Hearing the cheers of his clansmen, Uchiha Fugaku—who had been ready to die—couldn't help but laugh in disbelief.
"Haha! Obito came to save me! Looks like I'm not dying today after all!"
Though he wasn't afraid of death, who would choose to die if given the chance to live?
After all, there were still many beautiful things in this world worth holding onto.
When the Akatsuki members saw Uchiha Obito appear, they immediately realized that Fugaku was never the real target—Obito was.
Their eyes shifted to the blue giant looming behind Obito, and a collective headache set in.
They had just managed to deal with one black giant… and now a blue one showed up. How were they supposed to keep up with this?
"Maybe we should just abandon the mission," Biwa Juzo muttered hesitantly.
Scorpion shot him a sharp glare. "We finally found Uchiha Obito, and now you want to back out?"
This wasn't just any mission—it was a massive bounty of three billion. Split six ways, each of them would walk away with 500 million. No one would willingly give that up now.
"Haha, Scorpion's right," Orochimaru chimed in with a hoarse chuckle. "If the leader could take down Fugaku, he can definitely handle Obito too."
He licked his lips with anticipation. Fugaku's eyes were useless now, but Obito still had his Mangekyō Sharingan. That meant there was still hope for Orochimaru to get a working pair.
The Akatsuki members gathered near Pain, their expressions turning serious as they faced Obito.
Meanwhile, realizing no one was paying attention to him anymore, Fugaku didn't waste the opportunity—he turned and bolted.
Some of the Akatsuki noticed, but they were too busy to stop him.
Standing tall, Obito surveyed the group below and spoke calmly, "Akatsuki… do you want to be my enemy?"
Tendo Pain responded coldly, "A bounty of three billion has been placed on your head."
Obito raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Three billion? I didn't realize I was worth so much. Let me guess… was it Black Zetsu?"
The entire Akatsuki squad fell silent.
How the hell did he guess that so easily?
Although the bounty was officially issued by the Daimyo of the Fire Nation, Black Zetsu had been involved—and had added an extra billion to the reward.
Obito chuckled at their silence. "So, it was Black Zetsu. Looks like he's been busy. After I deal with you, I'll be sure to pay my old 'partner' a visit."
As soon as he finished speaking, the blue giant behind him sprang into action.
Two massive black shurikens appeared in its hands, and with a swift motion, it hurled them toward the Akatsuki.
The sudden attack shocked them. Everyone scattered to dodge.
This was a technique Obito had discovered by accident: when he activated Susanoo, his Kamui ability could be infused into his shuriken, turning them into deadly Kamui Shuriken—any object they hit would be instantly transported to his Kamui space.
Faced with the overwhelming force of the blue giant, the Akatsuki could only grit their teeth. Even though they had faced Fugaku's Susanoo earlier, they still had no idea how to effectively counter such destructive power.
After all, Susanoo wasn't something that could be resisted by ordinary means.
Just when everyone was starting to panic, Pain calmly gave the order. "Keep dodging. Wear him down. Once he can no longer maintain Susanoo, I'll strike."
The rest nodded in agreement—they would rely on attrition.
But what they didn't know was that Obito, unlike Fugaku, possessed Hashirama's cells.
With that regenerative ability, Obito wouldn't lose control of Susanoo due to pupil fatigue. On the contrary, he could keep it active indefinitely and continue attacking.
Which meant Akatsuki's tactic of wearing him down… might prove completely useless.
Still, the group kept dodging, waiting for any sign that Obito's power was waning.
Time passed—no one knew how long.
Eventually, the exhausted Akatsuki members glanced at the still-rampaging blue giant.
"…How much time has passed? How is he still maintaining Susanoo?" Scorpion muttered, his confidence cracking.
"We should just run," Biwa Juzo said between heavy breaths. "At this rate, Obito won't wear out—but we will."
A few others started to seriously consider retreat.
Orochimaru sighed, full of regret. "Looks like I won't get to study Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan after all…"
"Wait," Pain interjected. "Hold out a little longer. If it comes to it… I'll use that technique."
Konan's expression changed. "No! Pain, your body can't handle that jutsu right now!"
The others turned, surprised. Did their leader have a secret move beyond Shinra Tensei?
"There's no need to stop me, Konan. I've already decided," Pain said. "Just stay behind me."
Seeing they couldn't persuade him, the others quickly retreated behind Pain. Konan could only sigh in frustration.
Obito looked down, scoffing. "What, giving it one last try? Pathetic. Stop struggling."
Then, a small black sphere materialized in Pain's palm.
He threw it into the sky, formed a hand seal, and shouted:
"Planetary Devastation!"
Instantly, a massive gravitational force erupted from the black orb.
The earth trembled violently. Chunks of land tore free and were pulled into the air, sticking to the sphere like metal to a magnet.
Bit by bit, the floating debris accumulated—forming a colossal, terrifying sphere in the sky.
But it didn't stop there.
The ground beneath the blue giant's feet began to rise, pulled toward the black core.
Obito's eyes widened. Realizing the danger, he launched an attack to destroy the sphere.
But no matter how much he blasted away, the destroyed parts were immediately replaced by new rocks flying up from the earth.
Far away, inside the Akatsuki base, Nagato screamed.
Blood gushed from every orifice as his body trembled from the unbearable strain.
It was clear—this jutsu came at a terrible price.
As Nagato poured his life force into the technique, the gravity intensified. Even distant mountains couldn't withstand the pressure—they shattered and were sucked into the sky.
And under this overwhelming force…
The blue giant was finally sealed within the massive, floating sphere.
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