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Chapter 67 - The Ten-Tails’ Devouring Pain Is Nothing Next to Losing Rin… Am I Still Me?

[Itachi: "Sasuke, how many times have I told you—drop the edge."]

[Sasuke: "…"]

[Naruto: "Tch, he only knows how to act cool."]

[Sarada: "Dad really wasn't that mature as a kid… Lord Seventh is still the GOAT."]

[Boruto: "Heh, wait till they rank Sasuke-sensei—everyone in the Shinobi World will be shook!"]

(…If they start from "little peanut," Sasuke's going to die of secondhand embarrassment—and probably throttle Kakashi.)

Obito locked onto the Third Hokage.

Hiruzen read him in a heartbeat—mind racing, mapping the Truth-Seeking Orbs' rules mid-fight.

The peanut gallery blinked.

[Darui: "Why are all Konoha Kage this cracked?"]

[Kurotsuchi: "Because all the good resources funnel to Konoha."]

[Ōnoki: "Relax—so long as Danzo's there, Konoha stays nerfed."]

[Raikage A: "Put Danzo in any other village, he gets medals for that behavior."]

[Mei: "Man served Konoha with a heart that beat for other villages."]

[Danzo: "Fools! You don't understand my will! Obito, hand that Kamui eye to me at once!"]

[Tobirama: "Danzo, visit the Pure Land. We need a chat."]

[Hashirama: "Yes, yes, I'll even teach you a technique…"]

Steel rang. Hiruzen's shuriken carved arcs of light—

Hand Sign: Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!

One blade became thousands.

Obito glanced up—unimpressed—

raised a palm. A Truth-Seeking Orb lanced through the clones, and in the blink of an eye he was against Hiruzen's face.

Immediate—Refinement.

Hiruzen's upper body was cored through; his legs folded where he stood, toppling like a puppet with cut strings.

Shock rolled through the onlookers.

From underdog to Six Paths—it was like watching a man shed flesh and turn immortal.

[Minato: "There's no one left who can match him… is there?"]

[Itachi: "Remove the 'maybe,' Fourth."]

[Sasuke: "You all forget I exist."]

[Boruto: "Yeah! Watch Sasuke-sensei smoke him!"]

Obito ghosted to Minato. A clash—then he suddenly vaulted skyward.

His abdomen swelled, careened, and slammed down like a meteor—

the earth shuddered.

"Big-Belly Obito, limited-time return!"

[Kushina: "Why is that stomach so huge?"]

[Obito: "It's called Big Belly."]

[Itachi: "A pop-up event, 'Big-Belly Obito Returns.'"]

[Hashirama: "Wait, why did he grow one?"]

[Tobirama: "Brother, it's a joke."]

[Kabuto: "He isn't a perfect Jinchūriki yet."]

[Orochimaru: "Mm. The Ten-Tails is resisting the leash."]

[Rin: "Then what happens to Obito…?"]

[Hagoromo: "Even I cannot say. None have truly perfected the Ten-Tails."]

Seeing Obito momentarily locked up, Minato's eyes flashed.

"My own original—Rasen Flash Super Wheel Dance—Third Style!"

The kids went silent.

(Yeah… the Fourth names moves like a light novel author.)

"Gamaken! Dodge! He's below!" Naruto shouted.

The ground erupted—Obito snaked up like a burrowing serpent, smashing Gamaken aside.

Naruto pinwheeled into rubble.

"Phased through the earth… only the upper half—" Minato hissed.

Obito's body elongated. A Truth-Seeking spear poised to skewer Naruto—

Sasuke's Susanoo slammed between them with a bone-deep clang.

A shockwave boomed. Obito's extended leg drop-kicked Minato out of sight.

(Luffy cameo unlocked)

Obito, all rubber-limb menace, palmed Naruto and Sasuke's faces—black staff twitching to nail both skulls—

Naruto twisted free with a sly, Naruto-class wriggle, teeth grit.

Obito drew breath to finish it—

his left side bulged grotesquely. Pain like a red-hot auger bored through him.

He snatched a single orb, flicked—

—The orb curved, missed, and tore through Obito's own body on the return.

His vision blanched. Flesh ballooned, then devoured itself, leaving only a single, staring eye above the tide.

Tears beaded, fell. A whisper fluttered from a throat that wasn't there.

[Rin: "Obito… you've done enough. Please, come back."]

[Kakashi: "Obito, I'm begging you—come home."]

[Minato: "You once aimed to be Hokage… how did it come to this?"]

[Obito: "…"]

The video softened—Team 7's old photo flashed by…

Obito's corner was ripped away.

The Ten-Tails tore his right arm. Breath came in knives.

The pull didn't stop—like someone scraping bone with steel, a hurt that never blinked.

Some turned away. Even haters gritted their teeth.

[Tobirama: "If he retakes control, he'll become a perfect Jinchūriki."]

[Hashirama: "That's… not simple. Will isn't infinite. Even I might break."]

[Itachi: "His resolve… terrifying."]

[Rin: "Hang on, Obito."]

[Kakashi: "You've carried enough."]

[Boruto: "Watching this hurts. Can he really perfect it?"]

[Hagoromo: "Wrestling the Ten-Tails is… beyond hard."]

Schadenfreude. Worry. Pity.

Yes—Obito had done terrible things. But this… was a sentence no one deserved.

Could he claw back the reins? Was this where the thread snapped?

The world whitened. In the glare, a girl smiled from far away—soft as spring.

Obito's pupil shrunk—then focused.

His will—

locked in.

Bit down.

Fought back.

"…The Ten-Tails' bite… not even a ten-thousandth of losing you, Rin."

Am I still me?

The answer gathered like a storm.

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