Ding—clang!
On the open sea, the Executioner's Blade clashed with a scythe, throwing sparks into the air.
The two figures instantly separated, retreating in opposite directions. Kiyosuke landed on the water's surface, bobbing up and down with the waves.
"Obito… looks like you haven't been slacking. You've gotten stronger again," Kiyosuke said.
"Hmph! Asakawa Kiyosuke, don't think you're the only one who knows how to train. I'm not that dead-last kid anymore!" Obito said coldly.
"You're standing before the reborn Uchiha Obito. That foolish brat from the past is long dead."
"Yeah? I think he's still twitching in there somewhere. Duly noted."
Kiyosuke hurled the Executioner's Blade forward and charged straight at him.
"Mindless charge!"
Obito let the massive blade pass right through his body. Kiyosuke followed closely, his form still in a phasing state, even carrying the Uchiha war fan in his hands. Kiyosuke passed through Obito's body—then in that split-second as they separated, Obito solidified.
"Now!"
He spun around, swinging his scythe down.
Though many years had passed, the scythe that once fought alongside Uchiha Madara was still razor sharp. With ease, it sliced through one of Kiyosuke's arms.
"Now!" Kiyosuke shouted—not in pain, but with intent.
He extended his remaining hand and slapped an explosive tag onto Obito's cloak.
"What?!"
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted. Obito didn't have time to react. He stumbled back from the blast, his black cloak torn to shreds, exposing his wounded body. His right hand dripped down like melted glue.
Fortunately, this body had been made from White Zetsu—replaceable.
"I underestimated you, Asakawa Kiyosuke. You really can't be measured by the standards of ordinary shinobi. But I won't fall for your tricks a second time."
Obito's voice remained cold as he watched Kiyosuke reattach his severed arm.
"That so? Because that was just the Second Hokage's jutsu. And it wasn't just one tag."
Kiyosuke grinned, his teeth glaring white in the dark night.
"Nani?!"
Obito looked up to see dozens of explosive tags falling from the sky. In a panic, he phased out as the next wave of explosions began.
"Damn it! My intangibility only lasts five minutes. I need to get out of here fast!"
Thinking quickly, he knew that if he stayed even a second longer, he'd be blown to pieces.
"I'll use Kamui to escape—Kamui!"
His Mangekyō Sharingan flared, warping the space around him. But as the vortex began to pull him in, it also started sucking in the falling tags nearby.
Obito immediately halted the jutsu.
He couldn't use Kamui during explosions—he would be solid then.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!
The explosions didn't stop.
Kiyosuke's heart ached.
Damn it, that cost me a fortune!
Meanwhile, Obito dove into the sea to escape the blast radius—but the tags followed him like a curse, exploding around him even underwater.
"Shit! Why the hell did the Second invent something like this?!"
He cursed internally, now carrying trauma from the Mutual Multiplying Explosive Tags technique.
He burst back to the surface and sprinted across the water, trying to outrun the explosion zone.
"Yo! Where you think you're running off to?"
Kiyosuke suddenly reappeared behind him, keeping pace. The explosions trailed after them. Even when Kiyosuke's upper body was blown away, his two legs kept running across the sea—an eerie sight.
Even Obito felt creeped out.
This guy was insane.
With his five-minute limit almost up, Obito's expression turned grim.
He suddenly stopped and turned.
He unleashed a searing stream of fire from his mouth. Empowered by the Mangekyō Sharingan, it twisted into a spiraling inferno that engulfed the falling explosive tags.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
A massive water dragon appeared out of nowhere, dousing the fire. The explosions resumed.
"Damn you, Asakawa Kiyosuke! Didn't you say you wanted a fair fight?! You've been spamming tags this whole time! Are you made of money or what?!"
Obito couldn't help but shout.
"Sorry! But being rich does let you do whatever you want!"
Kiyosuke laughed wildly.
"Your intangibility has limits, Obito! Once you hit that limit… you're all mine! Hahahaha!"
He couldn't help but cackle.
This guy really was troublesome.
Only after facing Obito in battle could one truly understand how infuriating his phasing ability was.
Kiyosuke suddenly thought,
The people I used to annoy with my elemental phase-shifting must've had a really rough time…
"Damn it… there's no way I'm getting away… Do I really have to fight him head-on?"
Once his intangibility reached its limit, there would be a brief window of vulnerability.
That window was incredibly dangerous—especially now that he'd already lost an arm.
And against Kiyosuke?
He didn't even want to think about how dangerous this man was.
No, I need to escape this battlefield.
If he catches me, it's all over!
Rin...
No. No way.
I can't keep living in this fake reality anymore.
Why won't this bastard leave me alone?
Just like Kakashi… he couldn't protect Rin either!
I'll never—
Never forgive him!
Never!
I have to survive!
No matter what, I have to survive!
Suddenly, his body stalled—
The five-minute limit was up.
His body became solid.
Shit!
Just then, the explosions stopped.
Kiyosuke surged forward and punched Obito's mask.
Bang!
Obito went flying, and the mask shattered, revealing his scarred and disfigured face.
"I just needed one punch to find out if you were solid. Yep, that punch felt perfect!"
Kiyosuke clenched his fist and punched again.
Bang!
Obito was knocked back once more. Kiyosuke chased after him, fists flying.
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!!!"
"UWAAAAAAAHHH!!!"
Obito couldn't even respond. The relentless taijutsu barrage rained down on his face, causing it to swell up like a balloon.
"Perfect!"
Kiyosuke seized the moment when Obito couldn't phase or fight back.
He reached out and dug his fingers into Obito's left eye socket.
"Aaaargh!!!"
Obito screamed in pain, finally kicking Kiyosuke in the stomach to force him away.
Clutching his left eye, Obito growled,
"Asakawa Kiyosuke… you win. We'll meet again!"
His Mangekyō Sharingan spun, and he vanished into a spatial vortex.
Kiyosuke looked down at the blood-soaked Sharingan in his hand.
He grunted, pulled out his own left eye, and inserted the Mangekyō into the socket.
A faint green glow shimmered in his palm as he activated a medical ninjutsu, connecting the optic nerve.
Surprisingly simple.
Good thing he'd studied medical ninjutsu specifically for this.
The Sharingan slotted in like a USB port—plug and play.
As soon as the Mangekyō was in place, chakra drained rapidly.
But with his immense reserves, the cooldown for Kotoamatsukami reset—it could be used again.
Well, that's one bit of good news.