"It seems Black Zetsu's intel was wrong."
Suddenly—
While Uchiha Sasuke was still stunned by the appearance of the mysterious Wood Clone, an unfamiliar and eerie voice echoed from not far away.
"Who's there?!"
Sasuke immediately turned his gaze in the direction of the sound, his [Three Tomoe Sharingan] spinning rapidly in response to the potential threat.
And then he saw it.
A man in a black cloak adorned with red clouds—a symbol of the Akatsuki—stood atop the rooftop railing on the opposite end. His face was hidden beneath a swirling orange-brown Uzumaki mask, with only his right Sharingan eye exposed.
Uchiha Obito had arrived.
Though Obito was well known to the world under various aliases, Sasuke had yet to learn who this masked man truly was.
...
"Black Zetsu told me you didn't possess Hashirama's cells… nor did you know Wood Style," the masked man muttered, his crimson eye narrowing as it focused on the two Leos standing nearby—one the real body, and the other, his Wood Clone. "It seems that information… was incorrect."
At that moment, Obito landed on the rooftop of the Hokage Building with quiet confidence. His lone Sharingan glinted ominously from beneath the mask.
"You've been watching me secretly for two days now," Leo said, his real body finally opening his eyes and speaking with calm disdain. "So… you've finally shown yourself."
A hint of cold mockery flashed in Leo's otherwise expressionless black pupils as they locked onto Obito.
"Oh?" Obito replied in feigned surprise. "So you've known about me this whole time?"
Leo didn't bother answering. He simply let out a quiet, derisive chuckle.
"Madara-senpai…?" Sasuke, still uncertain about Leo's identity, glanced at him with curiosity and concern.
"You have no business here, Sasuke," Leo said flatly. "Go with the Wood Clone. He'll oversee your training for the time being."
Sasuke hesitated briefly, surprised. He was being entrusted to a clone?
But then, seeing the clone step forward confidently, Sasuke responded without hesitation, "Yes… Teacher!"
Leo looked at him for a moment, acknowledging the title. This kid wasn't just talented—he was smart.
"Alright, follow me," the Wood Clone snapped, sounding a bit impatient before leaping off the rooftop in a blur.
"So fast!" Sasuke exclaimed, shocked by the clone's speed. Without wasting another second, he jumped after him.
And so, the rooftop was left with only two figures.
Leo.
And Uchiha Obito.
...
"You're really going to mentor that Uchiha brat?" Obito's tone was mocking. "Do you think you're Uchiha Madara or something?"
He was fishing, probing for Leo's true identity.
After all, Obito didn't yet know who Leo really was.
But Leo…
He knew everything about Obito.
The next moment, Leo narrowed his eyes and replied calmly, "I'm not. Are you?"
"…Obito."
The name struck like a thunderclap.
Leo didn't beat around the bush. He directly called out Obito by name, slicing through the pretense like a blade.
"You—what did you just call me?" Obito stammered, panic flickering in his eye for the first time.
Leo smirked. "What's wrong? Wear a mask for so long, and you start thinking you're someone else?"
"Uchiha Obito!"
This time, Leo spoke the full name clearly and coldly.
Obito's visible eye widened in shock. The calm, calculated persona he had maintained cracked.
"No... That's impossible…"
"I saw him die. I watched it happen with my own eyes. No one has even tried to bring him back… so there's no way you're him!"
Obito's voice lost its disguise and slipped into his true tone—agitated, emotional, unstable.
"You're losing your cool," Leo observed mockingly. "I never said I was him."
And yet—
Zheng——
Without warning, a pair of Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan flashed in Leo's eyes.
Obito was stunned. "Those… those are really his eyes… How… how is this possible?"
He could feel it. The immense chakra pressure. The overwhelming ocular power.
"Shocked?" Leo smirked again. "Then how about this…"
Shuu—!
A sudden surge of light. A ripple of power.
The Rinnegan… opened.
A purple, rippling eye gleamed from Leo's left socket, radiating terrifying energy.
"NANI—?!"
"This… this is impossible!!"
Obito staggered backward in terror. His body tensed, and instinctively, he activated [Kamui: Intangibility]—phasing parts of himself out of reality to evade any potential attack.
But in the shadows…
"Rinnegan?!"
"That's… that's the real Rinnegan!" White Zetsu's voice trembled.
"It can't be…" Black Zetsu murmured, equally shaken. "Madara's Rinnegan should be in Nagato's body. How can this man possess it too?"
And yet, the energy radiating from Leo's eye couldn't be faked.
"That's it," Black Zetsu said grimly. "The pupil pressure… that's genuine."
Suddenly—
Splurt!
"Aaah—!!"
A grotesque noise echoed through the rooftop.
Obito stumbled back, clutching at his side. One of his arms had been severed.
"What just happened?!" White Zetsu exclaimed.
Leo's eyes narrowed, cold and regal as he said mockingly, "So close. That blow should have taken your head off."
"You almost became the fifth."
His pair of lavender Rinnegan pulsed with power as he looked down on Obito like an emperor passing judgment.
Black Zetsu and White Zetsu were speechless. Utterly confused.
Then Obito cried out, pain searing through his body, "You—You actually planted a clone in Kamui space?!"
Shock painted his features.
It was true. A shadow clone of Leo had ambushed him from within Kamui's alternate dimension. If Obito hadn't reacted in time, he would be dead.
"How…? There's something off inside Kamui…"
"Wait!" White Zetsu suddenly gasped. "It's Kakashi's left eye—the Sharingan!"
"That's right!" Black Zetsu's voice darkened. "Kakashi's Sharingan originally belonged to Obito. It was taken by the man pretending to be Madara."
Leo sneered, watching Obito writhe.
"You're in pain? You should be. That clone was waiting."
Obito gritted his teeth and stared at Leo with horror. "But how do you even know the difference between Kakashi's eye and mine? And that eye shouldn't be a Mangekyō!"
His thoughts were racing. His foundation shaken.
More importantly… he didn't dare use Kamui again. Not with Leo's clone possibly waiting in that space.
He could have died just now.
"You… You have too many questions."
Leo's eyes narrowed as his Rinnegan shimmered ominously.
A ripple of power pulsed outward—
"Limbo: Border Jail!!"
The battlefield distorted.
Invisible shadows of Leo moved in a dimension parallel to reality, ready to end this fight in an instant.
---