!DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE THE POWER STONES THANKS TO THE PAYING MEMBERS ON PATREON!(Terrance Johnson) (tyler saylor) (M Sqo)THANK YOU SO MUCH.
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The underground hideout of Kara remained in a heavy silence, only interrupted by the constant hum of the systems. In one of the more secluded rooms, leaning against a rock wall, Obito Uchiha rested with his eyes half-closed.
His face was partially covered by shadows, but his Sharingan glowed with a faint crimson light. He had completed another mission hours ago, and although his body showed some traces of battle, his expression remained cold, impassive.
Then, I heard footsteps.
I didn't try to move. I already knew who it was.
"Are you Obito?" asked a young voice, full of curiosity but also some caution.
Obito opened one eye and glanced toward the door. There stood Kawaki, arms crossed, watching him like someone observing a dangerous beast from a safe distance.
"It depends on who's asking," Obito answered in a hoarse voice, barely modulated.
Kawaki took a step forward, not taking his eyes off him.
"Did you kill Boro?"
Obito let out a slight smile, one that held no humor but pure disdain.
"That's what you want to know, kid?" He sat up slightly, resting his arm on his knee. "Yeah. I destroyed him. Because he was weak."
Kawaki furrowed his brow. He didn't seem scared, but intrigued.
"But... how? Boro could regenerate from almost anything."
Obito rotated his hand, and in an instant, his Sharingan changed, adopting the spiral form of the Mangekyō. A slight tremor passed through the room as a crack distorted the space next to his palm.
"There are things that can't be regenerated," he said softly, and the crack disappeared as he closed it with a simple flick of his fingers. "If you destroy the core... everything else crumbles."
Kawaki swallowed, genuinely impressed. But he hid it well.
"And what are you doing here?" he asked, moving a little closer.
Obito stared at him for a few seconds.
"That's something neither you nor the others in Kara would understand. But maybe... someday. Not all monsters choose their cages, Kawaki."
The boy looked at him, confused and curious. For some reason, he didn't feel the same hatred he used to feel towards the other members of Kara. This man... this Uchiha... was different.
"You don't seem like them," Kawaki murmured.
Obito tilted his head slightly.
"And neither do you."
For the first time since entering, Kawaki relaxed a bit. He didn't say anything else. He just stood there, watching him as if trying to figure him out. Obito closed his eyes again.
"If you want to learn from someone, kid... watch how the weak fall. And you'll never become one of them."
Kawaki nodded slightly, and without saying another word, he turned and left the room. But before the door closed, Obito spoke.
"Kawaki."
The boy stopped.
"Never trust anyone who calls you a tool."
Kawaki looked back and for the first time, gave a half-smile.
"I don't plan to."
The door closed with a soft metallic sound. Obito remained there, with a neutral expression, but inside... inside, something had shifted.
He wasn't alone in that damned place.
.....
Training at Kara's hideout was brutal, without rules, without limits. And for Kawaki, each day was a fight for survival. That day, in one of the combat rooms, Garo had cornered him against a wall.
Kawaki was panting, his face stained with blood and dust. His chin showed a recent burn, still smoldering, caused by Garo's attack minutes before.
"I warned you, brat," Garo growled, a twisted, sadistic smile on his face. "No one touches my face and gets away with it."
Kawaki spat blood onto the ground, not taking his eyes off his aggressor.
At that moment, a spiral distortion opened in the middle of the room.
Everyone stopped.
From the loud footsteps emerged Obito, walking calmly, his hands in his pockets, his Sharingan glowing with disdain. His mere presence seemed to absorb the temperature of the room.
Garo instinctively backed away, his face paling. Despite his bravado, everyone in Kara knew what Obito had done to Boro... and none had dared get too close since then.
"And what are you doing to the kid?" Obito asked casually, nodding towards Kawaki.
Garo swallowed but tried to maintain his attitude.
"That brat burned my chin. He had to pay."
Obito stared at him for a few seconds... and then let out a dry, low chuckle, clearly mocking.
"A kid did that to you?" he laughed, shaking his head. "How pathetic."
The humiliation was too much for Garo. His eyes filled with rage, and without thinking, he lunged at Obito. But when his fist passed through Obito's body like smoke, he realized his mistake too late.
Obito watched him from the other side of the room, his Sharingan burning.
"Don't try that again," Obito warned in a low, sharp voice. "Because next time, you won't get up."
Garo froze, sweating cold, too afraid to move.
Obito walked over to Kawaki, who was still standing, though on the verge of collapse.
"Get up," he ordered, but his tone was not hostile. There was something like... respect.
Kawaki looked at him, gritted his teeth, and stood up.
Obito merely said, "Don't be like him," pointing to Garo with disdain. "Learn to fight for real."
Without saying anything more, Obito turned around, the distortion formed around him, and disappeared in a spiraling vortex.
Garo remained there, his legs trembling, his pride shattered, while Kawaki, despite the pain, smiled for the first time in a long time.
There was someone in that hell who didn't see him as a tool.
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