Tobi's words left Kakashi, Rin, and the others momentarily stunned.
Kaede observed Tobi carefully, deep in thought.
It was clear, under Madara Uchiha's manipulations, Tobi had completely blackened. A cursed seal had been implanted in his chest, likely assimilating part of his mind as well.
Suddenly, Kaede understood why Tobi's strength had skyrocketed over tenfold after going dark. He wielded the Kamui Mangekyō Sharingan, arguably the strongest ability, and his body, infused with cells from Hashirama Senju, granted him effects comparable to the Eternal Mangekyō.
His chakra reserves had surged dramatically with these changes. Add to that Madara's teachings, his implanted will, combat experience, and more, everything combined to create a terrifying force.
It wasn't until the Fourth Great Ninja War, when Tobi became the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, took control of the Ten-Tails with his own will, and entered the Sage of Six Paths mode, that he finally purged the remnants of Madara's influence.
"Why are you saying these things?!" Rin asked, shocked as she looked at Tobi. "Kaede saved me..."
"Don't be fooled by him!" Tobi cut her off, glaring fiercely at Kaede. "I saw his hand with my own eyes..."
Rin shook her head. "You're mistaken, Tobi. Kaede only removed the seal from my heart. He never intended to harm me."
She felt a pang of guilt, remembering how, for a moment, she too had thought Kaede was trying to kill her, even though he had previously said he trusted her.
"That's all deception! If you weren't the Three-Tails' Jinchūriki, you would've died from that injury, Rin! I'll take you away from here!"
Tobi felt there was no way to reason with Rin anymore.
She was completely brainwashed by Kaede.
"Wait..." Kakashi finally spoke, voice low and serious as he addressed Tobi. "I don't know what nonsense you're spouting, but right now, you're the suspicious one. Tobi, how are you still alive? What's with this chakra you have? And what are those eyes of yours?"
Though shocked by Tobi's identity, Kakashi remained calm and rational. His words instantly brought Rin back from her confusion.
Rin eyed Tobi warily, taking two cautious steps back.
Indeed, just as Kakashi said, Tobi's chakra felt wrong, not familiar, but dark and alien. His entire aura was off.
"So, you're like that too... Kakashi..." Tobi's face stiffened. Seeing everyone watching him suspiciously, he turned to Rin and asked, "Rin, don't you believe me either?!"
"Tobi..." Rin took a deep breath, sensing the dark chakra radiating from him. "You're not right... What exactly happened to you?"
Tobi looked far too suspicious now.
She wanted to trust him, but she couldn't trust this version of Tobi. After all, she had been controlled before, and this Tobi seemed even deeper under someone else's control.
"Heh... heh heh..." Tobi's eyes lost their former glow, replaced by a cold, sharp gleam as he swept his gaze over Kakashi and Kaede.
At that moment, Kaede, who had remained silent, finally spoke.
"You still have some sense left, don't you? Tobi... think carefully. Your current state makes it impossible for Rin or Kakashi to trust you. That has nothing to do with me, and you know that. Besides, everything you're saying is just your own delusion."
Before turning dark, Tobi had no real flaws, he was an upbeat, bright youth. Kaede had never considered him an enemy.
Even now, it seemed there might be a chance to save him.
"Sense?" Tobi slowly replied, staring at Kaede. "I've always been rational. But it looks like they're all under your influence now, and don't trust me anymore. If that's the case... I'll just take Rin away for now!"
Whoosh!
At his words, sharp branches suddenly shot out from his body, clenched in his hands, and hurled toward Kaede and Kakashi. Then Tobi charged straight at Rin.
Clang!
Kakashi swung his sword, White Fang, blocking the branches, but the heavy force pushed him back several steps, his expression darkening.
"So strong... and this power... could it be Wood Release Kekkei Genkai?!"
Wasn't that the legendary ability of the First Hokage?
A flash of silver light streaked by.
Kaede blinked and was suddenly in front of Tobi, pressing a hand against him gently as he said, "You'll be staying right here."
Though Tobi was brainwashed and blackened now, there was still a glimmer of hope for rescue, the darkness only affected him personally.
Silent as a shadow, Tobi's body passed right through Kaede's, still reaching for Rin.
But Kaede's figure flickered, following him, continuing to reach out.
Kaede knew Kamui well.
It allowed parts of the body to shift into a warped space, making physical contact impossible.
However, this ability couldn't be maintained indefinitely, there was a delay before it could be used again, five minutes for single eye Kamui, unknown for double, but definitely not infinite.
They just needed to outlast Tobi's Kamui duration.
Whoosh! Whoosh!!
Under Kaede's pressure, Tobi couldn't use Kamui to abduct Rin. Instead, he tried to fight Kaede directly, but even with his Mangekyō and Kamui powers, he couldn't clearly track Kaede's movements!
Unable to predict Kaede's actions, Tobi had to rely solely on Kamui to block attacks, unable even to escape.
"This speed... Is this the Silver Flash?"
"A power that's famous throughout the shinobi world..."
A cold gleam flashed in Tobi's eyes, and suddenly countless branches burst from his body.
Wood Release: Smothering Binding Technique!
Swish! Swish! Swish!!
Branches shot out in all directions.
"I'm cutting off all your escape routes. Let's see how you dodge this!"
If he could force Kaede to dodge even slightly, Tobi could slip into Kamui's space and take Rin away.
But,
What made Tobi's pupils shrink was that Kaede didn't dodge the Wood Release attack. The silver light was clearly pierced by the branches, but the branch that touched Kaede's body dissolved instantly.
Kaede had already activated the Time Domain.
Though Tobi's Kamui made him intangible, able to dodge most attacks, Kaede had Time Erosion, which could nullify nearly all attacks!
This was a battle of time versus space.
"How...?"
This move was something Tobi had figured out himself, but he knew it was originally Hashirama Senju's Wood Release, a technique that absorbs chakra and has great piercing power.
Yet when it touched Kaede, it instantly dissolved, unable to break through his defenses.
"This isn't good... my ability won't last much longer..."
Although Tobi had just unlocked his Mangekyō, as its wielder, he could feel the limit of maintaining intangibility approaching.
Kaede's relentless attacks gave him no openings to use Kamui to escape.
Too strong!
Kaede's power was overwhelming.
At this moment, Tobi clearly felt the crushing pressure of superior strength, even with the First Hokage's power and the legendary Uchiha might, he still couldn't match the Silver Flash.
"If this continues, I'm done for."
Tobi gritted his teeth. He hadn't expected that after gaining such power, he still couldn't beat Kaede, or even escape.
And just then,
Puff!
Tobi suddenly vanished into a cloud of white smoke.
"Hm?"
Kaede frowned, stopping his attack.
That wasn't Kamui, Kamui didn't allow sudden disappearances like that. The Tobi who attacked was not a clone, and he hadn't used substitution or clone techniques.
"Flying Thunder God... no, some kind of reverse summoning?"
"No wonder they dared send Tobi to find me, looks like they prepared in advance."
Kaede slowly lowered his hand.
He didn't go searching for Madara Uchiha nearby, because Tobi might still try a surprise attack. Rin hadn't fully mastered her Jinchūriki powers yet and couldn't stop Tobi now.
==========
You can find much more on my Patreon: Patreon.com/Veltoria
There are currently 5 active fanfictions on Patreon, with over 418+ advanced chapters available across them!
From Naruto Onwards, I Control Time — Up to Chapter 267
Haikyuu!!: Rise of Sengoku — Up to Chapter 193
Danmachi: Is It Wrong To Aspire to Be An Adventurer? — Up to Chapter 97
Legend of Hogwarts (Harry Potter x League of Legends) — Up to Chapter 109
I Am Luffy: Partner System Online (One Piece) — Up to Chapter 92