Just at that moment, Kaori walked out from inside the house.
She was dressed in a simple pair of shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. At her waist hung a sharp long blade and a pouch filled with various ninja tools.
Her figure was tall and slender, and her wheat-colored skin gave off a healthy glow.
With her hair tied high in a ponytail, the whole person looked heroic and spirited.
"You're back?", Kaori spoke without any expression, her voice sounding cold yet cool.
But for Rengoku, a strange sense of dissonance rose in his heart at that moment.
Because in his last memory, Kaori had been the gentle figure wearing an apron, busy cooking delicious food in the kitchen.
But now, when he saw her again, not only had her skin become much darker, but judging from her physique, it was obvious she had never stopped rushing around over the past few years and had likely participated in frequent battles.
Even on those long, beautiful legs of hers, there were faint scars left behind from healed injuries.
Seeing all this, the warm smile on Rengoku's face gradually faded.
"You've been working that hard?"
Kaori snorted lightly, "If you hadn't come back, what would have happened to Ryuri?"
A trace of blame showed in her eyes.
Rengoku quickly nodded and carefully pulled Ryuri beside him into his arms.
"I'm sorry. It's all my fault."
In truth, when handling the matter of the Dragon Vein, Rengoku hadn't made any major mistakes.
According to his original plan, traveling through the Dragon Vein would only take a few days before he returned.
However, what he hadn't expected was that someone would actually seal off space itself, leaving him trapped outside and unable to return home.
He had left rather freely at the time, never thinking that the people at home would spend their days worrying because of it.
In the dangerous and unpredictable ninja world, being gone for several years could easily mean that someone had already met with misfortune.
Fortunately, he had left a clone within the clan beforehand so everyone knew he was safe.
Otherwise, Ryuri and Kaori might have already collapsed.
So it was only natural for Rengoku to apologize to them.
Seeing this, Ryuri hurriedly wrapped her arms around Rengoku in return and comforted him softly.
"You don't need to apologize to us, Nii-san. As long as you came back safely, that's enough. And, Kaori-nee, you shouldn't stay mad at brother anymore."
Hearing Ryuri's thoughtful words, Kaori's usually cold face gradually softened, and the tension in her expression slowly relaxed.
She muttered irritably, "Hmph! You're always defending him."
Rengoku gently stroked Ryuri's smooth hair, "Don't worry, Ryuri. From now on, I won't leave like that again."
Ryuri nodded happily when she heard this and asked with delight, "Then, will you eat dinner at home tonight?"
Rengoku showed a gentle smile, "Actually, I was just about to tell you something. Don't bother cooking tonight. Let's go out for hot pot instead."
"I also invited a few students. It'll be lively."
Hearing that, Ryuri obediently nodded, "Okay. It's been a long time since we all got together."
Rengoku set Ryuri down and turned toward the bathroom.
"Then I'll go take a shower and change clothes first."
———
[Inside the Kamui Space]
Obito sat alone on the edge of a massive stone platform.
His forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat, and an enormous amount of pupil power surged like a raging tide into the three-tomoe Sharingan in his right eye.
The three tomoe spun rapidly within his eye, their speed increasing faster and faster until their shapes were almost impossible to see clearly.
Not only that, but as time passed, the three tomoe began to gradually change shape, looking as if they were about to connect into a single whole.
But at that critical moment, a powerful force completely opposite to the previous one suddenly surged from within Obito's body.
In an instant, it forcibly suppressed the three tomoe that had been spinning at high speed.
The sudden impact caused the pupil power to rebound violently. Unable to bear the pressure, the corner of Obito's right eye slowly began to bleed, crimson tears flowing down.
Obito gasped heavily while roaring hoarsely, "Why! Why exactly! Why do you keep stopping me again and again? Is there really anything in this world full of lies, deception, and ugliness that's worth you clinging to?"
At this moment his face twisted violently, his eyes bloodshot. Combined with the blood constantly flowing from the corners of his eyes, he looked like someone who had fallen completely into madness, sending chills down one's spine.
But in the next instant, the expression on Obito's face changed completely, as if the person screaming madly just now had never been him.
His gaze turned sharp, and he said calmly, "I will never let a lunatic like you get what you want! As long as I'm still here, you won't take complete control of Kamui's power!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly threw his head back and let out another furious roar.
"Ahhhhh!"
His whole body trembled violently from overwhelming rage.
However, after only a short while, Obito seemed to regain control of himself again. In a tone that was almost crazed yet strangely clear, he shouted, "I am me! All you're doing is stopping yourself!"
Before the words even finished leaving his mouth, his expression changed again.
This time it became unusually calm and resolute.
"No… I'm different from you," Obito murmured.
"You represent endless greed, insatiable desire, and destructive power. The only thing you want is a Rin who loves you."
"But I'm different. I'll give everything I have to protect Rin, and I'll save this ninja world filled with suffering and conflict."
At this point, an unprecedented determination and courage shone in Obito's eyes.
"You can't stop me!"
"I will stop you."
As the voice in his mind gradually faded, Obito finally seemed to have exhausted every bit of strength in his body. With a tired expression, he slowly collapsed onto the cold, hard stone platform.
Although the small wounds around his eyes quickly healed under the effects of Dark Medical Ninjutsu, returning to normal not long after, his mental state had reached the worst possible condition.
Completely exhausted in both body and mind, he lay quietly on the stone platform and gradually drifted into a heavy, hazy sleep.
Within the endless dream, memories of the past surged in like a tide, replaying again and again the days when Obito spent time with Rin and Kakashi.
Their laughter, their moments fighting side by side, played over and over in his mind like scenes from a film.
And in the end, every image froze on the moment when Rin kissed Kakashi, as if time itself had stopped.
"Haa!"
Obito suddenly woke from the dream, gasping heavily as his chest rose and fell violently.
Like a drowning man who had been dragged ashore at the last second, he desperately gulped down air, trying to calm the wildly pounding heart inside his chest, shaken by fear and shock.
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