Chapter 3 - Chapter 3: The Ultimate Patsy, Obito

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Three days.

That's how long Heki had been living in this pitch-black cave. If you asked him how he kept track of time in total darkness, he'd puff out his chest and declare it the power of ancient Cathay!

Crack.

A new notch appeared on the cave wall. The ice blade in his hand vanished.

"Heki, what are you doing?" A green head popped out of the ground like a weed.

"Marking time." Heki's expression was profoundly mysterious.

"Wow!" A-Fei stared at the three notches already carved into the wall, awestruck. "Heki, you're a genius!"

"…"

Heki stayed silent. After three days with A-Fei, one conclusion was inescapable: this thing was an idiot. A few IQ points were definitely missing. No wonder its affection points jumped around like a rabbit on fire.

"Heki, Madara wants you," A-Fei remembered its mission.

Finally. After vanishing for three whole days, Madara Uchiha had remembered another living soul existed down here. Heki wiped away an imaginary tear of hardship. If not for A-Fei and the System, three days alone in this black hole would have driven him insane.

A-Fei led Heki from a narrow, dark cave into a vast, dark cave.

"…"

He really shouldn't have expected anything else from Madara and A-Fei.

Madara Uchiha sat on a stone stool, tubes snaking from the grotesque Gedo Statue into his body. They pumped chakra, not oxygen, but the visual was the same—a dying old man on life support.

"You're here." Madara's eyes opened slowly. He looked exhausted.

Heki understood. Old people. That's just how they got. Too weak to even speak properly.

Madara felt his own fading vitality. A flash of red light sparked in his eyes. No more delays.

His gaze landed on Heki, clad in a girl's kimono. A rare beat of silence passed.

Fine.

The world was full of people with weird tastes. He, Madara Uchiha, had seen it all. This was nothing.

"Why did you wait until now to find me?" Heki took two urgent steps forward, his sapphire eyes locking onto Madara. "Tell me! How do we change this world?"

His acting? The Alluring Conquest System gave it a perfect score.

His tone held no courtesy, no respect.

Madara wasn't angry. A flicker of amusement crossed his eyes instead.

Yes.

Exactly like this.

[Ding! Conquest Target 'Madara Uchiha' Affection Points: 61!]

Damn it!

Madara, you stingy bastard! He'd poured his heart into that performance, and the man only coughed up one point? A-Fei was definitely easier to scam.

"Patience." Madara's smile was faint. "In a few days, someone will join you. You can train together. Strength is the foundation for achieving any goal!"

Heki choked. He knew exactly who that was.

Obito?

Is that you?

Obito.

Another name for the target list. Compared to the later, fully-blackened Obito, he had to work extra hard to max out the affection points now, in the early stage.

A thought struck. Embarrassment washed over Heki's face. He looked at Madara. "I… I don't have anything to train with…"

His performance was flawless—three parts awkwardness, five parts fierce determination, two parts desperate plea.

Madara instantly understood the unspoken words.

"A-Fei will take you to acquire some jutsu scrolls. Whether you can learn them is up to you." If the boy couldn't even teach himself some basic techniques, his value was limited.

"Good." Heki's gaze was steel. He would prove to Madara that he was the one worthy of creating a beautiful new world!

To deceive others, first deceive yourself! Heki cheered internally.

Madara gave a slight nod.

A-Fei whisked Heki to another pitch-black cave. Wooden shelves groaned under the weight of countless scrolls. In the flickering candlelight, Heki's expression turned downright predatory.

"Practice on your own! I'll get your food!" A-Fei sank into the ground and vanished.

Heki extended his greedy claws toward the scrolls.

"Not bad, Madara. Quite the collection."

[The System does not recommend the Host practice these ninjutsu.]

"Huh?" Heki paused. "Why?"

More skills were never a bad thing.

[The Host will acquire many abilities. Practicing these ninjutsu is meaningless. Focus on mastering and unlocking the skills you already possess.]

Heki stroked his chin. The System had a point. Don't bite off more than you can chew.

His Limitless was max level, but the System had locked all its derivative techniques. He craved them. How could he unlock them?

"When can I use Limitless's derivative skills?"

Cursed Technique: Blue. Teleportation. Reverse Cursed Technique: Red. Hollow Technique: Purple…

How could anyone not be tempted?

[Derivative skills of Limitless will be randomly drawn later based on the Conquest Target's Affection Points.]

Rage ignited in Heki. Bastard! He could have had them from the start! This damn System just had to punish him for "cutting corners" with his target selection!

Heki bit his kimono sleeve in resentment.

[Please focus on your training, Host,] the System urged. This was the high-risk world of Naruto. It didn't want its Host dying mid-conquest!

Five days passed. Heki managed to master Ice-Release and Ice Blade, but unlocked no other abilities of the Ice-Ice Fruit.

One day, Heki stood in the scroll cave as usual. Cold air seeped from his palm, white mist splitting into five tendrils. He was trying to unlock Ice Time Capsule.

BOOM!

An explosion rocked the ceiling above.

The cold air in Heki's hand dissipated. Dust and debris rained down.

And then—sunlight. It poured into the cave.

For a moment, Heki nearly wept. Light! After so long, he finally saw light!

Rubble fell around him, sliding off an invisible barrier. Not even dust could touch him.

Blood spilled toward his feet, then stopped—impossibly—flowing around him instead.

Heki knew who had arrived.

His poor, hapless patsy, Obito.

…

Darkness swallowed Obito Uchiha. His consciousness sank. His eyelids weighed a thousand tons.

He knew.

This was the end.

Rin… Kakashi…

Goodbye.

Suddenly—blinding light pierced his vision. With his last shred of will, he forced one eyelid open a crack.

A girl in a purple kimono walked toward him. Her silver hair drifted like moonlight pouring down, and her eyes were like a cloudless sky, brilliant and clear.

Is this… an angel?

Obito's world went black.

Heki walked up to Obito's broken body. The next second, A-Fei burst from the rubble, slathering white Zetsu goo over Obito's mangled half, and hauled him away.

Heki stood still. A System prompt echoed in his mind.

[Ding! Conquest Target 'Obito Uchiha' Affection Points: 60!]

"What the hell?"

Heki was utterly lost. Not a single word exchanged, and it was already 60? What was up with this guy? Did he just conquer himself?

Suddenly, he felt supremely confident about reaching 100.

[System Auto-Assigned Skill Available. Does the Host wish to receive it?]

[Yes][No]

No hesitation. Confusion was one thing, free stuff was another.

Cursed Technique: Blue

[A common offensive technique of Gojo Satoru. Manifests as an attraction centered on 'Blue.' Maximum output approaches negative infinity, approximating a miniature black hole. Activation requires no hand seals. Can be activated multiple times. Can be precisely aimed (spatial compression affects only designated targets). Many practical derivative applications exist. Please explore independently.]

Speak of the devil. Heki's eyes welled up with grateful tears.

He wasn't overly attached to Blue itself, but Teleportation—which was basically an unrestricted Flying Thunder God Technique—required Blue as a prerequisite! Maybe maxing out Obito's 100 points would grant him Teleportation.

Heki headed for the cave where they'd taken the poor patsy.

…

Obito floated in a haze of sensation.

A hand.

Soft. Warm.

It moved over his face, his body, bringing cool relief.

Obito fought to open his eyes. After what felt like an eternity, he managed one.

In his vision—the girl from before his death.

"Am I dead?"

Obito didn't doubt it now. He'd seen an angel. He was definitely in heaven. The heavens had eyes, after all, letting a good guy like him in.

Heki watched Obito wake up and immediately start grinning like a fool. He retreated behind Madara.

Stupidity was contagious. He refused to become the next Obito.

Madara stood solemnly, brewing his performance. His next mark lay on the bed.

"Who are you? Where is this?" Seeing Madara, Obito yelped.

"No! This can't be right!" Why was an angel with this ugly old man? Wasn't this heaven? Obito looked around. Doubt crept in. What kind of heaven was this dark?

"This is the liminal space between life and death…" Madara's voice was a grave rumble. "You poor child…"

Heki was stunned. Madara hadn't changed a single line! This was the exact same script he'd used on him!

Heki clicked his tongue silently.

Obito listened, utterly mesmerized.

Heki couldn't bear to watch.

"No! I have to go back to Rin! To Kakashi!" Heki was zoning out when Obito's roar snapped him back.

Madara chuckled, dark and knowing. "You will change your mind. That day is not far off."

The implication was so obvious, Heki had no idea how Obito fell for it. Any normal person hearing that, then immediately witnessing Kakashi kill Rin, would suspect Madara.

But their Obito walked a different path.

Nope.

No suspicion.

He went and sold his soul to Madara instead.

Heki sighed internally.

Madara dropped his heavy-handed hint and left.

Time to farm affection points.

"Are you hungry?" Heki approached. "Should I find you something to eat?"

He conveniently ignored the fact that Obito, fused with White Zetsu and Hashirama cells, no longer needed to eat, drink, or use the toilet.

"Huh?" Obito looked at Heki, a blush spreading on his cheeks. He scratched his head, grinning. "Wouldn't that be too much trouble?"

Heki shook his head, his smile as gentle as a spring pond. "How could it be? I'll be right back."

He left the cave and summoned A-Fei. "Get me a meal."

A-Fei: "…"

But with affection points nearing 100, A-Fei soon returned with a bento box.

Heki walked back in and sat beside Obito. "You must be starving. Try this. I… had to go through a lot to find it." His eyes were soft, warm, wrapping Obito in comfort.

Warmth flooded Obito's chest. He swallowed his "I'm not really that hungry."

"T-Thanks."

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