In the Mizukage Building, the smoke gradually dissipated with the wind. Obito stood in place, warily scanning his surroundings.
A venus flytrap sprouted from the ground near Obito's feet, and White Zetsu spoke up, "There's no one else around. That woman isn't here."
After hearing these words, Obito's tense nerves relaxed slightly.
Several months had passed since his last battle with Shura and that Uchiha who called herself Nanashi, but whenever Obito recalled that battle, he still felt a lingering fear.
Especially when facing that woman's Mangekyo Sharingan, the oppressive feeling is terrifying!
And the terrifying power of the Mangekyo's third ability, Susanoo! Even now, he couldn't shake off the impact of that encounter.
In comparison, while Shura had briefly clashed with him, he hadn't displayed overwhelmingly fearsome combat power.
However, Obito knew that for a woman like that to submit to Shura, he must have had something extraordinary about him.
"What are you doing here?" Obito maintained his intangibility while keeping track of time internally. If it neared the five-minute limit, he would immediately retreat into Kamui Dimension, avoiding any chance of being dragged into a prolonged fight.
Obito's intangibility could only last for five minutes, and when entering the Kamui Dimension, he couldn't maintain his phased state. Thus, he had to carefully conceal this weakness.
However, Obito didn't know that Nagato had already detected his intangibility's time limit through the Rain Tiger at Will Technique, which was exactly five minutes.
Konan had also began to prepare her 600 billion explosive tags.
"I heard that Kirigakure is a bit chaotic, so I thought I'd drop by for a stroll." Menma said casually from atop the ruins, as if he were just sightseeing.
Obito naturally wouldn't believe this.
"Oh? Did you take a liking to some Kirigakure's Ninjas? Tell me, and maybe I can help drive them to become Missing-nin." Obito probed deliberately.
He knew a powerful Ninja like Shura wouldn't attack two of the Five Great Ninja Villages without reason, so Obito had been trying to figure out Shura's motives for attacking Konoha and Kumogakure.
Obito mentally ran through what Kirigakure might have that could interest Shura.
'Kekkei Genkai Clans? Three-Tails or Six-Tails? Seven Ninja Swords?'
'All were possibilities.'
Seeing Obito's probing, the corners of Menma's mouth curled up slightly under his mask. He couldn't help but want to tease Obito, so he said, "It's very simple, because one of my companions was killed by Kirigakure's Ninjas, so I came to seek revenge on them."
The moment Menma finished speaking, Obito suddenly raised his hand, and countless sharp wooden spikes shot toward him like arrows.
[Wood Release: Cutting Technique]
The spikes pierced through Shura's body-
Bang!
However, the next second, the struck Shura dissolved into smoke, his body replaced by a wooden log.
[Substitution Technique]
"Heh, can't keep your cool anymore?" A mocking voice came from somewhere near Obito.
Obito spun around, retrieving the Uchiha Gunbai from the Kamui Dimension and hurling it toward the source of the voice.
A metallic clang echoed in the darkness.
The Uchiha Gunbai was deflected and sent flying back.
"Who the hell are you?!" Obito yanked the chain, pulling the gunbai back into his grip, his voice filled with wariness and caution.
'That incident… no one could possibly know about it!' Obito, having been toyed with repeatedly, finally came to his senses.
Behind his tiger-striped mask, his lone Mangekyo Sharingan gleamed with a scarlet light.
During their battle months ago, the opponent had called himself 'Uchiha Obito', provoking him. On top of that, the woman with the Mangekyo Sharingan had forced him to hold back many of his cards.
For example, Uchiha Gunbai and Wood Release.
This time, he was fully prepared and approached the situation with extreme caution.
However, the words spoken by the other party once again broke Obito's mental defenses.
Now, he was almost certain that the other party knew his true identity.
But Obito couldn't understand how. Even his former teacher, Minato, hadn't guessed. Even his former companion, Kakashi, believed he had died years ago!
The only ones who knew his true identity were the long-dead Madara, Black Zetsu by his side, and the White Zetsu who had once cared for him!
However, even so, Obito would never admit it.
Uchiha Obito had already died that night along with Nohara Rin.
"Ah, who am I?" Shura stepped slowly out of the shadows, pretending to be in deep thought.
Then he lightly tapped his left palm with his right fist: "Oh, I remember now."
"I am actually... Senju Hashirama!" Menma mimicked Hashirama's voice.
"Hmph! Playing tricks!" Obito snorted coldly, feeling insulted yet again.
'Since the other party is unwilling to reveal his true face, he must have his own hidden agenda.'
'Otherwise, after learning that I had secretly manipulated the Fourth Mizukage, he wouldn't be wasting time with idle chatter. A single shout to the outside world, and I would be forced to abandon Yagura as a pawn.'
Since Shura had his own reasons for coming to Kirigakure, Obito decided not to engage further.
His intangibility time was almost up, so without hesitation, he activated Kamui, his body swallowed by swirling spatial distortion.
Zetsu also quickly sank into the ground, escaping using this technique.
"How boring. Can't even take a joke?" Menma shrugged as he watched the two disappear before him, making no move to stop them.
After all, he hadn't come here to deal with Obito and Zetsu. He'd only noticed their presence and decided to drop by for some fun… just to mess with Obito a little.
'Well, just for fun.'
Menma turned his attention to the battlefield outside. The Kaguya Clan's head, surrounded by numerous Kirigakure's Jonin, had his limbs severed before. In his final moments, he unleashed Shikotsumyaku: Larch Dance. He took three Jonin with him in death and severely wounded dozens of other Kirigakure's Ninjas.
However, all the rebels of the Kaguya Clan were killed in the battle, and Kirigakure's Anbu has already gone to the Kaguya Clan's territory to purge the remaining clan members.
"At least they had more backbone than the Uchiha… no, it's their clan head who had more spine than Fugaku." Menma muttered under his breath.
Among the dozens of Kaguya Clan's members who died in the battle, each of them took away at least one Kirigakure's Ninja before they died.
The contrast between the Kaguya Clan and the Uchiha Clan perfectly illustrated the saying: 'A weak soldier is just one man's failure, but a weak general dooms the entire army.'
Fugaku's indecisiveness and cowardice bore at least 80% of the responsibility for the Uchiha Clan Massacre.
Meanwhile, the Kaguya Clan-
Though their rebellion had failed, their desperate, all-or-nothing resolve had inflicted heavy casualties on Kirigakure.
In order to suppress this rebellion, Kirigakure had lost five Jonin and more than sixty Chunin and Genin, with hundreds more wounded.
The losses were comparable to those of a major battle in the Great Ninja War.
…
Half an hour later.
At a small hill on the outskirts of Kirigakure, Menma arrived at the meeting spot he had arranged with Orochimaru, but he found no trace of Orochimaru.
'Did this guy run off already?' Just as Menma was pondering, he suddenly noticed the surrounding mist thickening.
"Heh, interesting." Menma chuckled and activated Mind's Eye of the Kagura, instantly sensing the enemies hidden within the mist.
At this time, Kubikiribocho, Hiramekarei, and Samehada attacked from three directions at the same time!