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Chapter 641: Awakening
Chapter 641: Awakening
At the age of twelve, Uchiha Obito had already established himself as a promising young ninja.
During his time at the Ninja Academy, he consistently excelled in practical exams, repeatedly ranking first in his grade.
His graduation internship was even more impressive, as he concluded it with an astonishing S-rank mission, leaving both teachers and students awe-struck.
Less than a year after graduating, he took part in the Chunin Exams and successfully advanced to the level of a Chunin. Due to his outstanding performance, he gained a certain degree of fame in Konoha.
He had undertaken various dangerous missions, some of which were as thrilling as the plots of ninja novels.
There was a princess protection mission that eventually escalated into a full-scale battle against rebel forces aiming to defect. The only downside was that the princess didn't act like a typical princess and had a rather foul temper.
On another occasion, while investigating a minister of Loulan, he uncovered the minister's treacherous plot to overthrow the government, thus saving an entire nation once more.
During that incident, he even encountered the unbelievable phenomenon of time travel and learned some disturbing intelligence.
After that, he accompanied Mu Yue to the eastern battlefield of the Fire Country and fought alongside her against the invading forces of Kirigakure.
On the battlefield, Obito's formidable abilities further enhanced his reputation. Not only did he gain some recognition among the ninjas of Konoha, but even several ninjas of Kirigakure became aware of him.
Riding on the significant contributions he made on the battlefield, Obito was promoted to the rank of Jonin. All of this he achieved at the tender age of ten.
Obito had also once participated in a Budokai gathering that brought together numerous geniuses from the ninja world. Although he placed second, the winner, Nagato, was several years older than him.
Many ninjas and residents of Konoha praised him as Konoha's super genius, and some elders of the Uchiha clan even proclaimed him to be the future of the Uchiha clan.
Obito relished the praise, but he never truly took these words to heart.
The reason was that all these people came into his life after he had already become strong. There was only one person who had believed in him and helped him become the genius they now admired, and that was before he had proven himself.
Before the fourth grade, Obito's nickname at the Ninja Academy was "The Uchiha Clan's Good-for-Nothing." He was a constant headache for his teachers and an object of scorn for many of his peers.
While some of Obito's grades weren't abysmally bad, they paled in comparison to the exceptional performance of his fellow Uchiha clan members. This contrast highlighted his shortcomings.
Within the Uchiha clan, no one explicitly called him a good-for-nothing, but none of his peers associated with him. He lived like an outcast within the clan, on the fringes of their community.
However, Obito didn't particularly mind this treatment. He wasn't interested in socializing with his Uchiha peers anyway, and he already had friends outside the clan.
Yet, Obito couldn't deny that he felt a sense of dissatisfaction with being labeled a good-for-nothing. He, too, had dreams—dreams of becoming the Hokage.
How could a village leader, a Hokage, be a good-for-nothing? The very idea was absurd. To be a Hokage, one had to be an exceptional ninja.
The turning point came during the first semester of his fourth grade year.
Obito still remembered every detail of that fateful afternoon, for it marked the beginning of a life-changing journey, the start of a dream-like existence.
He was immensely grateful to Chiya Yu, as it was due to Chiya seeking Mu Yue's help as a substitute teacher that he encountered Mu Yue, received private tutoring, and eventually became her disciple.
Mu Yue's teaching style seemed to possess an enchanting quality. Under her guidance, Obito's abilities improved at an astonishing pace, and even his theoretical knowledge, which had once been subpar, steadily climbed from failing grades to average and eventually above-average levels.
Thus, Obito shed the label of a good-for-nothing and emerged as a genius.
However, Mu Yue's influence on Obito didn't end there.
Whenever Obito felt discouraged, Mu Yue would sense it immediately and offer him comfort.
When Obito wanted to participate in the Junior Ninja Tournament to prove himself, Mu Yue specially designed a rigorous training regimen for him.
On his birthday, Mu Yue not only forged a set of kunai and presented them to him as a gift but also went to other countries to take photographs of the scenery he longed to see.
Obito had more than one teacher in his life, but he had only one master—Mu Yue, the sage-like figure in his heart who seemed capable of anything.
Yes, in Obito's heart, Mu Yue was akin to the legendary Sage of the Six Paths, a figure of limitless capabilities.
How else could one explain how a mere Chunin instructor like Mu Yue possessed such formidable power and was able to transform him from a good-for-nothing into a genius? How else could one explain her youthful creation of so many incredibly powerful secret techniques?
But when Obito witnessed Mu Yue's blood splattering from the blow of the blue longsword, reality seemed to be cruelly reminding him that there was no such thing as an all-powerful ninja. The notion of Mu Yue's omnipotence was a fantasy, and even she could be killed.
"Impossible!" Obito instantly rejected this conclusion.
"Mu Yue is all-powerful and immortal..."
"It's this world that's fake!"
Large tears streamed endlessly from Obito's blood-red Sharingan, like an unceasing spring from some mythical tale.
Suddenly, Obito lost all sense of his surroundings. Mu Yue, Kakashi, Itachi, and their enemies—all of them vanished from his perception, as if he were alone in a desolate wasteland.
At that moment, Obito felt a burning sensation in his eye sockets. Why was he crying? Mu Yue wasn't dead!
Obito's chakra spun uncontrollably in his eyes, and his perception gradually returned. Mu Yue's body reappeared before him, along with Kakashi and the others, as did the black-robed Uchiha.
Obito lifted his gaze to the black-robed Uchiha, and their eyes met.
"As expected of the one I chose," Uchiha Madara thought to himself as he noticed the tomoe in Obito's blood-red Sharingan transforming into shuriken markings.
Not everyone could awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan, and even among those who did, there were variations in the power of their dojutsu.
The reason Uchiha Madara had chosen Obito was because he saw the richness of Obito's emotions. He knew that should those strong emotions ever fall into darkness, they would grant Obito an extraordinarily powerful dojutsu.
As Obito's Mangekyo Sharingan awakened, and his aura surged with newfound power, a similar surge of powerful chakra arose from another direction.
Uchiha Madara turned his head slightly and saw that his backup candidate, Uchiha Itachi, had also undergone a transformation in his Sharingan.
As a precaution against unforeseen circumstances, Uchiha Madara had selected not only Obito, with his rich emotional depth, but also Itachi, who possessed exceptional natural talent.
He had planned to fall back on Itachi if something happened to Obito, never imagining that both of them would become Mu Yue's disciples.
"Teacher Mu Yue..." Itachi stared blankly at Mu Yue's lifeless body, tears welling up in his eyes as he struggled to accept this outcome.
Itachi rarely used the word "most" because it implied absolute superiority, sharpness, and directness.
If one were to ask Kakashi about Mu Yue's place in his heart, he would only have one answer: Mu Yue is the most important person to him, without exception.
Kakashi is now ten years old, but he has been with Mu Yue for four years. One could say that he has spent almost half his life under her tutelage.
His parents had passed away early on, and it was only through photos that Kakashi learned what they looked like. He never heard their voices and could only learn about their personalities and deeds through the stories of others.
For Kakashi, the only family he had was his uncle, who would occasionally look after him.
But his uncle had his own family and duties as a ninja, leaving him little time for Kakashi. Kakashi understood this and was grateful for his uncle's presence in his life.
Before he met Mu Yue, Kakashi spent most of his time alone.
He trained, studied, and lived by himself.
Everything changed after he encountered Mu Yue.
After school was supposed to be his resting time, but Mu Yue was willing to squeeze out a portion of her time to teach him.
From then on, the time he spent alone decreased.
Even when he didn't want to attend the useless courses at the Ninja Academy, Mu Yue would arrange a shadow clone to guide him instead of leaving him to train alone after assigning tasks.
October 19th of the year he turned six was the most unforgettable day in Kakashi's life.
October 19th was Kakashi's birthday.
As Mu Yue was very busy at that time, with her work at the Ninja Academy and their training, Kakashi didn't tell her about his birthday.
"Birthdays are just the day you were born; they aren't that special and don't need to be celebrated," Kakashi consoled himself at the time.
Of course, it was just self-consolation. In truth, Kakashi very much wanted to celebrate his birthday with Mu Yue, his considerate teacher.
But Kakashi didn't like to trouble others, and since Mu Yue had already been so kind to him, he wanted to trouble her even less.
So, Kakashi could only swallow his disappointment and quietly return home after training.
At that time, he even envied Obito, because Obito wouldn't think too much about it and would naturally tell Mu Yue about his birthday, inviting her to celebrate with him.
Just when Kakashi felt the most dejected, a miracle happened.
Although he hadn't told Mu Yue about his birthday, she learned about it through some means and secretly decorated his house, giving him a huge surprise.
At that moment, Kakashi truly felt that Mu Yue was the embodiment of his fantasies. How else could she so precisely fulfill his inner desires and satisfy his needs?
The surprises didn't end there. Mu Yue had been learning to forge ninja tools, not for the special demands of a strong person, but to prepare his gift, even injuring her palm in the process.
On that day, the usually stoic Kakashi nearly broke down in tears.
Kakashi had often heard people talk about the greatness of a parent's love, but as he had never experienced it, he didn't truly understand.
But after receiving Mu Yue's gift, Kakashi suddenly comprehended what they meant.
Mu Yue wasn't his parent, but the care she showed him was no less than the parental love others spoke of.
From then on, Kakashi began to see Mu Yue as a parental figure.
"No, Teacher Mu Yue must still be saved! That secret medicine... yes, the secret medicine!" Kakashi thought of the secret medicine Mu Yue had given them and quickly took out a black pill from his ninja tool pouch.
Whoosh!
Kakashi's Mangekyo Sharingan fixed on Uchiha Madara as he unleashed his chakra and used the Body Flicker Technique to appear by Mu Yue's side. He swiftly stuffed the black pill into her mouth and then removed the Wood Release branch from her body.
Uchiha Madara made no move to stop Kakashi, merely watching coldly.
With his Sharingan, he could clearly see that Mu Yue was already dead, thoroughly so. There was no resurrection medicine in this world that could bring her back, at most restoring a bit of her vitality or chakra.
With Kakashi's help, the black pill slid down Mu Yue's throat and took effect.
The restorative medicine worked quickly, and Mu Yue's body began to visibly heal, her wounds closing at a rapid pace without leaving any scars.
Soon, it looked as though she hadn't been injured at all, except that she remained unconscious.
"A futile effort. He's already dead," Uchiha Madara shook his head and said indifferently, using a voice-changing technique.
All Kakashi could do was make Mu Yue's corpse look better; it served no other purpose.
"Teacher Mu Yue isn't dead! He's just tired and hasn't woken up yet!" Kakashi glared at the black-robed Uchiha with his blood-red Mangekyo Sharingan, as if wanting to burn everything about the man into his memory.
He would definitely find a way to save Mu Yue.
Since Naruto Uzumaki and the others could time travel, there was no reason he couldn't do it too.
Even if he might get lost in a certain timeline, he would still try to save Mu Yue.
Kakashi intended not only to revive Mu Yue but also to take revenge on the black-robed Uchiha who had killed her.
"Instead of deceiving yourself, why not find a way to resurrect him?"
Uchiha Madara retracted his gaze, and his chakra erupted as he upgraded his Susanoo into a twenty-meter-tall blue giant and strode towards Nohara Rin.
The backup plan, aside from killing Mu Yue, who interfered with his plans, also had significant changes in other steps.
However, Nohara Rin remained a crucial figure.
As long as Nohara Rin didn't die, Obito wouldn't completely fall into darkness.
Of course, Uchiha Madara didn't plan to kill Nohara Rin here. Doing so would only make Obito hate him, the black-robed man, even more, and serve no other purpose. He merely wanted to take Nohara Rin away.
Nohara Rin's death had to be twisted enough to make Obito realize that this world was cursed and beyond salvation, that only by creating a new world could everything be saved.
"Die!"
Hatred for the black-robed Uchiha burned in Obito's heart as he unconsciously gathered a large amount of chakra in his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Just as Uchiha Madara controlled his Susanoo and reached out towards the injured Nohara Rin, the space where the Susanoo was located suddenly distorted.
"Hm?" Uchiha Madara, with his quick reflexes, immediately jumped back.
In the next moment, the scope of the distortion expanded, and half of the tall and mighty blue giant disappeared as if it had been directly erased.
"Is this his Mangekyo Sharingan ability? It seems interesting," Uchiha Madara remarked with a hint of interest as he observed the Susanoo, half of which had suddenly vanished.
The Mangekyo Sharingan had many abilities, with some users sharing similar powers, but most were unique. The ability Obito had just displayed was among the stronger ones Uchiha Madara had seen.
Whoosh!
Kakashi let go of Mu Yue's body and lunged at Uchiha Madara, having gathered enough chakra in his Sharingan.
(End of Chapter)
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