Naruto: The Shadow of Uchiha

Ryosuke had already anticipated this. The massive Fireball Jutsu he launched earlier was merely a feint. With his current chakra reserves, casting such a technique came with no burden at all.

Feigning shock, Ryosuke widened his eyes and exclaimed in disbelief:

"How's that possible? How did you do that?!"

His face was filled with confusion and disbelief.

Behind the orange spiral mask, Uchiha Obito smirked with satisfaction.

After all, this was the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan's Kamui—his right eye granted him the ability to phase through attacks.

And, of course, he had no intention of answering Ryosuke's question.

Just like he'd said earlier—a dead man didn't need answers.

At the same time, Obito sensed other chakra signatures approaching.

From the familiarity of their chakra, he could tell they were members of the Uchiha clan.

He needed to wrap this up fast—before reinforcements arrived and interrupted his harvest.

Without wasting a moment, Obito dashed toward Ryosuke at high speed.

All he had to do was phase through Ryosuke's counterattack, then solidify and absorb him into Kamui's dimension. Game over.

Ryosuke, too, sensed the approaching chakra signatures.

But whether it was the Anbu or fellow Uchiha, none of them could help him against this man.

Facing Obito's sudden charge, Ryosuke felt an immense pressure.

This enemy's ability to phase in and out of existence made him extremely hard to pin down.

Without hesitation, Ryosuke surged his chakra and instantly opened Four of the Eight Inner Gates:

Gate of Opening, Gate of Healing, Gate of Life, Gate of Pain.

With the Fourth Gate, his body had already begun to sustain damage—but this was the full Eight Gates mode now.

A burst of violent, explosive energy radiated from Ryosuke's body as he charged forward to meet Obito head-on.

Obito was visibly surprised.

"He powered up significantly… this is the forbidden taijutsu technique—Eight Gates."

He had read about this forbidden technique in the notes left behind by Madara Uchiha.

He didn't expect an Uchiha to actually master such a brutal style.

It was well known that using the Eight Gates came at the cost of massive damage and post-battle weakness—turning even the strongest fighter into a defenseless lamb.

Still, Obito wasn't planning to stall.

Someone was approaching—and he needed to end this quickly.

Besides, so what if Ryosuke got stronger? His Kamui plan was foolproof.

Unless the kid had Flying Thunder God like his sensei—there was no counter.

Even if Minato were still alive, Obito had learned—he wouldn't fall for that technique again.

The two combatants clashed midair, but as expected, there was no impact.

Ryosuke appeared stunned, putting on a shocked expression.

In truth, his legs had already gathered power, waiting for Obito to reach out.

As Obito passed through Ryosuke's body, he smirked confidently.

"It's over."

He materialized to grab Ryosuke and activate Kamui.

But in that instant—Ryosuke's legs lashed out with full force.

Obito's Sharingan saw it too late.

BAM!!

Obito's face twisted in horror as Ryosuke's legs smashed into him, sending him flying through the air, crashing through several trees before collapsing on the ground.

His body contorted from the sheer impact.

At that moment, the Eighth Elder, one of the Uchiha clan's senior figures, had just arrived and witnessed everything.

The masked man with the orange spiral mask—that had to be the same person responsible for summoning the Nine-Tails during the attack on Konoha years ago.

It was that same individual who framed the Uchiha, giving Konoha's higher-ups an excuse to force the entire clan to move to the outskirts of the village—lowering their status drastically.

"This bastard must be captured!" the Eighth Elder thought immediately.

He surged forward, racing toward the injured masked man's location.

Meanwhile, Obito was reeling.

His body had been severely damaged by that strike.

If it were an ordinary body, he would've died on the spot.

Fortunately, half of his body was made from White Zetsu, keeping him alive even through this.

But he was enraged.

"I failed again…"

How had this Uchiha figured out his trick on the first clash, just like Minato did?

Another terrifying person…

But this wasn't the end.

Once he healed, he would return.

With fury in his heart, he activated Kamui and vanished into his personal dimension.

Just as Obito disappeared, the Eighth Elder reached the area.

He saw with his own eyes that the man had vanished completely.

"Damn it… he escaped!"

He could no longer sense the enemy's chakra.

"A space-time technique… what a troublesome ability."

Even so, he felt exhilarated.

This masked man who had evaded the entire village for years—Ryosuke had managed to injure him.

He's become truly powerful.

The Eighth Elder turned and rushed toward Ryosuke.

Ryosuke, meanwhile, was ecstatic.

He hadn't killed Obito, but he had fulfilled a long-held dream: kicking Obito in the face.

That man's vitality was insane—Ryosuke had used all his strength in that blow.

Had he been absorbed into Kamui, he'd be dead.

But now, he realized something.

Obito's Kamui wasn't truly invincible.

As long as one understood how it worked, and struck at the moment Obito solidified, there was a window of opportunity.

The danger, of course, was if Obito never attacked and just stayed intangible—there would be no way to hit him.

Against someone like that, a time-freezing technique would be ideal.

"In the shinobi world, space is king—but time is supreme. Time trumps space."

And Ryosuke knew something else: the Mangekyō Sharingan evolves based on the desires and trauma in one's heart.

Shisui's Kotoamatsukami was born from his desire to protect the clan from civil war.

Sasuke's Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi were born from the grief and fury of learning the truth about Itachi's sacrifice—his desire to reshape the corrupted system.

So if Ryosuke awakened the Mangekyō while desiring dominion over time, perhaps… his Mangekyō ability would manifest something like Time Stop.

He sighed.

If only Obito had underestimated his Sharingan…

Maybe that surge of emotion would've been enough to awaken the Mangekyō right then and there.

At that moment, the Eighth Elder arrived by Ryosuke's side.

His expression was now visibly respectful.

He could feel just how powerful Ryosuke had become.

They must bring him into the radical faction.

Now, he understood why Ryosuke had such radical thoughts.

He had hidden his strength well.

With that kind of power, he might even surpass Shisui, the clan's proclaimed prodigy.

And Ryosuke clearly learned something during the fight with the masked man.

"Ryosuke," the Eighth Elder asked seriously, "Did you identify who that person was?"

Ryosuke replied calmly:

"No idea."

He had no intention of revealing Obito's true identity.

If the truth got out—that the masked man who attacked Konoha was an Uchiha—then the clan would bear the consequences first.

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