Naruto: Faint Smile - CH 80

[Uchiha Obito/Masked Man - POV.]

I couldn’t escape.

The realization sank in faster than I’d liked. The moment I tried to phase out and leave this place, that —thing— would tear me apart. I couldn’t even read its movements with my Sharingan—and that made it impossible to deal with.

I gritted my teeth, glancing at the beast, at the boy I had supposedly killed, Takeshi, still crouched and salivating like a predator toying with its prey. That low growl in its throat, like it was mocking me, daring me to make a move.

How had he survived? And more importantly, why had he become this?

His chakra was on the level of a Tailed Beast, and it seemed to be in constant growth. But unlike a Tailed Beast, controlling it… was not an option. And I didn’t have anything to push the offensive. Outrunning it was also off the table. That left me with very few options.

I had tried to appeal to his emotional bonds, but that didn’t work out as planned.

It wouldn’t listen. I saw it now—the hunger, the madness in its eyes. It didn’t care about anything but devouring what was in front of it, me. No reasoning, no strategy, no leverage. There was no human left inside his head. No matter what I said, his teammates wouldn’t be a bargaining chip. He only wanted blood.

—Five minutes.— That was all the time I had to find a way to deal with him, and the clock was ticking. If push came to shove, I might have to use the Izanagi just to escape… but I would leave that as my absolute last resort.

Slowly, I pushed the pain from the stump where my arm used to be into the back of my mind, pulling a handful of explosive tags attached to some kunai from my cloak before throwing them toward Takeshi.

They flew, silent, sinking into the ground at the beast’s feet and along its hulking form. The beast didn’t move, not at first, not until I triggered the chain of explosions. The force of it ripped through the forest, shattering trees, kicking up dust and debris. A cloud of smoke engulfed the creature, blotting out its monstrous form.

—He didn’t dodge…—  

For a second, I thought I had done something. The ground beneath me trembled, the air scorched by the blast. —That should’ve bought me some time.— I had used enough explosive tags to level a small town. But then, as the smoke cleared, I saw it. The beast stood there, barely moving, parts of its skin blackened and torn, chunks of flesh missing from its body.

And then, in an instant, before I could even appreciate the fact that the beast could be hurt, its flesh began to knit itself back together. The torn skin, the missing bits of flesh, they regenerated—fast. Too fast.

Staring at me, the beast let out a low, almost amused growl as its body completely healed the damage it had received in less than a second.

Wasting no time, I launched into action, summoning a torrent of fire, a roaring stream of flame erupting from my mouth. —Fire Release: Blast Wave Wild Dance— The firestorm engulfed him, turning the air around him into a furnace. But even as the flames licked at his body, he didn’t scream. He didn’t even flinch. He just stared at me through the flames. And like before, when the fire died down, the charred patches of fur, scales, and skin simply… regrew. As if nothing had happened.

No power was free, and no power was without its consequence. There had to be a price for his regenerative abilities. With Senju Hashirama, it ate away at his life force; with Uchiha Madara, he had to be hooked to the Demonic Statue to keep his body alive. In both cases, there was an exchange. I just had to find what he was paying to get the upper hand.

I moved again, pulling out more kunai, more tags, sending a hail of projectiles toward him—testing just how far his regeneration was able to go. Each projectile landed perfectly, hitting weak spots, tearing chunks from his body, leaving his form raw and exposed, blowing part of his head apart.

But even with half of his head missing, even with the loss of some of his organs, he just kept healing. Over and over.

The beast’s eyes locked onto me, a grin pulling at the corners of his grotesque, lion-like maw, sharp fangs glistening with fresh saliva. “I’m going to eat your leg next. Arms don’t have too much meat.”

The damn thing wasn’t even trying. It was letting me attack, letting me waste time. Could it be… there was no exchange for him? No price for his regeneration? Or could it be… losing his mind was the price he had to pay?

I ground my teeth, ignoring the knot of panic tightening in my chest. I hadn’t hurt it, not really, and it knew it. I couldn’t escape. And I didn’t have a choice but to try and fight. I only had a few minutes left before I had to phase back, before my eye needed a break, and when that happened… if I was solid for even a second, I was dead.

I summoned more chakra, forming hand seals rapidly, my Sharingan spinning as I activated another jutsu. The ground cracked and trembled as earth spikes shot up from below, jagged and sharp, aiming to impale the beast from all sides. For a moment, I watched as they ripped through his body, tearing through muscle and skin. But once again, the wounds closed as fast as they appeared, flesh knitting itself back together with that unnatural speed.

This wasn’t working.

He didn’t even retaliate. He was just standing there, waiting for the moment when I had to phase back, waiting for the second I became tangible again. He knew it was pointless to attack me now, just as he knew my efforts were just as pointless.

I didn’t want it to come to this… but I had no choice. I had to use the —Izanagi— to survive this fight.

——————————————————————————————————-

[Black Zetsu - POV.]

This creature… what was it?

I had lived for millennia, since the dawn of the shinobi era. I had seen wars, endless death, and the rise and fall of empires. I was born from the very will of Otsutsuki Kaguya, the progenitor of all chakra, the mother of this world. I had witnessed beings of immense power. Yet, as I watched this beast, this —abomination—, I had nothing.

Never—never—had I seen something like this.

The regeneration. The sheer raw, unfiltered power. It wasn’t natural. Not even among shinobi, not even among monsters. This went beyond what I thought I understood. This beast wasn’t simply fast or powerful—it defied reason. His body healed from wounds that should have been fatal in seconds, his movements were so precise and swift that Obito—couldn’t even react.

If this continued… Obito would die.

And that couldn’t happen. I couldn’t allow it to happen.

I moved just beyond the beast’s awareness, my physical form merging with the dark shadows beneath the trees, concealed by my very nature. But even here, I could feel it. This gnawing hunger radiating from the creature, an almost primal sense of violence. The beast was waiting. He knew Obito’s limit, he might not have known how much, but he knew there was a limit. He could smell his weakness—he was playing with his food.

And once Obito’s kamui faded…

I forced the thought away, gritting my teeth, but it lingered like poison in my mind. If Obito died here—no, even if he used the Izanagi to rewrite his own death, to escape this beast by pretending to be dead—it would only buy him time. Time before the monster began hunting him down again. The scent of blood, the feeling of his chakra, the inevitable awareness that the beast would develop… it wouldn’t stop until Obito was truly dead.

And if Obito died… everything I had ever worked for so far would crumble. Every plan, every manipulation, every sacrifice I had made for my mother's resurrection would be for nothing. I couldn’t allow that, not when I was so close… her rebirth depended on him. On me! 

But here I stood, watching, powerless. I couldn’t fight this creature. I wasn’t a fighter. And even if I was, there was nothing I could do. No jutsu, no strategy, no manipulation would solve this. How had it come to this? How had this creature, a mere child not too long ago, risen to a power that even I— the embodiment of Kaguya’s very will—could not comprehend?!

My gaze drifted to Obito. He was trying, I’d give him that. He was throwing everything he had at the beast—fire jutsu, projectiles, explosions. But they barely scratched it. And what little damage he managed to deal, it regenerated faster than it was dealt.

I shifted uneasily, frustration building, thoughts racing for a solution, any solution. I couldn’t afford to lose him now. Not to this. If only it were Madara instead of Obito… this fight would have gone much differently.

Then, something caught my attention. Shisui. He was looking at the fight, protecting the Daimyo behind him. He was weakened, but alive. And as I looked at him, something stirred in the back of my mind, a memory.

—Shisui… he almost defeated Obito.— Despite the gap in their skill, Obito had almost lost the fight. Had I not intervened… he would have died.

It was brief, but I remembered it. The moment Shisui activated his Mangekyo and used his technique, Obito hesitated—his technique faltered. Something happened. Obito’s guard lowered for a split second, and it couldn’t have been by choice. Shisui’s Mangekyo did something, but what?

I didn’t know the full extent of Shisui’s abilities, but that moment was enough to plant suspicion in my mind. —What if his eyes… could stop Takeshi?— 

Shisui’s gaze had nearly brought Obito down. It didn’t make sense at the time—there was no visible genjutsu, no sudden attack. But Obito, for all his skill and his power, had dropped his guard. Why?

I slithered through the shadows, moving closer to Shisui. If Shisui could make Obito falter, even briefly, perhaps there was a way to use that same ability against Takeshi. Perhaps… those eyes of his were the only weapon capable of stopping this monster.

I hated working under mere speculations and guesses, but I had no choice…

———————————————————————————————

[Uchiha Shisui - POV.]

I watched as the Masked Man hurled jutsu after jutsu at Takeshi, each one exploding against his monstrous form with little effect. Fire, earth, kunai—nothing worked, nothing hurt him, not really. Takeshi's skin melted, ripped, but every wound healed almost instantly, regenerating with a speed that left me frozen in disbelief.

This thing… it wasn’t Takeshi.

It —couldn’t— be.

I gritted my teeth, forcing my body to stay upright. Every part of me wanted to charge in, to do something, to try and bring my friend back, but what could I do? This beast—this monster wearing Takeshi’s body into this abomination—it wasn’t him. Whatever happened to him after the Masked Man cut his throat… changed him. Warped him into this. And if he was changed, there had to be a way to —reverse— it. There had to be.

But how?

The more I thought about it, the less sense it made. I knew Takeshi had a unique Kekkei Genkai, and chances were this change was connected to that, but I didn’t have time to figure how. It would only be a matter of time before the Masked Man was defeated, and I became his next target. Using what little chakra I had left, I forced my Sharingan to stay sharp, searching for an opening, a weakness, anything that could break through to Takeshi… if there was any of him left.

And if there was… I would find it, no matter the cost.

As I continued to watch helplessly, something shifted near the ground. My body tensed instinctively, and I whirled toward the movement, my Sharingan locking onto a figure emerging partially from the earth—black, writhing, unnatural.

I immediately shifted into a defensive stance, some of my chakra pooling into my legs, ready to act. But the creature—the one that had spoken to the Masked Man, the one who had intervened in my fight—raised its hand in a gesture of peace.

“I’m not here to fight,” it said, its voice smooth, almost casual, but I didn’t trust it. Not for a second. “Not right now. As the situation stands, our goals seem to align. We both want the same thing, if only temporarily.”

I narrowed my eyes, keeping my guard up. “And what would that be?”

“Stopping that beast,” it said plainly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You want to save your friend. I simply want to prevent my associate from dying. Our reasons might be different, but the end result we both seek is the same.”

My mind raced, trying to piece together what this thing—what he—really wanted. The black creature, whatever he was, was very dangerous, no question. His presence alone felt… wrong, tainted, unnatural. But on the… slight chance he was speaking the truth, he was right… our interests aligned, if only… for now.

I gritted my teeth. “You’re asking for a truce?”

“Temporary,” it answered smoothly. “You care about your friend. I don’t. I care about my associate’s survival. But if this beast isn’t stopped soon, it won’t matter to either of us. The longer this goes on, the harder it will be to do something about this situation.”

I blinked, processing his words. My eyes darted back to Takeshi, still regenerating after every attack. And it was here that I realized something. —He’s getting stronger—, isn’t he? The chakra flooding off him… it was growing with each passing second.

The black creature’s eyes flickered. “The beast… seems to be in a newborn stage. He’s adjusting, getting used to his newfound powers. And when he does—when he reaches his full potential—everyone will suffer. Allies, enemies, it doesn’t matter. You’ll be devoured just as easily as the rest.”

My fists tightened, frustration boiling beneath my skin.

The black creature watched me carefully, studying my reaction. And then he added, “But you—you— might be able to stop him. To save your friend.”

I snapped my head toward him, my Sharingan narrowing dangerously. “What do you mean?”

“I noticed something… during your fight with my associate. Your Mangekyo.” The black creature's voice was calm, but there was a calculating edge to it now. “You almost defeated him, against all odds, despite the glaring gap between your skills. You almost defeated him. Whatever your eyes did, it worked. It made him lower his guard, leaving you an opening not even a child could miss. The question is… what exactly did your eyes do to him?”

I hesitated. He was prodding, digging for information. My hand tightened around the hilt of my tanto, but I kept my guard up. If I shared anything with him, it could be used against me—or worse, against the village. But keeping that information to myself wouldn’t do me any favors right now, especially considering he was very close to figuring out what my eyes could do.

I sighed, still wary, but without other options. “My Mangekyo allows me to place a suggestion in my opponent’s mind… while making them think it’s their own thought. It’s not a strong genjutsu, but it’s one so subtle, so well-hidden, that they won’t even realize it’s happening unless someone tells them, in which case the genjutsu is immediately broken." I paused, taking a deep breath. "I can see why you think I am the only one that can stop Takeshi, unfortunately… I can’t… I can’t control everything my target thinks. I can only insert suggestions. It’s not absolute.”

The black creature hummed in thought, almost as if it was piecing something together. “Interesting. So that’s why your right eye does, what about your left eye?”

I froze.

How… how did he know each eye got an ability? That was classified information, information I had only discovered that by infiltrating the Uchiha vault to understand what had happened to my eyes, right after I had awakened my Mangekyo.

The black creature’s voice pressed on, smooth as ever. “Oh, I see. You’re not aware of its power, are you? During your fight, only your right eye was spinning. But you never used your left eye… which means, whatever ability you have, it’s incomplete, you lack the complete set. Perhaps your left eye holds the key to saving your friend… or perhaps it’s something else entirely. Quite the gamble…”

“Even if that were the case… I have no chakra left to use my Mangekyo,” I replied, turning my gaze to Takeshi. “And even if I did, I have no idea how to learn what my left eye does…”

“Your lack of chakra is a situation that’s easily remediable,” The Black Creature smiled, or as close as a shadow could. “And as far as the other thing… don’t worry, your clan thrives in situations like this.”