Under Kaito's relentless assault, the tide had turned. Uchiha warriors pressed the advantage, and though they bled, Root fell tenfold.
In the heart of the chaos, Kaito stood over the charred remains of another squad. The last had fallen to a perfect Rasenshuriken, wind chakra still hissing through the scorched air.
He exhaled, his body crackling with chakra.
"This isn't the real threat," he muttered. "Come out. You've watched long enough."
The air twisted.
A ripple of distorted space bloomed into a vortex. From it stepped a man in an orange spiral mask, the air warping unnaturally around him.
"Impressive," the figure said, voice low and amused. "Not many can sense me."
Kaito's Mangekyo Sharingan locked on, its gears whirring.
[Analyzing...]Subject: Uchiha ObitoAbilities: Kamui (Phasing), Hashirama-enhanced PhysiologyThreat Level: High Kage
Kaito's eyes narrowed. "So you're the one whispering in Itachi's ear. Another coward in a mask."
Obito tilted his head. "Coward? I am Uchiha Madara."
Kaito burst out laughing—short, sharp, contemptuous.
"That's your play? Hide behind a dead man's name?"
Obito's lone eye narrowed. "This proves nothing to you?"
He revealed his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Kaito didn't blink. "A stolen eye and a broken name. Let's see how long your lies hold up in real combat."
Shuriken flew from his hand—fast, precise—but passed harmlessly through Obito's intangible form.
"Useless," Obito sneered. "You can't touch me. But you could join me. With your strength—"
"Spare me the pitch," Kaito snapped, forming hand seals mid-sentence. "You're not a leader. You're just a scared boy playing puppet master."
Obito's voice dropped, venom sharp. "I orchestrated the Nine-Tails attack. I made Minato beg. And you think you can mock me?"
Chains burst from Obito's sleeves—massive, glowing, serrated. He lunged, eyes blazing.
Kaito reacted in a flash—hurling a kunai to Obito's side while his left palm crackled with spiraling chakra.
Obito ignored the blade.
Mistake.
Kaito vanished.
Above…
"Wrong again," Kaito's voice rang out like thunder. "I've already won!"
"Rasengan!"
He slammed downward—black chakra sphere roaring through the night—driving it straight into Obito's mask.
Reality twisted. The air screamed as energy exploded outward. A crater bloomed below. Sound disappeared. Time stuttered.
Obito's Mangekyo spun out of control—
BOOM.
The impact rocked the battlefield. Light speared into the sky as stone, trees, and flame were swept into the heavens.
A shockwave carved a hundred-meter crater, blasting the forest flat.
Then—silence.
Kaito staggered near the edge of a cave, panting, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His chakra flared erratically, the price of overexertion catching up.
Smoke coiled in the still air.
He squinted at the blast zone. The earth still glowed, blackened and cracked like cooled magma.
"It's over," he said under his breath.
Then—
He heard it.
"Hehehehe…"
Low. Broken. Mocking.
Obito stepped out from the smoke, cloak in tatters, blood dripping from his brow. His body trembled, half-supported by a summoned chain—but his eye burned brighter than ever.
"You bastard…" he rasped, voice jagged with pain. "I was this close to dying."
He raised a trembling hand. "You're good. Better than I expected."
Then his tone dropped into something darker.
"But now I stop holding back."