Sharingan glowed crimson. "Hyuga Fuji rewrote your memories to stop me, didn't he? How thorough!"

"If you think so, then why is the Seven-Tails still inside me, even though you believe I've already died once?"

"You already know the answer, don't you?" Rin sighed, her gaze evasive.

Obito didn't respond. He simply stared at her familiar face, his expression dazed.

When a jinchuriki dies, their Tailed Beast also dies.

If Rin had truly been the Seven-Tails' jinchuriki back then, it meant she hadn't actually died by his hand!

If this were true, then he…

"Haha… so I was just a pawn?"

Obito's laugh was low and bitter.

Both Madara and Hyuga Fuji had treated him as a mere pawn.

One had manipulated him through Rin's death, while the other sought to bind him by saving her.

If it had been the old Obito, this realization might have driven him to despair.

But the current Obito, after a fleeting moment of anger, regained his composure.

Without strength, he could only be a pawn, unable to control his own destiny. But if he became the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki, wielding the world's greatest power, everything would revolve around him!

"After today, I'll no longer be anyone's pawn." Obito's voice carried a strange calm as he looked at Rin's evasive eyes. "Your wish for me to return is nothing but your one-sided hope. Rin, I've come too far to turn back. For the sake of the Eye of the Moon Plan, I'm afraid… you'll have to die again."

With those words, Obito lunged toward Rin.

"Obito, you—"

Don't try to remind someone walking in darkness—they're not blind.

Rin opened her mouth but stopped herself, recalling what Hyuga Fuji had once told her. She fell silent, choosing not to persuade him further.

Her presence had only solidified Obito's resolve. Where she might have once had a chance to reach him, that possibility had now vanished. From this moment on, no one would be able to sway Obito with mere words.

As Obito closed the distance, Rin deftly drew a kunai, slashing at him. As expected, the weapon passed harmlessly through his intangible form.

But she didn't panic. Her left hand gathered moisture into a droplet.

"Water Style: Water Gun Technique!"

A technique personally taught to her by Hozuki Gengetsu. Obito, recognizing its danger, didn't take any risks and phased out to avoid it.

As they passed each other, Obito reached out and grabbed Rin's left shoulder.

"You're far too weak."

A swirling vortex appeared at Rin's shoulder, threatening to drag her into the Kamui dimension.

Rin's expression remained calm. She glanced toward her distant allies, where a crimson liquid stirred beneath her sleeve.

But before her allies' backup plan could activate, a sharp, bird-like chirping filled the air. Kakashi suddenly appeared nearby, forcing Obito to retreat.

"How nostalgic… How long has it been since the three of us were together like this? I thought I'd never see this scene again."

Kakashi, his body covered in wounds, scanned between Obito and Rin with sharp eyes before fixing his gaze on Obito. "People who don't cherish their comrades are worse than scum. Have you forgotten those words, Obito?"

Kakashi had noticed Obito shortly after he charged into the battlefield but had been too preoccupied dealing with Hozuki Gengetsu to intervene.

When he saw Rin, who had supposedly died, appear as well, and realized Obito intended to attack her, Kakashi panicked and rushed over, injuries be damned.

Both of these people were his greatest regrets—his deepest scars.

He couldn't stand by and watch them destroy each other.

"This has nothing to do with you, Kakashi," Obito said, retreating a step. His gaze shifted to Rin, who also stepped back, forming a triangle with the other two. "We stand on different sides. Don't talk to me about comrades."

Kakashi glanced at Rin, whose face was filled with complicated emotions, and fell silent.

---

Obito didn't give Kakashi time to dwell on it. Without hesitation, he lunged at Rin again, ignoring Kakashi entirely.

"You—"

Kakashi moved instinctively to intercept him, rushing toward Obito from the side.

Rin suddenly noticed the faint smile tugging at Obito's lips, her pupils contracting. "Kakashi, his target is you!"

At the same time, Obito's cold laughter echoed. "Do it!"

In a sudden twist, a white creature emerged from the ground near Kakashi's feet, binding him with its vines. Obito pivoted, reaching out for Kakashi.

Remaining calm, Kakashi reached into his ninja pouch with his left hand, pulling out two explosive tags. One he dropped at his feet; the other he stuck directly onto Obito's now-tangible body.

Meanwhile, his right hand sparked with blue lightning as he aimed it at Obito's heart.

Whatever Obito's plan, there was no way he'd risk his life to continue.

But Kakashi miscalculated.

"Zetsu!"

A head with a swirling white face emerged from Obito's shoulder, grinning as it extended a hand toward Kakashi's Sharingan. In an instant, its fingers pressed against Kakashi's eye, extracting it.

Obito, still intangible, allowed Kakashi's Chidori to pass through him, letting the attack pierce his chest and destroy his heart.

Kakashi's expression twisted in shock. Against three elite opponents simultaneously, he had lost the upper hand.

"Ahhh!"

Kakashi screamed as the white hand ruthlessly removed his Sharingan. Blood poured from his eye socket as he stumbled back, clutching his face with his remaining hand.

Obito, weakened from losing his heart, breathed heavily.

But even as he accepted the Mangekyo Sharingan handed to him by White zetsu, his laughter filled the air.

"Haha… Hahaha!"

"From this moment forward, the ninja world will be mine to control!"

(Chapter End)