A compressed blast of air tore through the sky, Danzo's Wind Release. It slammed into Susanoo's massive blade, sending it crashing off course. The redirected strike tore through the battlefield, scattering Anbu like leaves. A dozen weren't fast enough.
Kaito clicked his tongue.
"Tch. What a hassle…"
He recognised the technique. In another timeline, it had cut through Sasuke's Susanoo. Danzo hadn't lost his edge.
In a flash, Kaito returned to the Uchiha frontlines.
"Kaito, let us fight!" Tekka stepped forward with a group of elite Uchiha. "We're not dead weight."
Others backed him. "We stand with you!"
Kaito raised a hand.
"Save your strength. There'll be a time to strike. Right now, protect the elders. The children. I'm about to test something new."
Tekka started to object, but stopped. He trusted Kaito. He nodded.
Across the courtyard, Danzo joined Hiruzen.
"Fugaku!" he barked. "Take command. Help us crush this rebellion."
Fugaku looked at him, then at the chaos. There was no room for misunderstanding. Danzo wasn't asking.
He was threatening.
Fugaku stepped forward in silence. Itachi followed close behind.
From the shadows, Obito narrowed his eyes.
Kaito hadn't run. Even with Kamui, he'd stayed.
Why?
Because of them. Because he still believed in the Uchiha.
Fool.
But with four Kage-level shinobi now aligned against him, Obito saw opportunity.
He stepped beside Itachi, voice casual. "A promise is a promise. I'm in."
No one answered. But none of them objected.
Danzo felt confidence surge through him. With numbers—and Izanagi—on his side, his blood burned with certainty.
"Kaito!" he shouted. "You may be powerful, but even you can't stand against all of us. I'll die before letting you destroy this village!"
Kaito raised an eyebrow.
"Spare me the patriot act."
Then his left eye began to turn.
The air shifted.
All across the Uchiha compound, shinobi trembled.
Not from fear, from the pressure radiating outward.
"You don't know what power is," Kaito said, voice quiet.
Hiruzen stepped forward, tense.
"What is he doing?"
Fugaku's eyes narrowed. "The Mangekyō holds two abilities. Until now, he's only used the first."
"Then what's this?" Hiruzen asked.
"The second," Fugaku answered.
Kaito said nothing.
He simply watched them.
Then—silence.
The trembling stopped.
Kaito smiled.
"Now… the real game begins."
Hiruzen scowled. "What are you playing at?"
"You'll understand," Kaito said softly.
Itachi moved first. His eyes narrowed.
"Lord Third—look."
They turned.
Behind them, Anbu operatives and Uchiha were shouting. Screaming.
But no sound came.
Mouths moved. Bodies flailed.
Nothing.
"We're not in the same space anymore," Obito said, voice low.
Everyone froze.
He understood it before the rest.
Space had fractured.
But there were no signs. No ripples. No fluctuation. Nothing Kamui could trace.
Obito's stomach twisted.
"A time-space technique that even I can't sense...?"
He'd made a mistake. Joining this fight had been reckless.
Back when Kaito used "God's Presence," Obito had at least detected minor fluctuations. Something.
Now?
Nothing.
And worse—he couldn't control it.
He activated Kamui.
His body flickered. Began to phase out.
Then—resistance.
Something pushed back.
He couldn't fully enter his own space.
"Partial success only," he muttered. "It works... but not completely."
He looked at Kaito.
The left eye was still spinning. Still watching.
Obito felt the weight in that stare.
The cold, precise intent.
He knows.
Kaito didn't move.
But Obito felt the killing intent rise.
And for the first time in years, he shivered.