"How is it possible to last this long?"
Uchiha Obito was stunned.
The intangibility state could only be maintained for a maximum of five minutes. Beyond that, it would forcibly deactivate.
He had originally believed that Uchiha Fugaku would be the first to falter. But three whole minutes had passed, and Fugaku's body still showed no signs of breaking down.
This made Obito panic slightly.
Swish—
With a sudden movement, he flashed away, widening the distance between himself and Fugaku.
His intangibility time was running out. He needed to get away from Fugaku and find a safe moment to deactivate the state.
But Fugaku wouldn't allow it.
In the Seventh Gate state of the Eight Inner Gates, Fugaku's speed had reached a terrifying level.
Like a needle stuck to bone, he stuck closely behind Obito, making it impossible for Obito to shake him off.
Even during the chase, Fugaku didn't stop attacking, preventing Obito from deactivating his intangibility.
Swish—
Obito dived underground, hoping to use it to shake off Fugaku.
Boom—
Fugaku punched the ground, creating a massive crater, revealing Obito's figure beneath the earth.
Obito hastily tried to go deeper.
Boom—
Another punch from Fugaku hit the ground, and once again Obito's figure was forced out.
"What a nuisance!"
Cold sweat rolled down Obito's forehead.
With Kamui, he had always been unbeatable. Even though he knew Shisui had died at Fugaku's hands, he hadn't taken Fugaku seriously.
But reality hit him hard.
Fugaku had first demonstrated space-time teleportation, then exhibited a use of the Eight Gates that defied logic.
He had severely underestimated Fugaku.
Four minutes passed, and Obito grew increasingly anxious.
Five minutes passed, and Obito was forced out of his intangibility state.
At that moment—
"Daytime Tiger!"
Air was compressed by Fugaku and released in one burst.
The compressed air, now visibly dense, formed a semi-transparent giant tiger that let out a thunderous roar and charged at Obito.
BOOM—
The devastating force slammed into Obito's body.
Centered on Obito, a terrifying shockwave erupted.
The air was stirred violently, turning into bladelike gales that swept out in all directions.
Where they struck the ground, deep scars were instantly left in the earth.
"Cough—cough—"
At the center, Obito lay in a deep crater, coughing up blood.
His clothes were shredded like rags hanging on him, and his body was covered in gashes. Blood flowed freely from numerous wounds.
Most critically, his entire left arm was gone.
It had been the arm he used to block the Daytime Tiger's attack.
He had survived only by sacrificing his left arm.
More accurately, he had survived for now.
Because Fugaku's attack came again.
BOOM—
Still within the True Genjutsu world, Fugaku, without any restraint, activated the Eight Gates again and threw another punch at Obito.
BOOM—
The punch landed squarely on Obito's chest.
Obito's chest collapsed inward with a loud crack, his body embedded into the ground.
Not a trace of life could be sensed.
With that punch, Uchiha Obito was dead.
With Obito's death, the True Genjutsu illusion broke, and both Fugaku and Obito returned to the real world.
But something was different.
Despite using the forbidden Eight Gates, Fugaku's body was completely unharmed.
On the other hand, Obito's left arm was gone, a gaping wound marred his chest, and his body lay lifeless.
Buzz—
Obito's corpse vanished, and he reappeared a short distance away.
His injuries were gone—he was completely restored.
"I was actually forced to use Izanagi!?"
Obito's voice, under the mask, was filled with shock and anger.
His left eye had been implanted with a regular Sharingan, upon which he had cast Izanagi.
Upon his death, Izanagi activated automatically, rewinding death and bringing him back to life.
That's what had just happened.
"No… something's wrong…"
He looked around, suspicion rising in his heart.
During their earlier battle, the entire area had been devastated, and a massive crater had formed.
But now, all the damage was gone.
"Was it all an illusion? …No, that's not right. If it was just genjutsu, then why would Izanagi activate? Could it be…?"
He stared at Fugaku in shock and finally spoke in a voice filled with fear:
"What a terrifying illusion!"
A genjutsu so powerful that even someone with a Mangekyō Sharingan couldn't detect it—Fugaku's genjutsu was beyond terrifying.
It explained why Fugaku could use the Eight Gates without suffering its side effects.
But even that wasn't the most frightening part.
If Obito's guess was correct, this genjutsu could transfer injuries sustained within the illusion world into the real world.
He had truly died in the illusion.
And that was why Izanagi had triggered.
"Izanagi… again."
Fugaku sighed with some helplessness.
The Uchiha ancestors sure knew how to make things hard for their descendants. Of all the things to develop, why did they have to invent such a troublesome jutsu like Izanagi?
Thanks to it, his enemies became exponentially harder to kill.
It was the same with Danzo, the same with Shisui, and now Obito too.
"Uchiha Fugaku… I'll remember this!"
Obito glared at Fugaku with intensity, then decisively activated Kamui's teleportation.
The surrounding space distorted, and his body was sucked into a vortex.
Fugaku's strength had far surpassed his expectations.
Even with Izanagi's ability to revive indefinitely, Obito wasn't confident he could gain the upper hand.
So he decisively chose to retreat.
"Come and go as you please? Not so fast."
Fugaku snorted coldly. The pattern in his right eye spun rapidly, and he cast the True Genjutsu on the fleeing Obito.
Swish—
Obito successfully activated his teleportation and vanished into the vortex.
At the same time, Fugaku also disappeared from the spot.
Swish—
Outside the Hidden Leaf Village, Obito reappeared.
But the moment he did, he realized that Fugaku had reappeared alongside him.
He was trapped in the genjutsu once again.