The thick mist slightly cleared. A spatial vortex abruptly appeared above the river, and from it stepped Obito.
"Mr. Madara!"
Kisame, half his body exposed, emerged respectfully.
Obito nodded, his gaze fixed on the orange fireballs burning across the water's surface. A flicker of caution flashed in his eyes.
"How was your fight with Aozora?"
Upon hearing Obito's question, Kisame ground his shark-like teeth and replied solemnly, "Outside the river, I'm not his match."
Despite possessing chakra reserves rivaling those of a tailed beast—and being able to reshape terrain using Water Release—Kisame found himself overwhelmed by Aozora's sheer Fire Release strength, which denied him any chance to gather enough water.
Obito wasn't surprised. Kisame gaining only slight advantage during their final jutsu clash while holding geographical superiority was enough to prove Aozora's strength.
Kisame explained, "His Fire Release is formidable, but with massive chakra reserves, I could still bridge the gap. However, his Fire Release techniques are deployed extremely fast—and without hand seals..."
At this point, Kisame felt somewhat dejected. He had spent nearly twenty years honing his hand speed, finally developing such quick and rhythmic seal-making technique.
He used to think no one in the Ninja World could match his hand seal speed!
Yet unexpectedly, there existed someone who could instantly use powerful jutsu without making any seals at all—it was like a bolt from the blue for him!
A serious expression appeared beneath Obito's mask; now he roughly understood what about Aozora's abilities had been bothering him.
Without doubt, it was that immense intangible-fire release—Yakton!
Faced with relentless Fire Release techniques powered by overwhelming Yakton, his only viable option would be dodging using intangibility. If Aozora could continuously maintain Yakton for five minutes, perhaps his sole recourse would be Izanagi.
Then... did Aozora also possess Izanami—the technique meant to counter Izanagi?
Obito didn't know, nor did he dare take chances. For a fleeting moment, he regretted recruiting Aozora.
Seeing Obito fall silent, Kisame advised cautiously, "During our earlier battle, I noticed although Aozora's unsealed techniques don't require seals, they likely still need preparation time.
To defeat him, either trade Ninjutsu with him from a distance or constantly pressure him up close."
Obito asked, "Then why didn't you apply close-range pressure?"
Kisame fell speechless for a moment before replying, "I tested briefly. His swordsmanship and taijutsu aren't bad at all. If I give him even the slightest opening mid-combat, he might retaliate immediately with a face-to-face Great Fireball Jutsu."
Taking a point-blank Great Fireball Jutsu—equivalent to an A-ranked Ninjutsu—even with Samehada, he'd likely end up critically injured, if not dead.
Obito remained quiet, perplexed. Could that even be called a weakness?
Kisame already ranked among the top taijutsu and sword experts in the entire ninja world, yet he couldn't suppress Aozora. Then who in the living ninja world could confidently claim absolute dominance over Aozora?
Perhaps currently, only the Fourth Raikage possessed that capability!
In that case, defeating Aozora would depend solely on superior strength—or exhausting his chakra completely.
...
Within a valley of the summoning realm.
A burst of white smoke appeared, and Aozora found himself standing inside a palace.
Without even greeting his Keshin, Aozora first checked over every part of his body.
On the throne sat Taiyi, who grumbled, "Aozora, you're showing no trust in me!"
"Where's that?" Aozora shook his head. "Isn't it normal to inspect one's own body after transportation? Isn't the Summoning Realm different from the Ninja World?"
After explaining, Aozora finally had time to observe his surroundings and the figure sitting on the throne—Taiyi.
Before he could even admire the palace, Aozora froze at the sight of Taiyi.
It turned out that Taiyi not only perfectly replicated Aozora's flawless facial features but also transformed his hair into smooth golden tresses like rays of sunlight.
Clad in golden tresses, Taiyi looked both like a celestial immortal and a descending deity.
Aozora scolded, "Taiyi, this is going too far! I wouldn't dare go this far myself. If you walk around like this, people will beat you to death!"
"The origin of all things lies in the Taiyi!"
Uttering this philosophical maxim solemnly, Taiyi continued calmly, "As the Sun God, is there any problem with having golden locks of hair?"
Aozora couldn't help rolling his eyes. Just because he named himself Taiyi doesn't mean he truly believes he is Donghuang!
Leaving other issues aside, does he even have the guts to produce a Primordial Treasure like the Primordial Chaos Bell?
Since he was his own Keshin, letting him play-act was fine anyway.
Sighing helplessly, Aozora asked, "Taiyi, how much chakra does summoning me cost you? Could you summon Shisui as well?"
Aozora figured joining Akatsuki would face resistance, which was why he'd already worked out a backup plan—using the Reverse Summoning Jutsu through his Keshin to escape if needed.
He expected Orochimaru to be the one blocking him—but to his surprise, Kisame beat him to it. It seemed Obito had developed suspicion towards him again for some unknown reason.
Hearing this, Taiyi checked his internal chakra reserves and replied, "Summoning you used up about three-quarters of my chakra reserves. Summoning Shisui would probably cost about the same, though I must obtain Shisui's prior consent."
"That's great!"
Upon hearing good news, Aozora broke into smiles.
The Reverse Summoning Jutsu turned out to be workable after all. Henceforth, he'd feel more secure—not only possessing a perfect means of retreat but also gaining formidable support.
"Now that you've come to my territory, let me extend the hospitality of a gracious host."
After saying this, Taiyi tapped the table lightly, and immediately outside the hall, several cawing sounds from crows echoed in response.
Soon afterward, a giant crow entered the hall carrying baskets full of fruit upon its back.
Picking up a fruit resembling an apple, Aozora casually wiped it clean before taking a big bite.
Juice splattered everywhere—tangy and refreshingly crisp—as Aozora remarked, "Hey wow, pretty good! You live better than I do!"
Shaking his head with a bitter smile, Taiyi replied, "That's what roughing it feels like. Intelligent Ninja Ravens are rare enough; few can talk, and even fewer take on semi-human forms.
They can eat just about anything—unfortunately, I can't! Despite being called the King of Crows, I still have to cook my meals myself!
Come to think of it, thanks for those cooking tips from your memory dump..."
Taiyi's complaints astonished Aozora. Originally, he assumed Taiyi just happily ruled contentedly while sitting inside his palace as the mighty Crow King!
His palace was still far from complete—all that existed now was the Grand Hall; the rest hadn't even gotten their foundations laid.
Even worse, since the Ninja Ravens' cooking left much to be desired, as the clan leader he actually had to cook for himself if he wanted anything decent to eat…
After sorting out the basics—food, shelter, and daily life—Taiyi still wasn't happy. After all, he possessed human aesthetics, but here there were only Ninja Ravens and other beasts.
So, most of his time was spent on cultivation, occasionally breaking the monotony by making his clansmen play Farming Games.
After listening to Taiyi's complaints, Aozora shook his head in sigh.
Looks can be deceiving—even behind the brightest facades, there might lurk unseen shadows.
After tasting some delicious fruits from another world, Aozora discussed with Taiyi: "Why didn't the Heavenly Book react at all, even though the Summoning Jutsu clearly involved space-time?"
A puzzled expression also appeared in Taiyi's eyes. "Yeah, that really is strange!"
The human and the raven glanced at each other in confusion before lowering their heads to think.
In any world, space-time manipulation was an incredibly rare—and downright freaky—ability. Nowhere more so than in the Ninja World!
Minato, who mastered the Flying Thunder God, had been practically invincible during the Third Great Ninja War, while Obito, who awakened Kamui, currently roamed unchecked.
Without mastery of Space-Time Ninjutsu, anyone facing those who wielded it would always be at a disadvantage.
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