Chapter 202 – Incredibly Cunning
Uchiha Obito's shadow clone stood at the edge of a bottomless abyss, trying to figure out a way to cross it and move forward.
But just then, a strong, fishy stench suddenly surged up from the depths below.
Before Obito's shadow clone could react, a massive, razor-sharp claw shot up from the abyss.
With a thunderous boom, the shadow clone was smashed into pulp on the spot and disappeared with a pop.
"There's actually a monster hidden in this abyss? So that's it…"
Obito suddenly understood.
It seemed this abyssal chasm was the second line of defense Black Zetsu had set up inside his own mind—put there to prevent enemy forces from stealing information. Black Zetsu really had gone to great lengths.
Even so, the recent encounter still left Obito shaken.
That thing in the abyss—its speed and strength—were enough to make even him wary.
"Even so, you still can't stop me!"
Obito's true body took action himself. Following the route he had already scouted earlier, he quickly made his way through the labyrinth until he reached the abyss where his shadow clone had been destroyed.
Just as he was about to make another attempt, a voice suddenly spoke from behind him.
"That monster's afraid of water."
"One Water Style jutsu will take care of it."
The voice belonged to Uchiha Dali. Obito froze for a moment before turning to look back in surprise.
Sure enough, Dali was already there, silently tailing him without his notice. At this moment, Dali was watching him with a faint, knowing smile.
"You…"
Knowing Dali's abilities, Obito wasn't too surprised that he could infiltrate Black Zetsu's spiritual world without being noticed. He didn't dwell on it.
Lowering his head, he glanced at the pitch-black abyss, recalling Dali's reminder.
"How do you know that—"
The question was barely half-formed when the abyss stirred again.
Already prepared, Obito immediately let his body become intangible.
Sure enough, the next second that same massive claw shot out again, striking at him with blinding speed.
Boom—
The ground beneath his feet exploded instantly.
But the attack had no effect on Obito in his intangible state.
At the same time, he finally caught a glimpse of the enormous monster lurking in the depths.
First, he saw a pair of massive red eyes glimmering faintly in the darkness—like two dark crimson suns.
Before he could study it further, the monster launched another furious assault.
Its speed was astonishing, its two claws slashing from both sides in relentless strikes.
But no matter how fast or powerful the attacks, they were useless against Obito's intangible form.
As the assault continued, Obito gradually sensed something unusual.
He noticed a faint red glow emerging from the pitch-black depths.
The glow grew brighter, slowly outlining the massive silhouette of the creature.
"Flames!"
Obito realized it instantly—he could already feel the rising temperature around him.
And now he understood why Dali had told him the monster feared water—because it was a giant beast wreathed in flames, or perhaps even composed entirely of mysterious fire.
Confirming its nature, Obito didn't hesitate. He unleashed a Water Style jutsu at the target.
With the roar of a torrential waterfall, water crashed down into the abyss, drenching the fiery beast.
A sizzling ssssss rang out—like cold water poured onto red-hot iron.
The monster let out a pained howl.
Moments later, all was quiet.
The abyss below fell completely still.
Obito glanced behind him. Seeing Dali standing there with his arms crossed and that same faint smile, saying nothing, he knew he'd succeeded.
He immediately formed hand seals.
"Wood Style: Great Bridge Technique!"
Here, his mastery of Wood Style truly shone—an enormous wooden corridor stretched out under his control, extending from one side of the abyss to the other side hidden within the mist.
After an unknown length of time, Obito lowered his hands.
The bridge was complete, spanning the abyss and allowing them to cross safely.
Obito led the way, asking curiously, "Why did you come in too?"
Behind him, Dali replied, "I'm curious to see what other secrets this guy's head is hiding."
They spoke as they walked, soon crossing the abyss and reaching the depths of the mist.
Here, the fog was so thick it was pitch black—one could barely see their own hand in front of their face. Even standing face-to-face, they could hardly make out each other's features.
"What's the deal with this place?"
Obito looked around curiously, intending to send out another shadow clone to scout.
But just then, he saw a row of obelisks inscribed with special sealing patterns appear before him.
Each obelisk was identical, neatly lined up in rows and columns, slowly drifting past them.
In the blink of an eye, Obito and Dali were completely surrounded by these strange obelisks.
As the view expanded outward, they saw that the entire place was filled—densely packed with these identical structures, stretching endlessly.
"Looks like we've found the final hiding place of the information we're after…" Dali said with a smile.
"But to actually get the real information, we'll have to first find the correct pillar among all these real and fake ones, and then break the seal on it."
He added this almost casually.
Hearing that, Obito clenched his teeth in frustration.
"That bastard Black Zetsu… so incredibly cunning…"
There must have been at least millions—perhaps even tens of millions—of these obelisks here.
Breaking the seal on just one would already be a huge task.
Finding the single correct pillar among so many was like searching for a needle in the ocean.
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