The crow's wings dissipated into smoke as Ryota crashed onto the temple's rotting floorboards. His lungs burned. *Running from Kakashi… stupid.* But necessary.
A voice dripped from the shadows:
"You reek of desperation, little Uchiha."
The orange mask materialized, one Sharingan spinning lazily. Obito—or as Ryota knew him, "Tobi."
Ryota wiped blood from his nose.
"You said Danzo wouldn't find me."
"I said he wouldn't kill you."
Tobi chuckled. "Yet."
A scroll thudded at Ryota's feet. "Open it."
Inside: A list of names. Shinobi. Elders. Children. All marked with the Uchiha crest.
"Your mother's killers," Tobi said. "And yours, if you hesitate."
Ryota's vision swam red. The tomoe in his eyes spun—one… two…
CRACK.
A third tomoe bled into existence.
Tobi tilted his head. "Good. But not enough."He tossed a kunai. "To awaken your true power… you must lose something."
Ryota caught the blade—just as the temple doors exploded.
ROOT ANBU. Twelve of them. Silent. Soulless.
Tobi vanished, his laughter echoing: "Prove you deserve the name Uchiha."
The Fight:
- Ryota is outmatched. He fights like a cornered animal—dirty, using fire jutsu to collapse pillars.
-A ROOT agent pins him, dagger aimed at his eye. "Lord Danzo wants your Sharingan."
- Flashback:His mother's last words: "Ryota… don't let them make you a monster."
- Then—a child's scream. A ROOT agent drags in a young girl*(6 years old, civilian). "Surrender, or she dies."
Ryota's laugh is hollow. **"You think I care?"**
The dagger plunges. The girl gasps.
**A beat of silence.**
Then—
"Tsukuyomi no Kusari." (Moonlit Chains)
The world **shatters** into grayscale. For **five seconds**, Ryota controls time in a 10-meter radius. He watches the dagger freeze mid-air, steps forward, and snaps the ROOT agent's neck.
When time resumes, the girl is unharmed. The ROOT squad? **Dead.** Slaughtered in a blink.
Ryota collapses, blood dripping from his eyes. **Mangekyō Sharingan.**
Tobi reappears, clapping. **"Splendid! Now… about Danzo's other experiments—"**
**Last Line:**
*"I'll kill him,"* Ryota whispered. *"But not for you. For* **me**.*"*