Obito gritted his teeth so hard his jaw ached.
A thousand retorts surged up his throat.
But when his eyes met Jin's faint, knowing smile—
He swallowed every single one of them.
With Jin's personality, deliberately calling someone by the wrong name was absolutely something he would do.
Back in Konoha, Jin had constantly called him Uchiha Runtu for no apparent reason. Obito had never understood it—but he'd always felt the name carried some deeply malicious humor.
Now—
Uchiha Kenji.
Ken…ji…
Wait.
Obito's mind replayed the name.
And then it hit him.
His ninja academy graduation evaluation.
Ninjutsu: 6
Taijutsu: 4
Genjutsu: 3
Strength: 4
Speed: 6
Stamina: 5
Hand Seals: 6
And—
Wisdom: 2
The "Wisdom" stat represented knowledge and intelligence. IQ.
Naruto—reckless dead-last—had scored six.
Rock Lee, Chōji, Kiba—straightforward brawlers—lowest was four.
Even Hidan—poster child for idiocy—had a six.
And Obito?
Two.
Jin had never seen a lower score.
It was Obito's lifelong humiliation.
"Damn it!!!"
Veins bulged at his temple.
This bastard was mocking his intelligence.
"Oh? You actually understood that?" Jin looked genuinely surprised. "Have you perhaps evolved into Uchiha Kenji Three?"
"Shut up! I'll kill you!"
Obito snapped.
He didn't care whether Jin had truly recognized him anymore.
He lunged.
"Flame Ring."
Jin's expression didn't change.
He raised two fingers calmly.
Rings of blazing fire erupted outward from beneath his feet, spreading in expanding circles. The flames curved deliberately around Yahiko and Konan, but engulfed everything else within dozens of meters.
The heat was suffocating.
Obito didn't hesitate—Kamui activated instantly.
His body blurred intangible.
But his forward momentum didn't stop.
He rushed through the inferno and threw a punch straight at Jin's face.
Jin did not dodge.
"Jin-nii, watch out—!"
Yahiko's warning cut off mid-sentence.
Obito's fist passed cleanly through Jin's head.
Like mist.
Kamui's intangibility was near-absolute to those unfamiliar with it. Mysterious. Terrifying.
But once one understood its principle—
It wasn't invincible.
When Obito phased to avoid damage, he couldn't be hit.
But he couldn't hit either.
Jin had blanketed the area in flame from the beginning. To strike him physically, Obito would first have to materialize within that heat zone.
Which meant—
Taking damage.
Obito landed, twisted midair, and whipped a kick toward Jin's temple.
Jin didn't even turn his head.
At the precise instant the kick would have connected, his body erupted in blazing chakra—Fire Release Chakra Mode igniting around him like a solar flare.
Obito's pupils shrank.
Kamui reactivated at the last moment.
His leg phased through Jin's flaming skull.
He landed, withdrew rapidly, retreating beyond the radius of the fire.
Only two probing exchanges.
Yet Obito's heart was pounding violently.
Jin knew.
He was certain now.
Jin understood Kamui's mechanics.
Every move had been calculated.
On the surface, neither of them had landed a hit.
But in truth—
Obito had lost ground.
Kamui avoided direct contact.
But heat wasn't so simple.
Even without touching the flames, the immense thermal energy radiated outward.
His legs were already burned.
Cells deadened.
The temperature of Jin's flames was abnormal—far beyond ordinary fire techniques.
"How about it?" Jin asked calmly. "Still want to continue?"
Obito stood at a distance, silent.
He didn't answer.
But he didn't charge again either.
At their level—
Battles were wars of information.
If the opponent understood your ability—
Your odds dropped sharply.
After a long moment, Obito spoke.
"What do you want?"
If Jin truly knew his identity, appearing now had to serve a purpose.
Jin shook his head lightly.
"It's not about what I want."
"It's about what you want."
As he spoke, his gaze flickered briefly toward a distant shadowed corner.
His three-tomoe Sharingan spun to life.
Scarlet glinted in his eyes as he looked at Obito.
Obito paused.
Then—he didn't resist.
He allowed himself to be pulled into a crude genjutsu space.
The illusion contained no killing intent.
No traps.
Just an isolated environment.
A neutral ground for conversation.
And Obito dared to step into it because—
Jin's eyes were only three-tomoe Sharingan.
His own were Mangekyō.
If necessary, he could break free at any moment.
The real battle had shifted.
From fists—
To words.
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