'He's here!'
Beneath his mask, Sora's expression shifted abruptly. Within his Reikaku, he could clearly sense the energy signature belonging to Kakashi rapidly charging towards Rin's location.
Even more,
Sora could clearly sense the mysterious curse mark he had engraved in Kakashi's brain.
Special Kido!
Soul Manipulation!
This was a special gift he had left for Konoha.
A moment later, Meigetsu beside Sora also couldn't help but frown. She said in a low voice, "I sense someone approaching. Very fast. Must be a Konoha's Jonin!"
Her sensing ability was inherited from the Hozuki Clan's bloodline. In Kirigakure, which was generally poor in perception skills, hers was considered first-rate.
She could roughly sense the direction of Chakra Sources within about one kilometer.
"Hmm?"
Hearing this, Sora's gaze changed. He remained silent for a moment before saying slowly, "Moon, I'll leave the matters from here on to you."
After speaking, without waiting for Meigetsu's reaction, he used Shunpo and vanished from the spot.
"Frost?"
Meigetsu was stunned, but she steadied her mind and issued orders to the Anbu beside her. "You three, intercept that Konoha's Ninja. No prisoners. Kill him directly!"
"Yes!"
Three Kirigakure's Anbu acknowledged and also flew towards the direction Kakashi was charging from.
'Sora…'
'What is he thinking?'
Meigetsu showed a puzzled expression. She felt that ever since capturing Rin, Sora's actions had become very bizarre, as if he was hiding something she didn't know.
…
At this moment,
In the forest,
In an inconspicuous corner.
Two figures were slowly rising from the ground.
One of them was relatively tall, but his body was eerily white, with spiral-like black lines covering his entire form. Even his face was obscured by spiral patterns, making him look like a monster.
The other had the appearance of a youth, with short black hair and a black cloak.
However, his face was covered with fierce and terrifying scars. Combined with the crimson Two-Tomoe in his right eye, it gave him a chilling aura.
"Obito…"
"You promised me, once you save Rin, you'll carefully tell me what the feeling of excretion is like~"
The tall, white spiral monster suddenly spoke in a very strange voice.
"I know, Tobi…"
The youth with the fierce and terrifying face spoke with fervent excitement. "As long as I can save Rin and Kakashi from the Kirigakure's Ninjas, I'm willing to pay any price, do anything!"
"That's good."
The white monster named Tobi nodded, "Madara-sama also went through great trouble to get the intelligence on your dear friends. After this is over, you must thank him properly!"
"I know."
The scarred Obito smiled gently. "The old man saved my life and helped me find Rin and Kakashi. I will never forget his kindness in this lifetime."
Obito gritted his teeth. He had endured so much pain alone, step by step walking from death to now, all for the sake of allowing Rin and Kakashi to live safely in this chaotic world.
As long as Rin could be happy, even if it cost him his life or even his soul, Obito was willing.
After chatting for a few more sentences, Obito couldn't wait to leave.
'Rin was in the hands of those murderous Kirigakure's Anbu! Every second she stayed there increased the danger!'
'I needed to rescue Rin as quickly as possible!'
However,
Just at that moment.
The white spiral monster Tobi stood up apprehensively, sensing an extremely dangerous feeling rapidly approaching.
"Watch out!"
At that critical moment, Tobi pushed Obito away and used the recoil to leap aside himself.
The next instant,
Boom!!!
A figure descended like a meteor onto the ground, striking the very spot where the two had been standing.
Dust billowed, and waves of powerful aura washed over them.
"Who?"
Tobi's strange voice turned serious.
'This aura!'
'The newcomer was definitely no ordinary character!'
"Heh…"
"Spiral Zetsu. As expected of a remnant of the old era. Your reaction…"
"Not bad."
The dust settled.
The masked figure, clad in Anbu's attire, Sora, appeared before the two.
Cold.
Grim.
An intimidating presence.
In an instant, Tobi sensed a great threat that no ordinary Anbu could possibly possess from Sora.
"Obito…"
"You go first. This is not an opponent you can face right now!"
Tobi stepped forward, shielding Obito behind him.
"But you…"
Seeing Sora's attire, Obito's tone became worried.
He knew that Kirigakure's Anbu, Ninjas from the Village of the Bloody Mist, were all cold-blooded, ruthless killing machines.
"I understand!"
After hesitating for a moment, Obito finally gritted his teeth, turned, and left. Compared to Tobi's safety, he was naturally more worried about Rin's safety.
"Kirigakure brat, you don't seem afraid of me at all…"
After Obito left, Tobi's gaze fell upon Sora.
Only a dozen or so meters separated the two.
At such close range, Tobi could even see the calm and composed eyes beneath the other party's mask.
'Kirigakure's Anbu doesn't seem to have any particularly remarkable figures.'
Tobi searched his memories but couldn't recall any notable names.
To be honest.
He never had much interest in ordinary Ninjas. Even if he heard about them from Madara, it went in one ear and out the other, forgotten immediately.
"Then…"
"Let's kill you quickly!"
A trace of killing intent inexplicably filled Tobi's voice, 'Who knows what the other might have overheard just now. To prevent any crucial intelligence from leaking, it was best to just kill him. End it once and for all.'
"Kill me?"
Sora couldn't help but laugh.
The next moment, his figure vanished from the spot.
Whoosh!
A flash of light appeared.
In an instant, Sora appeared before Tobi. The Zanpakuto in his hand traced a perfect arc, slashing down towards Tobi's shoulder.
'So fast!'
In that split second, Tobi had no time to dodge. He could only raise his arm to block the path of the Zanpakuto's attack.
Clang!
A crisp sound rang.
The blade collided with Tobi's arm, producing sparks as if metal were grinding against metal.
'What immense strength!'
Pressed by the blade, Tobi staggered back several steps. His gaze even held an unconcealable tremor. His indestructible body, which could defend against S-Rank Ninjutsu unscathed, had actually been breached by a single strike from his opponent!