chsdbacks Chapter 329 Obito: Weasel, has your illness relapsed recently?
Chapter 329 Obito: Weasel, has your illness relapsed recently?
Chapter 329 Obito: Weasel, has your illness relapsed recently?
The next morning.
The land of grass, underground caves.
Sasuke suddenly opened his eyes, his whole body aching as always.
The aftereffects of sparring with Madara Uchiha have not yet subsided.
However, what bothered him even more than the price of these growth experiences was the lingering afterimages of his dreams that wouldn't go away.
As soon as Sasuke closed his eyes, he seemed to see the scene of his defeat in his dream last night again.
In terms of physical skills, he was completely suppressed.
The carefully prepared series of physical attacks was easily seen through and neutralized by the opponent.
Finally, the utterly calm voice still echoed clearly in his ears: "You lost."
"whispering sound!"
Sasuke suddenly sat up and slammed his fist into the rock wall beside him!
A thin crack was smashed into the hard rock wall.
hateful!
Sasuke clenched his teeth, his black hair falling over his forehead, obscuring his eyes filled with shame, anger, and resentment.
Originally, he thought that after Madara Uchiha's strict guidance during this period, his strength was already far beyond what it used to be, enough to make him stand out from his peers.
However, to everyone's surprise, when facing Naruto in that dream, he was defeated so completely and so powerless to fight back!
If I can't even beat that loser Naruto—what right do I have? What makes me think I can challenge that fake?!
A deep sense of powerlessness washed over Sasuke.
He stiffly lowered his head, and just then, a cold snort suddenly rang out in the cave.
"snort!"
The voice was like a bucket of ice water thrown at Sasuke, instantly jolting him out of his chaotic thoughts.
He suddenly raised his head and looked in the direction of the sound.
Unbeknownst to them, Madara Uchiha had silently appeared at the entrance of his resting cave.
The tall figure blended into the shadows. Sasuke looked at the Rinnegan, which glowed with a pale purple light, staring coldly at him. A sharp sense of oppression was coming over him. If Madara hadn't revealed himself, Sasuke wouldn't have even noticed his arrival.
Madara Uchiha stood quietly in the shadows, looking down at the disheveled Sasuke.
Ban's expression was inscrutable, his deep pupils unfathomable.
In fact, after witnessing Sasuke's appalling behavior in his dream, he originally intended to give this good-for-nothing junior a good talking-to.
This kid almost ruined the glory of the Uchiha clan!
Sasuke's poor performance in the dream left Madara extremely disappointed and dissatisfied.
It wasn't just a difference in strength, but a comprehensive lag in tactical thinking and on-the-spot adaptability.
However, when Madara's gaze fell on Sasuke's tense little face, which was now contorted with frustration, a long-frozen corner of his heart was suddenly touched.
It's so similar—not just in appearance, but also in the child's eyes, still gritting his teeth and refusing to give up after suffering a setback; it's exactly like that spirited young boy from my memory.
Izumi.
In an instant, the sarcastic remarks that were about to come out of Ban's throat rolled away, but in the end they only turned into a low snort.
"What?" Madara Uchiha spoke slowly, his voice low and hoarse, devoid of emotion. "Just one defeat like this, and you've been broken?"
As he spoke, he slowly approached, looking down at Sasuke. "With your current disheveled, pathetic state, what makes you think you can talk about revenge?"
revenge.
Those two simple words instantly stirred up a storm in Sasuke's heart!
All the frustration, resentment, and self-doubt were ignited by these two words, exploding into a raging fire.
"Who said I've been defeated?!" Sasuke suddenly raised his head, his previously dull black eyes suddenly blazing with intense flames. "How could I possibly be defeated! One day, I will definitely win. I will surpass everything that stands in my way!"
This resounding vow is not only a response to the powerful Naruto in his dream, but also a message to the imposter who brought him endless pain, and to—Konoha.
Madara Uchiha narrowed his eyes slightly, staring silently at Sasuke, who had suddenly erupted with overwhelming fighting spirit.
Seeing the fighting spirit rekindled in those dark eyes, a hint of approval flashed in Madara's eyes.
But his face remained stern.
Madara Uchiha chuckled softly, seemingly quite pleased with Sasuke's current appearance.
He scoffed, "Hmph, not bad."
That's exactly the kind of flame we want—completely ignited!
Frustration is acceptable, but it only fuels further madness.
On the surface, Madara remained calm, only coldly uttering, "I hope so."
Having said that, he abruptly turned and strode out of the cave. Before leaving, his voice echoed softly in the empty cavern: "What are you all standing there for? Get up!"
"Starting today, all your training will be doubled in intensity!"
"Since your physical skills and reaction time are so poor, then hone them with a hundredfold, a thousandfold pain! Let your body remember the cost of every mistake, until your instincts override your thoughts!"
Sasuke's heart jolted, and he forced himself to stand up despite the pain.
He stood tall, fists clenched, and stubbornly replied, "Hmph, you don't need to tell me, I'll train even harder myself!"
Upon hearing this, Madara Uchiha stopped and gave Sasuke a cold, sidelong glance.
He said no more, and his figure slowly disappeared into the dark depths of the cave.
"Keep up."
In Madara's view, only by falling hard to the bottom of the valley can the most intense flame in the heart of an Uchiha be ignited.
Setbacks are the best flames for forging a blade.
Hatred and resentment are the eternal driving force that keeps this blade sharp.
Sasuke, this unpolished gem, can only be forged into a sharp blade capable of cutting through everything through countless trials and tribulations of pain and obsession!
The boy gritted his teeth, enduring the aches and pains throughout his body, and followed closely behind. The flames burning in his dark eyes were more intense than ever before.
the other side.
The eastern coast of the Land of Fire.
A port.
The harbor was shrouded in a thin layer of mist in the early morning. The damp and slightly salty sea breeze carried water vapor and lapped against the pier, bringing a touch of coolness.
The waves gently lapped against the wooden pier and scattered rocks, making a splashing sound that drew the cries of seabirds perched on the masts.
The eastern sky was just beginning to lighten, and the rising sun was hazily hidden behind the clouds.
In the hazy morning light, an old, medium-sized ferry was moored on the shore, quietly floating on the deeper water a little further away, waiting for the few passengers to board.
At the dock, the towering Kisame Hoshigaki, carrying the massive, bandaged sword Samehada in one hand, was staring into the distance—
Lost in thought, I gazed at the boundless ocean before me.
He grinned widely, revealing a mouthful of sharp, shark-like teeth, and said with rare emotion, "I never expected, my lord—that I would actually have the chance to return to the Land of Water again."
Kisame's deep, husky voice, carried on the sea breeze, conveyed a complex and indescribable emotion. Memories of his hometown weren't exactly pleasant, but they were nonetheless unique.
Obito, who was standing diagonally in front of Kisame, simply shrugged slightly upon hearing this and did not reply.
His Akatsuki robe, black with red clouds, swayed gently with his movements as he stood with his arms crossed.
The only Sharingan visible outside the mask gazed absently at the horizon where the sea met the sky, seemingly lost in thought.
"Speaking of which, sir," Kisame seemed to remember something and turned his head, asking with a high-pitched laugh, "why did you still decide to travel with us on foot this time? And why did you specifically choose such a slow ferry?"
He knew very well that this person was always as swift as the wind, relying on his unpredictable space-time ninjutsu to cross borders as if walking on flat ground.
If one uses that technique, one can travel from the Land of Grass to the Land of Water in an instant.
Why bother trekking for days across the Land of Fire, only to wait here for a leisurely little boat?
Kisame's question brought Obito back to his senses.
He withdrew his gaze from the distance, glanced at Kisame with a slight tilt of his head, waved his hand casually, and spoke through his mask: "I'm not quite sure about our destination this time. It'll be easier to find it by land."
This explanation sounds ambiguous, and it's clear that Obito is unwilling to elaborate on this issue.
He abruptly changed the subject, tilting his mask slightly towards Kisame, and said sarcastically, "Are you guys always this leisurely on missions?"
"Haha~~" Kisame laughed heartily, shrugged Samehada on his shoulder, and said nonchalantly, "As long as we complete the mission on time, it doesn't matter how leisurely the process is! You agree, right, Seven-Man?"
Kisame said with a smile, while turning to look at Itachi Uchiha, who had been silent the whole time, trying to get him into the conversation.
However, the weasel simply stood quietly on the edge of the dock a little distance away, as if it hadn't heard anything.
His black robe with red clouds fluttered slightly in the sea breeze.
His handsome face was expressionless, and his dark eyes gazed calmly into the depths of the sea, as if staring at some distant, unseen place.
Neither Kisame's witty remarks nor Obito's teasing questions could elicit any reaction from him.
He was like a beautiful but lifeless statue, shrouded in an aura of cold indifference that made him unapproachable.
Seeing that no one responded, Kisame touched his nose and awkwardly shut his mouth.
Obito's gaze naturally fell on Itachi, and he looked him up and down for a moment, his brows furrowing beneath the mask.
Having spent the past few days traveling together, he could clearly sense Itachi's unusual behavior.
Compared to the previous Itachi Uchiha, who was taciturn but at least maintained basic vigilance towards his surroundings, the current Itachi was clearly absent-minded, as if he was caught in some kind of elusive emotional vortex.
"Itachi." Obito suddenly spoke, breaking the silence that was filled only with the sound of waves and wind, and asked probingly, "Your illness has recently—relapsed?"
The words reached Itachi's ears, and he was slightly startled before snapping out of his thoughts.
He slowly turned his face, glanced at the other person indifferently, and then looked back at the shimmering sea.
After a long pause, he finally regained his composure and uttered two words without any inflection: "No."
In fact, he was in a very bad mood, and one could even say that he was unusually depressed and uneasy lately.
This frustration is unrelated to the task, the organization, or even his own recurring illness.
The root of the problem is Sasuke.
He hadn't seen Sasuke for far too long. Back when his younger brother was still in Konoha, he could at least indirectly learn some news about Sasuke through various channels.
However, ever since Sasuke joined Madara Uchiha's forces, Itachi completely lost all information about his younger brother.
He had no idea what kind of guidance and training Sasuke was undergoing under that man's tutelage.
This complete unknown felt like a heavy boulder lodged in his heart, causing him to toss and turn every night.
Of course, he would never reveal any of these thoughts to Obito or Kisame beside him.
Obito, however, chuckled softly as if he knew everything, and teased, "You seem so downcast, it's not because of your precious little brother, is it?"
Although Itachi's expression remained unchanged, and not even his eyebrows twitched, his aura paused slightly for a moment, a subtle reaction that Obito keenly noticed.
Obito gave a soft snort.
"Speaking of which, he's probably having a tough time these days."
He paused deliberately for a moment, looked up at the gradually clearing sky, and said casually, as if he were chatting about everyday things.
"Remember yesterday when we were watching the show in the audience—your brother was easily taken down by Naruto, and Madara Uchiha's expression at the time was really not good."
Obito shook his head, adding with a half-smile, "Sasuke's performance clearly didn't satisfy Madara Uchiha."
These few words finally stirred up a storm in Itachi Uchiha's eyes.
"You—" Itachi suddenly turned around and flashed in front of Obito in an instant, his originally calm eyes now flashing with cold light.
He forcefully suppressed the tremor and anger in his voice.
"What did you do to Sasuke?"
"You can't wrong me like that."
Upon seeing this, Obito feigned surprise and shrugged, appearing utterly innocent, even with a gloating smile.
"None of what I just said has anything to do with me."
Seeing Itachi, who was usually quiet and aloof, finally show such an uncharacteristic expression, Obito felt quite pleased.
He didn't linger any longer, casually waved in the direction of the ferry, and said lightly, "Let's go, the ferry is about to leave, don't dawdle."
Before he finished speaking, Obito had already taken the lead and started walking towards the pier.
He stepped onto the wooden pier that swayed gently with the waves, and his figure quickly disappeared into the misty morning fog and the salty sea breeze.
Kisame glanced in the direction Obito had left, then at Itachi, who was still standing there with a frosty expression, shrugged, and followed after him, carrying Samehada on his back.
In the blink of an eye, only Itachi Uchiha remained on the bustling dock.
The sea breeze blew more and more rapidly through his hair and the hem of his robe.
Itachi stood motionless, gazing in the hazy direction where Obito had left, without moving for a long time.
That suppressed calm had long since crumbled, and the pent-up frustration caused by longing and worry was now stirred up even more by Obito's few words.
Finally, Itachi suppressed his turbulent emotions, strode forward without a word, and quickly disappeared into the misty morning fog.
Night fell unnoticed.
When Obito opened his eyes again, he was greeted by the bright morning light streaming through the thin curtains.
He instinctively raised his arm to block the somewhat glaring light.
Obito sat up on the narrow single bed and looked around warily.
As far as the eye could see, there was a completely unfamiliar room.
The room was small, even rather cramped.
Several abstract paintings with indistinct content hung on the off-white wall.
The room was a bit messy, with an unfolded scroll lying haphazardly on the table and a few pieces of clothing draped over the back of a chair.
Overall, it wasn't exactly dirty or messy, indicating that the room's owner wasn't slovenly but simply had a casual lifestyle.
"Where is this??" Obito frowned, a thought flashing through his mind.
At first, he thought he had returned to Kakashi's dream, but he soon realized that it was obviously out of place.
He looked down at his hands.
The hands before him were no longer the childish hands of a boy, but the hands of an adult man.
His fingers were long and strong, covered with fine scars and calluses left by long-term training and use of ninja tools.
Obito felt a chill run down his spine, abruptly threw off the covers and got out of bed, taking three steps at a time to the slightly blurry dressing mirror in the corner of the room.
The mirror reflected the figure of a young man.
His short, black hair was slightly messy and sticking up, and traces of his youth still lingered between his brows; this was exactly how Obito looked in reality.
More accurately, it was the complete form he should have had before half of his body was crushed by the boulder.
At this moment, the left side of the person in the mirror was smooth and flat, without that hideous scar, and the eyes were also intact, with the dark pupils showing a hint of bewilderment in the morning light.
Obito stared blankly at the face he hadn't seen in many years in the mirror, and subconsciously raised his hand to touch his smooth left cheek, feeling a long-lost warm sensation.
What exactly happened?
This isn't Kakashi's dream—could it be that this is yet another completely new dream?!
A heavy cloud of doubt quickly gathered in Obito's mind.
He forced himself to calm down and, as he re-examined his surroundings, he quickly noticed a set of clothes neatly folded on the chair next to the bed.
Obito stepped forward and reached out to pick up the top sleeveless jacket.
The rough yet durable fabric made it clear that this was no mere decoration. With a flick of his wrist, he revealed a dark green Konoha ninja vest!
This standard ninja vest shows signs of age and wear, indicating that it was worn frequently.
What was covered by the vest was a headband made of Konoha leaves.
Obito felt his brows furrowing more and more, and his doubts and vigilance rapidly amplified.
In this bizarre dream, he actually has a Konoha uniform and headband?
Obito took a deep breath, forcing himself to suppress the unease surging in his heart, thinking that the most urgent thing was to find out where he was as soon as possible.
After changing his clothes, Obito picked up his headband, looked at it over and over, snorted, and ultimately did not tie it to his forehead. Instead, he casually stuffed it into his vest pocket.
He then strode to the door and listened intently.
It was very quiet outside the door; only a few words of conversation and the clear chirping of birds could be faintly heard from afar.
Obito slowly turned the doorknob, gently opened the door a crack, and then slipped out.
Outside the door was a simple corridor.
Obito cautiously looked around and determined that this was an apartment building.
Moreover, judging from the layout, this place is remarkably similar to the apartment building where Kakashi lives in reality, even the floor heights are the same, and he is currently on the third floor.
Obito walked quickly down the stairs along the corridor, pushed open the apartment door, and stepped onto the street outside.
However, before he had taken more than a few steps, he saw a figure suddenly emerge from the street corner not far away.
He was a black-haired boy of about sixteen years old, with fair skin and handsome features, but with a nonchalant and lazy expression.
His short, jet-black hair curled slightly, giving him a more casual look and making him appear less sharp.
The boy wore only a dark casual jacket, and a shiny metal necklace around his neck was particularly eye-catching in the morning light.
Obito suddenly stopped, his eyes narrowing slightly. Itachi's younger brother?
That's right, the person who came was Sasuke.
However, Sasuke at this moment looked different from the real Sasuke. He was not wearing his signature battle suit, nor was he as meticulous and cold-faced as usual.
Instead, he exuded relaxation and ease, his brows no longer bearing the shadow of hatred, but instead radiating a long-lost youthful charm.
What alarmed Obito even more was that Sasuke showed no surprise whatsoever when he saw him.
Sasuke was stunned for less than half a second before suddenly raising the corners of his mouth and revealing a frivolous smile.
He raised his hand and waved casually in their direction, greeting them lazily, "Yo! Good morning, Obito-sensei~"
Obito almost thought he was hallucinating, and he stood there stunned.
"???"
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