"Is that all you've got?"
Teizawa's voice came from the center of the vortex, still perfectly calm.
Obito's pupil contracted sharply.
Teizawa stood there without moving an inch.
His body had not been sucked in. His feet had not shifted.
Not even the hem of his robe stirred.
Iron Sand spread out from beneath his feet.
Like tree roots, it burrowed deep into the earth, fixing him firmly to the ground.
Magnet Release: Earth Core Anchor!
It fused him with the earth itself.
No external force could move him even a fraction.
"I told you..." Teizawa's voice was soft. "Last time we fought, you didn't gain any advantage. This time will be the same."
Obito withdrew his hand, and the black vortex dispersed into the air.
He knew Kamui was useless against Teizawa.
It had been useless last time, and it was useless now.
That man's Magnet Release could sense spatial fluctuations.
The instant Obito's intangibility took effect, Teizawa could launch an attack.
He had tested it last time and had nearly failed to dodge.
He did not want to test it a second time.
"Black Zetsu."
Obito's voice turned cold.
Black Zetsu shot out of the ground.
Countless black vines whipped toward Teizawa.
They twisted through the air like snakes, carrying a rotten, nauseating stench.
They were extremely fast. In the blink of an eye, they were already in front of Teizawa.
Teizawa raised a hand, and pitch-black Iron Sand surged from his palm.
It formed a massive shield in front of him.
The vines slammed into the shield, producing a piercing screech of friction as sparks flew everywhere.
The Iron Sand shield was corroded into pitted hollows.
But it was not pierced through.
"Interesting." Teizawa examined the black vines corroding his Iron Sand. "So this is the thing's power? It really is different from ordinary Wood Release."
"Not only that." Black Zetsu's voice came from within the vines, hoarse and low. "There's much more."
More vines erupted from underground.
They wound toward Teizawa from every direction.
This time, they no longer clashed directly against the Iron Sand shield.
Instead, they bypassed it.
From the sides, from behind, from above.
Dense and overwhelming, they spread like a massive net, covering his entire body.
Teizawa's brow furrowed slightly.
This thing really was troublesome.
Magnet Release could deflect physical attacks.
But it could not stop corrosion.
Once the vines wrapped around his Iron Sand, it would quickly lose its magnetism and become nothing more than scrap metal.
His Wood Release body could restrain Zetsu's Wood Release.
But for now, he did not want to expose that trump card.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Scattering Blossoms."
Countless Iron Sand needles shot out from Teizawa's body.
They blasted in every direction.
The vines were pierced, torn apart, and shredded.
Black fluid splattered everywhere.
But soon, more vines surged up from beneath the ground.
They filled the gaps and continued winding toward him.
Endless.
Like a swarm of army ants that could never be killed.
Obito did not attack.
He stood to the side, arms folded, maintaining the standoff with Teizawa.
He was searching for the best timing to strike.
He had been studying Teizawa's weakness all this time.
Magnet Release required concentration.
Once he was distracted, the defense formed by the Iron Sand would weaken.
If Obito could launch a surprise attack the instant Teizawa's attention was drawn by Black Zetsu...
"Now."
Obito vanished from where he stood.
The next second, his palm appeared behind Teizawa and reached for his back, aiming at his heart.
His palm passed through Teizawa's body.
Intangibility, paired with an attack while intangible.
At the same time, Obito shifted part of himself into the Kamui dimension to avoid a counterattack.
He planned to become tangible the instant his palm passed through Teizawa's body.
Then he would rip out Teizawa's heart.
But Teizawa moved faster than him.
The instant Obito became tangible,
countless Iron Sand needles shot out from Teizawa's body.
They pierced through Obito's palm, arm, and shoulder.
Blood splattered.
Obito let out a muffled groan.
He immediately turned intangible again and retreated several steps.
Clutching his pierced palm, his expression darkened behind the mask.
He knew Teizawa had been waiting for him.
Teizawa had known he would strike at that exact moment.
He had known Obito would launch his attack the instant he became tangible.
Every move he made...
was within Teizawa's predictions.
"I told you. I've already studied your ability thoroughly."
Teizawa turned and looked at him.
"Intangibility, Kamui... I understand every one of your abilities perfectly."
Obito's pupil contracted violently.
"How do you know about Kamui?"
"I said it already..." The corner of Teizawa's mouth lifted slightly. "All of your trump cards are transparent in front of me."
Obito's hand trembled.
Not from fear.
From rage.
The secret he had hidden for decades had been stated so casually by a young man in his early twenties.
As if it were common knowledge.
That feeling was worse than death.
"I have to kill you!"
He gave a cold snort and vanished instantly, preparing to assassinate Teizawa.
The desert wind stopped.
Teizawa clenched his hand.
Iron Sand began surging in every direction.
Obito wanted to kill him.
But Teizawa also wanted to kill Obito.
Obito's Kamui Mangekyō Sharingan could practically be called the shinobi world's storage ring.
And Teizawa wanted it very badly.
Boom.
A roar swallowed everything.
No one knew how long had passed.
Moonlight flowed like water, spilling over the land that had been torn beyond recognition by Iron Sand and vines.
Teizawa stood at the center of the battlefield.
His dark-gold robe fluttered lightly in the night wind.
Countless pitch-black Iron Sand particles circled him.
Like silent guards.
Obito stood across from him, no more than twenty steps away.
His orange spiral mask hid his expression.
But the exposed Sharingan stared fixedly at Teizawa.
Rage and unwillingness churned inside it.
Along with a bone-deep wariness.
He had already fought Teizawa for nearly an hour.
For someone like him, who possessed Kamui's intangibility, that was almost unthinkable.
In the past, any opponent he faced was either dragged into the Kamui dimension and butchered, or worn down to death by his intangibility.
No one had ever fought him this long without giving him the slightest advantage.
Teizawa seemed able to predict every timing of his intangibility.
Every time Obito became tangible behind him,
he would run straight into Iron Sand needles that had been lying in wait.
His palm had been pierced three times. His shoulder had been pierced twice. A wound had been cut across his thigh, soaking a large patch of his black robe with blood.
None of the wounds were fatal.
But every injury reminded him of one fact.
This man had seen through everything.
"Madara?"
Teizawa tilted his head, the corner of his mouth carrying a mocking smile.
"That's all? The legendary Demon of the shinobi world is only capable of this much?"
He seized on the name Obito had used earlier and turned it into a point of ridicule.
His tone was full of contempt.
Like he was judging a disappointing junior.
"What a letdown. If Madara was only at this level, how did he fight Hashirama to a draw back then? Did he rely on Talk no Jutsu?"
Obito's hand trembled.
Whether from anger or pain, even he could not tell.
Perhaps both.
He had called himself Madara to borrow the weight of that name.
To make the entire shinobi world fear him and submit to him.
But at this moment, when that name came from Teizawa's mouth,
it carried undisguised mockery.
Like a dull knife, cutting into his heart again and again.
Stabbing into that fragile, laughable lie.
And also cutting into the faint, uncertain connection between him and that man.
"You... are courting death!"
Obito's voice came from behind the mask.
Hoarse and low, like an enraged beast trapped in a cage.
The instant he finished speaking, he vanished again.
This time, he did not circle behind Teizawa.
He charged straight at him from the front.
(End of Chapter)
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