However, battle did not become impossible inside the thick fog.
Neji seized the opening at once, leading elite Hyuga fighters like Hiashi straight toward Obito.
The Allied Shinobi Forces' heavy hitters could use the lull to recover, but the enemy would not be allowed the same luxury. And with visibility reduced, the Byakugan (White Eye) became even more decisive—so Neji had no reason to hesitate.
"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Divine Vacuum Palms!"
Neji locked onto Obito's position and unleashed his trump card.
Palm after palm of repulsive force blasted forward, but each strike passed straight through Obito's body—he had clearly chosen to phase.
Neji did not get discouraged. Stepping through Eight Trigrams footwork, he quickly shifted his angle and attacked again. Obito continued phasing—but this time, the palm-force that passed through Obito slammed into the Gedō Mazō behind him.
A repulsion palm was no joke. At the very least, it hurt badly enough to make the Gedō Mazō howl in pain.
Obito's face darkened, but he couldn't be bothered to care. As long as the Gedō Mazō wasn't instantly killed, it didn't matter. His own safety came first.
Meanwhile, Hiashi led several fighters straight toward Kabuto and Orochimaru.
Those two were anything but ordinary, so they had to be treated as priority targets.
"Yo, Hiashi. Long time no see. Looks like your Hyuga main-branch and side-branch system has been abolished," Orochimaru said while parrying.
"Of course," Hiashi answered bluntly. "Now that the Hyuga's Ten'nin has emerged, every clansman naturally follows his lead!"
Hiashi didn't fear anyone learning it, and he didn't care if people discussed it either. No matter what mistakes the clan had made in the past, the Hyuga would soar under Neji's leadership.
The Hyuga would rise again.
"Ten'nin, huh? So… the Byakugan evolving into the Tenseigan makes someone a Ten'nin?" Orochimaru analyzed aloud, unconsciously extending his tongue to lick his face.
Hiashi didn't want to waste words. He drove in with the Eight Trigrams Gentle Fist, and with the others coordinating, they steadily forced Orochimaru back.
Orochimaru was indeed terrifying—solidly Kage-tier. But inside the fog, his effectiveness naturally dropped. The Hyuga had the Byakugan advantage, and with it being a group beatdown, they held the upper hand.
On the other side, though, the group trying to handle Kabuto failed to gain ground—because Kabuto was outright broken.
Not only did he have the Rinnegan, he had also fused multiple bloodlines and possessed all sorts of bizarre abilities: the Hōzuki clan's Suika no Jutsu (Hydrification Technique), Kimimaro's Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse), and more. He was simply hard to deal with.
Especially for a clan that fought barehanded, Shikotsumyaku was a brutal hard counter.
When the opponent can sprout bone spikes directly from their body, do you really want to keep driving Gentle Fist into that?
Neji noticed his clansmen's predicament. While fighting, he took a moment to send several palms toward Kabuto as support—forcing Kabuto to hurriedly raise Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push) as a protective barrier.
At the same time, Jiraiya and Minato had engaged.
Minato said awkwardly, "Sorry, Sensei. I have to fight you…"
Jiraiya didn't mind. "It's fine. Once we defeat Orochimaru on our side, you'll be free. Still… Minato, it's been a long time. I've missed you."
Minato silently gathered a Rasengan (Spiraling Sphere) in his palm, but there was a faint smile on his face. "I've missed you too, Jiraiya-sensei."
"…Minato, I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing, Jiraiya-sensei?"
"Back during the Nine-Tails incident, I wasn't there beside you, even though I was your teacher. And for all those years, I didn't return to the village. Naruto suffered so much. That's on me."
"Jiraiya-sensei…"
Minato didn't know what to say. And the Rasengan in his hand ended up pressing forward almost on instinct.
Jiraiya dodged easily and used Ranjishi Gami (Wild Lion's Mane), trying to bind Minato—yet Minato's speed made avoiding it almost trivial.
Moreover, Jiraiya still carried a marker Minato had left behind when he was alive, so Minato used Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) to appear behind him.
A Rasengan came down.
Fortunately, Jiraiya was sharp enough to evade in time, and he counterattacked in the same motion.
The master and student traded exchanges back and forth—though strictly speaking, it was Jiraiya who was tying Minato down.
Minato might have Hiraishin, but he hadn't placed formula markers everywhere. Using it freely wasn't that simple, so he was effectively being delayed.
If you looked closely, Minato was doing it on purpose.
His assigned order was to seize the Red Gourd. But if he was forced into combat, then naturally he "couldn't" go seize it. That was why he was taking it slow with Jiraiya.
You couldn't exactly call that defying the caster's will, right?
He was simply being held up by an enemy.
And besides—he wasn't going to seize the Red Gourd. Plenty of witnesses could prove that.
After quite a while, Neji's side still hadn't gained a decisive advantage, and their stamina had begun to drain. They chose to withdraw.
Seeing that, the Sand shinobi immediately whipped up a powerful wind, blowing the fog away completely.
"Alright! Everyone—back to the fight!" Naruto shouted. In Nine-Tails form, he surged forward again to re-engage the Gedō Mazō.
Sasuke, Gaara, and Fū did the same. They weren't following Shikamaru's plan down to the letter, but given the situation, no one had time to nitpick.
All four—each in a tailed-beast form—fired Bijūdama (Tailed Beast Bombs) at the Gedō Mazō's chest in an instant.
But the small stump-like protrusions on the Gedō Mazō's shoulders suddenly began to grow. They rapidly thickened and elongated, transforming into multiple arms—arms that casually batted the Bijūdama aside.
It was clear the Gedō Mazō was forcing its body, preparing to transform using the power of four tailed beasts—into a Ten-Tails form.
It looked strained, but it had no choice.
Its body twisted grotesquely—and it became a gigantic, one-eyed crawling monstrosity. The small stumps all stretched into ten massive tails.
The Jūbi (Ten-Tails), true to its name.
Only, because it had lost two legs, this crawling form currently had only a single pair of forelimbs.
A massive single eye dominated the front. Beneath it was a gaping mouth packed with dense, needle-like teeth—so disgusting it made your skin crawl.
Seeing that, Obito flipped up and planted himself on the Ten-Tails' head.
A tube immediately extended from the Ten-Tails and pierced into the back of his skull, and he forcefully took control of it.
Kabuto and Orochimaru, seeing this, also leapt onto the Ten-Tails to temporarily avoid being swarmed.
Kabuto had originally considered testing whether he could control the Ten-Tails as well. But when he caught Obito's gaze, he dropped the thought immediately.
It wasn't fear.
It simply wasn't time to turn on Obito yet.
When the time came, Kabuto intended to deliver the true killing blow—making Obito experience the humiliation and helplessness of having his ugliest self witnessed by the person he loved most.
A snake held grudges.
Don't provoke a snake, understood?
Elsewhere, Natsuki—still fighting—spared a glance, and couldn't help thinking that tailed beasts really were hideous.
And because this Ten-Tails hadn't "eaten" enough, it looked far thinner than the original's chubby crawling form.
It looked even more revolting.
(End of Chapter)
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