The air grew heavier, suffocating.
Endless threads of rain pierced through Obito Uchiha's body, rippling the lake's surface. He gazed at the shaken Orochimaru in the distance, his lone Mangekyo Sharingan in his right eye spinning faintly.
He didn't fully trust Madara Uchiha. He had doubts about the so-called Ten-Tails Jinchuriki and the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan.
After manipulating the Fourth Mizukage with genjutsu to control the Hidden Mist Village and annihilating countless ancient kekkei genkai clans, his goal was to uncover their hidden histories, piecing together fragments about the Sage of the Six Paths.
He hadn't found any solid leads on the Infinite Tsukuyomi, but in an obscure ancient text from who-knows-where, he stumbled upon something intriguing:
The Kaguya Clan, with a lineage spanning a millennium, had passed down a treasured artifact.
Legend said it held the secrets of the Sage of the Six Paths. Unlocking its mysteries could grant godlike power.
At first, he dismissed it.
The ninja world was full of such legends—most were mere fantasies of ancient people or exaggerated tales, not to be taken seriously.
Wiping out the Kaguya Clan was simply because they still harbored rebellious spirits. Seizing their supposed Six Paths artifact was just a side task.
But after sending forces to exterminate the Kaguya and poring over their ancient texts, he discovered that the clan was indeed tied by blood to the Sage of the Six Paths. Their records detailed the artifact's miraculous nature and origin.
The artifact was called the "Bone Jade Core," or simply the "Bone Core" within the clan. Its exact origins were lost to time, known only to have been passed down by Kaguya ancestors for a thousand years.
Its purpose remained unknown.
Legend claimed it contained the power of the Six Paths, capable of curing the Kaguya Clan's bloodline disease.
Over a millennium, the Kaguya had tried everything—slicing it with blades, burning it with fire—but the artifact remained unscathed, its secrets locked away.
Intrigued by the records, Obito began to take it seriously.
But after turning the Kaguya Clan's territory and the Hidden Mist upside down, he found nothing. To make matters worse, the genjutsu on the Fourth Mizukage was secretly broken during this time.
After extensive investigation, the Hidden Mist's Anbu discovered traces of snake-like movement in a secret chamber at the Kaguya Clan's stronghold. Orochimaru had been active nearby, so Obito locked onto him and had been hunting him ever since.
Kisame and Itachi operated in the open, while Obito lurked in the shadows.
Seeing both of them fail, he had no choice but to step in himself.
"Who are you?" Orochimaru asked, his slit pupils fixed on the ethereal Obito.
The man wasn't wearing the Akatsuki's garb, and Orochimaru was certain he'd never encountered this ninja who wielded space-time ninjutsu.
"You took something you shouldn't have," Obito said, his voice icy, showing no mercy for the Akatsuki traitor.
"That's a pretty broad accusation," Orochimaru replied with a wicked grin.
"Kaguya."
Obito's cold utterance of the name made Orochimaru's eyes flicker. Feeling the non-metallic, non-jade orb in his stomach, he understood the man's purpose.
Nearby, Hikari, who'd been watching the whole time, raised an eyebrow at the familiar name.
She recalled how meticulous the Hidden Mist's Anbu had been when searching the battlefield after the Kaguya Clan's annihilation. From overheard street gossip in the Mist, she knew the Fourth Mizukage—Obito himself—had destroyed the Kaguya to seize the legendary Six Paths artifact.
Could it be that Orochimaru had it? Her Byakugan caught the tense beating of Orochimaru's heart in his chest. While piecing together what was happening, she couldn't help but wonder: what exactly was this Six Paths artifact?
Orochimaru spread his hands, feigning innocence, his long tongue slithering out to lick the mucus on his right cheek. "I don't know what you're talking about—"
Zzt!
Without warning, the Kusanagi Sword shot from his mouth like a laser!
The blade extended at blinding speed, piercing straight through Obito's head.
Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, still reeling, were startled, as were Ryoma Aburame and the others, caught off guard by the sudden attack.
Only Hikari, observing with her Byakugan, seemed to anticipate it.
"Heh, too easy—" Orochimaru's smug voice caught in his throat.
The mysterious ninja, pierced by the Kusanagi Sword, stared back with cold indifference and charged toward Orochimaru as if nothing had happened.
His body seemed unbound by gravity, unaffected by air resistance or the stormy environment, as if existing in another dimension. In an instant, he was in front of Orochimaru.
Drip, drip!
The pouring rain soaked the mysterious ninja's hair.
Orochimaru's golden snake pupils widened. Up close, he realized the man's lone left eye was a scarlet Mangekyo Sharingan.
Instinctively, Orochimaru shut his eyes.
Whoosh!
The wind and rain twisted into a vortex, and with it, Orochimaru's body began to distort.
Rip!
Shedding his skin like a snake, Orochimaru emerged, disheveled, and quickly formed hand seals.
Kusanagi Sword: Sky Blade!
The Kusanagi Sword, extended to over ten meters, shrank back to normal size and slashed through the air at Obito. Without resistance, it cut through his body, slicing the raindrops passing through him in half.
But the twisting vortex before him began to dissipate. Only half of Orochimaru's shed skin was sucked in, the other half floating on the water's surface.
"When his body is in that intangible state, he's immune to external attacks, but he can't attack either," Hikari said, pretending to analyze Obito's abilities while sharing what she already knew.
The Root members noticed Obito's rain-soaked hair and the vanishing vortex. Hearing Hikari's uncannily accurate "guess," they were convinced.
Even Itachi, observing with his Sharingan, gave an imperceptible nod.
Such sharp insight!
Obito glanced at her, maintaining his intangible form to dodge the Sky Blade's follow-up slashes. Only with Kamui's invincibility could he afford to be distracted in battle.
Another Mangekyo Sharingan!
Orochimaru gritted his teeth, avoiding eye contact with the Mangekyo. His fingers directed the Kusanagi Sword to keep slashing at Obito, but every attack was futile.
Obito effortlessly evaded the blade, toying with Orochimaru.
Whenever he got close, Kamui activated, forcing Orochimaru to use the chakra-intensive Great Snake Substitution to escape the twisting space. He was nearing his limit.
Ryoma Aburame tried to join with his parasitic insects, but Samehada suddenly blocked his path.
"Yato?" he questioned.
Hikari waved a scroll in her hand. "We've got what we came for. We've helped him this long—more than enough. Let Orochimaru deal with the mess he made. My advice? We get out of here."
"But the mine hasn't been blown up—" Ryoma began.
"Priorities," Hikari cut him off coldly. With valuable items on her, she felt exposed and had no intention of fighting Obito to the death.
The Kaguya Clan's vengeance could be left to her real self. As a shadow clone, she had to focus on the bigger picture.
"Right, the boss's stuff comes first," Arashi agreed.
"Yeah, Captain!" Cho chimed in.
Arashi and Cho backed Hikari unconditionally. Iwauma stayed silent, but his silence spoke volumes.
With her status as Danzo's disciple and her feat of defeating Kisame, Hikari's standing among them had risen significantly.
After a moment's thought, Ryoma nodded. The Akatsuki intel was still fresh in his mind, and since the deal was done, it was time to return to Root.
Thinking of the drastically changed Danzo, Ryoma felt a pang of unease, unsure how to face him.
It was all because of him.
If he hadn't forgotten the mission Danzo entrusted him with, Danzo wouldn't be the way he was now. Recalling his agreement with Itachi in the Tsukuyomi space, a glint of resolve flashed in Ryoma's eyes.
"Retreat!" he ordered.
With that, Hikari and the others prepared to leave.
Orochimaru, locked in a desperate struggle, saw his allies about to flee and felt a surge of panic. His chakra was nearly gone. If he kept fighting this mysterious ninja, he'd be the one to die!
Weighing his options, Orochimaru used another substitution to gain distance, then spat out a milky-white jade orb. The moment Obito saw it, he recognized it as the Bone Core from the Kaguya records.
"So it was you!" Obito said, turning intangible and charging at Orochimaru, his gloved hand reaching for him.
Familiar with Obito's attack pattern, Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. He hurled the orb toward Hikari and the others as they retreated.
Whoosh!
The orb shot through the rain like a bullet, aimed precisely at the back of Hikari's head.
Obito's eyes narrowed, ignoring the orb's trajectory. His hand grabbed Orochimaru's shoulder, and the twisting space spread again. With Kamui's power exposed, he had no intention of letting anyone but Kisame leave alive today.
His attempt to redirect trouble failed. Orochimaru's dwindling chakra could no longer sustain another substitution.
Gritting his teeth, he made a decision.
Clang!
The Kusanagi Sword let out a clear ring, extending to over twenty meters. It swept across, severing Orochimaru's arm and half his shoulder.
Buzz!
The arm was sucked into the twisting space. Orochimaru clutched his bleeding shoulder, giving Obito a cold glance. A massive purple snake burst from the water, swallowing him whole.
Poof!
Smoke billowed, and a breeze swept through. The snake and Orochimaru vanished.
He'd escaped, even after Obito personally intervened!
Obito's mood soured as he turned to Hikari and the others.
"Rrrgh!"
The gluttonous Samehada blocked the back of Hikari's head, its jagged teeth gnawing at the white orb.
Crack!
Teeth that could rival the Kusanagi Sword's hardness cracked. Samehada thrashed in pain, shaking its head.
Under everyone's gaze, the orb fell into its maw and vanished.
Whoosh!
A breeze rippled the water's surface.
Hoisting the massive Samehada onto her shoulder, Hikari slowly turned. Her white owl mask faced Obito's orange mask across the water.
The Root members instinctively stopped, drawing their weapons and standing behind Hikari.
The two stared coldly at each other, the six others watching in silence.
The scene fell into a tense stillness.
"Rrrgh~"
Samehada licked its broken teeth with its tongue, looking frustrated, unaware of the chaos it had caused.
Dark clouds loomed overhead.
The relentless rain poured, as if determined to turn Thunder Drum Mountain into an ocean.
"Looks like we're not getting out of here," Iwauma said, his stony face now fully transformed into brown-yellow rock, resembling the Hokage Rock in Konoha.
Arashi and Cho's throats bobbed, their palms sweating as they gripped their short blades and kunai, their knuckles white with tension.
The enemy's space-time ninjutsu was a nightmare, as Orochimaru's fight had vividly shown.
Intangible to dodge attacks, moving unpredictably, absorbing with spatial distortion while ignoring defenses—a perfect blend of offense, speed, and defense.
From their perspective, the enemy had no weaknesses.
What could they do?
Even Itachi Uchiha didn't know.
Looking at Ryoma's face, now crawling with parasitic insects, Itachi's mind raced, searching for a way to get Ryoma safely back to Konoha.
Accidentally awakening Ryoma's memories in the Tsukuyomi space, he'd secured Ryoma as his spy in Root. If Madara killed him here, all his efforts would be for nothing.
As everyone scrambled for a plan, the falling rain silently passed through Obito's body, rippling the water's surface.
Here it comes!
The highly alert group instantly recognized the signal of an attack.
Whoosh!
Like a phantom gliding over the water, Obito's figure surged forward!
Ryoma raised both hands, unleashing a swarm of parasitic insects like a black cloud from his sleeves.
Secret Technique: Insect Sphere!
Step, step, step…
Arashi, Cho, and Iwauma stomped the water, transforming into three black shadows charging at the enemy.
Shuriken, wind saws, rock fists, and insect clouds—a barrage of attacks engulfed Obito's rapidly approaching figure.
But it was futile!
The intangible Obito passed through their ninjutsu and bodies, crossing space to appear instantly before Hikari.
The owl mask and orange mask were nearly touching.
Seeing Hikari's seemingly oblivious form, Obito reached for her mask, his scarlet Mangekyo twisting into a spiral.
One touch, and it would all be over.
His black-gloved hand inched closer to the white owl mask. Ryoma's eyes burned with urgency, directing his insects toward Obito.
But the insects were too slow to make it in time.
He could only watch as the hand drew closer, its black fingertips wet with rain, finally touching Hikari's face.
Got her.
Feeling the cold hardness under his fingers, Obito's heart leaped.
Not everyone had Orochimaru's substitution technique. Once touched, no matter how strange their abilities, the Kamui space meant only death.
The pale owl mask slowly tilted upward, letting his fingers brush her forehead. Through the mask's eyeholes, an eerie darkness made Obito's hair stand on end.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
A piercing wind roared in Obito's ears. His scarlet Mangekyo widened as sharp arcs flashed before him, slicing the falling rain in half.
"Kamui!!"
A terrified roar echoed through the space.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
The water curtain shielding the sky split in two, and the parasitic insects were severed head from tail!
Wind swirled fiercely around Hikari, chakra erupting endlessly from her pores like a storm denser than the raindrops. Like an invisible meat grinder, it mercilessly shredded anything that dared approach her!
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