Chapter 256: The Will of Fire (4K+ Big Chapter, Please Subscribe)
Uchiha Obito, wearing a swirling mask, looked at the young man blocking his path, his voice turning cold.
"Uchiha… Zhi Shui, you aren't helping Konoha Village or the Uchiha Clan through today's calamity, but instead, you're waiting for me here?"
The distant explosions put Konoha on high alert. Many residents began to take their families into their homes, closing their doors tightly. Chunin and Genin level ninjas were rapidly evacuating residents near the Hokage Building.
At the same time, they also tried to protect others and were responsible for security.
In a small building, young Naruto, wearing goggles, was hiding alone in his home. He couldn't see the two powerful ninjas confronting each other on his rooftop.
Uchiha Zhi Shui took a deep breath, looking at the clear three-tomoe in the single eye revealed by the swirling mask. He finally confirmed that everything Tao Bai Bai had said was true.
He shook his head.
"Itachi has made his choice. Today's slaughter cannot be stopped by anyone. But you… Senior Obito, are you really not even going to spare the last orphan of your teacher and his wife?!"
Although members of the Uchiha Clan were prone to extremes, Zhi Shui had never seen anyone as extreme as this. Because he suffered misfortune, he wanted to make everyone else suffer. Even his teachers, who had once been so kind to him, he still killed. Now, for the Tailed Beasts, he was targeting their orphan.
This behavior made Uchiha Zhi Shui feel a wave of disgust.
His two Three-Tomoe Sharingan quietly watched Uchiha Obito, and a short blade appeared in his hand.
Uchiha Obito saw Uchiha Zhi Shui's actions and knew that this rising star of the clan had probably received some information and had deliberately come to protect Naruto Uzumaki.
Based on the information he witnessed during the Nine-Tails' attack, he could roughly deduce that the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki was Minato-sensei's child, but the child's specific identity had remained unknown until recently, when some information from Konoha Village informed him of Naruto Uzumaki's identity.
Therefore, when he saw Nagato being "bewitched" by Tao Bai Bai, Obito immediately reacted and secretly followed the others to Konoha Village. He planned to capture the Nine-Tails while the Akatsuki members carried out the "Konoha Annihilation Plan."
This way, the most difficult Tailed Beast to obtain could be acquired without anyone knowing, and at the same time, when the war broke out later, even without the Akatsuki members, he could use their distraction to complete his Tailed Beast collection plan.
But he never expected that the strongest member of the current Uchiha Clan would be guarding this place.
The reason for Uchiha Obito's gloomy expression was that this meant his actions had already been included in Tao Bai Bai's plan.
"Does Tao Bai Bai really think that you alone can stop me?"
Uchiha Obito looked at Uchiha Zhi Shui, who was preparing to attack, and sneered mockingly.
"Or do you, the strongest Uchiha of this generation, truly believe you are the strongest Uchiha?"
Whoosh!
Zhi Shui instantly appeared behind Uchiha Obito, a short blade piercing Obito's chest, but Obito completely ignored it; the spot where the short blade struck was empty.
However, Uchiha Zhi Shui paid no attention, and figures, indistinguishable as clones or true bodies, continuously struck at Obito.
Obito saw this scene, his eyes growing colder. He had a premonition that the ability of his Mangekyo Sharingan had probably been discovered.
And in the current Shinobi World, only a handful of people could know such a thing.
Poof!
A wooden spike suddenly extended from the rooftop ground, directly piercing through several clones and then growing more wooden spikes within them. In an instant, a large number of clones and illusions disappeared one after another.
Uchiha Zhi Shui's figure also appeared at the edge of the rooftop.
His expression was solemn. Uchiha Obito's strength was indeed terrifying. Even with his information advantage, that Tao Bai Bai clearly had no intention of describing the opponent's information in detail. Zhi Shui only knew that Uchiha Obito possessed a Mangekyo Sharingan named [Heavenly Hand Power], which allowed him to phase through and completely avoid any attacks, and also to teleport himself and nearby objects to the Heavenly Hand Power dimension.
This was the most bizarre space-time type of Mangekyo Sharingan ability.
And at this moment, Zhi Shui discovered that Obito had not only mastered the Mangekyo Sharingan but also possessed the legendary Wood Release, a Kekkei Genkai that had been lost in Konoha since the death of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
Obito looked at the wary Uchiha Zhi Shui, sneered twice, and then naturally sank down, disappearing from the rooftop and directly entering Naruto Uzumaki's room.
He didn't deliberately tease these ninjas today because he was actually in a bad mood.
Even though he had lost patience with this world after seeing too much of the Shinobi World's darkness, wanting to use the [Infinite Tsukuyomi] to bring true eternal peace to the world.
But returning to this homeland, seeing familiar people and things, still stirred up strong emotions within him again.
Uchiha Obito landed in the room. There was only a trembling boy hiding in bed, but with just one glance, he could tell it was a clone.
He saw that Uchiha Zhi Shui hadn't pursued him, and understood that the other party had already hidden Naruto Uzumaki beforehand.
Obito sighed and returned to the rooftop. He looked at Uchiha Zhi Shui and asked, puzzled,
"Just because of a few words from that Tao Bai Bai, you're going to sacrifice your life for his orders?!"
On his hands, Wood Release: Cutting Technique naturally appeared. If he could, he didn't want to kill Uchiha Zhi Shui so early. He had originally planned to harvest the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan at a more opportune time.
But now, since his objective had been discovered by Tao Bai Bai, he could only achieve his goal as quickly as possible, and then… kill everyone.
Uchiha Zhi Shui remembered Tao Bai Bai's words. For the first time, a clear fighting intent appeared in his eyes as he looked at Uchiha Obito.
If the person before him was indeed the mastermind behind the Akatsuki organization, the culprit who caused the Nine-Tails' attack that led to the deaths of the Fourth Hokage and his wife, and made the Uchiha Clan once again despised by Konoha.
Then today, he must defeat this person to resolve the clan's predicament.
Uchiha Zhi Shui closed his eyes. Uchiha Obito instantly appeared before him, and the terrifying Wood Release: Cutting Technique stabbed towards his body.
But the next moment, Uchiha Zhi Shui opened his eyes, and the tomoe in his pupils instantly connected, transforming into the shape of a shuriken.
Mangekyo Sharingan!
At the same time, green Chakra erupted from his body. The Cutting Technique struck the overwhelming green Chakra and instantly shattered.
Uchiha Obito instantly phased and leaped backward.
A giant skeleton appeared, followed by what seemed to be enveloped in green flames, the strongest Uchiha secret technique called [Susanoo] began to manifest.
Uchiha Zhi Shui stood calmly on top of the building. The appearance of that Susanoo immediately alerted all Chakra-sensitive powerhouses within Konoha Village.
It was a scene of a top-tier powerhouse unreservedly displaying his power, a sight not seen in Konoha for decades.
The Uchiha Clan's ultimate secret technique that once dominated the Warring States period—Susanoo—had reappeared!
Uchiha Obito was also slightly startled, drifting back several hundred meters.
He clutched his mask; his body was currently enveloped in White Zetsu, and although his physical abilities were enhanced, the missing Sharingan had not been replenished.
Without dual Mangekyo Sharingan, he couldn't activate Susanoo, so even with Wood Release abilities, he didn't want to fight Uchiha Zhi Shui head-on at this moment.
Obito instantly began to retreat, but Uchiha Zhi Shui, having activated Susanoo, was already prepared for a death match. He almost instantly blocked Uchiha Obito's path.
Susanoo spread its arms, and an intense oppressive feeling swept over them.
Obito knew that Kakashi was currently in the village, and his Heavenly Hand Power ability was special. Even if Susanoo was powerful, it wouldn't be difficult for him to protect himself, so he led Uchiha Zhi Shui's Susanoo towards the battlefield.
Uchiha Zhi Shui, seeing this, also approached the battlefield as if he hadn't noticed anything. The reason he didn't choose to release [Heavenly Hand Power] was, firstly, he still intended to use [Heavenly Hand Power] to protect Konoha at a critical moment.
That Tao Bai Bai, as well as Pain, and Uchiha Obito before him, he couldn't judge who was more dangerous, so he couldn't choose to use [Heavenly Hand Power] at this time.
Additionally, after activating Susanoo, he possessed almost unparalleled frontal combat power. It wasn't that he didn't intend to approach the main battlefield and restrict the Akatsuki organization and Tao Bai Bai's movements.
---
After the Konoha Building collapsed, a large number of Jonin and Anbu instantly divided the Akatsuki members. These individuals almost disregarded casualties to separate everyone.
At the same time, the medical team began to intervene, and someone dug out the heavily injured Hyuga Hiashi.
Nagato, through Pain's eyes, saw Tao Bai Bai confronting Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Uchiha Clan youth being blocked by Uchiha Fugaku, and Orochimaru being jointly held back by several Anbu.
Only Konan and Pain Six Paths remained, fighting against nearly a hundred ninjas.
Ninjas from various Konoha departments were still gathering, attempting to use human wave tactics to form formations and unleash higher-level jutsus to stop him.
Pain shook his head indifferently.
Konoha's ninjas indeed had high average quality, but compared to their prime, the number of strong individuals was surprisingly low now.
Those former Kekkei Genkai clans, such as Senju, Kurama, and Gekko, seemed to have withered away.
"Konoha ninjas, feel the pain of war happening in your own village."
He casually grabbed an Anbu, and a black rod instantly pierced the opponent's heart, then he casually discarded the body.
Pain, possessing the Reincarnation Eye, was originally a taijutsu master, not to mention having hidden abilities like [Cosmic Pull]; ordinary ninjas simply could not resist him.
Suddenly, the ground was covered by a huge shadow, and Pain looked up to see a giant toad descending from the sky.
The Pain Six Paths instantly leaped backward. Jiraiya had finally rushed back to Konoha with his summoning beast at the critical moment.
This made Hiruzen Sarutobi breathe a slight sigh of relief.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression made Bai Cangshu's eyes turn cold.
"Fighting me, and you still have the mind to pay attention to other places…"
"Tsk, it seems I've been playing with you for too long."
Bai Cangshu had lost interest in fighting Hiruzen Sarutobi. The opponent's combat experience was rich, and he behaved very "slyly." After realizing Bai Cangshu's immense power, he continuously used Body Flicker Technique, Substitute Technique, and clone techniques to evade, trying to exhaust Bai Cangshu's Chakra.
But Bai Cangshu knew that if this continued, in the end, this "old man" would inevitably be unable to outlast him, but that kind of battle was utterly boring.
Purple Killing Intent Ripple spread in his eyes. Since Hiruzen Sarutobi chose such a perfunctory battle, he naturally had to let the other party see what an unsatisfied beast would choose to do.
Bai Cangshu suddenly raised his left foot high, an exaggerated movement unlike ordinary taijutsu.
This extremely flawed movement seemed to indicate that he was about to adopt an exaggerated tactic.
Hiruzen Sarutobi subconsciously retreated again. In his battle with this Tao Bai Bai, he felt increasingly powerless. He had hit the opponent several times, but the opponent showed no reaction.
Neither shuriken nor ninjutsu could cause effective damage to the opponent. Instead, with each attack, he would suffer inexplicable Fire Release attacks.
This forced him to use various means to engage in a tug-of-war during the battle, attempting to gather information.
The next moment, that high-raised foot slammed down onto the ground.
Boom!
The ground shook violently, followed by cracking sounds. A moment later, the ground suddenly shattered.
A huge cloud of dust rose.
Purple light flashed in the air for an instant.
Bang, bang, bang, bang…
The terrifying sound of numerous fists striking a human body emerged. Hiruzen Sarutobi was startled and immediately formed hand signs.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Whoosh~
The strong wind dispersed the dust. The tall man was enveloped in a purple aura that resembled flames, constantly swaying, appearing extremely eerie.
Then, the opponent turned his head halfway, meeting Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze. His pupils were completely blank, and his face was filled with a cruel smile.
And in his hand, his old friend, Homura Mitokado, whose strength was once similar to his own, had his chest pierced by the opponent's fist, with blood continuously flowing from his mouth and nose.
The kunai in Homura Mitokado's hand also simultaneously pierced Bai Cangshu's abdomen, but Bai Cangshu showed no reaction and casually pulled out his arm.
A large amount of blood and internal organs instantly flowed out, and along with it, Homura Mitokado's life. This former Konoha elder, who had also once fought on the battlefield, could only futilely clutch his chest in his final moments. His body grew colder, trembled a few times, and his consciousness permanently sank into darkness.
In his desperation, he chose to attempt a life-for-life strike with Bai Cangshu. This choice made Bai Cangshu regard him slightly higher, and he did not directly smash the corpse as he did with others, instead leaving a complete body.
[You have killed Homura Mitokado, the Hokage Advisor, gaining 1000 dimensional points]
[You have obtained 1 e-class special point]
[Your reputation with Konoha has decreased. Current: Hostile (92/100)]
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared in astonishment at the scene. His disciple Orochimaru also slowly withdrew his combat stance. The ninjas and Anbu who had surrounded him were now just scattered limbs on the ground; approximately six or seven ninjas had been brutally killed in that brief moment.
Hiruzen Sarutobi saw Tao Bai Bai tilting his head to look at him, his eyes filled with a chilling purple glow, like a demon, like an Asura.
"You… bloodthirsty beast…"
Bai Cangshu gave a cruel smile, then continued to charge towards the others, but Hiruzen Sarutobi had already blocked his path.
The Third Hokage, who had been worn down by politics for too long, had a resolute and calm look in his eyes.
"You want to fight, you want my life, don't you…"
Bai Cangshu stopped. He sensed the burgeoning fighting intent on the other's body, which was the best nourishment for Killing Intent Ripple.
Then, the two directly raced towards the Hokage Rock.
This scene made Shimura Danzo, who was hiding in the shadows, look complex, but in the end, he merely turned away coldly, waving his hand as the Root ninjas and he headed towards the Uchiha Clan compound.
Hiruzen, you are old after all, and soft-hearted…