Chapter 23: The Broken Mask
"What on earth is going on?"
Within the Hidden Leaf Village, Hiruzen Sarutobi was racing toward the source of the disturbance, accompanied by a squad of Anbu—and, much to his dismay, Shimura Danzo.
Hiruzen hadn't intended to bring along his old friend, but given the urgency of the situation, he had no time to argue.
"Tch. Looks like the village is really falling apart under your leadership," Danzo sneered as they ran, prompting Hiruzen to shoot him an irritated glare.
Danzo, however, remained unfazed—even after having Root surrounded by Anbu and losing his operative "A," he still didn't back down.
"You think this might have something to do with Jiraiya's return? Maybe he brought something... or someone back with him?"
"Jiraiya?" Hiruzen raised an eyebrow but didn't question how Danzo knew about Jiraiya's return. The man had always been good at digging up information.
As for him bringing something back...
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed slightly. He had a feeling he knew what Danzo was implying, but chose not to say it aloud.
"Hm?"
As they sped forward, they suddenly spotted Jiraiya, Might Guy, and a visibly exhausted Kakashi approaching from the other direction.
"Old man?" Jiraiya called out. "Why are you here too—wait, Danzo?"
"I came to check on him tonight and ran into this mess," Hiruzen explained briefly. He quickened his pace and leaned toward Jiraiya to ask in a low voice, "Do you think this could be someone... with a tail?"
"Uh..."
Jiraiya had initially wanted to say he had just returned and had no clue—but that second half made him pause. After a moment's thought, he answered quietly.
"We returned quickly, but our movements weren't exactly secret. With Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi involved, whoever's behind this probably knew we were coming. Hard to say."
"I see..." Hiruzen muttered.
Jiraiya shook his head with a chuckle. "Don't always assume the worst, old man. It could just be a coincidence."
"You're not the Hokage. You don't understand. From where I stand, nothing can be left to chance."
Jiraiya could only smile helplessly. He wasn't trying to debate the matter, just lighten the mood.
"Alright, alright—let's go see what's actually happening."
But before he could finish, his expression stiffened.
He wasn't alone. Everyone around them suddenly tensed, their faces darkening at once.
"That chakra... is that the Nine Tails?!"
What had been a cause for concern was now a village-wide crisis.
"Why haven't the Anbu sent word?" Hiruzen barked, his face grim as he picked up the pace.
A nearby Anbu dropped his head. "My lord, the target was with Jiraiya-sama and Captain Kakashi earlier, so we... didn't think it necessary."
"...."
Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Guy all looked visibly uncomfortable. They hadn't expected things to spiral out of control like this.
Hiruzen understood the logic. With Naruto under their watch, what could possibly go wrong? But he still shot Jiraiya a sharp look before speeding ahead.
"Move faster—we can't afford any accidents!"
"Yes, sir!"
Jiraiya didn't dare argue, and Guy even considered carrying Kakashi to move faster—but ultimately didn't. They were nearly there anyway.
Soon, they arrived at the scene.
They breathed a small sigh of relief when they spotted Naruto, still alongside Sasuke. But the red chakra cloaking Naruto made it clear something was very wrong.
On the other side, Gen Kitagawa stood facing a masked figure in black.
And then, all of them widened their eyes.
"That's...!"
---
Before the others arrived, Gen looked at Uchiha Obito and spoke in a low tone.
"Just as I thought. You must have a space-time ability—something like the Fourth Hokage."
Obito said nothing, but Gen continued.
"Your technique must involve warping space. You're only tangible when you attack, right?"
"...Sharp, aren't you, kid?" Obito muttered. He didn't want to admit it, but it had been a long time since someone had figured out his Kamui so quickly.
The last person to do so had been Minato Namikaze—and that ended poorly for him.
"But so what if you've figured it out? You got a way to beat me?"
"I don't need to defeat you. I just need to stall you."
Gen's voice was calm, casual even, trying to lower Obito's guard.
"And there's something else interesting. You called Kakashi-sensei 'trash.' That means you two have a history. And your Sharingan is in your right eye... while Kakashi's is in his left. Isn't that quite the coincidence?"
For the first time, Obito faltered.
It could be chalked up to luck. Uchiha eyes had been scattered since the clan's downfall. But the more people thought about this, the easier it would be to connect the dots.
And he needed people to fear Uchiha Madara—not some "no-name survivor" like Obito.
"I can't let this brat keep talking!"
Obito activated his Sharingan. His body started to twist as he entered the Kamui space.
But Gen moved even faster.
Zzzzzttt—!!
Before Obito could react, Gen had already become a purple flash, hurtling straight at him. The purple lightning covering his hand crackled like a thousand birds chirping—Chidori.
"Foolish brat."
Obito sneered. He sensed Leaf reinforcements getting closer, but didn't care. If anything, the kid was giving him an excuse.
"You brought this on yourself."
As Gen lunged closer, Obito phased out, slipping into Kamui's alternate dimension. He planned to kill this brat inside, then return.
But then he heard something unexpected—electricity.
"Why can I still hear lightning in here...?"
"You took long enough."
A voice echoed behind him.
Obito's Sharingan widened in shock. Another Gen stood within Kamui's space—only this one was different. His chakra surged wildly, red eye-shadow framed his eyes, and lightning crackled violently from his palm.
He struck.
"Damn it—I've been tricked!"
Obito instinctively tried to leave, but at that exact moment, the Gen outside was also upon him—forcing him to stay.
Caught between both attacks, he twisted mid-air, trying to dodge. His right hand shot forward, wooden spikes bursting from his palm in an attempt to destroy the clone inside.
Boom—!!
He managed to destroy the shadow clone...
But the purple lightning from outside slammed directly into his face.