Naruto: I am Uchiha Seiryu

Jiraiya watched it all unfold, Seiryu's warning echoing in his mind:

"If you believe your own lies today, you'll regret it tomorrow."

"Itachi..." Jiraiya didn't know how much he'd contributed to Itachi's death, but Itachi had died before his eyes, not even a month after trusting Jiraiya's prophecy.

Jiraiya turned away, unable to watch Sasuke cry over Itachi's body, though the sobs haunted him.

He walked away, escorted by Inaho and Zaito.

The battlefield fell silent at Itachi's death, but in the Hokage's office, things were anything but calm.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, you—!" Fugaku, eyes blood-red, punched Hiruzen in the face.

Though Fugaku had foreseen his eldest son's fate, when it happened, he couldn't help but lose control. After all, Itachi had been his pride.

"Leader, calm down!" The other police captains rushed to restrain Fugaku.

Though held back by six men, Fugaku kept cursing.

Hiruzen, slumped in his chair and silent, watched the scene in the crystal ball.

After a while, Fugaku too sat down, numb, looking at Hiruzen.

"If I hadn't taken Itachi to the battlefield at four, hadn't let him graduate early, hadn't let him join ANBU—would all this have happened?"

"Maybe," Hiruzen replied. His own memories flashed by: being promoted by the Second Hokage, becoming Third, surviving two wars. But the village had grown weaker under him.

White Fang, Orochimaru, Tsunade, Minato, Hizashi, and now Itachi—each time, he could have acted, but always waited until it was too late.

Once called the Ninja Hero, was he even worthy of being a ninja now?

He wondered.

…

Meanwhile, in the Forest of Death, Seiryu formed hand seals, his Susanoo throwing two lightning blades into the sky, which became a massive thundercloud over the area.

Obito, intangible, looked up at the storm. "You're strong."

"It's just us now. Will you keep playing games?" Seiryu said coldly.

"Seems I need to teach you some manners." Enraged, Obito summoned dozens of giant wooden pillars from the earth, forming a wooden giant to match Seiryu's Susanoo.

"The First Lord's technique?" Seiryu laughed. "You have many tricks, but how much of the God of Shinobi's power can you wield?"

"Repent in hell for your rudeness!" Obito roared, attacking with the wooden giant.

Susanoo caught its fists, and the two titans wrestled, chakra waves blasting out and shattering huge trees.

The explosion kept Kakashi and the others from joining.

"Hahaha!"

Within Susanoo, Seiryu laughed maniacally, pouring out chakra and ocular power. "It's been ages since I fought at full strength. I hope you last, coward!"

Obito gritted his teeth, realizing Seiryu's power was beyond his expectations. His wooden giant was being crushed.

Obito's Mangekyō spun as he formed seals.

"Fire Style: Exploding Wind Dance!"

Using Kamui, he twisted space, creating a spiraling windstorm and breathing fire into it, sending a flaming cyclone at Seiryu.

"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!" Seiryu calmly answered with a massive water shield. Though quickly evaporating, a thunder dragon burst through, devouring the weakened flames.

Sage Art: Lightning Style: Azure Dragon!

Empowered by Sage Chakra, the lightning dragon was more solid and powerful than before.

Seeing the dragon coming, Obito hurriedly became intangible.

The dragon exploded before Obito, the blast lighting up all of Konoha, the wooden giant destroyed.

"Hahaha! A weakling like you, a coward, dares claim our ancestor's name?" Seiryu laughed, his Susanoo hurling black Yasaka Magatama at Obito, each exploding with thunder.

"In front of my eyes, your attacks are useless," Obito said calmly.

"Hiding behind your jutsu like a turtle—truly fitting for a coward. Even with our clan's supreme power, you're not worthy of the name Uchiha. Let me show you how Uchiha really fight!"

The rising steam joined the thunderclouds, making the storm even more terrifying. Lightning from the Magatama formed a web of electricity.

"Sage Art! Lightning Style: Kirin!"

A massive bolt struck Obito, passing through his intangible body and blasting a huge crater.

But it was only the beginning. In the clouds, blue lightning coalesced into a giant beast, and countless bolts rained down on Obito.

Obito dared not drop Kamui for an instant—one touch would mean annihilation.

Through all this, Seiryu's laughter never stopped.

Even Black Zetsu, watching from underground, had to admit: while Obito acted in Madara's name, Seiryu was the true Uchiha Madara's inheritor.

Both fought wildly and boldly, laughing as they battled—one danced in flames, the other sang to thunder.

"How long can you keep your intangibility up, coward?!" Seiryu taunted.

"Worry about how long you can keep up your jutsu," Obito replied.

"Running out of patience? Madara would never avoid a fight like you. Let's see whose chakra lasts longer—yours or mine. I bet you don't have the guts, coward!"

"You—" Obito started, but White Zetsu whispered, "Obito, Black Zetsu says we should retreat."

"Retreat?" Obito looked at Seiryu, unwilling.

"Black Zetsu says you can always plan again. With Kamui, you can escape—no need to die here. The Eye of the Moon Plan needs you."

"I know." Obito gritted his teeth, knowing fleeing would brand him a coward, but he had to for the plan and for Rin.

Obito's body began to twist, space rotating.

"Running away?" Seiryu sneered. "You're always a turtle, even in front of Rin and Kakashi, right, Obito?"

Obito froze, his eye full of shock.

Seeing his confusion, Seiryu explained, "In Sage Mode, my sensory powers are greatly enhanced. Earlier, when you fought Kakashi, I sensed Mangekyō energy in his right eye—the same as yours. One left, one right. Eliminate the impossible, and the truth remains: you didn't die in the Third War, Obito."

"As for why you survived but didn't return, why you started the Nine-Tails' attack, killed your teacher and his wife—let me guess, you blamed the Fourth for not saving that girl? Haha! Pathetic. The root of all this is your own weakness, but you can't even admit it. No wonder she chose Kakashi over you. Even I wouldn't choose a coward like you."

"Shut up!" Obito screamed, not even hiding his voice.

"Guess I struck a nerve, haha!" Seiryu laughed.

"You know nothing!" Obito, now irrational, screamed, "When your jutsu ends, you die!"

Obito, panting, stared at Seiryu, ignoring White Zetsu's whispers. All he wanted was to make Seeiryu pay.

Seiryu, seeing Obito so enraged, smiled secretly—his plan had worked.

If he only wanted to drive Obito away, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths. His ocular jutsu, Yasakani no Magatama, naturally countered Kamui.

Kamui's intangibility was powerful but required the user to become tangible to attack. Others would need to create an opening, but Seiryu only needed a moment—if Obito became tangible, Seiryu could strike without fail.

But if Obito was determined to flee, Seiryu couldn't do much.

So, there was only one true chance.

Two minutes passed. The lightning storm faded, Seiryu's chakra nearly depleted, his eye shadow vanishing.

Seeing this, Obito smiled beneath his mask.

"Looks like I win!" As the lightning ended, Obito charged at Seiryu with a grin.

"Even low on chakra, killing you is easy!" Seiryu didn't dodge.

They passed each other—Obito became tangible for an instant, reaching for Seiryu's back, his right hand becoming a wooden spike.

'If I just stab you, you'll die the cruelest death!' 

Obito thought.

But Seiryu turned, eye shadow returning, and sliced with his hand.

Obito's mask shattered, revealing his twisted face, a wound appearing on his left cheek.

"What?" Obito was shocked. Though his wound healed instantly, he suddenly found himself unable to control his chakra.

The wooden spike stopped less than a millimeter from Seiryu's nose.

Terrified, Obito found a strange energy inside, violently assimilating his chakra.

He howled in pain, his and White Zetsu's body starting to grow scales, his feet turning to stone.

"What is this?!" Obito screamed in terror.

"Natural energy. Amazing, right?" Seiryu's eyes flashed with lightning, destroying the spike. "Your body is turning to stone—you won't escape."

Obito gritted his teeth, using his remaining Sharingan to cast Izanagi, hoping to survive.

Successfully activating Izanagi, Obito reversed his fate and used Kamui to escape to his pocket dimension.

"Did it work?" Obito gasped, "Seiryu, I'll remember you!"

But before he could recover, Seiryu appeared before him. Horrified, Obito realized his whole body except his head had become stone. Seiryu simply reached out and took his Mangekyō eye; Obito's statue shattered to dust.

"Why? Why didn't Izanagi work?"

That was Obito's last thought—if he met Danzo in the afterlife, maybe he'd find the answer.