~ Every 100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter! Your votes keep this climbing. Thanks!
Pain and Konan stood atop a tree branch, showing no intention of joining Obito Uchiha in the fight.
By now, Yagura had caught up.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Using the mist in the air, Yagura coalesced it into a roaring water dragon that surged toward Obito.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Obito formed hand seals, gathered chakra in his throat, and spat a massive fireball forward.
Fire met water. The collision exploded instantly.
Tiny droplets scattered like rain, falling from the sky.
In that instant, Yagura had already used the Body Flicker Technique, appearing behind Obito. The hook at the end of his staff lashed out.
Obito phased through it using Kamui.
As Yagura passed through his intangible form, Obito solidified. His sickle swept toward Yagura's back.
Yagura reacted. He turned, facing Obito head-on while forming a one-handed seal.
"Water Style: Water Pellet!"
A barrage of high-speed water bullets shot at Obito.
Forced again, Obito phased. His sickle, still part of his phased form, passed harmlessly through Yagura.
Yagura put distance between them. His expression was grave. "I see. When you use that phasing ability, your attacks become intangible as well."
Obito's eyes held mockery. His hands moved again.
"Fire Style: Blast Wave Wild Dance!"
He combined Kamui with fire. First, Kamui twisted the surrounding space, whipping up a vortex of wind. Then, fire erupted from his mouth—a spiraling serpent of flames. The vortex met the fire serpent, becoming a colossal, rotating inferno that roared toward Yagura.
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
Yagura channeled water-natured chakra into the ground. A wall of water erupted upwards.
Steam billowed where flame met water.
A jolt of alarm shot through Yagura. His Water Wall was cracking, buckling under the force of the Blast Wave Wild Dance.
His hands flew through seals.
"Water Style: Water Pillar!"
Gathering chakra, he spat a gigantic sphere of water. It hit the ground and expanded outward, finally dousing Obito's raging flames.
But Obito was already upon him, sickle swinging.
Yagura raised his staff to block.
The sickle passed through him. So did Obito himself.
Remembering the earlier pattern, Yagura predicted Obito would solidify behind him for a sneak attack. He spun, a one-handed seal ready, his staff's hook striking where Obito should appear.
He was right. Obito did solidify. He did aim for the back.
But it was the back Yagura had just turned away from.
A chain was attached to Obito's sickle. Yagura's focus was entirely on the man, not the chain trailing behind. Before he could react, the metal links coiled around his neck.
Obito yanked.
Yagura slammed into the dirt.
Obito pivoted, driving his knee hard into Yagura's back. The sickle's edge pressed against the Fourth Mizukage's throat.
"Checkmate," Obito said, his voice a low rumble. "Now, be a good puppet."
"Declaring victory now…" Yagura's voice was ice. "Isn't it a bit premature?"
The next second, Obito phased instantly.
His intangibility freed Yagura from the chain.
The reason for Obito's sudden shift? Yagura had tapped into the Three-Tails' chakra. A spiked, coral-like tail had sprouted from his back, lashing out and forcing Obito to evade.
Yagura's free hand formed another seal.
"Water Style: Water Mirror Technique!"
A mirror of water formed. In its reflection, a perfect copy of Obito Uchiha stepped out.
The copy spat a Great Fireball, then charged.
Obito phased through the fireball. Then, with a swirl of distorted space, he used Kamui to suck the copy whole into his pocket dimension.
Yagura blinked, stunned.
Solved that easily?
So the copy couldn't use that phasing ability. A Kekkei Genkai, then?
He'd noted Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan earlier. Now it was clear: the intangibility was its gift.
Yagura had no answer for the phasing. And two other powerful-looking shinobi hadn't even moved.
In that case…
He used the Water Mirror again. This time, the target was Pain.
The technique wasn't as refined as the Third Mizukage's; he could only sustain one copy at a time. Three against one was bad odds. But with a copy aiding him, plus his own partial transformation… the advantage could shift.
The copy materialized. Pain merely lifted a hand.
"Shinra Tensei."
A repulsive force blasted out. The water copy shattered into a million harmless droplets.
Yagura's brow furrowed deeply. Another Kekkei Genkai?!
Just who were these people?
Gritting his teeth, he tried once more. The mirror shifted, aiming at Konan.
Seeing her own copy form, Konan looked mildly intrigued. She drifted down to the forest floor.
She extended a hand toward her duplicate.
"Dance of the Shikigami."
Her entire right arm disintegrated into a flurry of paper fragments. She willed them to coalesce into a long paper spear, hurling it at her double.
The copy mimicked the technique perfectly, forming and throwing an identical spear.
The two projectiles collided mid-air, bursting apart into a cloud of confetti.
A flicker of curiosity in Konan's eyes. Her back erupted into vast, white paper wings. With a beat, she took to the air.
The copy followed suit, mirroring her flight, hovering opposite her.
Konan beat her wings fiercely. A storm of paper shuriken, each blade hardened with chakra, shot toward her double.
The double responded with the same storm.
The sky filled with a chaotic dance of clashing, slicing paper.
Just as Yagura dared to hope this copy might last…
Konan's voice cut through the noise, cool and clear.
"Boom."
The air above the forest detonated.
Yagura could only stare, utterly dumbfounded.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
Read up to (100+ ) advanced chapters on Patre\on
Visit us here: patreon.com/GoldenLong
Happy reading, everyone!