Obito Uchiha, Pain, and Konan had arrived in the Land of Water.
They were making their way toward Kirigakure in search of new recruits for the Akatsuki.
However, not far from the entrance of Kirigakure, Obito Uchiha, Pain, and Konan unexpectedly encountered the current Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi.
After the Third Mizukage was killed by Chiya, Yagura Karatachi succeeded him as the Fourth Mizukage.
Sometime after the incident involving Rin Nohara, Kirigakure had retrieved the Three-Tails.
Kirigakure tested numerous ninja to become the host for the Three-Tails, but without exception, all of them lost control, causing great losses to the village.
To gain better control over the tailed beast, Yagura sealed the Three-Tails Isobu inside himself, becoming the second jinchuriki of the Three-Tails.
What set Yagura apart was his exceptional talent. With hard work, he gained full control over the Three-Tails and even formed a mutual understanding with it, making him one of the few jinchuriki who could perfectly control their tailed beast, just like Killer Bee.
While returning to the village from another part of the Land of Water, Yagura detected Obito Uchiha, Pain, and Konan near the village entrance.
From the three individuals, Yagura sensed an extremely dangerous aura, along with Pain's Amegakure forehead protector marked with a horizontal slash—a symbol of a rogue ninja.
Instantly, Yagura blocked their path, raising his hook-ended staff decorated with green flowers, aiming it directly at Obito Uchiha and his companions.
"Who are you?!"
Recognizing Yagura Karatachi as the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure, Obito quickly formulated a plan in his mind.
"Perfect. How about you lend me a hand?"
Obito immediately activated the Sharingan's genjutsu, attempting to take control of Yagura.
Under the effect of the genjutsu, Yagura froze instantly, unable to move.
Pain glanced at the genjutsu-affected Yagura, then turned to Obito, who was wearing an orange mask, and asked, "What do you intend to do?"
Obito answered, "By controlling the Fourth Mizukage, we control Kirigakure. I can use my Sharingan to keep manipulating him nonstop, thereby using Kirigakure to strengthen the Akatsuki. Plus, the Three-Tails inside him is exactly what we need.
Once we've captured the rest of the tailed beasts, we can extract his and complete our plan."
Pain paused, contemplating Obito's plan.
From the very beginning, Nagato had never fully trusted either Obito or Zetsu.
Therefore, whenever Obito proposed a plan, Nagato would always consider it carefully before making a decision.
After some thought, he found Obito's plan feasible.
If the Akatsuki had the full support of Kirigakure behind them, they could indeed grow stronger much faster.
Nodding slightly, Pain said, "Very well, let's proceed accordingly."
"I see now… So your target is me—and the tailed beast inside me! Then as the Fourth Mizukage, I'll erase you right here!"
[Coral Pole – Four Strikes]
Yagura infused chakra into his staff and swung it toward Obito Uchiha.
Obito Uchiha used the Sharingan's perceptiveness to dodge Yagura Karatachi's attacks.
He couldn't believe Yagura had managed to break free from his genjutsu. Because only by having someone else disrupt the flow of chakra could one escape a dojutsu-based genjutsu. Yagura breaking through the genjutsu indicated that there was a second person disrupting Yagura's internal chakra flow, thereby neutralizing the illusion.
Right now, only Yagura was present here; in other words, that second individual must be the tailed beast inside Yagura, helping him out.
Madara Uchiha had once explained to Obito about jinchuriki.
"A perfect jinchuriki?"
A jinchuriki who forms a mutual bond with their tailed beast becomes immune to genjutsu. Because no matter what illusion they fall into, the tailed beast inside will help remove it.
Pain looked toward Mist and said to Obito Uchiha, "This isn't a good place. Konan and I will wait for you elsewhere."
After saying this, Pain and Konan turned and left.
Obito clicked his tongue. "What an arrogant bastard."
What Pain meant was making Obito lure Yagura away from Mist before capturing him.
Seeing Nagato and Konan preparing to leave, Yagura quickly formed hand seals with one hand.
[Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!]
He created three streams of compressed, spinning water, launching them toward Obito as well as Nagato and Konan who were turning away.
Obito dodged the torrents using Intangibility.
Meanwhile, Pain turned sideways and raised his left hand toward the incoming water blasts.
[Shinra Tensei!]
A powerful repulsive force directly deflected the two streams of water aside.
Yagura's pupils suddenly constricted.
That masked man and the blond guy weren't pushovers!
In the moment Yagura hesitated, Obito pulled out a sickle and swung it at Yagura.
This very sickle had originally belonged to Madara Uchiha, serving as his walking cane. Originally connected by chains to the Flame War Fan, it had been an ultimate weapon on countless battlefields under Madara's command, felling countless shinobi.
Now, Obito wielded it.
Yagura immediately lifted his staff to block the sickle and simultaneously formed hand seals with one hand.
[Water Release: Water Blade!]
Forming a swirling water blade on his right hand, he thrust it toward Obito's chest.
The Water Blade successfully pierced Obito's chest, yet no resistance was felt. Moreover, Obito appeared completely unharmed.
"So that's how you dodge—by phasing through attacks!"
Immediately afterward, Obito fell back.
Yagura frowned deeply, sensing these three posed a grave threat—they couldn't be left unchecked in the Land of Water.
He swiftly gave chase.
Continuously pursuing Obito, Yagura kept attacking with Water Release Ninjutsu.
Yet without exception, these attacks either missed entirely or simply passed straight through Obito's body.
"What kind of ninja technique is this? I've never heard of anything like it in the Shinobi World!"
Yagura Karatachi found it very strange how Obito Uchiha could pass through attacks. Also of concern to Yagura Karatachi was the repulsive force Pain had used.
Suddenly,
Obito Uchiha came to a stop, while Pain and Konan stood atop a thick tree branch.
Obito Uchiha turned to the two of them and said, "Got him right where we want him. Let's finish this together."
However, Pain and Konan didn't budge, staying perched on the tree branch and gazing down at Obito Uchiha in silence.
"You two are really something. Making this old body do all the fighting alone."
Obito shrugged helplessly.
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