"No matter what identity you take in the future, do not call yourself Uchiha again." Fugaku's voice was flat, devoid of warmth. He looked at Itachi as if seeing a stranger. "Otherwise, I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth and kill you." Scarlet tomoes spun in his eyes.
"Hahaha, you can barely protect yourself, yet you talk about expelling Itachi from the Uchiha clan? How ridiculous." The Masked Man's scoffed while mocking. Around him, the few Uchiha elites who hadn't been instantly slaughtered lay scattered, broken figures on the ground. "After tonight, the Uchiha clan will be erased from the entire Shinobi World."
Itachi started, "Father-" but under Fugaku's cold gaze, he corrected himself. "Fugaku-sama." His own eyes changed. "In front of these eyes, you have no chance of winning." Mangekyo Sharingan bloomed in his gaze.
"Is that your confidence, Itachi?" Fugaku stared, startled by the sight of those legendary eyes. Wondering when could he have awakened it. 'And I fear this Masked Man also possesses them,' Fugaku thought, his gaze flicking casually towards the masked figure still cutting down clan members nearby. 'It seems I'll die here.' His resolve hardened. 'But I won't tarnish the Uchiha name. Uchiha never retreat!'
Just as he braced himself, an anomaly occurred.
"Itachi!?" A shrill scream tore through the air. Izumi Uchiha, who should have been dead moments ago, somehow pushed herself upright. The wound that had pierced her heart was gone, as if time had rewound, but one of her eyes was now completely white. This was 'Izanagi,' a forbidden Uchiha jutsu that could cast genjutsu on reality itself to restore the caster's body state at the cost of permanent blindness in the activated eye.
Staring at Itachi, her one remaining eye blazed with hatred. The three tomoe within it spun frantically, blurring faster and faster, until they fused into a single, swirling pattern. As Mangekyo Sharingan bloomed in Izumi's eye.
"Itachi, I swear I will kill you!" *Whoosh!* Izumi sprang forward, in a blur of motion. Her speed was incredible, even Fugaku, with his activated three-tomoe Sharingan, could only see an afterimage. The kunai in her hand plunged mercilessly into Itachi's abdomen. Blood immediately gushed out.
"Where is he?" Instead of celebrating her hit, Izumi's gaze darted around, vigilant. The Itachi she'd stabbed suddenly burst into a cloud of crows that scattered into the night.
A Crow Clone.
"Hmph," Masked Man scoffed, glancing at Izumi. "So she achieved the Mangekyo. It's only one eye." His voice was dismissive, though a calculating glint entered his visible eye. "Yet against two pairs of Mangekyo against you." He spread his arms slightly. "Tonight, the Uchiha clan will be annihilated, regardless of your struggles!"
With that, Masked man abandoned his previous target and moved to join Itachi in attacking Izumi. It made a twisted kind of sense, his own Mangekyo was missing an eye.
"Your opponent is me." A cold voice. Masked man felt a sudden gust of wind behind his head, thick with scorching heat and overwhelming power, whistling towards him at blinding speed. His instincts screamed danger, and he instantly activated his Intangibility. A powerful fist punched straight through where his head had been.
*Boom!* The ground where Masked Man had just stood cratered inwards. Spiderweb cracks split the earth, sending dirt and gravel splattering outwards. A giant pit, several meters wide, appeared before everyone's eyes.
(E/N: Using Obito's name now, because Naruto knows who he actually is. During the scenes where others don't know his true identity I used Masked Man, 'Madara', Tobi depending on context. Naruto would be used for his name as he is Mc, unless he is specifically disguising himself.)
'That kind of Strength-Enhanced Punch...' Obito thought, swallowing hard. 'If I'd been hit... even I would be severely injured.' He was lucky he'd reacted so fast.
Naruto appeared before them, also wearing a spiral mask. "Next time, I won't give a warning." He pointed a finger towards where Obito's head had been, mimicking the gesture of shooting a gun.
'Someone from Konoha?' Obito ignored the threat, speaking to himself, then answering. 'Probably not. If he was from Konoha, he wouldn't save the Uchiha. He'd be killing them with me.' He mused on his own ability. His Intangibility was the perfect counter to any Taijutsu user. 'As long as I'm a little careful, this guy can't hurt me. No matter how high your attack power is, what's the use if you can't hit?'
"Itachi, quickly kill her and take her eye." Not that he was afraid, but Obito was wary of further unpredictable events. "Enough surprises for one night."
Just as Obito moved to team up with Itachi, Naruto was there again, blocking his path. "Are you deaf or something? I said your opponent is me!"
Obito snorted. "Don't overestimate yourself." His body flickered, becoming ethereal like a wavering image. "Since you're so eager to die, I am kind hearted enough to grant your wishes..." Behind Naruto, another Obito coalesced, wooden spikes already forming in his outstretched palm. 'Wood Release: Thrusting Spear Jutsu.'
But just as Obito's palm neared the back of Naruto's head, Naruto subtly tilted his head as if he had eyes in the back of it, easily evading the attack. In the same instant, he swung his left fist, delivering a heavy blow to Obito's abdomen.
Obito doubled over, spitting a mouthful of blood directly into his mask. That punch nearly sent him to the Pure Land to meet Madara.
Obito's Intangibility should have made him invulnerable to pure taijutsu attacks like that punch. The ability's only weakness was the split second the user had to become tangible to actually interact with the world, to attack. That moment of turning solid created a subtle ripple in the air, a flow of gas due to the friction.
Naruto, possessing a form of Ki Sensing akin to Goku's ability to sense movements even without seeing them (like during the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai), could perceive this minute flow. He hadn't predicted Obito's attack, he'd simply felt the instant Obito solidified behind him and reacted in that same micro-second window. This information gap was how he'd caught Obito completely off guard.
Reeling from the devastating blow, Obito immediately turned intangible and retreated. Seeing this, Naruto didn't pursue. For a moment, the two simply watched each other, a silent agreement to pause the fight. Obito couldn't hurt Naruto easily, but for now, as long as Obito didn't attack, Naruto couldn't land a blow either. Intangibility truly was a frustrating ability. Without Spatial Ninjutsu, harming Obito was incredibly difficult.
Obito, unable to understand how Naruto had hit him, suspected some unknown Jutsu. Unwilling to risk further surprises or gauge Naruto's full strength, he didn't dare act rashly. A stalemate had formed. But he knew if Naruto moved to help Izumi, he would have to intervene.
Fugaku preparing himself to enter the battle to protect Izumi, paused sensing someone. He turned his attention to surrounding, looking at the defeated, but not yet dead, Uchiha scattered nearby.
A figure appeared, accompanied by a familiar voice. "Sorry for the wait, everyone." It was the Fourth Hokage, Minato, who had finished re-establishing the Flying Thunder God Guiding Thunder Barrier.
-------------------
Dear Readers and Fans,
For those eager to dive into next chapters earlier before others, I invite you to join us on Patreon. By becoming our Patron, you not only gain access to exclusive advanced chapters but also help us continue this endeavour and expand it further.
https://www.pat reon.com/8Ashes8
(no space)
You can read upto 7 Chapters in advance.