DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY ASSOCIATED CHARACTERS

No real special need for an author's note this chapter, so I'll just skip over it and tell all of you to enjoy.

Chapter 10 - Powers of the Eye

Rin was starting to lose hope of finding Obito. She'd been searching for the better part of the evening, and the sun had long since set. The village had practically lost all sound as time ticked on towards midnight. That turned out to be her saving grace, though, as flashes of orange against the night sky caught her eye, accompanying roars having reached her ears.

She made her way across the rooftops, hair flowing behind her in the cool night breeze. The buildings gave way to trees at the same time that the air seemed to grow warmer. It was no longer a simple feeling as Rin drew closer to the center of the training ground. It felt like a hundred suns were shining on her at once when she stopped to overlook the scene in front of her.

Obito was standing in the center of a circular patch of dirt. The grass had long since been burned away, but that didn't seem to faze the Uchiha, as he was using his latest fire jutsu. The flames spiraled outwards in a cone, then a gust of wind suddenly came from within, and the flames grew much larger, the inside of the cone even filling with them.

He released the jutsu a moment later and watched as the flames faded away into the sky. Breathing heavily and coated in a sheen of sweat, Obito readied his next jutsu. He didn't get the chance to cast it, because the sound of feet hitting the ground behind him forced him to turn.

Rin stood there, her eyes studying him with a tinge of sadness behind them. Obito closed his eyes, deactivating his Mangekyou, then returned the gaze of the sharingan back to his old teammate. He said nothing, willing his breathing to calm itself down as Rin stared back at him.

She gave a soft smile as she stepped forward. Obito regarded her with his mask of indifference, his hands moving to their usual place in his pockets. She stopped when she was an arm's length away from him.

"You have nightmares," she stated plainly.

Obito didn't respond, but Rin didn't need a response to know the answer. "I used to," Rin admitted. "I used to see Kakashi running at me with his chidori every night in my dreams."

Her old teammate's red eyes suddenly seemed to grow brighter upon mention of that name, but still, Obito said nothing. Rin chuckled softly. "You're never gonna forgive him, are you? I guess that's okay. But I don't have the nightmares anymore, Obito."

"You forgive him because you're in love with him?" Obito asked harshly.

Rin took half a step back from the weight of his words. "I...I don't love him, Obito. Maybe I did once. I still did after he betrayed us. But not anymore. Not for a long time."

"Bullshit."

"What?" Rin was confused.

"I said bullshit. Two weeks ago, you couldn't admit that. You're just saying everything you can think of to get me to open up to you," Obito judged.

Rin placed a hand on her chest, shaking her head. "That's not true, Obito. You're my best friend, I-"

"Was your best friend."

"Even so, I would never lie to you," Rin said, dropping her head.

Obito scoffed, turning his back to her. "Whatever. We finally have one conversation after ten years and you think everything is somehow fixed between us, huh? Wake up. Accept reality. It's your fault that we can't fix our relationship, not mine. Call it pride or whatever, but I'm not the one who defended a traitor to the village."

"I didn't defend him!" Rin shouted, clenching her fists at her sides.

"Sure seemed like it to me."

"Like you've been such a perfect guy since then. You fail every Genin team that you aren't forced to pass. You kill without remorse. The only emotion you show is anger. You ignore everyone who wants to help you. Just let me in, Obito. Let me help you," Rin pleaded. She took a step forward and tried to put a hand on his shoulder.

Obito whirled back around and caught her arm by the wrist. His red eyes met her own brown ones. "You think I'm some cold, emotionless murderer, is that it? You couldn't be more wrong. I'm an Uchiha. It's impossible for an Uchiha to rid themselves of emotion. You wanna know why I never deactivate the sharingan? Because the only emotion that it ever displays is anger."

Rin's eyes widened as she took in the gravity of what Obito had just said. After all these years, she now knew that Obito bottled up every emotion he'd felt since then. She even ignored the pain that Obito's strong grip was inflicting on her wrist, never wavering.

The small flames left over from his fire jutsu cast shadows that danced across his face and eyes, adding a level of detail that gave Rin an idea. She slowly raised her other hand, trying to move it towards his face, where she would place it on his cheek.

He quickly stepped back to avoid it, releasing her hand in the process. Rin dropped her arms, just wishing for some kind of connection with him. "Show me your eyes, Obito."

The Uchiha's sharingan narrowed at that. All Rin wanted was for him to let out his emotions, but he couldn't just do that, not after all the time spent bottling them up. Rin began to grow hopeful when Obito didn't move from his spot, and she kept staring at his red eyes, waiting for them to morph back into the familiar brown that she missed seeing.

Obito turned his back once again. "No."

With that, he leapt away, leaving Rin in the middle of a barren circle, small flames still littering the ground around her.

The day was starting out just like all the others for Naruto and his teammates. The three of them were sitting at their usual training ground under the shade of a large tree. Oddly enough, upon arrival, they noticed a large circle of dirt with a small grass patch in the center. That quickly slipped their minds when they were faced with the boring monotony of waiting for their sensei.

When he finally appeared, the three of them were nearly hit in the face with a shuriken that they managed to catch between their fingers. Noticing that they were made of paper, they began to unfold them at a nod from Obito.

"Chunin Exams?" Sakura asked, reading the title.

Naruto had a grin like he'd just eaten the world's largest bowl of ramen. "Yeah! All the Genin participate to try and get a promotion! I used to go every year to watch with dad."

"But why us?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow.

Obito shrugged. "Why not?"

"Maybe because we've only been a team for a few months?" Sasuke suggested.

Obito repeated his previous action. "So?"

"You don't think we might be a little inexperienced for this?" Sakura asked.

Naruto stood up and faced his teammates with utter disbelief. "Seriously?! You guys are gonna chicken out of a chance to get promoted?"

"I didn't say that," Sasuke grumbled.

"But you were thinking it! What about you, Sakura?" Naruto looked to her questioningly.

The pinkette went red in the face, not knowing what to say. Luckily, Obito stepped in for her. "Listen, Naruto. What do you think the Chunin Exams are?"

The blonde scratched the back of his head. "Well, it's a fighting tournament, right?"

"That's the third part of it. The first two parts are nothing like that. I won't lie to you three, these Exams are dangerous. I don't just mean injuries, I'm talking deadly kind of dangerous. If you walk in for the wrong reasons, you'll regret it," Obito crossed his arms.

Naruto dropped his head, having not realized the full extent of the exams. He glanced apologetically to his teammates before sinking back down to the ground next to them.

Obito closed his eyes as he exhaled through his nose. There were some days that he wondered how the hell he found the patience to deal with this kid. "That being said, if you pass, a whole new world of opportunities will open up for you. You get more responsibilities, but your pay increases, and you will probably get a team to lead of your own."

Sasuke perked up at that. He'd always wanted to lead a team. Itachi being a former chief of the Anbu, as well as seeing Obito order them around had helped in that regard. Though he didn't know if he wanted to teach Genin. That seemed like a whole ordeal in and of its own.

Sakura, on the other hand, loved kids. Her promotion to Chunin would be the next step up for her on her way to teaching students of her own. She'd thought about teaching at the Academy as well, but leading Genin seemed more fun than being cooped up in a classroom all day.

Naruto looked at it as the first rung of the ladder he'd have to climb on his way to being Hokage. He would make his dad proud, that much he knew. "Well I'm in! I'll pass for sure!"

"Take a few days and think about it, you damn moron. Just because I recommend you doesn't mean that you have to take the Exam. Though it would get you little anklebiters off of my plate. Anyways, the applications aren't due for a week, and the Exam takes place two weeks after that."

"So where do we get an application?" Naruto asked.

Obito brought a hand to his face. "You're holding it, you idiot."

Naruto looked down at the paper, seemingly for the first time. He gave a sheepish grin to Obito when he looked back up. "Oh. Sorry about that."

The briefing room in the Hokage's ytower was packed to nearly its maximum capacity. Ranks on ranks of Chunin and Jonin stood, looking forward at their Hokage. All of the Genin teams' sensei were at the forefront, as this meeting was about the Chunin Exams.

Obito stood shoulder to shoulder with Guy and Kurenai. Rin was on the other side of their red-eyed friend. Rin constantly tried to catch Obito's eye, but the Uchiha seemed to have withdrawn into himself much more than usual. She was forced to abandon her attempts when Minato began to speak at the front of the room.

"Alright, this meeting regarding the Chunin Exams is now under way. Genma, I trust you have planned and thought out the first two parts of the Exams?"

The aforementioned ninja nodded his head. "Yes, Lord Hokage. The first two parts have been planned, and will begin preparations once this meeting is concluded."

Minato nodded. "Good. Now that that's out of the way, let's figure out which teams will be recommended this year. All Jonin-sensei, when your team numbers are called, a raised hand should be sufficient."

As Minato began to list off team names, hands went up one after the other all around Obito. Guy raised a hand from his spot next to him, which wasn't surprising at all. He'd held back his team of Genin for a year from the Exams in order to prepare them.

Minato kicked off the teams of rookie Genin with Kurenai's Team 8. Her hand rose into the air, then descended when Minato gave his nod of approval. Next, Rin's hand shot up when Team 10 was called. That was to be expected as well. Her team was the next incarnation of the legendary Ino-Shika-Cho squad, after all.

But it was Obito's hand raised when Team 7 was called that garnered the most attention. The entire room began to mutter and whisper among themselves until a loud voice drowned out all the others.

"Objection!"

Obito's head snapped to the side, angered by the comment that he took as a direct challenge. As it turned out, Iruka Umino was the one who had called out, the Academy teacher making his way to the front of the room to look at Minato.

"You object to this team's approval?" the Hokage asked to clarify.

Iruka nodded. "I do."

Obito scoffed. "And why's that?"

Iruka looked at the Uchiha with harsh eyes. "You're why! You're unstable, and you've never passed a team of Genin before this one. We're supposed to trust your teaching abilities after only a few months with your first team?"

"Watch it, unless you want a fire jutsu up your ass," Obito's eyes flashed.

Minato stepped between the pair. "That's enough. Obito, I won't have you threatening other shinobi of this village. And Iruka, to recommend a team is that sensei's decision, and it cannot be influenced by other factors. Team 7 will be recommended for the Chunin Exams."

Obito didn't even wait for the meeting to end. He turned on his heel and stalked out of the room, roughly bumping anyone that got in his way with his shoulder. When he finally saw light again, he took a deep breath to calm his anger.

"Who the hell does that fucking Academy teacher think he is, challenging me in front of everyone like that?" he seethed, speaking to himself.

Civilians gave him strange looks and moved quickly out of his way as he passed. Walking nowhere in particular, Obito somehow managed to end up outside of Itachi and Sasuke's door. Figuring that he had nothing better to do, he decided to catch up with the head of their clan. Raising his hand, he knocked on the door.

Sasuke and Itachi had just finished their small lunch when the younger brother finally worked up the courage to ask about Obito's eyes. He'd put it off for several days after returning from their mission, waiting for the opportune moment, and he figured that he wouldn't get much more of an opportunity as this.

As Itachi washed the dishes at the sink, Sasuke looked up from his position at the table. "Hey, Itachi?"

His older brother looked up, raising both eyebrows in a question. Sasuke shifted his gaze. "Um, I saw something on the mission. It raised a lot of questions."

"An enemy technique?" Itachi asked, drying off a plate.

Sasuke shook his head. "Not an enemy one. One of Obito's."

Itachi stopped everything he was doing and looked at Sasuke with seriousness. "You saw his eyes, didn't you?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah. But he wouldn't tell us anything about them, all he told us was the one ability that he used. He said they were Uchiha clan secrets and that we had to ask you."

Itachi nodded, a neutral expression gracing his features. "I suppose that it's good Naruto and Sakura aren't here. Few people know the full nature of our eyes, and I would not tell them this information, even if they are trustworthy."

A knock on the door forced both heads to turn. Sasuke huffed in irritation, hoping to Kami that it wasn't a pressing emergency for Itachi. The elder Uchiha moved to the door and opened it. Obito appeared in the doorway, looking to Itachi with his usual cold eyes.

"Figured we could catch up," he shrugged. When Itachi didn't respond, Obito looked past to see Sasuke's irritated expression. Obito looked back to Itachi. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked in a lazy tone.

Itachi tilted his head to the side for a second. "Not exactly. He just asked me about your eyes."

"Oh, to hell if you think I'm staying for this. He can come find me later with his questions. I don't feel like being here for hours while you explain everything," Obito said, turning on his heel and leaving with a raised hand behind him.

Itachi smirked slightly before shutting the door and turning back to Sasuke. "Anyways, I would not tell your Genin teammates if I were you. Lord Hokage already knows of our eyes, so if he doesn't trust Naruto with the information, then neither do I."

"What's so special about it?" Sasuke asked. "Shouldn't a heightened form of the sharingan be common knowledge among the village? Doesn't it raise our battle strength?"

Itachi shook his head, a grave expression set in his face. "Only temporarily, as you will soon find out. But I must start at the beginning. Those eyes of Obito's are called the Mangekyou Sharingan, an evolved form of the base sharingan. To understand how they came to be, you must first understand our clan. The Uchiha, as it has long been said, have the Curse of Hatred upon them. This couldn't be further from the truth. In reality, our curse is a fierce love that runs deeper than all others, and our wrath when losing a loved one can be perceived as hatred."

"What does that have to do with our eyes?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi crossed his arms and leaned up against the wall. "The base sharingan is awakened in situations of high danger or emotion, corect? The Mangekyou takes that to an extreme. It can only be awakened in the eyes of one who has experienced the tremendous loss of a loved one, such as a best friend or a family member. That is why I hope that you never awaken it, because I would not wish that pain on anyone, let alone my younger brother."

"Who did Obito lose?" Sasuke prodded.

Itachi shook his head. "It's not my place to tell his story. He will tell you if he wishes, but he is not the most open of books. Only I and a few others truly know what happened, and only because we were there when it happened."

"So I take it that the Mangekyou is rare?" Sasuke surmised.

"Correct, but do not think that Obito is the only one that possesses it," Itachi said, his black eyes morphing into the sharingan that Sasuke knew he had.

It was the further transformation that surprised him, from three tomoe into a three-pointed shuriken with curved blades around a red pupil. Sasuke's mouth opened in awe at his brother, then his brain quickly pieced together all of the clues that Itachi had left behind.

"Mom," Sasuke said quietly. "You got them when you killed Mom."

Itachi nodded. "I did. That day held the most pain I've ever felt in my life. Perhaps one day I will tell you the full story, but informing you of the Mangekyou should be enough for now."

Sasuke knew little of the Uchiha Rebellion. He knew that Itachi had sided against the clan, and had aided in the ensuing battle, but he didn't know Itachi's reasons. He often prodded his brother for them, but Itachi would never divulge that information when he was younger. Even now, he was being denied, though he supposed that the information on the Mangekyou was a suitable substitute.

"What did you mean when you said it was only a temporary power boost?"

Itachi's eyes turned back to their usual black before he responded. "Because the more you use them, the more your eyes lose their light."

"You mean that you go blind?" Sasuke asked, suddenly thinking back to the nonchalant way that Obito used his eyes to avoid danger. Did he not care about his sight anymore?

"Correct. Your vision slowly blurs until your eyes become entirely useless. The abilities provided by the Mangekyou are indeed powerful, but they should only be used in the most dire of circumstances. The resort after the last resort, if you will," Itachi cautioned.

"What kind of abilities?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi sighed lightly. "I have a feeling that you haven't listened to a single warning I've given, but I suppose that you don't have the eyes, and you already know this much. Very well. The abilities of the Mangekyou vary from user to user. Only one ability is common among all users of the Mangekyou, but I will not speak of it yet."

Sasuke nodded. He figured that the way Itachi was talking about it spoke to how powerful and dangerous these abilities are. "So what are yours?"

"My first ability is in-" Itachi was suddenly cut off by a sharp fit of coughing. It wracked his system and forced him to turn away from Sasuke. He grabbed a cloth from the counter and coughed into it, then deposited it into the trash afterwards, resuming his composure.

"Apologies," Itachi said, but that didn't douse Sasuke's suspicions. "As I was saying, my first ability resides in both of my eyes, and it is called Tsukuyomi. It is a genjutsu of great power, and allows one to trap the other in a genjutsu world of their creation. Time does not flow the same, and one could spend days or weeks in that world while only a minute passes in this one. Unfortunately, this ability uses a vast amount of chakra, so it is inadvisable to fight after usage.

"The second ability lies only in my right eye, and is called Amaterasu. Anything I see will instantly be engulfed in black flames that never die out until they have burned their target to ash. The flames cannot be extinguished by fire, only by my will. Unfortunately, this puts even more strain on the eyes than Tsukuyomi, and causes my right eye to bleed."

"How do you know all of this?" Sasuke asked quietly.

Itachi looked at him with an unwavering gaze. "Because I have done some experimenting on my own."

"Does that mean-"

"Yes. My vision is no longer what it once was. I have not used any of these techniques for some time, however, so the deterioration has stopped. But it will undoubtedly continue if I were to use them again."

Sasuke looked down at the table, suddenly interested in its surface. "And what's the third ability?"

"I would rather not say, but you will never stop hounding me until I give it up," Itachi pointed out with humorous eyes. "The third ability is called Susano'o. You can see the trend, each taking the name of one of our gods. The Susano'o is the most powerful of all Mangekyou techniques, and also the one that puts the most strain on the eyes. It is a spectral armor that forms around the user upon activation, and has various iterations.

"Each Susano'o varies from person to person, if Obito and I are the examples. Shisui also possessed the Mangekyou, but I never saw his Susano'o. I will not tell you the abilities of mine, and I hope that you never have to see it in action. Supposedly, there is a final form to the Susano'o, but the loss of light in the eyes of the Uchiha occurs long before one is able to build up to that level.

"There are two other abilities that the Mangekyou possesses, but those, I refuse to tell you of, for even Obito and I don't dare to use them," Itachi said. In reality, he spoke of Izanami and Izanagi, both of which can be used with the base sharingan, but Sasuke didn't need to know that.

Sasuke nodded wordlessly as he absorbed the last of the information that Itachi had been pouring out. It was a lot to take in, and he felt a little overwhelmed. To think that such powerful jutsu had been available to Itachi this whole time, and Obito had them as well. Sasuke seemed to suddenly realize that Obito constantly downplayed his real power. He shuddered to think of what his sensei would look like were he truly pushed to his limit.

Itachi finally moved from his position on the wall, spreading his hands. "And that concludes everything I know of the Mangekyou and its abilities, other than Obito's, which he will have to tell you himself."

Sasuke nodded, clasping his hand on the table in front of him. He knew that this knowledge didn't benefit him in the slightest, but he still needed to know about Obito's backstory, if only to serve as a reassurance that his sensei was who he said he was.

He rose and made his way to the door, intending to find Obito when Itachi's voice called to him. "If you are going now, know that Obito is not easy to extract information from, even if I have already told you most of the story. His Mangekyou is also much different than mine, and had weight behind it."

The door closed behind Sasuke as he set his jaw in a determined line. He would get every scrap of it out of Obito if it took him all night.

Naruto barged into his father's office without so much as an announcement of his arrival. In his mind, the Hokage's son shouldn't have to ask to see his own father. "Hey Dad!" he called as he walked in.

Minato looked up from his desk, eyes instantly lighting up at the sight of his son. "Naruto, come to chat with your old man?"

"You're not that old," Naruto chuckled.

Minato smirked. "No, I suppose not. What is it?"

"Let's train!" Naruto urged. "I got better at my chakra control while we were training, and I had to fight this really tough opponent, so I think I'm way stronger than I used to be. Let's spar!"

Minato chuckled at the sheer energy that his son possessed. "I would love to see how much you've improved, but I have to work right now."

"You're always working," Naruto muttered.

Minato just looked apologetic when Naruto met his eyes again. "I may be your father, but I'm also the Hokage. Protecting the village is-"

"Is your responsibility, I know," Naruto finished, having heard that excuse before. "I just miss training with you."

"What are you talking about? We still train in the mornings," Minato pointed out.

"That's not the same! You're always in teacher mode then. I just want to spar you for real," Naruto complained. "Just get Old Man Sandaime to cover for you!"

Minato gave Naruto a disapproving glower. "Naruto, you can't just pass your duties onto someone else whenever you feel like it. I would expect you to know that, especially if you want to be the Hokage someday."

Naruto scoffed. "I'll be the Hokage, just you wait! I'll steal that hat from the top of your head in no time!"

"I look forward to it," Minato laughed. "But I have to finish this, so we'll talk later tonight, alright?"

Naruto's shoulders dropped. "Okay…"

The teen shuffled out of the room and closed the door behind him, leaving Minato alone with his thoughts once again. "You sure gave birth to one hell of a kid, Kushina."

Obito swung his door open to find his young cousin and student in the form of Sasuke standing at his door. He really didn't want to have this conversation after the shit past few days that he'd had, but no time felt good to him.

Sighing, he moved out of the way to let Sasuke into his apartment. "What all did Itachi tell you?" he asked as Sasuke walked past him.

"Everything except how you got your eyes and who you lost to get them. He also refused to share your abilities other than the Susano'o, which he said that everyone has," Sasuke detailed as he leaned against Obito's counter.

The elder Uchiha groaned. "Damn him. You were never supposed to find out about this shit."

"You're the one who used it in front of us!" Sasuke pointed an accusing finger at his sensei.

Obito nodded. "Suppose you got me there."

He walked past Sasuke to lean on the other side of the counter, facing his student. "The problem is, I don't feel like telling you right now."

"You're just saying that to get me out of here," Sasuke stated.

Obito simply stared at him. "That's not it. My reservations aren't from something as shallow as that. If I tell you what really happened, you'll never look at me the same. Hell, you'll probably request a team transfer, and I wouldn't blame you."

Sasuke just gave him a deadpan look. "It's a little late for that, isn't it? Besides, even if I don't like your answer, we're fixing to take the Chunin Exams, it's perfect timing."

Obito crossed his arms. "Alright. Naruto and Sakura can't know. They wouldn't understand."

Sasuke nodded his assent, and Obito began the second information dump of the day. "The first thing you have to know about me, is that I obtained my Mangekyou after killing both of my parents during the Rebellion. Despite the fact that they never truly loved me, somehow I loved them enough to activate it upon their deaths."

Obito took a deep breath when the memory hit him. He shook himself to clear it from his mind before continuing. "No doubt Itachi told you that usage of the Mangekyou destroys your eyesight over time? Well, mine don't do that. I have what is called the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan."

"Itachi made no mention of that!" Sasuke said in disbelief.

"That's because he doesn't have it," Obito said, his sharingan morphing into the three red scythes surrounding a black pupil on a black field. "To obtain the Eternal Mangekyou, you need to undergo an eye transplant with another sharingan user."

"The how does Itachi not have it? The two of you are the only living Uchha besides me," Sasuke commented.

Obito shook his head. "I didn't use Itachi's eyes. I used my father's."

"What?" Sasuke gasped.

"Somehow, I subconsciously felt like I should save his eyes. For what, I had no clue, but I wasn't exactly thinking straight back then. I destroyed every other pair of sharingan I found, but I kept my father's. I encouraged Itachi to take his mother's eyes when I found out that he had it as well, but he didn't want to resort to something like that just for power."

"But why?" Sasuke asked, genuinely confused as to his brother's mindset. "He could have all of that power!"

"I believe that was his point. He never wanted to resort to that power unless absolutely necessary," Obito said. "I, on the other hand, have a very good reason as to why."

"Why's that?" Sasuke asked.

Obito clenched a fist in memory, but manage to keep his anger in check. "I won't tell you that. It concerns no one except for me."

Sasuke only nodded. Normally, he would press for more information, but he felt that he had been lucky today when it came to that area, so he decided to fold his hand. "So what abilities do you have?" he asked, changing the subject.

Obito shrugged. "If Itachi told you about Susano'o, then you already know the extent. I told you about my abilities back in the Land of Waves. The name for it is Kamui."

"Another deity," Sasuke recognized.

Obito nodded in response. "Pray you never have to use these godlike powers, Sasuke. They are a curse disguised as a blessing. A terrible burden rides on the Uchiha that use these abilities."

Sasuke bowed lightly to Obito, a silent gesture of gratification. Then, without another word, he turned on his heel and left Obito to his own thoughts.