As the Akatsuki organization suddenly appeared on the battlefield, everything fell silent. The tension in the air was suffocating. Everyone could tell—with the power Akatsuki brought, even elite Jōnin were in danger.
If this came down to a real fight, only the Three Kage and Uchiha Andrew had the strength to challenge them head-on.
Looking at the numbers, the Allied Shinobi Forces were at a disadvantage. When the Five Kage met earlier, no one expected the Immortal Eyes to produce six powerful clones. It completely disrupted their calculations.
"Be careful," said Fourth Raikage, brushing dust off himself as he stood up from the rubble. "We haven't figured out what the Immortal Eye can really do. From what we saw earlier, it can reflect physical attacks. But what about ninjutsu?"
He turned to Onoki and Terumi Mei, but his words were also meant for Andrew, standing calmly nearby.
"Orochimaru and Kakuzu aren't here," Andrew added quickly. "Stay alert. They may be planning something."
Although Andrew already knew what Orochimaru and Kakuzu were up to, in a situation like this, he had to pretend like he didn't.
"There are too many enemies. Let's split up!" Terumi Mei suggested. "Raikage and Tsuchikage, you two deal with the six Immortal Eye clones. As for Uchiha Obito and the rest, leave them to us Mist Shinobi. If we get the Immortal Eye, we'll leave the rest of the conflict."
It was an unusual proposal, but not entirely unexpected. Terumi Mei's target was always Obito.
"Agreed." Fourth Raikage and Onoki exchanged glances. Though they'd be facing six powerful enemies, they were confident. Even if the numbers weren't equal, they still had a fair shot—especially if you counted the Immortal Eye's influence.
As the Kage discussed their battle plans, the Akatsuki members began to act. The first to move was Animal Path of Pain.
With Summoning Jutsu, giant beasts appeared one after another—hellhounds, chameleons, rhinoceroses, and more. These monsters stormed the battlefield in chaos.
But they weren't enough to scare four Kage-level shinobi.
Though much of the Allied Force had been destroyed, a good number of strong ninjas still stood ready. If the elites of each village worked together, they could hold off these beasts.
Without waiting for Terumi Mei's orders, Andrew stepped forward, locking onto Obito and Black Zetsu.
He had a reason: Obito was dangerous. If left unchecked, he could wreck everything they had planned. Andrew decided to tie him up personally—for safety.
Also, he didn't fully trust Terumi Mei to handle Obito. Sure, her Lava Style and Boil Style were strong, but Obito was tricky.
Besides, Terumi Mei could handle Konan and Sasori on her own. Her two Kekkei Genkai gave her an edge. She had the power of a true Kage.
Obito felt the pressure of Andrew's gaze, and his heart sank.
His original plan was simple—cooperate with Nagato, create enough chaos in the Five Great Nations, then vanish using Kamui space-time techniques.
There was no plan for a direct fight, especially not with Uchiha Andrew.
Ever since Andrew broke through his Kamui once, Obito had developed a kind of fear. When he failed to retrieve his other eye from Andrew, that fear turned into dread.
In truth, Andrew was the last person Obito ever wanted to meet on the battlefield.
And yet, fate had other plans.
As their fight began, Obito tried to retreat while defending himself, occasionally tanking hits and using Hashirama's cells to heal quickly. But strangely, he never used Kamui to dodge.
Even he didn't know why. Something about Andrew's presence made him instinctively avoid using his intangibility.
Meanwhile, Andrew grew more annoyed.
"Seriously? It's been years and Obito still fights like a child," he thought. "What are we doing here? A play rehearsal?"
Black Zetsu was worse. He wasn't even fighting—his Wood Style barely counted as landscaping, let alone ninjutsu.
"Are you guys even trying?" Andrew muttered.
By contrast, the battle on Terumi Mei's side was intense.
Though her Lava Style beat Konan's paper techniques, Konan's paper bombs made the fight risky. A few times, Terumi Mei barely escaped.
Sasori's puppets were also troublesome, and for a while, they even put Terumi Mei on the back foot.
Andrew considered switching opponents. The two he was facing were so bad, it felt like he was wasting time.
Then, everything changed.
Andrew landed a powerful punch on Black Zetsu, who tried to dodge, but was too late.
Andrew's fist was glowing with Senjutsu Chakra, and it smashed Black Zetsu's head like paste.
Black Zetsu tried to reform, as he usually could. But something was wrong.
His scattered body parts wouldn't come back together!
He paused, sensing carefully.
That power—it wasn't ordinary chakra.
It was pure Senjutsu energy, the same kind used by the Sage of Six Paths when he and his brother sealed their mother.
Even if the force of Andrew's attack wasn't massive, the nature of the power made it deadly to beings like him.
"Senjutsu Chakra! This is impossible!"
Even Uchiha Madara with the Rinnegan had only accessed basic yin-yang release, but Andrew's chakra had true creation and destruction properties.
Panicked, Black Zetsu screamed, separated from White Zetsu, and immediately fled underground, disappearing into the earth like a rat.
Obito froze.
Wait... Black Zetsu ran away?
Wasn't he supposed to be Madara's will? Why would someone like Madara retreat in fear?
In truth, Black Zetsu always believed himself invincible, because of his unique body structure. No one could kill him.
Until now.
He realized that if Andrew broke his body into pieces with Senjutsu Chakra, he'd be just as dead as any mortal. And that, he couldn't risk.
So he chose to escape. Even a thousand years of planning wasn't worth dying for.
Now, Obito was alone against Andrew, and the feeling was horrible.
He wanted to choke Black Zetsu for leaving him behind.
Seeing Obito in trouble, Konan made eye contact with Sasori. Without words, they both moved to support him.
Meanwhile, the Six Paths of Pain were clashing with Tsuchikage and Raikage, lighting up the battlefield.
The fight between Akatsuki and the Allied Shinobi Forces was now balanced. Neither side had the upper hand, and the fate of the ninja world hung in the balance.
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