The moment they crossed paths, Obito was already gravely wounded.

The massive serpent form of Uchiha Kirin rampaged through the cavern, smashing open the stone gate of a chamber with a casual sweep of its tail and retrieving a gourd-shaped war fan from within.

With a flick of his wrist, he whipped up a violent gale that sent Obito—who had just resurrected himself using Izanagi—flying once again.

Black Zetsu liquefied his body and tried to flee underground, but as soon as he merged into the soil, he realized that the earth around him was unnaturally solid.

In a split second of distraction, he was caught within a barrier prison woven from the rules of water, fire, and death.

Uchiha Kirin clasped his claws together.

Two blue chakra orbs shot out from behind him and fused into the barrier.

The barrier compressed. The White Zetsu he was possessing was instantly obliterated, and Black Zetsu was compressed into a one-foot-square cube, completely immobilized.

Still riding the momentum of Izanagi, Obito stabilized his footing by clinging to the cavern wall with chakra, bracing himself against the storm.

Then, he unleashed his most powerful move.

The giant white serpent spun around with astonishing speed—completely at odds with its massive size—and gently swung the war fan in its hand.

The Fire Style attack that Obito had just released was instantly converted into Wind Style and reflected back at him.

Even with Kamui keeping it barely intact, it flickered precariously.

This was the insurmountable gulf in strength between the two.

And yet, Uchiha Kirin hadn't even been trying.

"Universal Pull!"

The Tenseigan activated. Enormous suction burst forth from the white serpent's hand, yanking Obito off the wall.

At the same time, the other eye—still bearing six tomoe—rotated in reverse, locking Kamui and sealing away his intangibility.

Obito was then slammed violently into the ground, creating a deep crater.

His mask shattered. His clothes were in tatters. Blood spurted in every direction.But since Izanagi's duration had not yet ended, Obito quickly regenerated despite the damage.

"Wood Style!"

Snarling, Obito poured out all his chakra in one go, knowing full well this mysterious and terrifying summon was trying to kill him.

Massive, jagged wooden spikes burst from the earth like gnarled roots, driving straight for the serpent's underbelly.

Clang!

A metallic clash rang through the cavern as the thick roots struck the white serpent's belly, sending out a shower of sparks.

More roots encircled the serpent from all sides, binding it tightly. Vines and thorns whipped and battered its scales relentlessly.

It seemed like Wood Style had the upper hand.

But on closer inspection...

The white serpent hadn't moved an inch.

Even when its eyes were struck, it didn't flinch. In fact, it yawned, clearly bored.

When the Wood Style barrage finally ended, Obito had depleted all his chakra, and Izanagi reached its final seconds.

The serpent transformed into a human.

...

A boy, no older than four or five, dressed in traditional Uchiha garb, delicate and adorable—yet radiating no threat whatsoever—walked calmly forward.

He passed through the remains of the rock-hard Wood Style, carving a neat humanoid tunnel through it.

Still smiling, the boy unclipped a kunai from his waist.

He hoisted the now-defenseless Obito with one hand and, without hesitation, slit his stomach open from top to bottom with the kunai.

"Heh... You can't kill me. Uchiha Madara... is eternal!"

The next moment, Obito revived in the distance, summoning a Kamui vortex to escape.

He had used the final seconds of Izanagi to recover from the fatal strike.

But... was that really all there was to it?

"Fugaku: Reality-Reversal!"

(T/N: Fugaku. A Dojutsu that can convert Genjutsu damage into real-world injuries)

As a certain yellow-furred weasel would say—

Every jutsu has a weakness.

But for Uchiha Kirin, a weakness isn't your only problem...

The space-time vortex dissipated.

Obito hadn't escaped.

Instead, he collapsed to his knees, wailing in agony.

He was desperately scooping up his spilled entrails from the ground and trying to stuff them back inside his body.

That last slash hadn't been ordinary—it was imbued with a Mangekyō Genjutsu that turned illusionary damage into reality!

Not even Izanagi could undo it!

Logically, even such wounds should have rapidly healed thanks to the regenerative power of White Zetsu cells.

And yet...

The wounds showed no signs of closing.

Because the attack carried a death-rule-based effect—every White Zetsu cell near the wound had been surgically eliminated by Uchiha Kirin.

Kirin walked closer, kunai still in hand.

Every step he took echoed ominously.

Obito continued scooping up his spilled organs, crawling desperately toward the only exit of the cavern.

Frightened and clumsy, he fell repeatedly, vomiting blood.

Yet as the footsteps drew closer, he began abandoning pieces of his organs, hoping to lighten his load and increase his chances of escape.

...

For Obito, who thought he'd weathered every kind of storm—

Even the failed Uchiha Massacre wasn't a complete defeat. He could just go underground, bide his time, and come back stronger.

But now...

He, who once thought himself invincible in the shinobi world, had been utterly crushed by a mysterious summon.

He'd been gutted by a child.

Even the regenerative powers of his White Zetsu cells were gone.

Even his precious Kamui was completely sealed...

"How pathetic. This is the so-called Uchiha Madara?"

Uchiha Kirin sneered, quickening his pace.

...

At this moment—

Obito reacted like any ordinary person who'd returned from a mission, just reunited with loved ones, or finally learned a new jutsu to show off—

Only to be mercilessly slaughtered without warning during the Uchiha Massacre.

...

Obito's mind was in utter disarray. He couldn't even form coherent thoughts.

Like a primitive creature, he thrashed about, desperately trying to survive.

But heaven is not kind.

And it certainly doesn't care about the life or death of one useless shinobi on some tiny planet.

If this went on, Obito would surely die.

But Uchiha Kirin was kind.

He spread his arms and said gently, "Let me help you."

He then stomped on Obito's back with a force as heavy as a mountain—CRUNCH!

Obito's torso exploded into a formless pile of gore.

"Cellular Reconstitution!"

"Rebuild him!"

...

When Obito regained consciousness, he was horrified to find he could no longer feel his body—Or his hands.

His perspective was incredibly low...

Obito had become a bizarre creature.

Just a head.

And two feet.

Barely twenty centimeters tall, with intestines crammed into his skull.

That was now his only means of nutrient absorption.

Anything he ate would be excreted within a minute.

To absorb any nutrients, he had to eat what he excreted.

Again. And again.

Creatures like this could only survive by licking the moss growing in the damp cave mud...Or their own waste.

Death?

Impossible.

Because Uchiha Kirin had implanted the seed of Kotoamatsukami into Obito's mind.

Now, survival—and savoring every bite of his food—was not only his first desire...But his only one.

"Since you're the first lifeform I've ever remodeled, I'll reward you with a feast!"

With a twisted grin, Uchiha Kirin manipulated gravity to yank a dead bat from a crack in the cave ceiling—

And tossed it in front of Obito.

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