Fire Release: Blast Release Dance!
Obito's hands blurred through seals, twisting space itself. A vortex spun open, and from its heart came an orange-red flame storm, born from warped dimensions and fueled by his Fire Release. The blaze spread wide, swallowing the battlefield and racing toward its targets at a terrifying speed.
Master and disciple locked eyes in that instant. Without a word, they moved as one.
Water Release: Raging Waves!
Wind Release: Rasengan!
A stream of condensed water churned into life in Orochimaru's left palm. In Gen's, a spinning orb of blue chakra swirled, its edges sharpened into wind-forged blades.
For Uchiha Gen, whose control over chakra had reached near-perfection, forming the Rasengan was no challenge.
Though his Wind Release mastery was not as honed as his Fire Release, he could still shape a Wind Release: Rasengan with ease. Rasenshuriken might remain out of reach for now but this technique was well within his grasp.
The two hurled their jutsu forward, and mid-air the attacks twisted together, merging into a new storm of power.
Hurricane Water Vortex Technique!
A spiraling water dragon roared across the lake, drawing its strength from the waters below.
It collided with Obito's inferno in a clash that shook the air. Steam exploded outward with a deafening hiss, but the fusion technique proved stronger. Diminished though it was, the water tornado surged onward, crashing ashore and forcing Obito to leap aside.
From above, Shuryu swooped low. The dragon's maw glowed, then unleashed a dark-red fireball, massive and volatile.
Still mid-air, Obito swung his war fan to intercept.
The flames were absorbed into its surface, then reflected back as a blazing pillar. But Shuryu did not flinch. The dragon opened wide and devoured the very fire it had created.
Flames born of Shuryu's own chakra could be swallowed without harm. Foreign chakra, however, would have torn the beast apart.
"Shuryu," Gen's voice cut sharp. "True Fire."
The dragon understood. Gathering the primal, chakra-free flames that burned in its core, Shuryu unleashed another dark-red fireball, pure fire, untainted by control or foreign will.
Obito had barely regained his footing when it struck. He had no time for hand seals, no time to evade. Kamui lingered in his mind, but activating it so carelessly was too great a risk. Cooldown windows were death traps; one clean strike to his head during that gap would force him to burn Izanagi, or die outright.
His only option was the fan.
But this time, the Uchiha fan failed.
The fireball detonated in an explosion that sent Obito crashing into the snow. Scorched, battered, half his cloak burning yet his body refused to stay broken.
The Tobi-enhanced vitality of his frame knitted flesh and muscle in moments, though agony lingered in every nerve.
Orochimaru and Gen had already landed on the shore, wasting no time.
Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!
The Kusanagi Sword clamped between his teeth, Orochimaru hurled a single shuriken. His hands flashed through seals, multiplying it, two, four, eight, sixteen until the sky itself rained steel.
Wind Flame Sword!
Gen swung his Kusanagi in an arc, weaving fire and wind chakra together. The strike descended as a net of golden-white flame, a lattice of burning sword energy.
Wood Release: Wood Golem Wall!
Obito's hands slammed into seals. From the ground, dark wooden pillars erupted, curving into a dome. Shuriken thudded against it harmlessly, but the golden-white flames bit deep, setting the wall ablaze.
For a moment, it seemed they had him trapped.
The dome collapsed in ashes. Yet Obito was gone.
Gen's eyes narrowed. "Escaped?"
"Not quite." Orochimaru's voice was calm, his gaze already shifting.
At their eleven o'clock, space warped. Obito stepped out of the vortex, hands already moving.
"The welcome you gave me was… entertaining." His voice was cold. "Now, receive mine."
Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!
The lake's northern bank convulsed. Snow split. Saplings tore free of the soil, racing skyward. Within breaths they became colossal trees, their branches writhing like serpents.
The forest surged as though alive, converging on the pair from all sides.
"To manifest Wood Release of this scale in the middle of winter…" Orochimaru's eyes glittered, fascinated. "Truly marvelous."
"Marvel later," Gen barked. "Move!"
Inside this forest, Obito's will reigned supreme. Every branch, every root was his weapon. To remain inside was suicide. The only hope was above.
They dodged through whipping branches, bounding from trunk to trunk until at last they reached the canopy. Shuryu swept in, catching both, and carried them high into the night.
Below, Obito cursed.
"Damn it. What kind of summoning beast is that?"
A voice whispered in his mind.
"Obito… perhaps it's wiser to withdraw."
He sneered. "Withdraw? After using this Wood Release? All that effort wasted?"
He landed on the crown of a still-growing tree and shouted up at them.
"If you're only going to run, there's no point. Two breaths. Come down or I'm done here."
Gen chuckled darkly. "Then we'll come down. Our way."
Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
From dragon and shinobi alike, torrents of flame poured forth. Orochimaru's wind fanned the inferno, turning it into a storm that cascaded downward.
The Deep Forest caught fire.
Branches flailed and roots shrieked, but nothing could withstand the blaze. The snow hissed into vapor, trunks split, leaves ignited.
Shuryu exhaled another torrent. Orochimaru and Gen poured more wind into the storm.
Soon the entire forest burned.
The night became day. Crimson Moon Lake shimmered with fiery reflections, as though autumn had devoured the world.
Obito stood on a blackened maple, his jutsu consumed. His gaze followed the airborne foes, unreachable, untouchable. His voice was low, bitter.
"…It seems I really will have to retreat. They are too troublesome."
But the voice within him spoke again, cold and sly.
"Perhaps… not yet."
Obito stiffened. "…Didn't you just say to pull back?"
The answer came smooth, final.
"Black Zetsu has arrived."
Obito's eyes narrowed.
"…Then perhaps this fight isn't over after all."