Undoubtedly, the figure intruding into the fortress was none other than Obito, who had only recently acquired the Six-Tomoe Rinnegan.
Over the past few days, White Zetsu had scouted several secret locations for him. He had visited and investigated them one by one, finally locking onto this hidden fortress concealed within the heart of the mountain.
Tossing aside the guard whose body had been mangled by Kamui, Obito cast a fleeting glance at him.
"Aaah! Save... save me!" the man wailed on the ground.
Obito's gaze sharpened slightly as he thought to himself, As expected of a guard sent by Shinji to watch over the Ten-Tails; his vitality is remarkably resilient!
He then looked toward the distant Delta and Ranmaru, saying calmly, "We meet again!"
"It's you!?"
Delta and Ranmaru recognized Obito's identity at that moment, their faces filled with shock. After all, they had personally led the team to capture him. They had assumed he was still locked away in some cell within the Research Institute; they never expected that not only had he escaped, but he also dared to target the Ten-Tails!
As Obito walked toward them, he chuckled. "How should I handle these two traitors?"
Delta snapped, "Are you insane? When did I ever become a traitor?"
Ranmaru also looked disdainful. "My loyalty belongs to Nagato!"
"Pointless explanations," Obito said, his pace never faltering as he let out a light laugh. "I will make you regret your decisions! But don't worry, you're just the first batch. I will uproot 'Dawn' entirely and let you all reunite in hell!"
"What arrogant talk!" With a cold snort, Delta pointed at Obito and ordered her squad members, "Kill him!"
Excluding the member ambushed by Kamui, there were four other "defective" test subjects in the fortress alongside Delta and Ranmaru. Seeing that Obito was alone, they quickly recovered from their panic and lunged at him.
"So fast!" Obito grew wary and moved to meet them.
A fierce battle broke out within the wide expanse of the fortress. Although these four subjects possessed impressive strength, they were originally just mountain bandits and criminals with little combat experience. Coupled with the fact that Obito was far more powerful than before, the fight lasted only a few moments.
Having dealt with the four subjects, Obito appeared composed, but he was secretly surprised. These guards were significantly more troublesome than he had anticipated; he had thought they were just slightly stronger "small fry," but in combat, he found they each possessed strength comparable to an Elite Jonin.
Whoosh.
At that moment, a spectral wind blew past Obito's back. He spun around and thrust his hand forward, accurately catching a fist from the invisible Ranmaru, who had activated Toton (Transparent Escape).
"!?" Ranmaru was stunned.
Obito gave a slight smile. "Your Toton is nothing special!"
It was only then that Ranmaru noticed the eyes beneath Obito's mask. They weren't crimson Sharingan, but pale purple Rinnegan—specifically, the Six-Tomoe Rinnegan.
Ranmaru stood agape. "This... how is this possible!?"
"I like the expression you're making right now!" Obito grinned sinisterly, preparing to activate Kamui to tear Ranmaru's body apart.
Flash.
Suddenly, Delta delivered a flying kick, interrupting Obito's Kamui. Ranmaru took the chance to activate Koton (Steel Escape) and Swift Release, breaking free from Obito's grasp and retreating to a distance. He shouted a warning: "He has the Six-Tomoe Rinnegan!"
"What!?" Delta froze.
Before she could react, Obito launched Bansho Ten'in, instantly pulling her into his palm.
Roar!
Just as Obito was about to mock Delta, the Ten-Tails roared again from the depths of the mountain. Simultaneously, a piercing alarm began to blare throughout the fortress!
"The Ten-Tails is over there!"
Obito rejoiced inwardly. Ignoring his enemy Delta, he used a single Kamui to shred her waist, tossed her mangled remains to the floor, and turned to sprint toward the prison at the heart of the fortress.
Seeing Delta disposed of so instantly, Ranmaru's pupils shrank, but seeing Obito head for the Ten-Tails, he had to grit his teeth and give chase. With Swift Release, Ranmaru was no slower than Obito, but wary of Kamui, he didn't dare get too close. He unleashed ninjutsu from a distance, trying to delay him until reinforcements arrived.
At first, Obito dodged the ninjutsu, but soon grew tired of it. He used the Rinnegan to absorb the techniques, and eventually, he didn't even bother with that—he simply used Kamui to make himself intangible.
Moments later, the two arrived at the deepest part of the fortress. It was a massive chamber covered in sealing formulas, and inside was exactly what they suspected: the small Ten-Tails.
"The Ten-Tails is mine!"
"Oh no!"
At the sight of the beast, both were deeply affected. Obito was ecstatic—from being blind and helpless to possessing the Six-Tomoe Rinnegan with the Ten-Tails right before his eyes, it felt like a dream. He began to wonder if he truly was a child of destiny!
Ranmaru was incredibly tense. If the Ten-Tails was lost on his watch, he wouldn't be able to face the Leader. Ignoring the danger, he threw himself at Obito. Obito didn't even look at him, casually using Shinra Tensei to blast Ranmaru away.
Next, Obito used Kamui to destroy the restraints holding the beast. These devices were strong enough that even the Ten-Tails couldn't break them, and ordinary people couldn't damage them, but against Kamui, they were like paper, easily shredded by the spatial vortex.
Roar!
With another roar, the Ten-Tails was liberated!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
At that moment, Yakumo arrived with a large force of reinforcements!
Standing atop the head of the small Ten-Tails, which was already controlled by his Rinnegan, Obito looked down at the approaching Yakumo and the others with leisure.
"Tell him that my era has arrived. Let him wait; I will come for him!"
Yakumo, Ranmaru, and the others all looked grim. The "him" Obito spoke of was undoubtedly Shinji. They felt a sense of dread; because of their failure, they had created a formidable rival for their Leader.
Having delivered his ultimatum, Obito didn't stay long. He activated Kamui, vanishing from the chamber along with the Ten-Tails.