Chapter 423: How Pitiful

Chapter 423: Chapter 423: How Pitiful

As though some possibility had occurred to him, Kakashi grew increasingly dazed.

Seeing this, Hyuga Kagami said, "All right, let’s head back for now. Let Kakashi get some proper rest."

Guy and Shisui nodded as well.

Anyone could see that Kakashi was already utterly drained, both mentally and emotionally. This really wasn’t the time to dig deeper into the identity of his attacker.

Before long, everyone left the hospital room.

After parting ways with Guy at the hospital entrance, Hyuga Kagami quietly began pondering Obito’s attack on Kakashi.

"Why would Obito do something like this?"

Logically speaking, Obito would never attack Kakashi.

No one understood that better than Hyuga Kagami, which was why, even now, he still found the whole incident rather strange.

"Could it be because of that battle in Kirigakure’s collection vault last time?"

Once he discarded his preconceived assumptions, Hyuga Kagami gradually began to piece things together.

In the original timeline, the reason Obito had never taken back his left eye was that after the Fourth Hokage’s death, there was practically no one left in the shinobi world who could pose a genuine threat to him.

Up until the outbreak of the Fourth Shinobi World War, the only time he had ever truly been pressured was when Kabuto coerced him into cooperating.

And even that had only happened because Kabuto had somehow managed to locate Uchiha Madara’s corpse and then used the forbidden Impure World Reincarnation to resurrect Madara as one of the living dead.

Therefore, aside from the bond he still shared with Kakashi, another major reason the Obito of the original timeline had never reclaimed his left eye was simply that there had been no real need.

After all, with an ability as overwhelmingly powerful as Kamui, his right eye alone was more than enough for him to wreak havoc throughout the shinobi world.

But things were different in this timeline.

The sudden emergence of Kamigami had caught Obito completely off guard.

When Obito discovered that the leader of Kamigami actually possessed terrifying strength comparable to the Rinnegan, he was both shocked and deeply unsettled.

The composure he had once displayed while manipulating Akatsuki from behind the scenes and plotting against the Fourth Hokage vanished without a trace.

But what truly pushed Obito into making up his mind was the battle in Kirigakure’s collection vault.

If he had lost to the leader of Kamigami, he could have reluctantly accepted it.

But inside Kirigakure’s collection vault, he had actually fallen just one move short and narrowly lost to Kamigami’s Homura.

That was something he simply couldn’t accept.

Without sufficient strength to back him up, the Eye of the Moon Plan was nothing more than empty talk. And compared to the Eye of the Moon Plan, the bond between him and Kakashi simply wasn’t important enough.

"Preconceived notions really can get you killed. If I’d known things would turn out like this, I should’ve taken Kakashi’s eye first. Worst case, I could’ve just given him another eye as compensation..."

Thinking this, Hyuga Kagami sighed inwardly.

Obito with only his right eye was still within the realm of opponents that could be dealt with.

After all, whenever Obito wanted to attack, he had to get close and materialize. And the instant he closed the distance and became tangible, his opening would reveal itself.

But once he possessed both eyes...

Putting aside the monstrous Susanoo capable of wielding Kamui, the long-range attacks of Kamui alone were nearly impossible to guard against.

Just imagine it.

Some guy hiding in a dark corner several hundred meters away only had to glare at you once—

and you were finished.

Who the hell could deal with that?!

Just as Hyuga Kagami was inwardly agonizing over the situation, Itachi, standing beside him, asked in a low voice, "Senpai, if that person in Akatsuki really did possess Obito’s right eye before, and now he’s taken Obito’s left eye as well, doesn’t that mean he can use Susanoo now?"

With a grave expression, Shisui added, "And he can use Wood Release ninjutsu as well. There’s a good chance that, like me, he has also transplanted the First Hokage’s cells."

Hyuga Kagami rubbed his temples without saying a word.

Just thinking about it was enough to give him a headache.

Itachi continued, "Senpai, how should we deal with this?"

When it came to ownership of the Sharingan, Itachi didn’t share the same sense of superiority that many ordinary Uchiha possessed. In his eyes, as long as someone was a Konoha shinobi and had obtained it through legitimate means, anyone could possess a Sharingan.

But enemies outside the village were another matter entirely.

That was why he was extremely eager to recover Obito’s pair of Mangekyō Sharingan.

Shisui also turned toward Hyuga Kagami.

Nowadays, whenever they encountered a problem they couldn’t solve, Shisui would instinctively look to Hyuga Kagami for direction.

After pondering for a moment, Hyuga Kagami said, "I need to look through the various ancient texts preserved by your Uchiha Clan."

Itachi replied, "The scrolls recording secret techniques and forbidden techniques are all stored inside a hidden chamber in the clan’s main residence. There are numerous sealing formulas protecting the chamber, so even I can’t enter it. As for the ancient texts documenting the clan’s history, most of them are stored in the underground chamber beneath Naka Shrine. If you want to examine those, I can take you inside."

Hyuga Kagami nodded. "Mm. We’ll go tonight!"

Just then, a group approached them from the opposite direction.

They were none other than Orochimaru and his group from Otogakure, accompanied by Anko Mitarashi, who had specifically been assigned to receive and look after the Otogakure delegation.

Spotting Hyuga Kagami from a distance, Anko called out, "Kagami! You’re still wandering around this late?"

Hyuga Kagami glanced at Orochimaru, then smiled at Anko. "Aren’t you doing the same?"

Anko moved closer to Hyuga Kagami and complained in a low voice, "Don’t even get me started. These Otogakure ninja are such a pain! It’s already this late, but instead of staying put at the guesthouse, they insisted on walking around Konoha’s night market. They’ve practically annoyed me to death today!"

Although Anko had lowered her voice slightly, every single person present still heard her perfectly clearly.

Shisui and Itachi looked awkward and quietly turned their gazes away.

Hyuga Kagami, on the other hand, had a faint smile at the corner of his lips.

He knew Anko was doing it entirely on purpose. Ever since she had emerged from Orochimaru’s shadow, her carefree and outspoken personality had returned.

At that moment, Kimimaro recognized Hyuga Kagami.

A slight ripple suddenly appeared in his otherwise indifferent expression, and he immediately fixed Hyuga Kagami with a hostile gaze.

In his simple understanding of things, Hyuga Kagami had betrayed Orochimaru.

Therefore, he was an enemy who had to be eliminated.

Haku, standing at the rear of the group, also recognized Hyuga Kagami. He timidly lowered his head, seemingly feeling somewhat guilty about leaving without saying goodbye last time.

Orochimaru’s gaze, meanwhile, passed directly over Hyuga Kagami and landed on Shisui and Itachi behind him.

Those two Uchiha bodies were vessels he had coveted for a very long time.

Then, Orochimaru shot Yamato a glance, signaling him to get Anko out of the way.

Understanding immediately, Yamato hurriedly gave a light cough.

"Ahem... Anko-senpai, may I ask where the restroom is around here?"

Anko frowned and looked at Yamato.

"Didn’t you just go earlier?"

"Uh..."

After an awkward pause, Yamato replied, "I suddenly need to go again."

"Come with me. I’ll take you there."

With that, Anko led Yamato toward a nearby restroom while muttering under her breath,

"So young, and your kidneys are already failing? How pitiful..."