After returning to the Land of Snow, Obito first released the well-fed Hinata from Kamui space and casually introduced her to the fortress and his tools.
"You actually went and kidnapped someone from the Hyuga clan?!" Yugao's eyes widened the moment she saw Hinata's pale Byakugan.
"Nonsense! She was being kidnapped by Cloud shinobi. I just… picked her up halfway," Obito replied shamelessly.
"Oh? Then why didn't you return her to the Hyuga clan, hm?" Yugao crossed her arms, her expression sharp, as if she could see straight through him.
She had long since grown used to Obito's cheekiness.
"I picked her up with my own strength. That makes her mine. Why should I give her back?"
Obito said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"..."
Yugao was speechless. His brazenness really had no bottom line.
After hastily introducing Hinata to the others and instructing them to take care of her, Obito asked Chihori for a photo of her and Karin, then left the Land of Snow in a hurry.
Night fell over Konoha. The moon hung high, stars scattered across the dark sky.
Lights flickered out one by one in every household, leaving only the dim glow of street lamps.
Apart from the occasional shinobi darting through the night, and the ever-lit Hokage building, the entire village rested in silence.
In the early hours of the morning, space distorted inside a single-family apartment. A figure emerged in the bedroom of the Fourth Hokage's son.
The room was pitch black, but Obito moved without hesitation until he stood at the boy's bedside.
Naruto was sprawled out, sleeping soundly, his quilt kicked away. Obito's lips curled faintly as he placed a hand on the child's forehead.
His consciousness slipped inward.
In the next instant, Obito's senses entered Naruto's spiritual world and he realized he had gone the wrong way.
A massive iron gate loomed in front of him. Behind it, the enormous form of the Nine-Tailed Fox glared with burning malice.
"…It's you."
The beast recognized him immediately. With a roar, its chakra surged violently from behind the bars.
"Shut up."
Obito's scarlet Sharingan spun, three tomoe turning slowly.
The Nine-Tails froze in place. Silence fell.
Satisfied, Obito ignored the giant fox and closed his eyes, letting his spiritual sense probe deeper.
"Found it…" he murmured with a faint smile.
The Soul Devouring Art, a technique he had mastered... allowed him to perceive and consume the origin of souls. Tracing Naruto's essence wasn't difficult.
But what he found made him pause.
"…What a pity."
Obito's eyes opened as he withdrew his hand from Naruto's forehead.
Within Naruto's soul, interwoven with his very being, was a strange chakra.
Asura's chakra.
Obito had no doubts. Reincarnated chakra wasn't just a power-up, it left imprints on the host's personality.
After all, to reincarnate again and again over centuries… how could it not leave a mark?
Generations of Asura's descendants had carried the same qualities, the same irritating "never-give-up" light. It wasn't coincidence... it was inevitability.
But Obito couldn't strip it away. The two had fused long ago. To forcefully rip it out would shatter Naruto's soul beyond repair.
And killing Naruto now… was far too risky.
Who knew what that old ghost, the Sage of Six Paths, would do if his little game ended prematurely?
For thousands of years, that ancient meddler had sat in the Pure Land, watching his sons reincarnations repeat the same cycle, generation after generation, cheering them on like some voyeur.
If Asura's vessel was destroyed before he even met Indra's, it would definitely alert him.
So Obito restrained himself.
If he wanted to act, it had to be later... after the other eight Tailed Beasts were collected.
Only then, once the Nine-Tails was pulled out and the Ten-Tails resurrected, could he devour it all in one stroke.
By then, even if the Sage himself descended to hand out hacks to his "beloved sons," it would be far too late.
When the time came, everything would boil down to one truth: whoever had the bigger fists would take it all.
Still… if the Sage of Six Paths himself stepped out of the Pure Land now and confronted him directly, Obito knew he'd be powerless.
Not even Kamui could save him from that.
But if the old geezer tried to invade his spiritual space instead... then things would be different. Souls were the one thing Obito had never feared.
With the Devouring Art, he could eat the Sage himself.
That would have been the plan if he'd wanted to kill Naruto right from the start. But now… his thinking had changed.
Although he couldn't tear Asura's chakra out of Naruto, there was another path.
If he evolved his Sharingan into the Rinnegan, then with his Devouring Art combined with those eyes, he could reshape Naruto's soul, reborn without Asura's chakra.
That way, he could claim both Indra and Asura's chakra without actually killing them.
"It seems you're still lucky, blond fraud," Obito muttered, pouting as he stared down at Naruto's sleeping face.
"You should be grateful your mother's beautiful…"
His gaze shifted meaningfully to the side.
"Get away from Naruto!"
A crisp roar rang out, and golden chains shot across the room.
Bang!
They tore through Obito's body, stabbing the wall behind him. The Adamantine Sealing Chains glowed in the moonlight.
Obito sighed and turned his head toward the door. There stood a red-haired young woman, her eyes blazing.
"Yo. Long time no see, Kushina."
"Don't give me that crap!" Kushina snapped, though a flicker of shock crossed her face before vigilance took over.
"What are you trying to do to Naruto?"
"I don't want to do anything," Obito replied coolly.
"Don't worry, Kushina. Your son's fine." His tone was almost casual, as if the golden chains impaling him didn't matter.
"I just happened to be in Konoha on some business. I noticed things weren't looking so good for you and your boy, so I dropped by. That's all."
He stepped aside, gesturing toward the bed. "If you don't believe me, check him yourself."
Kushina didn't hesitate. She hurried past him and knelt at Naruto's bedside, carefully inspecting her son. Relief softened her face when she found him only in a deep, peaceful sleep.
Then her expression sharpened again as she turned back to Obito.
"Then why did I feel the Nine-Tails chakra just now?"
"Oh, that." Obito shrugged. "It noticed me as soon as I came in and started throwing a fit. I had to use my Sharingan to calm it down."
His lies rolled off his tongue smoothly, impossible to read.
"You know how it is. The fox is sealed in your son, and I've… had a hand in that. So it's not just you and Naruto, it hates me, too."
Kushina checked the seal carefully once more. It was intact. No abnormalities. Slowly, her tension eased.
"…I'm sorry, I—"
"No need to apologize."
Seeing that she had taken the bait, Obito let the Sharingan's glow fade from his eye and walked forward, closing the distance. He reached out and embraced her.
Surprisingly, she didn't resist. Her body didn't even stiffen.
"It's normal for a mother to care for her child," Obito said softly, his voice calm, almost kind.
"And I am an intruder. If you want to take a swing at me, that's only natural."
His hand brushed her back gently, his expression warm and easygoing.
(Well… attitude matters. After all, I still plan to fuck her…)
Kushina shook her head faintly, a blush rising on her cheeks. "No… it's nothing. Just… next time you come to me, pick a better time and place."
She leaned into the familiar embrace, her heart conflicted. This masked bastard was her son's savior.
As long as he didn't harm her or Naruto, she couldn't bring herself to be hostile.
And it had been so long since anyone had spoken to her so gently.
Then a sudden thought made her eyes widen. She pulled back quickly.
"The Anbu...!"
She turned toward the window, as if she was really worried they might already be watching.
"Relax." Obito's voice was steady, playful even.
"They won't notice a thing. Like always, they'll assume it's business as usual. Just… find a more believable excuse next time."
"Hmph… I don't know what you're talking about." Kushina glanced at his Sharingan and waved her hands, her face redder than before.
She helped tuck Naruto back under the quilt, then looked at Obito again.
"Let's… go outside and talk." She paused, her expression complicated. She knew full well he never came here just to "talk."
"Yes," Obito said calmly, this time without any teasing in his tone.
--
𝘼/𝙉: 𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚… 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮'𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 CLAP 𝙨𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙖𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙜𝙪𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙋𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙋𝙞𝙚𝙘𝙚: 𝘿𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙂𝙤𝙡 𝘿. 𝙍𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩.
--------------------------------------
Support me at patreon.com/Arthorain and read upto 50 Advanced Chapters and Exclusive R-18 Content!
--------------------------------------
Update schedule: 7 chapters/week
Every 300 power stones = 1 Extra Chapter
By voting with [power stones], you can easily get double the number of chapters.