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A torrent of sharp, flawless thunder-needles drowned everything between heaven and earth…!
As Cloud-Gathering Cut concluded, Sasuke called upon the remnants of the Kirin, opening his mouth to swallow its form into himself!
BOOM!
With an earth-shattering peal of thunder, Sasuke descended. The Susano'o guarding him receded. He scanned the surroundings. Obito's figure was nowhere to be seen.
"Hah. Figures. That five-minute intangibility of his couldn't have survived that."
Sasuke murmured as he walked to where the Kusanagi Sword lay, discarded when Obito had activated his "Kamui substitution."
"This sword… Obito took it after my battle with Itachi. It's time it returned to its proper owner."
Sasuke pulled the blade from the ground, his fingers tracing its length with unmistakable affection.
"But honestly… I never expected Obito, after uniting both eyes, could infuse the power of Kamui into this blade. To unleash such force… If not for my Wood and Blaze Release clones—clones even his eyes couldn't see through—I might have died by my own sword."
He spoke to himself, resting the Kusanagi Sword at his side.
"Now then. Time to return to Orochimaru. We must secure control of the Gedo Statue before the Akatsuki can seal the Eight-Tails…"
Swish!
A sudden, sharp gust of wind swept up behind him.
A smirk touched Sasuke's lips. His wrist flicked, the Kusanagi Sword slashing backward at lightning speed!
CLANG—!!
A clear, metallic ring echoed. The blade in Obito's hand shattered on impact.
SCHING!
The Kusanagi's slash didn't stop. It cut through Obito's body at the waist.
"As I thought. You used that nearly-blind left eye to activate Izanagi."
Whoosh!
Obito's bisected figure dissolved into an afterimage. His real body reappeared a short distance away.
His left eye was still slightly open, a sliver of vision remaining. He stared at Sasuke. "How did you know?"
"Easy to guess," Sasuke said. "An eye you despise, already on the verge of blindness. Using its last flicker to trade for a life? The obvious choice. Though your decisiveness surprised me. I thought you'd wait until the very end of your intangibility before using Izanagi."
"You know how Izanagi works," Obito said. "I had to be cautious. I need to preserve my intangibility as much as possible."
Whoosh.
Obito's left eye shut completely. Izanagi's duration was over.
"Can you perform that lightning technique again?"
"No."
"The Sharingan can perceive chakra. That drawn-out battle consumed a great deal of yours. At the very least, you can no longer afford to create Wood Clones freely."
"Then," Sasuke said, raising his sword, "what comes next decides it."
"Just decides it?"
"Decides the winner. And decides who lives."
"My thoughts exactly."
Clatter…!
Chains unfurled from Obito's sleeves, draping down to the hem of his Akatsuki cloak. The next instant, he lunged at Sasuke like a pouncing panther.
—The moment I touch you, you're getting sucked in!
Sasuke raised the Kusanagi Sword and charged to meet him.
—Then the moment you try, I'll run you through!
Swish—!!
They closed the distance. Obito's hand reached out. Sasuke's blade thrust forward!
Whoosh—!!
Their figures overlapped—and passed through each other.
CRACK—!!!
The chains hanging from Obito's cloak snapped taut around Sasuke's abdomen.
"The only one who ever escaped this move was Master Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique. You don't know it. So what you're relying on… must be that jutsu."
Swish—!!
Obito spun, his hand reaching out again!
Rip!
A seam split open across Sasuke's back. A fresh version of himself peeled out from within.
"Heh… Just as I predicted!!"
CRUNCH—!!
At the same moment Sasuke's form emerged, vicious wood erupted from a tear in Obito's right shoulder, wrapping around the newly emerged Sasuke and yanking him back.
"I won't let the bird fly from my grasp a second time…"
Whoosh!
His grip closed firmly around Sasuke. The Kamui in his right eye began to swirl, ready to suck his foe away.
Suddenly—the Sasuke he held began to rapidly deflate. It was… a snakeskin!!
Obito's mind exploded. "A reverse substitution…!?"
CRACK!! Sasuke, who had crouched low to the ground, spun around. His hand gripped the Kusanagi's hilt firmly, driving the blade deep into Obito's chest!
"Guh—AAAAGH!!!"
Obito's face twisted into a mask of pure agony.
Hiss, hiss, hiss… The split on Sasuke's back sealed itself in a puff of white smoke.
His gaze was ice. "I told you, didn't I? The strength of a jutsu depends on the user."
Rrrrip…!!!
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Obito wrenched his body free of Sasuke's blade!!
He clutched his chest, his knees hitting the ground hard. Blood gushed from his mouth and the fatal wound over his heart like a broken dam. His chakra was already spent from the grueling fight. This mortal injury pushed him straight to death's door.
Fizzle…
His right eye reverted from the Mangekyō to the three-tomoe pattern. A few seconds later, it couldn't even sustain that, fading to a plain, black pupil.
He couldn't even maintain the Sharingan.
This meant… he couldn't even use this right eye to activate Izanagi.
And that meant… the first half of the Seventh Great Battle had its verdict.
Uchiha Obito was defeated.
Sasuke raised his sword, ready to deliver the final blow.
Crack…!
At that moment, a pale white hand shot up from the ground, grabbing the descending blade bare-handed.
Sasuke's brow furrowed. He twisted the sword. Snap! The hand was sliced open. But from the crack in the pale flesh, vicious wooden branches burst forth—forcing Sasuke to disengage and leap back.
Rustle, rustle, rustle…!
A figure cloaked in black robes, its body stark white, revealed itself.
Sasuke's gaze sharpened. "You…"
Obito's fading vision focused on the figure shielding him. His voice was complex. "Tobi… you…"
"You still owe me. Can't go dying so easily."
Slap! As he spoke, Tobi's vine-like body unfurled, wrapping around the barely-breathing Obito.
Fizzle…!!
Borrowing Tobi's power, Obito forced the Mangekyō pattern back into his right eye. The vortex of Kamui began to swirl.
"Uchiha Sasuke… consider this battle your victory. But the future… I will never yield it!!!"
"..."
Sasuke started to raise his hand. But Tobi's protective gesture made him recall, just for an instant, that other time—when Obito had thrown himself in front of Kaguya's All-Killing Ash Bones for him, his body crumbling to dust.
In that moment of hesitation, Obito vanished into his dimensional space.
After Obito's departure, the heavy clouds overhead finally released their burden. A torrential downpour began.
Sasuke stood in the curtain of rain, his expression pensive.
A hand rested gently on his shoulder. Orochimaru's. "Sasuke-kun. Had you attacked just then, at most he would have used Izanagi with his right eye. With Tobi's help, escaping would still not have been difficult. It seems fate has granted him another chance."
Sasuke offered no comment. "What about the Five Kage?"
"Kabuto has gone ahead to scout. Your chakra is severely depleted, Sasuke-kun. After a short rest, we should join him…"
"No," Sasuke said, his voice firm. "No rest. We go now. In this wounded state."
Orochimaru smiled. "Oh? That's the Five Kage you're talking about. Even with the specific purpose of the Ten Battles… isn't that a bit reckless?"
Sasuke had his reasons.
The battle with Obito just now—on the surface, he seemed to hold the advantage throughout. But the true peril, only he understood. Every nerve had been stretched taut. The margin for error was almost zero. One slight misstep would have meant death.
It made him… all the more desperate to reach the next stage.
Click. Sasuke slowly sheathed the Kusanagi Sword.
—I don't want to delay until the Eighth Battle. In the second half of the Seventh… in my fight with the current Five Kage…
His eyes burned with cold fire.
—I will force the awakening… of the White Cursed Seal: State Four!
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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