Buzz—
Uchiha Obito weakened his body just in time, avoiding Uchiha Fugaku's sneak attack from behind.
Swoosh—
Unable to land a hit, Uchiha Fugaku quickly retreated, creating distance between himself and Uchiha Obito.
"My pupil technique is unbreakable. You can't touch me."
Uchiha Obito slowly turned around, his voice relaxed.
But in truth, he wasn't as calm as he appeared.
Almost…
Uchiha Fugaku had been just a fraction away from injuring him.
Had he activated Kamui's intangibility a moment too late, he would have been wounded.
"There is no ninjutsu without a weakness. Even space-time ninjutsu is not truly invincible."
Uchiha Fugaku said coldly.
From what he knew, Kamui's phasing ability was incredibly powerful, but not absolute.
At the exact moment of attack, or when Obito absorbed an opponent into Kamui's dimension, he had to materialize.
Just now, Fugaku had been incredibly close to exploiting that weakness.
If Obito had phased even a fraction slower, he would have been injured.
"You can try."
Uchiha Obito sneered, rushing toward Uchiha Fugaku.
An iron chain appeared in his hands, held firmly at both ends.
Uchiha Fugaku countered with a kunai, stabbing toward Obito, but the blade passed through air as if hitting nothing.
The moment they crossed paths, Obito re-materialized, and the chain in his hand solidified, aiming to bind Fugaku.
Swoosh—
Uchiha Fugaku warped away through space, narrowly avoiding the chains.
He reappeared to Obito's left, kunai in hand, and thrust forward.
Again, his attack cut through air.
Before impact, Uchiha Obito's body had already phased, evading the strike.
"Still too slow…"
Uchiha Fugaku stepped back, deep in thought.
Both of his attacks failed because he was too slow.
To injure Obito, he needed to strike before he could phase.
If he wanted to break through Kamui, he needed to increase his speed.
Swoosh—
Obito lunged at him again.
"Wood Release: Grafting Technique!"
A sharp wooden branch shot forward, aiming to pierce Fugaku.
Swoosh—
Before it could reach him, Uchiha Fugaku activated the Eight Gates.
"Sixth Gate—Gate of View, Open!"
"Seventh Gate—Gate of Wonder, Open!"
A surge of blue steam erupted from his body.
With the Eight Gates active, his speed and attack power skyrocketed.
Without even using space-time jutsu, he moved instantly, appearing behind Obito in a flash.
At close range, his speed now surpassed space-time warping.
While warping was instantaneous, activating it took a brief moment.
Whoosh—
He thrust his kunai at Obito's back.
Puff—
The kunai pierced through Obito's body.
But before it could go deeper, Obito phased just in time, preventing further damage.
"I got hit…"
Uchiha Obito retreated, his face darkening.
He reached for his back, feeling a wetness.
He looked at his hand, now stained with blood.
Even with Kamui's phasing ability, he had been injured.
This was the first time in battle against Uchiha Fugaku that he had taken damage.
"*Your space-time technique is powerful, but it is not invincible. You must materialize to attack—*and that is your weakness."
Uchiha Fugaku, his body still wrapped in blue steam, spoke coldly.
Kamui's intangibility was near unbreakable, but not without flaws.
The brief instant of materialization—so short it was nearly impossible to catch—was exploitable.
But inside Fugaku's real illusion, he could activate the Eight Gates freely, allowing him to strike at that crucial moment.
"Tch…"
Uchiha Obito let out an annoyed snort.
He hadn't expected his Kamui's weakness to be exposed so quickly.
Even though his reaction speed still made it difficult to hit him, Fugaku's attacks were a genuine threat.
Buzz—
A pitch-black vortex swirled above Obito's head.
From it, a rain of kunai fell downward.
Each kunai had a burning explosive tag at the end.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions erupted in rapid succession.
The forest around them was obliterated, leaving massive craters in the ground.
But Fugaku was nowhere in sight.
Before the kunai detonated, he had already warped away, his body turning into a blue mist of light.
When he reappeared, he was right next to Obito, kunai in hand, attacking again.
Puff—
This time, Obito was not fast enough.
Even though he phased, the kunai still grazed him, leaving a bloody gash.
His expression darkened.
Even while prepared, Fugaku still managed to land a hit.
His fighting style was unrelenting.
Instead of attacking again, Obito glared coldly at Fugaku.
"The Eight Gates may enhance your speed, but you won't last long."
"Kamui, on the other hand, has no time limit. You will be the first to collapse."
When Uchiha Madara left Konoha, he took with him not only Uchiha techniques but also many of Konoha's secret arts.
Although Obito had never trained in the Eight Gates, he was familiar with its effects.
Opening the Seventh Gate inflicted severe pain and tremendous strain on the body.
Each passing second dealt serious damage.
This state could never last long.
"That's not necessarily true."
Uchiha Fugaku sneered.
Inside his real illusion, he possessed limitless stamina.
His body repaired instantly, negating any damage from forbidden techniques.
In reality, he could maintain this state indefinitely.
Swoosh—
He flashed toward Obito.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A barrage of punches and kicks rained down.
But with Obito still phasing, every strike passed through air, missing completely.
Yet, this forced Obito to stay intangible, preventing him from launching a counterattack.
A minute passed—Fugaku showed no exhaustion, while Obito remained calm.
Two minutes passed—Fugaku still showed no fatigue, while Obito kept his composure.
Three minutes passed—Fugaku remained completely unfazed, but Obito's face under the spiral mask was no longer calm.
(End of this chapter)