"Good heavens, is this really the Daimyō's castle I remember?"
"How did it turn into this?"
Obito Uchiha stared at the half-ruined Daimyō's Manor and the devastated castle in the distance, completely stunned.
Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shisui, who had come with him, were equally shocked.
"Enough. I didn't bring you here to admire the scenery."
"Move. Kakashi, rescue the Daimyō. You two follow me and clean up the White Zetsu nearby."
"If you encounter puppets or anything that isn't human, don't fight recklessly. Your priority is keeping yourselves alive! Understood?"
Kazuyama stood at the side, assigning missions to the three.
He had rushed back to Konoha without stopping, grabbed Kakashi and the others—who carried his kunai with the Flying Thunder God formula—and immediately teleported them to the Daimyō's Manor.
Only he could carry out such nonstop travel in such a short time.
"Yeah, yeah, we know already! We're adults now, sensei—stop treating us like we're still kids!"
Obito snapped back impatiently, then sprinted forward. After all these years, no one understood Kazuyama better than he did. If he ran even a step too slow, he'd definitely be scolded—or kicked. Maybe both. So he had to run fast.
A second later, something slammed into his lower back.
A powerful whip-kick—strong, yet so precisely controlled it wouldn't injure him.
"You little brat! No matter how old you are, I'm still your teacher!"
"Now get lost and do your job!"
Obito had assumed that running away meant he'd be safe, forgetting his teacher Kazuyama had a long memory and never failed to get payback.
Run? You think you can outrun Flying Thunder God?
As long as you're carrying his kunai, even if you run to the ends of the earth, he'll track you down and kick you again.
"Come on! Sensei! This is the battlefield! That's too much!"
"What?! You white-skinned freaks dare laugh at me?! Burn!"
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
He couldn't fight Kazuyama, but this bunch of White Zetsu?
Trash blocking the path of Uchiha Obito? They deserved to be burned!
And to be fair, his Great Fireball really did look pretty impressive—huge, at least!
"Boom!"
The fireball struck the White Zetsu and exploded, blasting several of them into the air.
"Oh? Not bad. Since when can you make your fireballs explode on impact?"
Kazuyama raised a brow. The Great Fireball Technique normally burned targets on contact—it didn't detonate.
Clearly, Obito had modified it to produce a secondary explosion.
Kakashi quickly explained:
"Sensei, that's actually because of you."
"What? Me? How?"
Kakashi gave him a look filled with exasperation. Kazuyama had no idea why.
"Weren't you the one who said, 'Fire Release burns and burns but never kills anyone'?"
"And that trying to kill someone with fire was wishful thinking?"
"Since that day, Obito has been modifying all his Fire Release techniques."
Oh? That's why?
Fire Release? The classic 'burns but doesn't kill' technique? He wasn't wrong.
Well, whatever. Now it could kill—by exploding people rather than burning them.
True Fire Release: Great Fireball That Actually Blows You Up.
"Shisui, go help him. Kakashi, hurry and rescue the Daimyō!"
"Crystal Release: Tactical Fortress!"
Kazuyama pressed his hands to the ground.
Crystals surged outward from beneath him, rapidly forming a crystal fortress bristling with crystalline crossbows and spikes.
"Damn it! Kazuyama got here so fast—what now?"
"Keep attacking the Daimyō's Manor. Our goal is to stall them. As long as we delay the Allied Forces, it's enough."
High on a distant mountain, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu watched Kazuyama cutting down their forces.
They had expected Konoha reinforcements, possibly via Kazuyama or Minato's Flying Thunder God.
But not this fast.
And certainly not Kazuyama himself appearing here.
"Still, this is an opportunity. Kazuyama is here, and Minato Namikaze is at the alliance headquarters."
"We should attack Konoha now and seize the One-Tails and Nine-Tails."
"Once we obtain the One-Tails, we can begin the sealing. Only then can the Ten-Tails' power be released."
Black Zetsu considered heading to Konoha. If its defenses were weak, this was the perfect chance.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"You really thought I wouldn't notice you?"
"Crystal Release: Arrow of Radiance!"
Just as Black Zetsu moved, a beam of light shot toward where he had stood.
He merged into the ground instantly.
"Boom!"
The beam exploded against the earth, sending debris flying.
Kazuyama had already appeared nearby without them noticing.
"Hmph. I knew attacking the Daimyō's Manor so openly meant someone had to be watching."
"But I didn't expect it to be you, Black Zetsu. Shouldn't it be that Uchiha Madara instead?"
Kazuyama's body pulsed with dense natural energy as he approached the explosion site.
Black Zetsu rose from the ground again, furious, his eyes filled with hatred.
"Kazuyama Gekkō! Don't get too full of yourself!"
"It won't be long! Soon you'll lose that arrogance!"
"Believe me—when the time comes, you won't stand against a Tailed Beast, let alone multiple Tailed Beasts!"
"Next time we meet, you will become—"
"Boom!"
Kazuyama casually fired another beam, cutting him off mid-sentence.
Black Zetsu barely managed to escape into the ground and vanish.
"Hmph! Coward. Runs pretty fast."
"But it seems my guess was right. Next time won't be easy."
Kazuyama fully understood what Black Zetsu meant. The enemy had already captured Chiyo. If they used her to resurrect Uchiha Madara…
Uchiha Madara with the Rinnegan and Hashirama's cells…
That was indeed terrifying.
But Kazuyama wasn't afraid.
If the sky fell, someone taller would hold it up.
He'd just stay behind and blast things safely.
With that, Kazuyama disappeared—returning not to the Daimyō's Manor, but to Konoha.
His clone there was more than enough.