Chapter 284 – Genshiki and Momoshiki
"Lord Madara, are you sure it's wise to let Obito act on his own like this?"
While Obito and his forces launched their reckless assault, Uchiha Madara had quietly arrived in the Land of Water.
At his side, Black Zetsu followed with a grim look on his face, his tone tinged with frustration.
"That fool dares to move without orders, to act on his own… he's going to ruin everything—"
"Hmph. Let him play," Madara interrupted coldly. "It's no great loss."
The ancient Uchiha's expression remained calm, detached — as though none of this chaos mattered.
"He really thinks I don't know what he's plotting?"
Of course Madara knew what Obito was up to.
He simply didn't care.
He'd seen betrayal before — more times than he could count.
This one hardly mattered.
"Let him serve as bait," Madara said with a faint smirk. "If he's so eager to rush ahead, let's see how far he gets."
"But, my lord… that's far too dangerous!"
Black Zetsu's frustration twisted his face. Madara's pride, his blind confidence — it terrified him.
This wasn't the Warring States era anymore. The Ōtsutsuki had arrived.
And Madara still acted like he ruled the board.
"If it involves the Ten-Tails, Ōtsutsuki Genshiki might—"
"The Ten-Tails is troublesome," Madara admitted, his gaze hardening, "but the Rinnegan belongs to me."
His voice grew cold and domineering.
"Once the moment is right, I'll reclaim the Ten-Tails. You'll control it, use Rinne Tensei, and restore the cycle of power. Nothing will stand in our way."
"I… understand."
Zetsu's tone, however, was hollow. Inside, his mind screamed.
He knew the truth.
The so-called "relics of the Sage's brother" they were chasing — all fabrications of his own design.
If he had real solutions, he wouldn't have to worry about his mother's resurrection.
But these Uchiha — all of them — were delusional.
Obito's recklessness risked everything.
Madara's arrogance blinded him.
At this rate, they were all heading for disaster.
"I'll have to handle the next relic myself," Zetsu muttered under his breath. "I can't let them ruin everything… or release Mother again."
---
At the Edge of the Battlefield
A sharp crack echoed as Kakuzu casually snapped the neck of a struggling ninja.
He looked up, sneering at the combined forces of Konoha, Kirigakure, and Iwagakure assembled before him.
"Well, this is rare. Leaf, Mist, and Stone working together. Funny — you were all at each other's throats not too long ago."
"Oi, where's that 'Leaf Kappa' bastard?" Hidan shouted impatiently, swinging his massive scythe in the air.
"I've still got unfinished business with him! Get him out here!"
The allied ninja stared in disbelief.
What is wrong with these Akatsuki psychos?
But insane or not, they were still deadly. The shinobi tightened their formation, wary of making the first move.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Hidan grinned mockingly. "Running out of courage already?"
Before his taunt could end, a kunai whistled through the air—
followed by a flash of gold.
"Rasengan!"
BOOM!
The ground erupted beneath Hidan and Kakuzu, the shockwave tearing through the battlefield.
"Flying Raijin…" Kakuzu muttered, his eyes narrowing.
When the dust cleared, both Akatsuki members had survived — one immortal, one reanimated.
They leapt back warily, scanning their attacker — and exhaled in relief.
"Not Kitagawa Gen," Hidan muttered. "Thank the gods."
"You two!" Naruto shouted, his blue eyes burning with fury. "You're not getting away this time!"
"Ow! Damn it, that actually hurt!" Hidan snapped, twisting his neck back into place.
Then his expression shifted — and he squinted at the boy.
"Wait a second… you're the Nine-Tails brat, aren't you?"
Naruto frowned, confused.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Before Kakuzu could intervene, Hidan leaned in, eyes gleaming with manic curiosity.
"You hang around Kitagawa Gen, right? Then you must know something!"
"Know what?"
"You know the green freak from Konoha — tight suit, bowl cut, full of energy?!"
"You mean Guy-sensei?" Naruto blinked. "Yeah, of course. He told me about you — said you were the lunatic who used poison rituals—"
"Perfect!" Hidan interrupted, eyes lighting up. "Then you must know—who's the weakest loser in his squad?"
"…"
Naruto's expression froze.
A moment later, his chakra exploded in a furious blaze.
"You bastard! I'm gonna kill you!"
---
Elsewhere on the Battlefield
Itachi Uchiha and Sasori were locked in their own brutal skirmish.
Itachi moved with mechanical precision, his face blank, eyes hollow.
Ever since returning from Konoha, he'd been a shell of himself — silent, detached, almost broken.
He understood now.
Why his father had changed.
Why everything he'd believed in had turned to ash.
But understanding didn't make it easier to accept.
The village had rejected him.
His clan no longer understood him.
Even Sasuke's eyes now burned with hatred.
"Why… did it all come to this?" he murmured, his voice lost in the chaos.
Beside him, Sasori seethed with rage.
"Where are Sakumo and Chiyo?!" he roared. "Get them out here! They both deserve to die!"
His anger had reached its breaking point.
The betrayal of Sunagakure, his grandmother fighting alongside his parents' killer — it was humiliation he couldn't bear.
"Caution! Puppet strike incoming!"
"Watch the fire release!"
The allied shinobi were barely holding the line.
Sasori's puppets blotted out the sky, and with Itachi at his side, the two reanimated Akatsuki were like a living nightmare.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Drizzle!"
Sasori's Third Kazekage puppet raised its hands, and a storm of black needles rained down like metal hail.
"Damn it—there's too many!"
But just as the deadly rain fell—
BOOM!
A surge of purple light split the air.
A colossal Susanoo rose before the allied ninja, shielding them from the onslaught.
"W-we're saved…" one whispered in disbelief.
From within the armored titan's glow, a familiar voice rang out.
"Itachi."
Itachi's lifeless eyes flickered for the first time.
"Sasuke…"
"Uchiha Sasuke, huh?" Sasori snarled, his expression twisting. "You were there last time too!"
But Sasuke barely looked at him.
His gaze was fixed coldly on the two reanimated figures.
"Get out of here," he told the allied shinobi quietly. "I'll handle this."
Then, to Itachi and Sasori—
"I didn't expect you two of all people. But this saves me time. I'll end you both here and now."
"You arrogant little—!" Sasori roared, while Itachi fell silent again, his expression clouded with quiet pain.
Seeing that cold hatred in Sasuke's eyes…
Itachi finally realized how far apart they had drifted.
"How… did it come to this?"
---
Meanwhile, outside, Naruto and Sasuke were fully engaged, Mei Terumī was battling Jūzō and Raiga, and even Deidara — grumbling all the while — had gone out to assist.
Inside the building, Obito stood frozen, trembling as he stared at the girl before him.
His body refused to move.
"You're… Obito?"
That soft, ethereal voice — the one that had haunted his dreams for years — reached his ears again.
"Impossible," he whispered. "This can't be real…"
He could still remember Orochimaru's words:
'I can't find Rin Nohara's soul. It's as if it doesn't exist.'
Obito had suspected that Konoha might one day attempt to revive her.
He'd prepared for it.
But he had never wanted this.
He couldn't bear to see Rin dragged back into this ugly, corrupted world.
"No," he muttered, voice breaking. "It's fake. All of it's fake!"
Susanoo flared violently around him, his Sharingan burning red with denial.
"Rin can't be here! Her soul's always been with me—guiding me! It's her strength that made me evolve! She's always been at my side!"
"Obito…"
Rin's voice trembled. She barely recognized the man in front of her.
This wasn't the boy she remembered.
"Obito!" she cried, tears forming. "You promised me you'd become Hokage! You said you'd protect the village! What happened to that dream?!"
Obito's heart twisted violently.
Her words cut deeper than any blade.
"Why… why did it all turn out this way?!"
His world crumbled.
He had wanted peace.
He had wanted a world where Rin's death would never be repeated.
But now—seeing her here, alive, questioning him—
he suddenly realized how hollow his own dream had become.
"Was I wrong?" he whispered, trembling. "Was everything I did… really a mistake?"
---
At that moment, a calm voice interrupted him.
"I told you before, Obito," Kitagawa Gen said as he stepped forward, his body radiating the serene power of Sage Mode.
"You can't replace reality with illusion. Why is that so hard for you to understand?"
The sheer pressure of his presence silenced the battlefield.
Even Nagato and Kimimaro stiffened as he approached, every instinct warning them they stood before a monster.
"He's… terrifying," Nagato muttered.
Gen stopped a few paces away, his gaze steady.
"It's over, Obito."
---
High Above the Battlefield
Far beyond the chaos, two figures floated silently in the sky.
Momoshiki and Kinshiki Ōtsutsuki watched the war unfold below, faint smiles curving their lips.
"How amusing," Momoshiki mused. "These insects wield chakra and fight as if they understand its meaning. What a curious little world."
Kinshiki's Byakugan glimmered as he scanned the battlefield.
"My lord, I sense traces of the Ten-Tails' power. Over there — the blond one."
"The Nine-Tails host?"
"The energy's incomplete, but still substantial. Should we retrieve it?"
Momoshiki smirked.
"Of course. But before that…"
His gaze shifted skyward, eyes narrowing.
"Since you're already here… why not show yourself, my kin?"
A calm, almost amused voice answered from above.
"Sharp as ever."
Both Momoshiki and Kinshiki turned sharply as the air rippled.
A pale figure descended from the clouds, his chakra majestic and still.
Momoshiki's expression shifted slightly — surprise, then intrigue.
"You…?"
The newcomer smiled faintly.
"You can call me Genshiki."
Momoshiki's grin widened.
"I see. I sensed your chakra once — along with Isshiki and Urashiki's. Yet they've both vanished. How curious."
He tilted his head, his tone smooth but laced with suspicion.
"Tell me, then… who exactly are you? And what happened to them?"
Genshiki exhaled slowly, eyes turning toward the battlefield below.
"That's a long story," he said quietly. "One that began when Isshiki and Kaguya first arrived on this planet…"