"Ibiki, Wen Lan—what are you doing?!"
One of the ANBU barely managed to block Ibiki's kunai with his blade and shouted in panic.
"Konoha is already under the Fourth Hokage's rule," Wen Lan said coldly.
"You remnants loyal to the Third still harbor treasonous intentions—then I'll personally send you on your way!"
His body dissolved into a streak of lightning.
Ibiki and the female ninja only felt a blur before their eyes—
a manga-like trail of golden lightning carved through the air.
In the next instant, every ANBU's head flew skyward.
The female ninja stared at Wen Lan in horror. She hadn't imagined that this child could possess such terrifying killing intent.
Wen Lan slowly sheathed the Kusanagi Sword and looked at her calmly.
"Don't be afraid. They were traitors to Konoha. We just used this opportunity to wipe them out."
She stood frozen, staring at the headless corpses scattered across the ground, blood glinting coldly in the moonlight.
His words snapped her back to reality. She hurriedly shook her head.
"I—I'm not afraid…"
Even so, her voice trembled.
"What's your name?"
"Cai… Cai Ling."
"Mm. Come with us."
"Mission completed?"
In a dim underground chamber, Fuguki Suikazan sat with his back to the entrance, reading a scroll at the table.
Kisame stepped inside and bowed respectfully.
"Failure—but I didn't leave any survivors."
"Mm." Fuguki closed the scroll with satisfaction and nodded. Just as he was about to turn—
A blade suddenly pierced straight through his throat.
Fuguki's pupils shrank violently. A gurgling sound escaped his mouth as he stared in disbelief at the blood-stained tip protruding from his neck.
The blade was withdrawn.
His body collapsed lifelessly to the floor.
Kisame slowly sheathed the bloodied sword, eyes cold as he stared at the corpse. He then lifted Samehada from the wall and strapped it to his back, turning to leave.
At that moment, a figure emerged from the shadows at the doorway.
"Good work, Kisame."
A voice echoed softly.
"I guessed he'd lower his guard around a subordinate like you—and I was right.
This man colluded with the enemy. From today onward, you are the rightful owner of the great blade Samehada…
and my subordinate."
The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, stepped into the candlelight, his eyes vacant—like a puppet on strings.
Kisame looked at him coldly.
"Until the day you erase me as well, Fourth Mizukage-sama?"
"I trust your character," Yagura replied calmly.
"Only someone like you—who has carried out countless filthy missions for the sake of the village, who has betrayed again and again to fulfill orders—truly understands that this world is nothing but a lie."
Kisame sneered.
"I realized that the moment I first killed my own comrades.
As a Mist ninja forced to kill fellow Mist shinobi—what am I, really?
Enemy or ally? What is my purpose? My stance? Where am I going?
Where can I find true peace?"
"The only thing I can feel… is my own falseness."
"Then let me free you from that pain of falsehood,"
a deep, imposing voice sounded from behind Yagura.
"I will build a place where you belong."
Kisame's pupils contracted slightly. His right hand instantly gripped Samehada's hilt.
"Who are you?"
"I am Uchiha Madara."
The figure stepped out of the shadows—red armor, spiky hair, black gloves—quietly gazing at Kisame.
Kisame's pupils shrank sharply. His body tensed, instinctively assuming a battle stance.
Uchiha Madara.
The legendary man who once fought the God of Shinobi to a standstill.
He was… still alive?!
"HAHAHAHA—!"
A shrill laugh suddenly erupted behind Kisame.
Madara frowned and looked back, only to see a tiny slug crawling on Kisame's shoulder. It leapt forward—
POOF!
A cloud of smoke exploded, and Wen Lan landed on the ground.
"…You," Madara narrowed his eyes.
"You call yourself Uchiha Madara?" Wen Lan rolled his neck, staring at him with open disdain.
"Madara died long ago. And even if he were alive, he'd be a decrepit old man kept alive by the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
A man who abandoned both the Uchiha and Konoha—did you really think impersonating Madara was flawless?"
Wen Lan slowly drew the Kusanagi Sword.
"Kisame, step back. A battle involving the Sharingan isn't something you can withstand."
Kisame glanced at Yagura, then silently retreated several steps. As Wen Lan said, if this man could control the Fourth Mizukage, controlling Kisame would be trivial.
Wen Lan had no intention of exposing Obito's identity yet—
he still needed his power to unite the entire shinobi world.
Lightning erupted around Wen Lan.
"Thunder Breathing · First Form — Thunderclap and Flash!"
Brilliant lightning tore through the dark chamber. Wen Lan shot forward like a bolt, blade aimed straight at Madara's throat.
The Kusanagi Sword swept cleanly across—
Empty.
Space around Madara's body rippled unnaturally.
Kisame's pupils shrank violently.
He had seen the blade pass through Madara's neck—yet it cut nothing but air.
"This is… space–time ninjutsu…?!" Kisame gasped.
"You don't even qualify to hit me," Madara sneered, turning slowly toward Wen Lan's back.
"Is that so?"
Wen Lan snapped around—his five-pointed Mangekyō Sharingan blazing to life.
Madara stiffened.
"You've awakened the Mangekyō Shar—"
"Tsukuyomi!"
Madara's pupils shrank instantly. His body erupted into smoke, the transformation dispelling—
the image of Uchiha Madara vanished, replaced by a young man wearing a yellow spiral mask.
The illusion had destabilized his chakra.
A dim, crimson world unfolded.
A blood-red moon hung in the sky. All color drained from existence.
Obito was bound to a cross, staring at Wen Lan calmly—without panic.
"Heh…" Obito laughed softly.
"I didn't expect you to be a genjutsu-type Mangekyō user. That really was unexpected."
Genjutsu was ultimately an attack on the mind—chakra clashing against chakra.
If the caster was weaker than the target, the illusion would fail entirely.
Even when genjutsu didn't kill, it only caused mental strain—headaches, temporary incapacitation. Given time, the target would recover.
But Mangekyō genjutsu was different.
This was a direct clash of ocular power—
a battle of consumption.
And Obito had Hashirama Cells.
Even if his eyesight deteriorated, it would slowly recover.
Wen Lan, on the other hand—
Obito was confident.
In a war of attrition, Wen Lan would lose.
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