The battle quickly reached the scene from earlier, when Obito used Kakashi's hand to perform the Great Fireball Jutsu—the one introduced during the segment on hand seals.
Time and space overlapped; the figure of young Obito forming seals merged with the Great Fireball Obito unleashed, as the two scenes converged.
In an instant, the bright training ground was swallowed by the dim Kamui dimension, and a massive fireball roared toward the opposite side.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
Young Kakashi's calm voice rang out as the scene shifted to him slamming his palms onto the ground.
A wall of earth rose, only to shatter instantly before the fireball. Only the section directly in front of Kakashi held, shielding him behind it.
Right at the moment of impact, Obito's figure teleported behind Kakashi. Holding a Kunai he had picked up from the ground, he tied a piece of his clothing to it to launch a feint.
As Kakashi's attention was drawn to the projectile flying in from the right, Obito struck—slamming his foot hard into Kakashi, crushing him against the earth wall.
Without pause, Obito condensed a sharp black chakra rod and thrust it directly toward the back of Kakashi's heart.
At the last second, Kakashi—relying on a Shadow Clone he had planted earlier—grabbed the rod from Obito's hand and used the momentum to leap high into the air.
Below, Obito watched him coldly.
'The real one is here!'
Another black rod had silently formed and shot up toward the airborne Kakashi—who had no way to dodge.
However, just then—
A blinding flash of blue lightning struck Obito's entire body.
"Ugh…!"
Obito convulsed in the lightning, and before everyone's eyes, he transformed back into a shocked young Obito wearing goggles. Kakashi, too, reverted to his younger self—delivering a sharp kick that sent young Obito flying.
As young Obito struggled to his feet, young Kakashi's Kunai was already pressed firmly against his throat.
The scene shifted, and sunlight once again bathed the training ground.
Minato stood nearby with a gratified smile, while Rin watched the two with gentle eyes.
"The spar is over. Kakashi wins."
"Alright, now perform the Seal of Reconciliation."
Young Obito and young Kakashi exchanged glances—each carrying the defiant pride of youth—but slowly raised their hands, intending to help the other up.
Just as their fingers were about to touch—
The dark Kamui dimension swallowed the sunlight once more.
Obito appeared instantly, yanked his younger self away, and charged at Kakashi.
Inside the Kamui dimension, Kakashi and Obito—one with a black rod, the other with a Kunai—thrust their weapons toward each other with the resolve of death.
This time, they truly pierced each other's chests.
But the injury Kakashi inflicted was clearly more severe, tearing a large hole in Obito's chest. Meanwhile, Obito's black rod only caused a smaller wound.
"It's over, Obito…"
Obito spat out blood, panting heavily, "I'll let you… win this battle."
"But I'm not conceding the war!" With that, he phased and disappeared from the Kamui dimension.
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Somewhere on a cliff in the Shinobi World]
"Kakashi… it seems this is our destined conclusion. Ending all of the past within the Kamui. Fine, it's only right that I finish you with my own hands!"
With that, Obito no longer worried about Kakashi possibly tracking him in the future.
If Kakashi could really find him and bring about their destined fight—so be it.
[To be honest, the battle between Obito and Kakashi was quite obviously a match where someone was holding back. In fact, only one more battle was even more exaggerated than this one.]
[Throughout the fight, they kept reminiscing about the past and using Talk-no-Jutsu at each other. Kakashi hesitated many times when using the Chidori, and Obito deliberately sought opportunities to have Kakashi strike his heart with it—all to remove the curse mark placed by Madara.]
[In fact, if neither of them held back and fought to the death, Obito would likely win by a large margin. After all, even a Chidori through the heart wouldn't kill him. And he didn't even use his Rinnegan abilities—like the Preta Path—or his other ocular powers.]
[If he had been serious, he could have simply absorbed Kakashi's Chidori with the Preta Path.]
[So if anyone says that Obito went all out here—well, I don't believe it. Besides, did he miss that fireball on purpose?]
[It has to be said: Obito's acting was pretty good.]
[As seen from subsequent developments, his goal was to exhaust all of Kakashi's stamina and chakra to prevent Kakashi from causing trouble after leaving. After all, no one understands the power of the left Kamui eye better than Obito; even in the late stages of the Fourth War where Six Paths-level fighters were everywhere, no one could block it.]
---
[In a dim underground space in a certain timeline]
The elderly Madara leaned against a stone chair, breathing somewhat heavily, "Hahaha… that kid Obito… even if he removed the seal, so what?"
The Sky Screen had already shown his future self appearing.
"As long as I can be revived… everything will be fine."
Even if there was a so-called "savior" in the future, and Uchiha Sasuke—another Indra reincarnate like him—Madara remained confident.
"Hashirama, just watch. The peace I create will be the true peace."
He raised his head and looked toward the top of the cave, as if he could pierce through the rock layers to see the sky outside.
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Land of Waves, Tazuna's house]
Kakashi looked dazed… so that fight had been the result of Obito holding back?
Just how strong was Obito in the future?
He could survive even with his heart pierced.
Kakashi unconsciously touched his left eye. The Sky Screen said that even Six Paths-level fighters couldn't block its attacks—this must be the Mangekyō Sharingan ability mentioned earlier as being able to participate in Six Paths-level battles.
He needed to become stronger—strong enough to truly fight Obito, rather than have him hold back and put on a show.
The only problem was that he didn't know when he'd be able to tap into this power.
And what exactly was this other battle that was even more egregious than his and Obito's?
---
[Akatsuki Hideout]
Deidara instantly became exasperated and jumped on his feet.
He felt the Sky Screen was calling him out.
"Tobi—no, that bastard Obito is truly detestable!"
"He's been deceiving me for so long!!" Having said that, he turned to look at Pain, seated in the deepest part of the room.
"Leader, is Obito still a member of the Akatsuki? He hasn't shown up for organization activities several times now!"
"If so, can I skip the next one too?"
Watching the furious Deidara, Pain responded calmly, as if he hadn't noticed the anger: "He'll attend next time."
"Great, I must give that guy a piece of my mind!"
*****
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