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Obito crouched. Four black tails stabbed into the earth.
"The Kage!" Ao's Byakugan flared. "Beware the ground!"
"?!" "?!" "?!" "?!"
Wind, Fire, Water, Earth. All four Kage recoiled, leaping aside.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Four pillar-like tails erupted from the ground where they had just stood.
"YOU DARE RELEASE ME?! YOU'RE ASKING FOR DEATH!" the Nine-Tails roared through Obito's mouth.
Lightning wrapped the Raikage as he charged.
—Lariat!!!
CRUNCH…!!!
The decapitating blow slammed into Obito's throat. He didn't flinch, anchored by his tail-pillars. That wasn't the terrifying part. The terrifying part was the thin, black fox cloak. It had tanked the Raikage's full-power Lariat.
The Raikage's eyes widened. "Four measly tails… stronger than Bee's Version Two?!"
SMACK!!!
Obito's backhand was a blur. The Raikage's Lightning Armor around his face shattered. His massive body spun through the air, crashing down in a daze.
BOOM!!!
Obito retracted his tails and pounced. CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! Black claws sprouted from his fingertips. A single heart-rending strike would end the Raikage.
CRACK…!!
But the moment his claw descended, a near-paralyzing pain froze Obito's motion.
"Tch," Obito muttered, glancing down. "The brat's body can't handle this sudden power surge…"
The Raikage surged up.
—Lightning Oppression Horizontal!!
CRACK…!!!
Obito was swept away, sent flying.
"RAAAAAGH…!!!"
The Raikage pressed his advantage. He loomed above, leg raised high like a battle-axe, wreathed in crackling lightning, and brought it down with brutal force.
"Even if that beast chakra gives you defense, your skull can't be that hard! At the very least, I'll scramble your brains!"
—Liger Bomb!!!
CLANG…!!!
At the last second, Obito's four tails crossed before him, blocking the falling leg-axe.
Then… the body's agony began to fade. Obito could feel it—a torrent of chakra rising at a frightening rate. This power wasn't the Nine-Tails'. It wasn't the Black Cursed Seal's. It was Uzumaki Naruto's own strength.
A wild grin split his face. "This body… so weak, yet it adapts to overload so quickly. I see. Now I understand why Black Zetsu chose this brat."
CRACK!!!
He lunged forward. His claw plunged, without mercy, into the Raikage's chest.
"GUAAAAAHHHHHH…!!!"
Agony spiked adrenaline. Blood vessels burst in the Raikage's eyes. Survival instinct took over. He wrenched himself back, staggering away.
"Boss! That wound is bad…!" Darui cried out.
ZAP! Obito opened his mouth. A Tailed Beast Ball formed, hurled at the retreating Raikage.
"Not good!"
The Tsuchikage, Kazekage, and Mizukage moved to intercept. Hasty defenses rose—an Earth Wall, a Water Wall, a Shield of Sand. The Tailed Beast Ball tore through them all.
The Raikage was a dead man. But Tsunade threw herself in front of him. Flesh and bone met the Beast Ball's cataclysmic blast.
The Raikage's eyes bulged. "Hokage…!"
CRACK!!!
From the firestorm, Tsunade emerged. Limbs gone. A bloody ruin.
Obito's blackened hand closed around her throat. He lifted her. "Granddaughter of Hashirama," he crooned, cruel amusement in his voice. "You have a regeneration similar to his. But if I tear your head from your shoulders… you won't come back from that, will you?"
"…" Tsunade's fading gaze settled on a face both familiar and alien.
Naruto… Why does fate torment this kind child so? I can only pray… you never learn what happened here today.
Obito's fingers tightened. Blood gushed from Tsunade's neck.
CRACK!!
But as he prepared to rip her head clean off—his fingers refused to close further.
Obito's eyes narrowed in surprise. "The body… resists killing the Hokage. The boy's consciousness is still submerged. No sign of awakening. Is he fighting me with his subconscious…?"
WHOOSH…!!!
Sand coiled around Tsunade's waist.
Ōnoki slammed his palm to the earth.
—Earth Style: Tectonic Core!
CRACK…!!!
The ground beneath Obito's feet shot upward. Gaara yanked his sand, pulling Tsunade from Obito's grasp.
—Lava Style: Dissolving Mist Jutsu!
Mei leapt, a curtain of corrosive acid pouring from her lips.
WHOOSH…!!!
Obito shattered the rising earth pillar, putting distance between them. Acrid smoke rose where the acid scorched his fox cloak.
CRACK!!
A black chakra hand elongated, shooting for the Mizukage. But from the corner of his eye, Obito saw Ōnoki hovering, hands poised, Particle Style primed.
"Still have to respect the Particle Style…"
FWOOM!
The chakra hand retracted. With a bang, Obito blurred, reappearing far away.
Ōnoki scowled. "That black Nine-Tails form… its speed is extreme. Without a feint, hitting him with Particle Style is nearly impossible…"
Thud.
The Raikage collapsed, blood loss overwhelming him. Tsunade, her limbs regenerated by the Yin Seal, rushed to his side.
Two Kage had nearly fallen already.
Ōnoki understood the stakes. "Kazekage… you and Naruto are close friends. That's why you should understand. The only thing that can save him now… is killing him."
"Naruto… I'm sorry," Gaara said, his voice heavy with resolve. "Better you die here than live a life tormented by the sin of killing those you cherish. I'll send you off… and then, I'll follow you to the afterlife myself."
His decision made, Gaara slammed both hands onto the ground.
WHOOSH…!!
Deep bedrock shattered, mixing with metallic ores. A tidal wave of quicksand surged toward the sprinting Obito.
"?!"
Before Obito could react, the sand swallowed him whole.
CRACK!! Gaara clenched his fist.
—Sand Waterfall Imperial Funeral Seal!!!
A massive pyramid rose on the battlefield.
Black Zetsu scoffed. "Eight tails broke through Pain's Planetary Devastation. A pitiful sand seal means nothing to Lord Obito!"
RUMBLE…!!
The pyramid showed signs of collapse almost immediately.
"The time it takes him to break out is enough for my Particle Style to erase him!" Ōnoki declared.
Light swelled before his palms, expanding violently.
—Particle Style: Detachment of the Primitive World Jutsu!!!
Tsunade looked back, tears welling in her eyes.
Zap.
The rapidly expanding cube of light enveloped the sand pyramid. As the boundary's glow intensified, everything within turned to dust.
Silence fell on the battlefield. Ōnoki slowly lowered his hands. "Don't hate this old man, Naruto. It was for the world's peace…"
"A pity. This world will never know peace."
RUMBLE…!!!
A streak of black light erupted from the earth.
It was Obito.
"Did you think, Ōnoki… I wouldn't see through your tactics?" he taunted. "Your Particle Style, from activation to disintegration, has a brief window. More than enough for me to dive underground with an Earth Style technique. Holding that one-hit-kill trump card made you overconfident."
"Damn you…!" Ōnoki growled.
Obito crossed his arms, gaze darkly amused. "Let me enlighten you. You did have a chance to end me just now. But not with Particle Style. If you'd hit that pyramid with a Super-Weighted Rock Technique… the me of moments ago would have had no escape. But you won't get a second chance."
"What… did you say?!"
He knew Obito was just messing with his head, but the sheer psychological whiplash still rattled the old Kage.
He thought of a tactic I couldn't, even in the heat of battle? The gap in combat experience… is it really that vast?
SPLASH!
A sphere of water dropped on Ōnoki's head, then drenched Obito below.
Obito blinked. "And what is this?"
"Mizukage, you…" Ōnoki began.
"Tsuchikage-sama," Mei said firmly. "You are our pillar. Do not let him shake you so easily! He dares to flippantly reveal a method to kill him because he doesn't take the Five Kage seriously. Such arrogance will cost him dearly!"
Ōnoki felt a spark reignite. He clenched his fist. "Ah. You're right. I nearly repeated an old mistake. It seems we have all grown since our last trial."
Obito looked down at the puddle, at the monstrous Cursed-Fox reflection. "The Nine-Tails… is truly hideous in this form."
The Raikage, healed, stood with the Hokage, Kazekage, and Mizukage beside Ōnoki.
"If we don't find a way to deal with that special Tailed Beast Mode," the Raikage grunted, "victory will be difficult."
Zap… zap… zap…!!
The Cursed-Fox Chakra Mode faded from Obito's body.
The Five Kage stared. "What…!?"
Obito smirked, a trace of his old, mad arrogance returning. "No need for this ugly coat anymore…"
Zap… zap…!
A deeper release of the Black Cursed Seal surged into his right eye. Zap! The three tomoe swirled, morphing into Obito's original pattern—the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Obito laughed, a low, wild sound. He raised a hand, covering his right eye. Through the gaps, the pupil trembled with power.
"Now… isn't this more interesting?"
—Jambudvipa!
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