"This feeling..."
When Obito was locked on by Tōra's dojutsu—he sensed it. But everything was too late.
Whoosh. In Tōra's left hand—a mass of gray matter appeared. Then vanished. "Keke... Tsuchinamaru!"
Crack. In just an instant—Obito froze mid-air. Turning to stone from inside out.
Tōra's right eye focused again. His right hand swung the demon-subduing staff at empty air.
Crack.
Obito shattered into a pile of dirt fragments. Couldn't even be pieced back together.
Naruto and Sasuke both froze in place.
Tōra turned around. Tilting his head. "Miru [See]? Killing someone is just that simple. The convenient tool is already destroyed. Next—it's time to send you off."
Swoosh.
Almost without thinking—Naruto used Flying Raijin to appear beside Sasuke. Opening a Truth-Seeking Ball shield to block the line of sight.
Tōra grinned. "Oh? Quick reaction. But it's just futile struggling."
Inside the Truth-Seeking Ball.
Sasuke couldn't believe it. "Obito... just gone like that?"
Naruto's expression was grave. "Looks that way. But I have a subtle feeling."
"Kekeke!"
Tōra charged toward the Truth-Seeking Ball barrier.
Naruto said solemnly. "That guy's coming. Listen, Sasuke—if worst comes to worst..."
Whoosh.
Suddenly—a black figure forcefully intruded into Tōra's line of sight.
Tōra froze. "Nani...!?"
Obito said in a low voice. "Sorry to disappoint you."
The pitch-black Susanoo condensed pitch-black magatama. And hurled them at Tōra.
—Divine Weapon: Kuji Kamui Magatama.
Crack.
The magatama hit without question. But Futsunushi no Mikoto activated. Tōra forcibly evaded—appearing behind.
Whoosh. Hidden in the shadow of the magatama was a second magatama. Continuing the pursuit.
Tōra smiled. "Ah—playing that trick."
He maneuvered at high speed. After 3 seconds—Futsunushi no Mikoto finished cooling down. He stopped. Let the magatama hit. And escaped again.
Whoosh. The Truth-Seeking Ball opened. Naruto and Sasuke came to Obito's side.
Sasuke: "How did you survive?"
Naruto: "This chakra flow... Izanagi?"
Obito: "Right. To guard against that guy's dojutsu—I preset Izanagi in my eyes. The preset trigger condition is being locked on by that guy's right eye power."
Sasuke was shocked. "What's going on? Why can you use Izanagi now!"
In the past—because of the existence of the technique Amenokagishi—Obito couldn't be affected by any genjutsu. And Izanagi's essence was blurring reality and dreams. An ultimate genjutsu used on oneself. So theoretically—Obito couldn't activate Izanagi.
Obito said, "Actually—our past understanding of Amenokagishi had a blind spot. Amenokagishi only immunizes against harmful genjutsu."
"Harmful?"
"Meaning any genjutsu with side effects. Izanagi—because it comes with the side effect of blindness—is why I couldn't activate it."
Naruto said, "Then you activated it. Meaning you've already overcome Izanagi's blindness."
Sasuke said, "How's that possible? The blindness side effect can't even be suppressed by an Edo Tensei body!"
"Yeah—that's right. But..."
Obito raised his hand. Half-covering his eyes. "Danmetsu Sendai can!"
Sasuke couldn't hide his shock. "Then why have we never seen you use this dojutsu combination before!?"
Obito said, "In the past—my eye power wasn't strong enough. I couldn't do it."
Obito lowered his hand and sighed. "But now—after being tempered thousands of times—I can finally do it."
A smile appeared at the corner of Naruto's mouth. Actually—just moments ago—he'd also told Sasuke to prepare to sacrifice an eye to save his life.
Sasuke asked, "How long can your Izanagi last?"
Obito said, "Because it's an Edo Tensei body—there's no substantial chakra consumption. So like Kamui Intangibility—I can maintain it indefinitely."
Sasuke lowered his brow. "Then the only thing that can defeat you is Izanami."
But Naruto caught the blind spot. "Izanami's essence is still genjutsu. And for Obito—it's harmful genjutsu. So it can be immunized by Amenokagishi. That means even this sole weakness is gone."
Izanagi with no side effects. No time limit. No counter method.
Absolute immortality.
One-hit-kill Kamui.
Plus Omotodaru that could reverse time to revive fallen comrades.
This was Obito Uchiha now.
Naruto smiled. "Looks like... the throne of Number One in the shinobi world really needs to change hands."
Obito shook his head. "At this point—I'm not obsessed with that anymore."
While they talked—Tōra tried several more times to kill Obito.
But... he just wouldn't die.
Without killing Obito first—even if he killed Naruto and Sasuke—Obito could reverse time to revive them. In other words—without killing Obito first—killing anyone was pointless.
But Obito couldn't be killed.
This was a death loop anyone could see through at a glance.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
On the other side—Hashirama controlled Sage Art: True Several Thousand Hands to attack Konra. His mission was to keep Konra occupied.
Atop the Kannon's head—Hashirama pressed his palms together and shouted. "Hey—where exactly is Madara!"
Konra sneered coldly without answering.
Hashirama got anxious. "Won't say, huh? Then I'll use brute force to make you talk!"
—Top Transformed Buddha.
Swoosh.
Thousands of Kannon hands whistled down.
But Konra only glanced coldly.
—Michikaesu Ōkami.
Swish swish swish. The descending arms of True Several Thousand Hands bent backward. And struck its own face.
Boom boom boom boom.
Wild punches collapsed itself.
Hashirama backflipped down. "This guy's dojutsu isn't just for projectile-type skills!"
Tap. Tap.
He stepped on broken wood fragments. Approaching Konra while half-covering his left eye. "Then don't blame me for being ruthless."
—Mokka Chiru.
But Konra raised his eyes. Darkly. "Stop it. That kind of ability is useless on me."
Hashirama paused. "What...?"
Konra spread his hands. "No matter how much life force you absorb with that eye—I won't die. In the end—only you will become the Ten-Tails."
Tap. Hashirama landed on the ground. His gaze unprecedentedly grave. He thought: This guy is serious. Not bluffing.
Konra smiled darkly. "Hmph—well then—I should about..."
At this moment—Tōra's anxious voice rang in his mind. "Hey! Konra—that bitter-faced guy is bad news!"
Konra's gaze lowered. "Oh? I see. I understand."
Hashirama looked back at the intense battlefield beyond. Naruto, Sasuke, and Obito—the three had shifted from defense to offense. Now fiercely attacking Tōra.
Just as things looked promising—Konra raised his eyes. "Senju Hashirama, right? You have a younger brother who likes inventing forbidden techniques, right? One called Edo Tensei is especially famous!"
Hashirama couldn't help being surprised. "My brother's fame has even reached the afterlife?"
Konra's eyes focused slightly. "Do you know where the source of Edo Tensei's infinite chakra comes from?"
Hashirama's expression tensed. "!?"
Whoosh.
Beside Konra—that dark gray barrier that had previously defended against the Amanosakahoko arrow combination appeared again.
Under Hashirama's astonished gaze—Konra revealed a shocking secret. "That's right. That chakra comes from the Soul Society. Your brother is quite capable. He made every person reanimated by Edo Tensei sign a contract with the Soul Society. When I discovered this loophole—our Lord told me not to act rashly."
Rustle rustle rustle.
Konra reached his hand into the Soul Society. When he withdrew it—two fingers pinched out a talisman.
Crack. Obito's pupils contracted sharply. "This long-lost feeling—could it be..."
"This is the contract between Obito Uchiha and the Soul Society!" A dark arc curved at Konra's lips. "Sorry—but I have special privileges!"
Whoosh.
Flames at his fingertips ignited the talisman.
Thud.
Obito fell from midair.
Naruto flashed to his side. "What's happening!?"
Obito looked at his palm—undoubtedly still belonging to Edo Tensei. His voice revealing the instinctive fear when facing something beyond common sense. "My chakra has started depleting."
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