Obito was trapped beneath a massive slab of stone.
Daishi had been preparing to ambush Uchiha Obito from the shadows.
But just as he lunged, Obito suddenly spun around, kunai in both hands, and drove one straight forward.
"Wh—why? There's no way he could've seen me!"
Kakashi blinked in shock. "Obito… you…"
Daishi slowly became visible as Obito's kunai buried itself in his chest—right through the heart.
At that moment, Obito's eyes were no longer ordinary. In his right eye, the Sharingan had awakened—two tomoe spinning clearly in the crimson iris.
"Y-Your eye…" Daishi gasped, staring in disbelief at the Uchiha's gaze before letting out one final breath and collapsing to the ground.
Obito's face was resolute. "I will protect my comrades. Right here, right now."
Kakashi stared. "You awakened it… the Sharingan?"
Obito glanced at his hand, still trembling from the moment. "Yeah… it's like I can see chakra movement. Everything is clearer."
Suddenly, Kakashi winced and covered his left eye, blood seeping through his fingers.
Obito looked at him, concerned. "Kakashi! Are you okay?"
"I'll manage… Rin gave me a field med kit. I can treat it for now. Let's move—we need to rescue her and Katsuhiko, fast."
Kakashi quickly bandaged his eye and the two moved deeper into the cave system.
Deeper inside, Firelight—his face partially illuminated by flickering torchlight—grinned smugly.
He had already extracted information from Takei Katsuhiko.
Across from him, Rin Nohara, still conscious, glared at him.
"Heh… for a medic-nin, you've got guts," Firelight sneered.
Then Kakashi and Obito appeared at the entrance to the chamber.
Firelight's eyes narrowed. "So Daishi failed… useless trash."
Obito activated his Sharingan again, scanning Rin and Katsuhiko.
"Their chakra… it's unstable. It doesn't flow like ours."
"They're under genjutsu," Kakashi concluded. "Looks like he forced the intel out of your comrade, Obito."
Katsuhiko, his eyes vacant, mumbled, "I told you… everything… please… don't kill me…"
Firelight smirked. "Tch. Not bad, for a bunch of brats."
"Kakashi," Obito said, eyes fixed on the enemy. "Be careful. He's fast."
"I know. I've fought him before."
Firelight lunged forward, twin double-bladed weapons in hand.
"Thunder Breathing, Third Form: Gathering Mosquitoes into Thunder!"
Kakashi spun around him in a blur, trailing arcs of lightning, slashing from multiple angles—but Firelight blocked each blow.
With a flick of his hands, Firelight formed hand seals.
"Earth Release: Earth Pillar Explosion!"
Spikes of stone erupted from the ground, targeting Kakashi, forcing him to abandon his form and leap away.
Without hesitation, Firelight formed more seals.
"Earth Release: Stone Pillar Spear!"
A sharpened spike shot from the ground beneath Obito.
Obito flipped backward, narrowly dodging. Firelight charged, knowing Obito was the weaker of the two.
He swung both blades down.
Obito bent low, arching backward with surprising flexibility. Through his Sharingan, he found an opening in Firelight's defense.
Placing one hand to the ground, he kicked forward with both legs, striking Firelight cleanly in the abdomen.
Caught off guard, Firelight staggered.
At that moment, Kakashi swept in and slashed him across the neck.
Firelight collapsed.
Kakashi and Obito ran to Rin.
"Release!"
Kakashi disrupted the genjutsu on her, and Rin slowly regained consciousness.
"Kakashi? Obito?"
Seeing her awake, Obito breathed out in relief. "We're here, Rin. You're safe now."
"We need to leave," Kakashi said. "Quickly."
As Kakashi prepared to disrupt Katsuhiko's genjutsu, Firelight stirred and rose.
"Smart teamwork… but still just brats."
The earlier strike had only grazed his shoulder—not his neck.
Firelight sneered. "You almost had me. Almost. But now… this cave is your tomb."
He formed a rapid sequence of hand seals.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Divide!"
The ground rumbled violently. The cave ceiling cracked and began to collapse.
"Damn it!" Kakashi shouted. "Everyone—head for the exit!"
"Wait!" Obito said. "Katsuhiko is still tied up!"
The boy in question struggled, terrified. "Please… help me! Don't leave me to die!"
"No time!" Kakashi snapped. "Forget him, we have to go!"
"I won't abandon a comrade!" Obito shouted. "Kakashi, take Rin and go. I'll get him!"
Obito rushed to Katsuhiko and slashed the ropes with his kunai.
But as Obito was about to help him up, Katsuhiko shoved him aside and scrambled toward the exit like a coward.
Obito crashed to the ground. "Damn it!"
Kakashi ran back to help. "Obito!"
He pulled Obito up, and together they began running—but a falling boulder struck Kakashi's head, knocking him unconscious.
Rin screamed and tried to run toward them, but Obito yelled, "Don't come! Stay back!"
Grunting with effort, Obito lifted Kakashi and hurled him toward Rin.
Firelight, now watching from a safe distance, smiled smugly. "That's enough. I got what I needed. Time to disappear."
---
A while later…
Rin and Kakashi stirred to consciousness, groggy from the impact.
"…Obito?" Kakashi rasped.
They looked up—only to freeze in horror.
Half of Obito's body was crushed under a massive boulder.
"Obito!"
Kakashi rushed to the rock, desperately trying to move it—but it wouldn't budge.
"Don't… it's no use," Obito whispered. "My right side… I can't feel anything anymore. It's over."
Kakashi slammed his fist into the rock. "Why?! Why did you do that?! You could've escaped! He pushed you, and you still saved him!"
Obito smiled weakly, blood trailing from his lips. "Because… he was a comrade."
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