After being trapped in a black box frozen in time by Urashiki, having his chakra locked by a red glowing hook, and receiving the Kāma seal injected into his body by Ōtsutsuki Isshiki…

Uchiha Obito's consciousness had fallen into utter chaos.

His thoughts were hazy. He could barely think, let alone understand where he was…

And within this swirling confusion, his final flickers of awareness were slowly fading, as if he were about to plunge into eternal darkness—

But then—

The chakra Obito knew better than any other, radiant like a blazing sun, burst forth and illuminated his fading spirit and soul!

It was Kazuki's chakra!

"Are you alright, Obito…?"

Within the depths of Obito's mind, the chakra took shape and appeared before him as Kazuki, asking gently, just as he always had. But this time, there was a rare trace of concern and solemnity in his eyes.

"Don't fall asleep—not now! If you lose consciousness now, we'll be in real trouble!"

Obito's heart thumped wildly at the sight of that long-missed figure.

It had been so long since he'd last seen Kazuki…

Their last real conversation dated back to a time before the Third Shinobi World War had even begun…

So much had changed in the blink of an eye.

And yet, one thing remained the same—whenever he was in a hopeless situation, Kazuki was the one who reached out to help him.

"Kazuki, are… are you okay?"

Obito, despite the surge of emotion, couldn't help but look at Kazuki with worry. He didn't start by talking about his own dire situation—instead, his concern was genuine, coming straight from the heart.

"I kept thinking about saving you, but… it's my fault. I was too weak! I don't even know where those monsters came from!"

"Kazuki, you have to be careful! They're powerful—their techniques were too much even for my Mangekyō to counter. Their attacks are unpredictable… probably space-time techniques!"

Now that his mind was functioning properly again, Obito tried desperately to share any intel he could with Kazuki.

But with his limited knowledge, he couldn't analyze Isshiki's dōjutsu or Urashiki's treasured tools, nor could he figure out how to fend off the Ōtsutsuki's parasitic possession…

And just as Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan anxiously fixed on Kazuki, his face reddening with urgency, struggling to say more—

His breath caught in his throat.

Through his Sharingan, he saw it—Isshiki's chakra inside Kazuki!

And not just Isshiki's. There were multiple strands of chakra within Kazuki's body, all clearly Ōtsutsuki—distinct from normal humans in this world.

Obito's mind went blank.

Of course!

He wasn't the first shinobi to be possessed by an Ōtsutsuki. Kazuki, who had once sealed the Sage of Six Paths into his own body, was in the same predicament as Obito—at least in the end.

The only difference was… Kazuki had done it willingly, while Obito had been forced.

"Kazuki, your condition is dangerous. You need to be careful!" Obito blurted out in alarm.

But before he could say more, Kazuki raised a hand and motioned for him to stop.

"Obito, I don't have much time..."

Kazuki's tone was calm but serious. "Right now, I'm fighting Momoshiki, Urashiki, and Kaguya simultaneously. Like Isshiki, they're all extraterrestrials—I can't guarantee victory."

"Use this time wisely. Try to drive Isshiki out of your body. I can hold him off for a little longer…"

And at that moment—

The chakra-formed Kazuki released an increasingly dense aura of Kaguya's power.

Obito, whose sensory perception had partially returned, couldn't see what was happening outside—but he could feel it. The sudden and massive surge in chakra from Urashiki and Momoshiki meant they had transformed.

"There's no doubt… Kazuki is out there, fighting those beings from beyond this world… while also resisting the corruption of the Sage of Six Paths!"

Obito clenched his fists tightly, filled with frustration.

It should've been him—he should've been the one to back Kazuki up, to help him escape the manipulations of the Sage of Six Paths, Uchiha Madara, and Senju Tobirama!

The two of them—brothers in arms—should have stood together, invincible, bringing peace to this shinobi world…

'From the moment I first opened my eyes, I've been constantly in Kazuki's debt… Even now, with the Mangekyō given to me by Rin, and ocular power beyond that of an ordinary Sharingan—I still end up being the one protected by Kazuki…'

Uchiha Obito agonized in silence.

But Kazuki stepped forward, placed a firm hand on Obito's shoulder, and forced him to meet his eyes. In Kazuki's gaze was a rare, unwavering seriousness as he spoke in a resolute, commanding voice: "Obito, don't try to help me… Your power is still far from enough to contend with the Ōtsutsuki."

"I'm here to save you—not the other way around. Your only task now is to use the chakra I've sent to drive Isshiki out of your body. Then use Kamui to escape—preserve the Will of Fire for the Shinobi World!"

Obito listened to his words in agony, shaking his head again and again.

He didn't want to be the one who ran away.

If Kazuki were to be taken over by the Ōtsutsuki while trying to save him—if Kazuki lost himself—then even with Rin by his side for the rest of his life, Obito knew he'd still be tormented in a personal hell…

The kind of torment from which one never reincarnates.

He tried to respond—but Kazuki's form had already begun to dissolve.

He turned into streams of chakra, surging into Obito's body.

As the chakra entered, Kazuki's voice echoed in Obito's mind: "Obito, I don't know if my chakra will be enough to completely drive out Isshiki…"

"Give it everything you've got! And if it doesn't work, then use my chakra to shield your spirit. During my battle with Kaguya, I managed to absorb a portion of her power… That should protect you from being fully devoured by Isshiki—and might even give you a chance to fight back."

"If I manage to defeat the Ōtsutsuki, I will come back for you…"

"But you must remember this, Obito—this time, I can't promise victory. I'm sorry."

Obito's eyes widened in despair.

What was Kazuki saying?

Was he supposed to hide in the Kamui dimension and watch Kazuki fight alone like a coward?

Absolutely not!

Even if it meant dying—Obito would fight at Kazuki's side. He would rather die with him than leave him alone!

And as Kazuki's chakra fully entered Obito's body—

Obito found Isshiki!

The two began a brutal, primal battle for dominance—each aiming to crush the other and claim the body as their own.

In that mental realm, Obito and Isshiki clashed in absolute silence and savagery—fist against fist, no ninjutsu, no jutsu—just raw, unfiltered violence.

A battle of willpower made manifest.

"You think that just because Uchiha Kazuki's chakra temporarily sealed my dōjutsu, you can win?"

Isshiki glared coldly at Obito, seized his shoulders, and smashed his head forward like a weapon. "Even without my ocular power, a lowly mortal like you could never hope to defeat an Ōtsutsuki!"

"Stop struggling! Give me your body—you're already my vessel!"

Obito roared back, refusing to yield, and returned the headbutt with equal force.

Their foreheads collided with a deep, jarring thud.

And so, the struggle continued.

As Obito poured everything he had into expelling Isshiki—

He was forced to confront a bitter truth.

He couldn't do it.

How exactly was he supposed to drive him out? Even with Kazuki's chakra bolstering his resistance…

The Kāma of the Ōtsutsuki wasn't something that could be removed so easily.

This body—at its very core—already belonged to Isshiki.

And dragged into this stalemate, Obito was forced to admit… he was going to lose.

Isshiki grinned viciously, but beneath that twisted smile, he was growing desperate.

He couldn't afford to lose. Having reincarnated once already in such a short span of time, failure now would mean death.

Fortunately—

The Kāma of the Ōtsutsuki was powerful enough that, even in this psychic tug-of-war, Isshiki still believed—

Victory was inevitable.

And in the midst of this crisis…

Uchiha Obito thought of Black Zetsu.

He recalled how, in the past, Black Zetsu had once possessed him to transfer its power.

A strange thought flashed through Obito's mind—

In fact, the way Black Zetsu possessed him... wasn't all that different from how Isshiki was trying to take over his body. Only, Black Zetsu had no malicious intent.

"That's it!"

The instant the memory of Black Zetsu surfaced, a flash of profound insight ignited within Obito's mind!

He knew he couldn't defeat Isshiki—but he also couldn't run away like a coward.

To aid Kazuki, Obito decided that, at the very least, he had to deal with Isshiki within him. He couldn't let Kazuki—already fighting against multiple enemies—also have to face Isshiki on the outside.

And so, with that final resolution—

Drawing on his unique connection with Black Zetsu, Obito guided his own life force and poured it into it!

At the same time, his chakra merged tightly with Kazuki's—just like how Black Zetsu controlled minds or Isshiki implanted a Kāma—Obito transformed his tangible spirit into something formless and slipped directly into the chakra representing Isshiki's consciousness.

That was the method Obito devised.

He couldn't defeat Isshiki, but with the chakra Kazuki left him, he could ensure Isshiki wouldn't win either.

By channeling his life force into Black Zetsu, Obito greatly weakened his physical body. That way, even if his plan failed, his self-inflicted damage would at least eliminate a threat from the battlefield, sparing Kazuki from facing Isshiki as well.

More than anything, Obito didn't want his beloved to be dragged into the deadliest battle the Shinobi World had ever seen.

The one who should escape into Kamui's dimension, away from this living hell of a world, was the one most precious to him—Uchiha Rin.

Obito was a man. And a man had to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with his brother, Uchiha Kazuki.

And just like the voice that had echoed in his heart when Kazuki's chakra entered his body…

Obito's physical life force surged into Black Zetsu, along with the power of Kamui's dōjutsu.

A voice that Black Zetsu was intimately familiar with—Uchiha Obito's—sounded clearly in its mind: "Rin… back when you burned yourself using your dōjutsu to empower mine, I was already preparing for this day."

"I mastered the forbidden jutsu that Uchiha Madara once used to restore his body. I had it all ready long ago. I just wanted to surprise you… but the battlefield changed too quickly."

"I'm going to help Kazuki now. I won't let my body be used as a weapon against him. Don't worry—I've secretly learned that spirit-control technique you're so good at. After all, you never kept secrets from me."

"Remember this: when I resurrect you, you must leave this cruel world behind. Let Kazuki and me—let us fight. You just go hide in Kamui and wait for the good news of our victory."

Black Zetsu was stunned, watching as wave after wave of life force and ocular power rushed into it.

Obito's voice gradually grew faint…

But every word he spoke hammered into Black Zetsu's heart: "Rin, I know there may be secrets you're still hiding—whether they involve that extraterrestrial being named Kaguya, or even the Sage of Six Paths… I don't know what connection you have with them."

"But I know one thing for sure—you truly cared about me. And we… we truly loved each other."

"That's all that matters."

"If Kazuki and I both fall, don't come looking for me, Rin. Just don't forget me."

"Live on. My Kamui will find you a place where you can start over."

"Please… don't do anything foolish."

"Having you by my side through all this… has made me truly happy."

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