"Kamui!"
Kakashi activated his dojutsu, drawing a Tailed Beast Ball that was spinning along a golden spiral trajectory into the Kamui space.
Behind him, researchers wearing goggles confirmed the power of this Tailed Beast Ball based on a series of monitoring devices set up on site.
If the power of a Tailed Beast Ball fired by the Nine-Tails in its normal state is defined as "1 Ball," then the one in front of them…
Ryosuke glanced at the monitoring screen. The numbers on it were rapidly jumping, and finally settled at 3.27 Balls.
The twisted space locked onto the Tailed Beast Ball, slowly absorbing it into the Kamui space, until at last, it vanished completely.
Kakashi covered his eye and panted heavily. A staff member immediately handed him a towel and an energy drink.
"Thanks."
Kakashi wiped the sweat from his face and drank the energy drink in one go.
The energy drink, made from pearl jam, could perfectly repair the negative effects on the Sharingan and quickly restore chakra, greatly improving Kakashi's combat endurance.
Putting the empty bottle down, Kakashi let out a light sigh and said, "If the Uchiha clan hadn't been wiped out, newly awakened Mangekyo Uchiha wouldn't have had to kill their own brothers, right?"
Back then, although the Uchiha clan had this flaw and that problem, from Kakashi's personal point of view, Uchiha Fugaku had treated him fairly well.
When many within the clan proposed taking back Obito's eye, it was Fugaku who suppressed those suggestions and chose to respect Obito's decision.
Kakashi shook his head, not dwelling further on past emotions, and walked over to Ryosuke, asking, "How's it going on Obito's side?"
Ryosuke was sitting in a chair, with two monitoring screens placed in front of him.
One had just been used to observe the power of the Tailed Beast Ball. The other screen was wrapped in Hermit Purple and was livestreaming Obito in real time.
Kakashi leaned in to take a look.
"He doesn't have any reaction at all?"
"It's not that he has no reaction."
Ryosuke said, "At the beginning of the experiment, he would still flip me the middle finger. Later on, he probably felt that was a waste of time, so..."
He pointed at a whiteboard placed by Obito's feet in the upper-right corner of the screen.
On it were written, "Get lost!"
"Stop spying on me!"
Kakashi said, "Looks like he's not in the Kamui space."
In their experiments, they had tried many things, one after another.
High-radiation aerospace scrap, self-destructing exploration puppets, a warehouse full of C0 imitation bombs, and the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball that had just been absorbed, Ryosuke kept watching Obito the whole time, and the other side showed not the slightest reaction.
"Just as we guessed, as long as he isn't in the Kamui space, no amount of attacks will have any effect on Obito. And the reverse is also true."
Kakashi stroked his chin and asked, "Can you lock onto his position?"
Their original plan was to use a continuous barrage of attacks to block Obito's ability to escape into the Kamui space, while Ryosuke took the chance to track him down using Hermit Purple.
"No."
Ryosuke shook his head and pointed at the monitoring screen as he said, "Ever since the experiment entered the preparation stage, I've been periodically chanting and writing down Obito's position."
"He's always been indoors, in darkness."
"If he were simply indoors, Hermit Purple could guide the direction, and I could follow it all the way there."
"But look."
Purple vines floated around Ryosuke's arm. With Obito as the target, it became clear that the vines were constantly changing their angle.
Hermit Purple pointed at the target like a compass.
Given the same changes in angle, the farther the distance between Ryosuke and Obito, the greater the movement range of Obito's position.
"If Obito isn't hiding near us, then it means that this 'little black room' he's in is moving at an unimaginable speed."
"Then doesn't that mean…"
Kakashi asked, "As long as Obito keeps hiding in that little black room, we'll never be able to find him?"
Ryosuke didn't draw a conclusion right away. He turned his head and glanced at the research institute not far away.
"Let's ask our informant."
Kakashi asked in surprise, "We still have an informant?"
More than ten minutes later, Ryosuke, Kakashi, and Naruto returned to the research institute and found Hidan soaking in nutrient fluid.
After the lunar war ended, Hidan naturally followed the main force back to the ninja world. He tried to escape amid the chaos, but was caught again by Sasuke and Naruto working together.
Now he was soaking in nutrient fluid, sealed inside a large glass tank, serving as research material.
Even like this, Hidan still didn't forget to brag to the female researcher, "That Toneri guy was still putting on airs, talking about some 'Absolute Darkness.' I just said one line, 'The evil god will curse you', guess what happened?"
While checking various data, the female researcher casually chatted with Hidan.
"What happened?"
Hidan said, "He got sealed inside golden crystals, unable to live or die, and slowly flew toward the sun. That's the evil god's greatest punishment for him."
Hearing this, the female researcher frowned slightly. "Toneri was defeated by Lord Ryosuke."
Hidan chuckled and shook his head.
"You're too fixated."
"'Ryosuke defeated Toneri' is just the surface. It's an illusory appearance."
"The real truth is the curse of the evil god. If you have time, I'd be happy to introduce you to the blessings of the evil god..."
Knock! Knock!
Ryosuke lightly tapped the glass tank with his finger, interrupting Hidan's preaching.
Hidan turned to meet his gaze. The smile on his face faded, replaced by a look of disgust and wariness.
"What do you want now?"
Ryosuke smiled, didn't explain, and simply turned around and pointed at Yamanaka Inoichi, who had followed them over.
Hidan's heart skipped a beat, and he opened his mouth to start cursing.
"Ninja Art: Mind Reading Technique."
Yamanaka Inoichi raised his hand and immediately silenced Hidan.
This wasn't the first time he had dived into Hidan's mind to search his memories. With an ordinary ninja, using Yamanaka Inoichi's methods, it would take less than an hour to sort out their life experiences clearly and obtain all key intelligence.
But Hidan was far too special.
His body and mind had both been reshaped through evil god rituals.
Every time Yamanaka Inoichi entered, it was like stepping into hell, his sanity would plummet, and he would encounter attacks from bizarre subconscious monsters.
To ensure safety, every search had to have a very clear objective.
Search the target.
Defeat the subconscious monsters.
Withdraw in time before all rationality was lost.
In short, search, fight, retreat.
As time passed, Yamanaka Inoichi's face grew increasingly pale, until at a certain moment, he spat out blood and collapsed backward.
Ryosuke and Kakashi reacted instantly, one supported him, while the other hurriedly poured healing potion into his mouth.
After pouring in three full large bottles, color finally returned to Yamanaka Inoichi's face. He slowly opened his eyes, fear still lingering in them.
"Too terrifying."
Gripping Ryosuke's arm, Yamanaka Inoichi said, "I almost didn't make it back. But…"
"I found them."
"White Snake Sage No. 1, Yakushi Kabuto, Uchiha Obito, and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path…"
He looked up toward the ceiling.
"They're all in the sky."
"To avoid your pursuit, Obito used Chibaku Tensei to create a small celestial body and hollowed out its interior, turning it into a sky base."
"At this moment, it's hiding above the ninja world like a moon, constantly circling."