Self-Introduction

The masked figure and his plant-like companion slip off without leaving a trace. Tracking the wreckage of the Uchiha brothers' clash, the Leaf pursuers push hard to reach the battlefield ahead of any rival. They skirt the black flames still smoldering from Itachi's Amaterasu and steel themselves for the masked man's return, only to arrive to nothing at all. Both Sasuke and his brother's corpse have vanished, and with no scent or path left to chase, the squad concedes their hunt has fallen apart. Somewhere else, Sasuke stirs inside a cavern, where the man who patched his wounds is waiting. The stranger offers to fill every gap in what Sasuke knows about Itachi, yet the young Uchiha stays silent. Choosing to begin with names, the man raises his mask just far enough to expose a single Sharingan.

The trackers fail to recover either Sasuke or Itachi's remains and admit defeat. Tobi and Zetsu disappear from the scene entirely. Sasuke regains consciousness in a cave under Tobi's care. Tobi dangles the promise of hidden truths about Itachi and lifts his mask to reveal his Sharingan.

This installment belongs to the Fated Battle Between Brothers arc and appears in volume 43. Viz released it under the shortened title Self-Intro. The scene marks the beginning of Tobi's direct involvement with Sasuke, setting up the long revelation of Itachi's secrets.