4 Ghost From the Future

Tobi's laughter echoes through the room, a booming sound that reverberates off the walls. He finds his own joke uproariously amusing, a mirthful display that makes the air quiver. "If you concentrate real hard enough," Tobi says between chuckles, "you can actually feel your brain freezing."

Obito, still in his bed, raises an eyebrow at the absurdity of the latter's words. He narrows his eyes and seriously contemplates the possibility. Maybe there's a hidden punchline he's missing. With a thoughtful expression, he attempts to follow Tobi's advice and concentrates, really putting in the effort.

Tobi notices Obito's focused expression and, still chuckling, nudges him. "Get it? The brain freezing thing?"

Obito, breaking his intense focus, looks at Tobi with a puzzled expression. "No," he admits, shaking his head. "I don't get it at all."

"Hahahaha~! Of course, you don't! You are a dumbass after all!" Tobi bursts into another round of laughter, seemingly reveling in the absurdity of his own humor, leaving Obito to contemplate the mysteries of Tobi's comedic genius.

Tobi, an eccentric figure, looms in the room. His tall stature and the distinct outline of a grown man suggest an adult beneath the mysterious facade. Obito, uncertain about Tobi's intentions, eyes him warily.

In a swift motion, Obito opens a cabinet, snatches a kunai, and hurls it directly at Tobi. To Obito's bewilderment, the sharp weapon simply passes through Tobi's form as if he were made of mist.

Tobi bursts into laughter, a booming and mocking sound that echoes through the room. "Kahahahaha! Dumbass! Yeah, yeah, you hear me right! That's what you are!! A DUMBASS!"

Obito cringes at the sheer childishness of Tobi's response. The air is thick with tension as Obito wonders what this eccentric character could possibly want from him. "Just what do you want from me!?"

Finally, the realization hits Obito like a lightning bolt. The pieces fall into place, and he recalls the nightmare that has haunted him – the vivid memory of the orange-masked figure. A shiver runs down Obito's spine as he stares at Tobi.

His voice trembling, Obito asks, "Who exactly are you? No, what are you?"

Tobi responds with an air of hooliganism, a smirk playing on his lips. "Ha? You don't really get it, don't you?"

The mocking tone in Tobi's words hangs heavily in the air, leaving Obito to grapple with the unsettling truth that begins to dawn on him. Obito understands, but he doesn't want to understand.

Tobi's laughter abruptly ceases, and his tone takes on a serious edge. The hole in his mask glows red, revealing a Sharingan, three tomoe glaringly obvious. "Think harder, Obito," he urges, his words carrying a magnetic pull. "Ask yourself, who are you?"

Obito, caught off guard by the sudden change, furrows his brow in deep contemplation. "I don't know what you're talking about," he replies, his confusion evident.

Tobi, maintaining the intensity in his gaze, seems to understand something profound but resists acknowledging it. "You have the answer within you," he asserts cryptically.

Feeling a surge of uncertainty, Obito throws a random question into the tense atmosphere. "Are you Madara?" he asks, hoping for some clarification.

Tobi's response is enigmatic, and he smirks behind the mask. "Madara, hm? Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Does it matter?" The red glow in his Sharingan intensifies, adding an eerie touch to the atmosphere. "Do you really think I am he? Well, I do have a handsome mug, and a rather intense Final Boss aura, so maybe… I really am Madara…"

For a slight moment, Tobi returns to his goofy demeanor.

Tobi's severe tone cuts through the air as he responds, "We did call ourselves 'Madara' once, but no, I am not. I will explain it to you in a way that you can understand. I am a ghost from the future, and I am haunting you, Obito Uchiha."

Obito's breath becomes short, a sudden realization dawning upon him. His mind races, recalling short snippets of the nightmare that have sprung up in his brain recently – memories that feel like distant echoes from a future yet to unfold.

"Did we really do that? Did we cause so much pain, suffering, and hate to the world?" Obito's voice trembles with a mixture of disbelief and horror.

Tobi loses the severity in his tone, and the red glow of his Sharingan fades. He responds with a twisted sense of pride, "Yeah! We did all of that!! Aren't we great? We are awesome, right? So, Obito-chan, if you don't feel like repeating it all, you better work hard, okay?"

With labored breathing, Obito absorbs Tobi's words with the sudden awareness that whatever that nightmare is, real or not, it is real for the 'Tobi' that stands before Obito.

Tobi's mocking laughter returns as he jiggles up where he stands in a strange dance of sorts. "Kakahaha! Tobi doesn't really know what to say!! Your pea brain won't understand Tobi's greatness after all."

Obito falls to one knee, feeling his head beginning to spin.

Tobi, adopting an awkward and playful manner, chimes in, "Oops, it looks like time is up! I will be going now!" Tobi's figure retreats to the walls, phasing through them as if being absorbed by the very structure of the room.

As Tobi disappears into the walls, Obito senses his chakra reaching its limit.

The world around Obito blurs, and he hears distant shouting. From his peripheral vision, he sees his grandmother forcing her way into his room, her hand holding a key, panic is etched across her face as she hurries to Obito.

Obito falls asleep.

And once more… Obito begins to recede into his mind— a dream sequence plays in his head.

"Who is our little baby? It is you, Obito!"

"Hey, hey! No monopolizing the kid's time! Husband!

"I am the man of the house, dearest, I get to decide what I want!"

"Shut up, you fool!"

Blurry faces, silhouettes, and the past.

Obito wakes up groggily to find his grandmother hovering over him, a worried expression etched on her face.

"Obito, dear, you need to rest," she says, gently wiping his forehead with a damp cloth. "You have a high fever."

Obito squints, trying to make sense of his surroundings. "What happened, Grandma?" he asks, his voice raspy.

His grandmother sighs, her concern evident. "I heard shouting, crying, and laughing from your room. It unnerved me, so I forced my way in."

Obito glances around, noticing the slightly ajar door of his room. The memories of his bizarre encounter with Tobi flood back, sending a shiver down his spine.

"What was that all about?" he wonders aloud, more to himself than his grandmother.

His grandma, still fussing over him, replies, "I don't know, dear, but you better rest and recover. It's not good to overexert yourself." Obito nods, feeling a mixture of confusion and exhaustion.

As he closes his eyes, the enigmatic laughter of Tobi echoes in his mind, leaving him with lingering questions about the surreal events that transpired.

Obito, still feeling the effects of the strange encounter with Tobi, finds himself in bed, the weight of his fever pressing down on him. His grandmother, looking deeply concerned, sits beside him.

"Obito, sweetheart, are you doing okay?" she asks, her voice filled with worry. "Maybe we should take you to the hospital."

Obito glances at his grandmother, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "I... I don't know," he mumbles weakly, his throat dry and scratchy.

His grandmother reaches out, placing a hand on his forehead to check his temperature. "Your fever is quite terrible," she remarks, her brow furrowed.

Obito musters the strength to look back at her. "Grandma, what's happening to me?"

His grandmother's eyes reflect a mix of concern and curiosity. "Since when did you awaken your Sharingan?" she inquires.

Obito, confused, tries to recall. "I don't know, Grandma. What do you mean?"

Worry deepens on his grandmother's face. She reaches for a hand mirror nearby and holds it up for Obito to see. "Obito, your Sharingan has been open for some time now," she explains, pointing to his eyes in the reflection. "I don't know how or why, but it's there. I will try reaching for your uncle. Maybe he can help."

Reflected in the handmirror is Obitos' Sharingan with one tomoe. Obito is in disbelief.

As Obito's grandmother leaves the room, muttering about calling his uncle for assistance, Obito remains in bed, feeling a sense of unease. The room is quiet, save for the distant sounds of his grandmother's movements, perhaps attempting to go out and find Obito's so-called uncle.

Suddenly, Tobi reappears, phasing through the wall with a mischievous grin on his masked face. Obito shoots him a glare.

"What the hell do you want now?" Obito snaps, irritated by Tobi's sudden appearance.

Tobi bursts into laughter, his booming voice filling the room. "Hahahaha! You really are a dumbass, Obito!"

Obito grits his teeth, his frustration growing. "Enough with the insults. What's going on? Why are you here again?"

Tobi, still chuckling, becomes more serious. "You must have awakened your Sharingan when you received those memories from the future. That's the only explanation."

Obito's eyes narrow, a mix of confusion and anger in his gaze. "Memories from the future? What are you talking about?"

Tobi, now wearing a more serious expression, explains, "The encounter we had, the visions of pain and suffering. You received memories from a future where you played a significant role. It triggered your Sharingan. That's an awesome cheat! This is new, isn't it?"

Obito absorbs the information, a knot forming in his stomach. The bizarre connection between Tobi, the future memories, and his awakened Sharingan starts to unravel in his mind.

But to be honest, Obito knows it already at the back of his mind, and he just doesn't want to acknowledge it.

As Tobi scolds Obito for the prolonged use of his Sharingan, he warns, "You keep this up, and you might just end up dead from Chakra depletion, dumbass."

Obito, concerned, asks, "How do I stop it, then? I don't want to die."

Tobi chuckles behind his mask. "Well, there are two methods, Obito. The easy one is to calm down and think happy thoughts. It's the most roundabout way, but it works. The harder one is to reduce your thoughts to zero or nothingness. Treat your Sharingan like a muscle – by not using it, you stop using it."

Obito, willing to try anything to prevent the potential danger, takes a deep breath and follows Tobi's advice. He focuses on calming thoughts, pushing aside the visions that triggered his Sharingan.

Quickly, the intense red glow of his Sharingan fades away, leaving Obito relieved as he checks his eyes in the mirror.

Tobi, seemingly satisfied with the result, vanishes into thin air. "Remember, I'll only appear when you're not using that Sharingan of yours." His words echo in Obito's mind.

Obito left alone in the room, contemplates the strange relationship between Tobi, his Sharingan, and the mysterious future memories. "You have to be kidding me…" He should be excited now that he has awakened his Sharingan, but he is not. The side-effect, that is Tobi, is a very disconcerting matter.

Feeling a bit more stable after following Tobi's advice, Obito rises from his bed. He searches for his grandma and finds her already in her changed clothes, ready to go out.

"Grandma," Obito calls, trying to sound casual, "I'm fine. There's no need to bother anyone from the Uchiha Main Household."

His grandmother turns, concern still etched on her face. "Are you sure, dear? You were quite ill."

Obito feigns a relaxed atmosphere, pointing at his eyes with a grin. "I'm a natural, Grandma! I've figured out how to turn off my Sharingan. It must have been the cause of my fever, but now I'm fine. I should be able to recover for some time."

His grandma studies him for a moment before nodding hesitantly. "Well, if you're sure. Just take it easy, okay? And if anything feels off, let me know."

Obito reassures her with a nod, hiding the complexity of the situation beneath a facade of calm. As his grandma heads out, Obito remains alone, contemplating the mysteries surrounding his Sharingan and the strange encounters with Tobi.