The following morning, sunlight spilled across Konoha.
The village appeared peaceful as always.
Children ran through the streets.
Merchants opened their shops.
Shinobi moved between missions.
On the surface, everything was normal.
Yet beneath that calm exterior, preparations were already underway.
Inside the Hokage's office, Tsunade listened quietly as Naruto explained his plan.
Across from him sat Nagato, Konan, Shikamaru, Kakashi, and Jiraiya.
Even Jiraiya had finally left his hospital bed for the meeting.
Although Tsunade had nearly punched him through a wall when she found out.
"So let me get this straight."
Tsunade folded her arms.
"You want to use Nagato as bait."
Naruto coughed awkwardly.
"When you say it like that, it sounds bad."
"Because it is bad."
Tsunade's eye twitched.
Nagato, however, remained calm.
"It's the most effective option."
The room fell silent.
Everyone knew he was right.
Obito's greatest objective was the Rinnegan.
As long as Nagato remained alive, he would eventually come.
The question wasn't if.
It was when.
Shikamaru rubbed his forehead.
"What bothers me is that we still don't know the full details of his ability."
The memory of Kamui still troubled everyone.
An enemy who could phase through attacks and teleport at will was difficult to deal with.
Nagato nodded.
"The first time I met him, I couldn't fully understand it either."
Jiraiya looked thoughtful.
"His technique isn't invincible."
Everyone turned toward him.
Jiraiya continued.
"Every jutsu has a weakness."
"If we can figure out the timing behind his intangibility, we can hit him."
Naruto grinned.
"That's exactly what I was thinking."
Kakashi narrowed his eye.
"You already have a plan?"
Naruto pointed toward himself.
"I'm the plan."
The room instantly became quiet.
Tsunade sighed.
"Why am I not surprised?"
Three days later.
The trap was ready.
A small abandoned shrine stood deep within the forests outside Konoha.
At first glance, nothing seemed unusual.
In reality, some of the strongest shinobi in the world were hidden nearby.
Kakashi.
Jiraiya.
Nagato.
Konan.
Yamato.
Several ANBU squads.
And Naruto.
Everyone remained concealed.
Waiting.
Hours passed.
The forest was silent.
Then Nagato suddenly opened his eyes.
"He's here."
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Every shinobi became alert.
A swirling vortex appeared in the clearing.
Space distorted.
Moments later, a masked figure emerged.
Obito.
He stood alone.
His single visible eye slowly scanned the area.
"You've become difficult to find, Nagato."
Nagato stepped into the clearing.
"You seem disappointed."
Obito stared at him.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Obito noticed something.
Nagato's posture.
His appearance.
His vitality.
The machinery was gone.
The weakness was gone.
The dying man he once manipulated had completely disappeared.
Obito's eye narrowed.
"So Naruto healed you."
Nagato smiled faintly.
"Thanks to him, yes."
The silence became heavier.
Obito suddenly understood.
Nagato was no longer under anyone's control.
The piece had left the board.
Which meant there was only one option left.
Take back the Rinnegan.
By force.
"You've made a poor choice."
Obito's voice grew colder.
Nagato answered calmly.
"No."
The Rinnegan glowed.
"I finally made the right one."
Boom!
Powerful chakra erupted from both sides.
The forest shook.
Leaves exploded into the air.
The battle had begun.
Obito moved first.
His figure vanished.
Naruto appeared almost simultaneously.
A golden blur crossed the battlefield.
Boom!
His punch passed straight through Obito's body.
The masked man phased through the attack.
Exactly as expected.
But Naruto wasn't surprised.
Instead, he smiled.
"Got you."
Obito's eye widened slightly.
A second Naruto appeared behind him.
Shadow Clone.
The clone struck immediately.
Obito phased again.
Then another Naruto appeared.
Then another.
And another.
Dozens of golden figures surrounded him from every direction.
For the first time, Obito found himself completely on the defensive.
The forest erupted into chaos.
Explosions echoed continuously.
Obito slipped through attack after attack.
Yet his expression gradually darkened.
Naruto wasn't trying to hit him.
Not yet.
He was testing.
Measuring.
Calculating.
Watching every activation of Kamui.
Every timing interval.
Every weakness.
Hidden nearby, Shikamaru's eyes narrowed.
"Three minutes, forty-two seconds."
Kakashi glanced at him.
"You found something?"
Shikamaru nodded.
"He can't stay intangible forever."
A smile slowly appeared on Kakashi's face.
Now they were getting somewhere.
Meanwhile, Obito suddenly realized the same thing.
They weren't fighting blindly.
They were studying him.
Learning.
Adapting.
His gaze shifted toward Naruto.
For the first time since arriving, he felt genuine danger.
Naruto noticed the look.
Then he grinned.
"Figured it out?"
The golden chakra around him flared violently.
"Your secret isn't going to stay secret much longer."
For the first time in years, Obito felt the battle slipping away from his control.
And hidden deep underground, Black Zetsu watched everything unfold.
His expression darkened.
Things were changing far too quickly.
If this continued...
A thousand years of planning might truly collapse.
-----------------------------------------
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