The iron chain was yanked straight out of Uchiha Shion's abdomen. Thanks to the immense vitality of the Sage Body, the wound closed rapidly, flesh knitting back together.
But the grim look in Shion's eye didn't ease one bit.
Intelligence.
For the first time, Shion felt the shock of being caught off guard by a lack of information.
Izanagi? No… that didn't fit. Izanagi rewrote unfavorable reality into mere illusion. That wasn't what had just happened.
During Deep Forest Emergence, Obito hadn't been bound at all, nor had his chains touched Shion beforehand.
So how had he predicted all six space–time markers?
This wasn't ordinary memory. It was something beyond.
"Surprised?"
Seeing the giant trees halt their attack, Obito's voice was cold as he stared at Shion.
"Too bad I didn't aim for your head this time. But next time, who knows? Even with the First Hokage's vitality flowing through you, a hole through your skull means the same result—death."
Shion's eyes narrowed.
"So this is the confidence you're relying on to keep me here? Interesting. But I'm curious—just how did you pull that off just now?"
Obito gave a low chuckle.
"When you're dead, I'll explain it to your corpse."
With that, the Mangekyō in his mask whirled again.
At once, Shion felt the oppressive realization: Deep Forest Emergence had little effect on him, and even the Flying Thunder God technique seemed to be restrained by Obito's mysterious ability.
For the first time, Shion felt the weight of being on the back foot.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive sphere of flame roared toward him. Dozens of towering trees surged up, smothering it into smoke.
But behind the cover of the trees, Shion's expression stayed tense. If this dragged on, the battle would become endless.
And the Deva Path and Konan were still looming nearby. If not for Obito's own posturing, those two might have already pressed their attack, making things far more troublesome.
Should I gamble?
After all, as long as his clone and true body weren't killed simultaneously before midnight, the secret scroll could be reused after.
This new ability of Obito's—clearly a butterfly effect from Shion's own interference with the timeline.
In this world, unless one wielded power as overwhelming as Hashirama or Madara in their prime, information was everything. Victory often belonged to the one who knew more.
Whoosh!
Once again, Flying Thunder God. But this time, the marker wasn't a kunai…
It was Obito's chain!
When Shion had yanked it from his stomach earlier, he'd secretly branded it with the teleportation formula.
Now—strike by surprise.
Clang!
The chain lashed out.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
The moment Shion reappeared, he realized the distance was wrong. In the blink of an eye, flames already surrounded him.
Boom!!
He crashed to the ground, pain lancing through his body. As the first person to be directly engulfed by Obito's Great Fireball, if not for the Sage Body's resilience, he might already be dead.
Still…
Something wasn't right. The instant he teleported, his positioning was off—and he'd materialized straight into the heart of Obito's flames.
This wasn't coincidence.
"You've started to catch on, haven't you?" Obito's voice was calm, his chain retracting. "Though appearing directly on my weapon was unexpected. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a mere Fire Style waiting for you."
He eyed Shion, whose burned skin was already peeling and regenerating.
"My ability makes it so you can't touch me. And your Flying Thunder God—I've already unraveled it. Every struggle of yours is meaningless."
Shion pushed himself upright, new skin knitting over his charred flesh.
The Sage Body's vitality was truly extraordinary. But even that had limits. Like Obito had said earlier—if his head were pierced or severed, even this power couldn't save him.
"Looks like borrowing what I came for won't be possible today." Shion surveyed the battlefield, now reduced to rubble, and sighed.
"I don't quite understand where you gained this power… but I'll admit this time I miscalculated."
He straightened, voice steady.
"So let's end this here. Against the three of you together, I can't claim what I came for."
With that, his figure vanished into thin air.
Obito tilted his head.
"Used a space–time jutsu to escape?"
From the churned earth of the crater, a half-black, half-white figure emerged—Zetsu.
"He's gone. With a space–time ability like that, very few can pin him down."
Pain, who had been silent, finally spoke.
"If the true power of a god were unleashed, no one could retreat unscathed."
With that, he turned and left. Konan followed without a word, her paper clones already gathering up every marked shuriken and sealing them for disposal. Leaving such things in the village would be too dangerous.
…
Whoosh!
Clang!
In the next instant, Shion reappeared beside Obito's chain once more.
A long blade came down with brutal force, cutting along the length of the chain. The strike ripped a deep wound from Obito's shoulder down to his abdomen.
Splurt!
Blood gushed forth. Shion, still braced against the taut chain, said evenly,
"So it wasn't passive. It's an active ability. Even with my seal carved onto your chain, you kept it close. You've grown careless."
Obito's lone eye blazed with fury.
"Uzumaki… no—Uchiha Shion! You dare… You're courting death!"
Shinra Tensei!
A sudden wave of repulsive force blasted both Shion and Obito backward. Pain had returned, his expression dark with rage.
"Uchiha Shion! Again and again you provoke the dignity of a god. Do you wish to die?!"
Shion rolled to his feet, smirking.
"I've died more than once already. One more time won't matter much. The real question is—can you kill me?"
Obito's voice dropped into a growl.
"Then leave your life here today."
He charged once more—only for Shion to smile faintly and vanish into space again, leaving Obito swinging into emptiness.
"Disgusting."
Zetsu's voice rose from the ground again.
"He's gone. Far away this time."
Obito gave him a sharp glance.
"You don't need to tell me—I know. Space–time ninjutsu… utterly loathsome."
White Zetsu's voice piped up, ill-timed.
"Space–time ninjutsu? Isn't that something you also—"
He cut off instantly under Obito's glare, raising his hands in surrender. He would keep his mouth shut.
Obito looked down at the chain discarded on the ground and turned to Konan.
"Dispose of it for me. It's useless now."
Konan, who had returned with Pain, nodded.
"As for this man—I want every scrap of information you have."
Obito shook his head slightly.
"I've told you everything I know. Beyond that, I'm just as blind. But next time… he won't walk away so easily."
Even as the wound across his body began to close under the regenerative force of Hashirama's cells, the humiliation burned deeper than the injury.
Twice now, Shion had scarred him. Twice, he had made a mockery of him.
And Obito would not forget.
…
Any guesses? Leave your thoughts in the comments!