Land of Demons, Hospital.
As he opened his eyes from the bed, Obito felt an emptiness in his left eye, as if something was missing.
He looked at the white ceiling, the smell of disinfectant filled the room, and the room's furnishings were simple and bright, specifically set up for patients' rest.
It wasn't Konoha Village's hospital ward, nor could it possibly be a temporary ward set up in the Konoha Camp in the Land of Grass.
"Where is this..."
Obito had no idea where this place was, the ward's layout and the view outside the window all proved he was here for the first time.
He covered his empty-feeling left eye with his hand, unable to feel its existence, wrapped in medical bandages.
"My eye..."
Suddenly, Obito recalled everything.
Everything before he lost consciousness, he recalled it all.
Rin had died.
Killed by his own hand.
Then some inexplicable guy emerged from his body and took his left Sharingan.
Then an explosion suddenly occurred in the forest, and he held Rin's body, swept up in the shockwave of the explosion, then lost consciousness.
Unnaturally, his body trembled violently, intense regret and pain immediately occupied his mind, and vast Chakra instinctively surged into his remaining right eye.
His right eye underwent some incredible transformation, a complex Mangekyo pattern appeared in his red eye, he gasped heavily, and his right eye burned in pain.
"Is that your Mangekyo Sharingan?"
An abrupt voice came.
This voice was both familiar and unfamiliar to Obito. He turned his head sharply, seeing a man with scruffy black hair, wearing a white coat, arms crossed, leaning against a white wall on the left side of the ward.
"Long time no see, Obito. It's been nearly two years, hasn't it? You've grown quite a bit."
Hakushi greeted him with a smile.
"Aren't you the one who lives off a woman?"
Obito spoke dumbly.
"..."
Hakushi's mouth twitched.
In some sense, this kid hadn't changed at all.
"Why are you here? And where is this?"
Obito held his forehead again, as if in pain.
When he looked up again, his gaze at Hakushi had a hint of wariness.
This person was a renegade ninja from Konoha, an enemy to both Konoha and the Uchiha Race, a dangerous S-Class Renegade Ninja wanted throughout the Ninja Realm.
Though he knew little of the defection incident two years ago, he understood the massive harm Hakushi's defection caused Konoha.
"There's no need to be on guard against me, rest assured, I won't do anything to you. However, you seem a little unaware right now."
"What?"
Suspicion and confusion showed in Obito's wary eyes, not knowing what Hakushi meant.
"Take a look at your right eye."
Hakushi took out a small mirror from his pocket and tossed it to Obito.
Obito caught the mirror and looked at himself in it.
His left eye, feeling empty, was wrapped in bandages, making his whole face look somewhat humorously ridiculous.
And his right eye, without him knowing, was already in the open Sharingan state, but it was vastly different from the Sharingan he had seen before.
The pattern in the red eye wasn't the basic Magatama pattern, but a more complex and mysterious design.
"Is this... a Sharingan? Why did it become like this?"
Obito widened his eyes in disbelief, staring at his right eye in the mirror.
How did his Sharingan turn into this?
What happened?
Is this also a Sharingan?
"To be precise, it's the Mangekyo Sharingan."
Hakushi corrected Obito's term.
"Mangekyo Sharingan!?"
Obito's face went blank.
As a ninja of the Uchiha Race, though not a high-ranking member, he had heard some legends about the Mangekyo Sharingan.
This was a legend within the Uchiha Race since ancient times; according to the Uchiha records, only the brothers Uchiha Madara from the past opened the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Had he opened the Mangekyo Sharingan? This seemingly impossible thing left Obito's brain unable to process quickly.
"Finally realized it?"
"What... is going on?"
"Generally, the secret of these eyes isn't explained to Uchiha members, as the method of activation is too sinister, likely to breed inner darkness. But since you've activated them, I might as well explain. To awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan, the method is to kill someone important to you, or let that important person die before your eyes."
Hearing this, Obito suddenly felt a splitting headache, lowering his head, beginning to breathe rapidly.
It seemed he already connected the cause and effect of him awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Painful memories flooded in, his hands holding his head trembled incessantly.
"Was it because... of Rin that they were opened? These eyes..."
Obito squeezed out these words through his teeth, and Hakushi could hear the regret and self-blame in Obito's tone.
"There's no need to blame yourself; it was Rin's choice. If anything, it's just that you had the talent to awaken the eyes, making you a target. Though it's true that I used you all to deal with Madara, you were the abandoned side."
Hakushi awkwardly scratched his head.
Even if he could do it over, Hakushi thought he would still do the same.
"Madara? I remember now, the guy who took my left eye also mentioned the name 'Madara'... What exactly is going on? Why did you save me? Why did Rin at that time..."