Chapter 271 – Clash of the Mangekyō (Part 2)
After taking the medicine provided by the Akimichi clan, Minato Namikaze finally realized something—
the Uchiha Kei standing before him was just a shadow clone. The real one had already disappeared.
From Fugaku Uchiha's mouth, Minato learned that Ayaka Hyuga had spotted the mysterious man in black once again.
That instantly put Minato on edge.
Having fought that man before, Minato understood just how terrifying he truly was.
If it hadn't been for his own space–time ninjutsu and his faster reflexes, even he might have fallen to that black-clad monster.
But then Minato let out a soft sigh of relief.
According to information from Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga, there wasn't just one man in black.
Another one—equally fearsome—had effortlessly taken down an entire Hyuga patrol squad.
That, at least, was… something.
Minato figured that compared to the man with space–time abilities, this one might be slightly easier to handle.
After all, the space-user's arm had already been crushed by him—he was unlikely to pose a serious threat for now.
If Uchiha Kei was facing the other one, then the danger might not be as severe.
"Forget it," Minato murmured. "Knowing Kei, he's already made preparations. I need to focus on what's in front of me."
He shook his head, suppressing his thoughts.
Feeling his chakra slowly recovering, Minato couldn't help but marvel—Akimichi medicine really was effective,
though the side effects were no joke.
Tonight had been hell.
First, multiple skirmishes with Uchiha Obito.
Then diverting the Tailed Beast Bomb and teleporting the entire Nine Tails away.
He wasn't a Senju or an Uzumaki—his chakra reserves were nowhere near their level.
Now he was running on fumes.
But he had no time to care about side effects.
Minato's chakra flared as he vanished from sight.
When he reappeared, he was already at home—his wife and newborn in his arms.
Kushina looked utterly exhausted.
The extraction of the Nine Tails had left her body broken, her life hanging by a thread.
Only the Uzumaki clan's legendary vitality was keeping her alive at all.
Unless the Nine Tails was resealed soon, she wouldn't survive the night.
"Kushina," Minato said softly, looking down at her pale face. "I don't have time to explain, but please—trust me. Once this is over, I'll tell you everything."
"Minato…" she whispered weakly, but before she could finish, little Naruto began to cry.
"I'm sorry, Naruto… I woke you."
"Kushina." Minato's gentle tone hardened into resolve.
He turned toward Fugaku and the shadow clone of Uchiha Kei. "Fugaku, Kei—please, I'm counting on you both."
"No problem," Fugaku said, nodding firmly.
Kei's clone followed him, stepping up beside the Fourth Hokage.
"It's my honor, Lord Hokage."
And with that, the five of them vanished.
Kushina's condition was deteriorating fast. Any further delay, and she'd die from the extraction alone.
They reappeared beside a massive tree behind the Nine Tails—its crimson fur glimmering under the moonlight.
Fugaku took a deep breath. Despite being a battle-hardened shinobi, the sheer presence of the Nine Tails made his heart pound.
Still, he quickly calmed himself. He had awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan when his closest friend died protecting him—he would not falter now.
"I'll restrain the Nine Tails," Fugaku said solemnly. "When the time comes, act quickly. I'm not exactly… adept at controlling this power."
Minato nodded. "Understood. We'll make it fast."
"Kei," Fugaku added, turning to the clone, "if anything goes wrong, dispel yourself immediately. I don't want your main body to take damage."
"Don't worry, Clan Leader," the clone said with a faint smile.
"I might just be a shadow clone, but I can still use a few tricks of my own. It'll be enough."
Kushina watched the group, confusion flickering in her tired eyes.
Why were Fugaku and Kei—her friend's husband and the head of the Police Force—here?
But she had no strength to question it.
All she could do now was believe in Minato.
Fugaku inhaled deeply, then stepped forward toward the rampaging beast.
The Nine Tails sensed him immediately, turning its massive head.
A deep growl rumbled through the night—its eyes burned with hatred and wariness.
The last time it had felt this kind of chakra… was when Uchiha Madara had enslaved it.
And this man's chakra carried that same Uchiha weight.
The fox roared, its tails thrashing violently, and it lunged.
But just before its claws could crush Fugaku—
A massive, obsidian hand intercepted the strike.
The Nine Tails froze, its paw caught midair by a colossal, dark giant that seemed to shimmer like black glass.
Within the protective shell of that black titan, Fugaku turned slightly and saw Kei's clone beside him—
sheathed within a Susanoo.
To manifest a Susanoo without a true Mangekyō?
Fugaku was stunned—but he didn't have time to ask.
"Make it quick," Kei's clone gritted out. "I can't hold this form forever—it's a shadow clone, after all!"
"I understand."
Fugaku's eyes narrowed, the patterns in his scarlet pupils spinning.
The three tomoe morphed into a new, intricate pattern—three curved blades forming a twisted triangle.
His Mangekyō had awakened fully, and with it, his chakra surged in waves.
The Nine Tails roared again, thrashing violently as Fugaku's genjutsu began to take hold.
It could feel something invading its mind—an invisible force pushing its will down.
Its claws froze midair, then withdrew.
The beast clutched its head and howled as Fugaku's chakra pierced deeper into its consciousness.
The earth trembled beneath its fury.
Kei's Susanoo tightened its grip, black flames of chakra pressing down with crushing weight.
But even with that, the shadow clone's strength was nearing its limit—cracks began to form in the spectral armor.
Fugaku's Mangekyō burned. Blood streaked down his face—but he didn't stop.
He couldn't.
He was the head of the Uchiha.
If that masked Uchiha could control the Nine Tails, then he would prove that not all Uchiha bowed to that cursed power.
"Let's see how far I can go," he muttered under his breath.
"Come on, show me my limit—Nine Tails!"
His eyes spun faster, his illusion intensifying until—
The Nine Tails' body went still.
Its pupils shifted, the reflection of Fugaku's Mangekyō spreading through them like ripples in a pond.
Then, finally, they stabilized—identical to Fugaku's own.
The Nine Tails had been subdued.
"Minato!" Fugaku gasped, blood dripping from his eye. "Now! Do it!"
"Understood."
Minato, who had been waiting for this moment, dashed forward with Kushina and Naruto.
Seeing Fugaku's feat with his own eyes left him in awe.
A man who had never once faced a Tailed Beast—and a mere shadow clone—had achieved something that only Uchiha Madara had ever done.
But this was not the time to marvel.
He pressed his hands together, forming a series of seals.
Kushina summoned the last of her chakra, golden chains shooting out from her body—binding the subdued Nine Tails like divine dragons.
The beast roared weakly but could not resist.
"Let's begin," Minato said, voice calm but resolute.
"We'll split the Nine Tails into three parts.
Kushina… Naruto… we'll be together again. I promise."
---
Meanwhile, miles away—
Uchiha Kei sprinted through the forest, gulping down another restorative pill.
Even creating that shadow clone had drained him considerably—especially after leaving it infused with a fragment of his Mangekyō's power.
Behind him followed Ayaka Hyuga and Kenta Imai, both a step slower.
Their job was reconnaissance—Ayaka to lock onto Obito's position, Kenta to detect anything underground, particularly the elusive Black Zetsu.
Neither of them truly understood who—or what—they were tracking.
"Captain," Kenta asked between breaths, "those white cells you mentioned… they came from that thing, right?"
"Yeah," Kei nodded. "And he's not alone. Last time I beat him—it was luck. This time might not be so easy."
"Worried he's improved?" Ayaka said quietly.
"I'm sure you have too, Kei. But I assume you've come prepared?"
Kei smirked. "Naturally. I know how his ability works. The question is whether he's learned anything new since then… and how far I've come."
He could feel it—his chakra denser, his Susanoo more refined, and most importantly—
his Mangekyō's eye power had fully recovered to the state it was in when he first awakened it.
Though slower to regenerate than an Eternal Mangekyō, it was still a rare gift—
his eyes could recover their strength over time.
Not infinite, but enough.
He had to be careful, though.
If he overused them before the next recovery cycle, even he might go blind temporarily.
Still, this fight wasn't just about strength.
He wanted to talk to Obito—
to test the truth behind the masked man's motives.
"If only I had an illusion like Tsukuyomi," Kei muttered.
"It'd make this conversation a lot simpler."
Then he shook his head. "Whatever. I'll just have to beat some sense into him first—and talk later."
"Five hundred meters ahead," Ayaka suddenly reported.
Kei nodded. "Good. Stay here and monitor the black-and-white presence I mentioned. If anything changes, move in."
"Understood," they both said.
"Oh, right, Ayaka—about that sword name you promised me?"
She smiled faintly. "I've decided—Kiryoku ('Jewel Cutter'). What do you think?"
Kei chuckled. "Not bad. Let's hope it really can cut through a 'jewel' today."
He drew the blade, now standing before Uchiha Obito—
cloak drawn, mask concealing his face, only his eyes visible beneath the moonlight.
He adjusted his own black cloak and mask—no need for the orange one this time.
As the distance closed to twenty meters, their eyes locked.
"Never thought the coward who once ran with his tail between his legs could stir up this much chaos," Kei said coldly.
"I should've finished you back then, you rat."
Obito's voice came calm and low. "You talk big for someone who couldn't."
Kei smirked. "Funny. I heard the Fourth Hokage left you in quite the mess."
Obito's tone didn't waver. "Perhaps. I slipped once. But you're no Hokage… are you?"
He tilted his head, eyes narrowing.
"Tell me, Uchiha Kei—how far can those eyes of yours really see?"
And with that—Obito lunged.
Kei's blade flashed azure in the dark.
In a single instant, their figures collided.
Kei's sword pierced straight through Obito's torso—
and passed harmlessly through as Obito's body turned ghostlike, intangible.
At the same moment, a black chain shot out from Obito's sleeve, whipping toward Kei with lethal speed—and the battle between the two Mangekyō users truly began.
Kei's eyes flickered slightly. Without hesitation, he drew a kunai and deflected the black chain lashing toward him.
In the same instant, his figure vanished completely from Obito's sight.
"Behind me, huh?" Obito smirked coldly. "Such an old trick. Do you really think I'm that easy to fool?"
Clang!
With a sharp turn, Obito swung the chain in his hand like a whip.
The chain's steel links collided with Kei's blade, sparks scattering into the air as the metallic echo rang through the forest.
But the chain's tail coiled mid-swing, wrapping around Kei's arm like a serpent.
Before Kei could react, the chain had snaked around his torso, binding him tightly.
Obito didn't even look pleased. In fact, he didn't bother to glance at Kei at all.
He simply flicked his wrist.
The chain whipped out once more—
crashing into a massive tree beside them.
Boom!
The trunk—nearly ten meters thick—split in half with a thunderous crack, toppling to the ground and taking Kei's bound body down with it.
"How dull," Obito said flatly, his voice dripping with disdain.
"These cheap illusions might fool others, but me? Really?"
Kei's voice came calmly from behind him.
"Oh, this?"
Obito's eyes widened slightly.
"I wouldn't even call that a warm-up," Kei said lightly, his tone playful. "I just wanted to see if your fighting skills have improved."
He spun his blade effortlessly, the steel singing in the night air.
The next instant, the weapon gleamed with bright azure light once again—chakra pulsing through the metal like lightning.
Obito's lips curved beneath his mask. "So you have gotten stronger, rat. That makes this… interesting."
In truth, their skirmish—though fast and fierce—was little more than a dance of warm-up blows.
Neither of them had yet activated their Mangekyō. Their Sharingan still remained at the level of three tomoe.
They were both testing, calculating.
But Kei couldn't help feeling at a disadvantage.
Even in this base state, Obito could still partially use Kamui—the ability to phase through attacks, though far less refined than in his Mangekyō form.
It wasn't as precise, nor as instantaneous, but it was still infuriating.
"Seriously," Kei thought to himself, "this guy's like fate's favorite child."
Was there really such a thing as divine stupidity leading to divine luck in this world?
Kei didn't believe in that nonsense.
If Obito could bend reality with his space-time ability in base form, then he could do the same.
His three-tomoe Sharingan could already summon the first and second stages of Susanoo.
The rest was just a matter of control—and he was more than confident in his.
"Actually…" Kei smirked inwardly, a sly thought flashing through his mind.
"This might be a good chance to fool him a bit… and maybe someone else watching from the shadows."
He had already noticed traces of another chakra signature nearby—someone hiding, observing.
If he played his cards right, he could mislead both Obito and that unseen voyeur.
His lips curled into a dark grin.
Without missing a beat, Kei disappeared again.
The next instant, his azure blade sliced through the air—aimed directly at Obito's neck.
A clean, swift motion. Deadly.
---