Time passed minute by minute.
Both Uchiha Obito and Hatake Kakashi remained silent, the air thick with unspoken emotion.
Yet seeing this, Uchiha Yue frowned slightly, his patience thinning.
Just as he was about to speak again, Obito suddenly turned toward him and said with a hollow voice, "Uchiha Yue, kill me."
His tone was steeped in utter despair, a man who had lost all reason to exist.
Once a wielder of the Mangekyō Sharingan, the disciple of Madara's grand plan, now he was nothing but a defeated prisoner, stripped of power and purpose.
The dream of the Infinite Tsukuyomi—a world where Rin lived—had crumbled into dust.
All his actions, his deceptions, his atrocities carried out in pursuit of that dream—none of it could be justified anymore. Instead, they had become irrefutable sins.
So, what was left for him in this world now that the illusion had died?
"Obito…"
Hearing those words from the teammate he once knew, Kakashi's eyes tightened with unease, his mouth opened, but no words came out.
The memories of Team Minato—of their innocent days with Obito, Rin, and Sensei Minato—flickered through his mind like a genjutsu too cruel to dispel.
The warmth of the past, the weight of the dead—how could he offer comfort to someone who helped murder his teacher and Kushina?
"What are you waiting for, Uchiha Yue? Why haven't you killed me yet?"
Snapping from his stupor, Obito's calm shattered into a roar, his face twisted in fury as he faced Yue.
"Tch, so this is what it comes to? How dull."
"Still, I've recently refined a soul-based Forbidden Technique with insights from the Nidaime Hokage's legacy. Perfect time to try it."
Yue's voice dripped with disdain, and he moved to act without hesitation.
In truth, several days had passed since his battle with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
In that time, while overseeing reforms within the Uchiha clan and reshaping its customs, he had also delved deeper into the Book of Seals.
And thanks to the Unreal World's unique temporal and cognitive advantages, he had mastered several powerful techniques, including the Spirit Transformation Technique, once used by Dan.
This ability, which allowed the soul to separate and attack independently, significantly enhanced his grasp over spiritual warfare.
In fact, integrating it with his illusory-reality Mangekyō powers, Yue had developed soul-based techniques that could utterly obliterate one's spiritual existence.
Even Impure World Reincarnation would be useless against such annihilation.
So now, he no longer held back—Obito's destruction could be absolute.
"Wait."
As Yue was about to strike, Kakashi suddenly moved.
He stood at the prison's threshold, blocking Yue's path with his body.
"Hoh? Hatake Kakashi, do you intend to plead for him?"
"Or perhaps you want to try taking him away right before my eyes?"
Yue's step paused, his tone cold, but a quiet storm of chakra began to stir around him.
He had brought Kakashi here merely out of curiosity, a whim born of faint fondness from a past life's admiration for Kakashi's character.
But sentiment had its limits.
No matter the reason, Obito would not walk away alive.
"I…"
Kakashi's throat tightened under Yue's overwhelming pressure, cold sweat beading on his brow.
"Kakashi, step aside," Obito said from within his cell, voice rough with emotion. "I have no future left—don't force me to stay and suffer."
"But Obito… while I can't forgive what you did to Sensei and Kushina, I'm not carrying Rin's death on my conscience."
"You once saved me. I can't stand by and watch you die. This is my will—just mine."
Kakashi's eyes grew resolute.
He didn't flinch, even as he activated his Sharingan and rapidly formed hand seals.
Lightning Style: Chidori!
The prison echoed with a piercing cry like a thousand birds. Blue lightning surged in Kakashi's hand.
"Heh… Chidori? That's a fine jutsu. Then let's see if your resolve can keep up."
Yue's Three Tomoe Sharingan spun into view, a spark of interest igniting within his crimson eyes as he observed Kakashi.
"…Uchiha Yue," Kakashi spoke again, his voice steady despite the tension.
"Thank you—for letting me see Obito again and understand the truth about everything."
"But I can't watch him die again. Not like this. I'm sorry."
"Also… don't hold back. I'll give it everything I have."
Yue's expression shifted subtly, no longer aloof or mocking.
Looking into Kakashi's eyes and sensing the unwavering conviction there, he grew solemn.
Despite everything, the bond between Kakashi and Obito was genuine—and powerful.
If Kakashi could raise his blade against Yue in defense of that bond, then that resolve deserved recognition.
"Very well. Then come. Show me your strength and your will."
With that, Yue nodded slightly, acknowledging Kakashi's determination.
"Take care, then," Kakashi replied, breathing deeply.
Then, his body surged forward in a burst of lightning, charging straight at Uchiha Yue.
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