After leaving the forest where Kabuto and the others were hiding, Shinji didn't immediately return to Hidden Leaf. Instead, he stood atop a tree canopy, pulling out a map to survey the surroundings.
With his blood clone in the village, he could activate Koryugan at any moment to swap places with it. Additionally, Haku and Karin were on standby nearby, giving him the flexibility to advance or retreat. Thus, he decided to scout the area around Hidden Leaf to see if anyone else suspicious was lurking, aside from Kabuto's group.
For this reason, he maintained his Jikibi connection with Karin.
On the other end of Jikibi, Karin and Haku, still dressed in Hidden Leaf Police Force uniforms, were perched on a tree, vigilantly scanning their surroundings.
The Police Force identity made entering and exiting Hidden Leaf much more convenient for them.
Haku asked, "What's the situation?"
"Leader left the forest," Karin replied, pausing briefly before continuing. "He likely made contact with the people hiding there, but no conflict broke out."
Haku was puzzled. "Who would be lurking in a place like that? Dark Akatsuki members?"
Karin shook her head. "I'm not sure. Leader didn't tell me."
At that moment, Karin's brows furrowed as her Kagura Shingan detected an extremely strange chakra.
The chakra was intermittent, flickering in and out of existence.
If Karin's mastery of Kagura Shingan hadn't grown so refined, she might not have noticed it at all.
What unsettled her more was that this eerie chakra seemed to be approaching the Leader.
She immediately relayed the odd situation to Shinji via Jikibi.
"Someone's approaching me?"
Shinji was momentarily stunned.
With his current sensory abilities, even without factoring in his killing intent perception, he was among the best in the shinobi world.
Yet he hadn't detected anyone nearing him. Recalling Karin's description of the chakra being intermittent and elusive, a guess formed in his mind.
Heh.
He chuckled softly, the corners of his mouth curling up beneath his mask.
Almost simultaneously with Karin's warning, far off in the distance, Obito, in his intangible state, was glaring at Shinji standing atop the tree canopy.
"A."
His expression was grim.
His original purpose was to gather intelligence on Uchiha Shinji and look for an opportunity to strike. He hadn't expected to encounter the mysterious A.
He was more eager than the five major shinobi villages to uncover the true identity of A and his group.
After all, A's faction had previously operated under the Akatsuki's name, causing prolonged mutual suspicion between him and Nagato, bringing them no small amount of trouble, and even forcing them to prematurely launch their tailed beast collection plan.
Even now, this group remained a thorn in his side, a wildcard capable of tipping the scales in their conflict with the five major shinobi villages.
Should I make a move?
He began weighing his options.
The opponent's strength was undeniable, supported by numerous past battles, so he wasn't sure if he should act—the risks were too great.
At the same time, the potential rewards were incredibly tempting.
If he could capture A here, he might uncover the true identities of A's group. He and Nagato could then eliminate this persistent uncertainty before the great war.
Without hesitating for long, Obito made his move.
Though A was powerful, Obito had absolute confidence in his own strength and his dojutsu!
In an instant, the intangible Obito appeared behind A. As he exited his intangible state, he reached out with his right hand, placing it on A's shoulder, and activated Kamui!
In a flash, a distorted vortex formed in his right hand, rapidly expanding to envelop A's shoulder.
Only then did A whip around.
Seeing A's delayed reaction, Obito smirked. "Got you!"
In direct physical contact, Kamui activated incredibly quickly. Even back during the Nine-Tails Incident, when Obito was less experienced, he had put the Fourth Hokage in danger multiple times. Now, his skill was far greater.
Unless facing someone like the Fourth Hokage, whose combat instincts were unparalleled and who also mastered space-time ninjutsu, most people could barely defend against a Kamui ambush.
The window for the target to react was mere seconds, and with Kamui's interference during activation, those seconds were hardly enough to do anything.
This was why Obito dared to ambush A!
As the spatial distortion intensified, A reacted but was already being warped by Kamui. Let alone activating a dojutsu or ninjutsu, even moving a finger or blinking became immensely difficult.
Heh.
With a soft chuckle from Obito, A's figure completely vanished into the distorted vortex.
Confirming his success, Obito let out a breath. "I thought it'd be trickier, but it was surprisingly easy!"
Before acting, he had considered various possibilities, including failure. Yet, it had gone so smoothly—a single strike.
Based on his years of experience and the tactile feedback from activating Kamui, he was certain the one he ambushed was A's true body, not a shadow clone or the like.
After calming himself, Obito turned and sped off in the opposite direction of Hidden Leaf Village.
Compared to a kid like Uchiha Shinji, eliminating A was clearly a higher priority in his mind.
For now, he had only thrown A into the Kamui dimension, not truly defeated him. He needed to return to base immediately, gather his forces, and enter the Kamui dimension to deal with A, just as they had surrounded the Two-Tails jinchuriki, Yugito Nii, when she was trapped there.
Only by thoroughly defeating A could he rest easy.
As for his original target, Uchiha Shinji, he'd have to deal with him later. He couldn't use Kamui again for now, as doing so would give A, trapped in the Kamui dimension, a chance to escape.
An ordinary person might not seize such a fleeting opportunity, but a powerhouse like A just might. So, despite his success, Obito didn't let his guard down and remained cautious!
As a result, even for traveling, he could only rely on his two legs like an ordinary shinobi.