Chapter 287 – Obito, the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki
After that, Kakashi activated his ninjutsu and charged straight at Obito. The two of them clashed head-on, just like they had in the past—starting with pure taijutsu before gradually weaving ninjutsu into their exchanges.
Even though so much time had passed, the shadows of their former selves were still vividly reflected in their movements. The difference was that the Obito standing there now was no longer the dead last, the hopeless failure he once was.
In terms of taijutsu alone, Obito was still slightly behind Kakashi, who had long trained with the sword and possessed Armament Haki. However, when it came to ninjutsu, Obito was no weaker than Kakashi—if anything, he had already surpassed him.
And with the addition of a single Rinnegan, the gap in strength between them appeared perfectly balanced.
Yet Hatake Yusuke, watching everything from outside the battlefield, knew the truth. Kakashi was already being pushed into a corner.
He couldn't bring himself to launch a truly lethal attack against Obito, while Obito, on the other hand, struck with techniques that carried clear killing intent.
Coupled with Kakashi's rapidly draining stamina, his defeat was only a matter of time.
On the other side of the battlefield, Madara was overwhelming Naruto and Killer B. Even though both of them were Perfect Jinchūriki—the Nine-Tails and the Eight-Tails—they still looked completely outmatched when facing that legendary ninja.
What made it worse was that Madara had been wary of Hatake Yusuke from the very beginning. Because of that, he fought at full power right away, even using Wood Release specifically designed to suppress Tailed Beasts. Under that pressure, Naruto and Killer B were rendered almost helpless.
Just as the two of them were on the verge of defeat, Tsunade led the Allied Shinobi Forces onto the battlefield, and the entire army finally arrived.
The Hokage of previous generations, along with Sasuke, joined the fight and began supporting Naruto and Killer B.
The Ten-Tails was suppressed by the First Hokage using Sage Art: Deity Gates, turning what had once looked like a hopeless battle into one filled with uncertainty.
At the same time, the Ten-Tails spat out countless clones from its mouth, while the shinobi of the Allied Forces unleashed their own ninjutsu one after another. The tide of battle began to tilt back toward the Alliance.
Meanwhile, Kakashi and Obito had long since entered the Kamui Dimension to avoid interference from others.
Hatake Yusuke used the power of the Door-Door Fruit to connect himself directly to the Kamui Dimension, appearing right in the middle of their battlefield.
Even though he had said earlier that he wouldn't interfere in Kakashi's fight, that was obviously impossible. There was no way he would allow Kakashi to truly die at someone else's hands.
In the midst of the battle, despite holding an absolute advantage, Obito showed no intention of killing Kakashi, as if he had some other goal in mind. Because of that, neither of them suffered wounds that were immediately fatal.
The two then clashed in genjutsu once more. However, since both of them possessed the Sharingan, the exchange ended up being nothing more than a stalemate.
After that, the fight returned to ninjutsu. They traded attacks back and forth, like a classic duel between shinobi from the old days. Finally, Kakashi gripped his Lightning Cutter, while Obito grasped a Six Paths Black Rod.
They thrust toward each other at the same time.
In the end, Kakashi's arm pierced through Obito's body, while Obito's black rod also stabbed straight through Kakashi.
Even so, judging by their conditions, Obito was far more severely injured. Thanks to the Hashirama Cells within his body, however, he didn't die instantly like an ordinary human would.
Kakashi felt a faint sense of unease.
Why did everything feel so… easy?
Obito should have been able to use the Rinnegan's abilities.
So why hadn't he?
Although doubt crept into his mind, Kakashi didn't think too deeply about it.
"It's over, Obito," Kakashi said as he painfully pulled the black rod out of his own body and looked at Obito, whose torso had been completely pierced through.
"Consider this your victory," Obito replied. "But don't ever think you'll win this war."
His body began to distort, and moments later, he vanished from the Kamui Dimension.
"Truly sly, Obito. I didn't expect you to use Kakashi this far. If Kakashi knew the truth, his pride would be shattered," Hatake Yusuke muttered, watching the scene with clear interest in his eyes.
No one noticed his presence.
In reality, Madara had done something to Obito's heart, and Yusuke had realized it long ago. That was why Obito had deliberately lost to Kakashi in this battle.
At that moment, Kakashi's stamina finally ran completely dry, and he collapsed unconscious onto the ground. Just as his body was about to hit the floor, Hatake Yusuke appeared beside him and gently laid him down.
"Ah, get some good rest," Yusuke said softly as he brushed Kakashi's hair, then disappeared from the Kamui Dimension once more using the power of the Door-Door Fruit.
When Obito reappeared, Madara took one look at his condition and a smile spread across his face. He immediately began to control Obito, intending to use Rinne Rebirth to revive himself.
At that exact moment, Minato suddenly appeared beside Obito, and a kunai pierced into his body.
"Did I lose, Sensei?" Obito asked, looking at Minato.
At the same time, Sasuke arrived at Obito's side as well.
"If I kill you, will everything finally end?" Sasuke asked coldly.
"What are you saying?" Obito replied. "As a traitor, I haven't lost yet."
The moment he finished speaking, the Ten-Tails began to move strangely, slowly merging with Obito's body.
Naruto stared at Obito in shock, his eyes wide with disbelief. At that moment, Obito's upper body was bare, his face still partially covered by a mask, while strange horns sprouted from his forehead.
With a rough motion, Obito smashed the mask apart and looked at everyone with an icy gaze. His face held not even a trace of emotion.
"Sage Art: Deity Gates!" Hashirama immediately activated the technique again. However, it was painfully clear that it was no longer effective against Obito.
"Damn it… he's already surpassed me," Hashirama said heavily.
Obito then deployed the Six Crimson Ray Formation, trapping everyone inside. Minato and the others fought back at once, but it was obvious they were no match for him.
Just when everyone thought it was all over, Obito didn't follow up with another attack. Instead, he rose into the air and looked off in a certain direction.
From his hand, he fired an enormous Tailed Beast Ball.
"What is he doing? Don't tell me his consciousness is unstable?" Tobirama Senju said sharply.
Obito's body suddenly swelled, and his expression made it clear that he hadn't fully gained control over the Ten-Tails—likely because he was still too young, his mind too rigid.
"Such terrifying power… even a random attack is several times stronger than Kurama at full strength," Naruto said grimly.
"Be careful. Don't get caught in the blast," Hashirama warned as he used Wood Release to shield everyone.
Yet after some time passed, nothing happened.
Everyone stared in confusion.
They had expected a massive explosion, but even after waiting for quite a while, there was still no sign of anything.
"Ah, ah… so you noticed after all. Truly terrifying power. Just a fraction of it is enough to make people tremble. Even without fully merging with the Ten-Tails, you were already able to sense me. You've really grown, Obito," a relaxed voice said.
The moment that voice rang out, everyone who knew it immediately recognized its owner.
Hatake Yusuke.
"Damn that brat… what is he up to now? Seriously," Sakumo muttered, frowning. At the same time, however, worry crept into his heart. After all, the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki could be called the second Sage of Six Paths.
"Ha… ta… ke… Yu… su… ke…" Obito spoke slowly, clearly still unable to fully control the Ten-Tails.
His expression was stiff, and even his consciousness seemed hazy. Still, he could sense a dangerous aura. That was why he had attacked in Yusuke's direction earlier. By instinct alone, as a powerful being, he needed to eliminate that threat.
"Even if your consciousness hasn't fully returned, attacking me will still earn you punishment," Hatake Yusuke said calmly, looking straight at Obito.
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