However, Mei's Yōton (Lava Release) did not arrive in time to block it, and the concentrated acid crashed down onto the Gedō Mazō (Demonic Statue of the Outer Path).
Zzzzz—!
The statue's lower leg was instantly corroded away, and it let out an even more ear-splitting scream, the kind that felt like it would make your eardrums bleed.
Mei was not satisfied at all. "That Gedō Mazō is too big. My Yōton (Lava Release) can't cover much of it, and its hide is ridiculously tough. The corrosion is way too slow."
"Shame my Jinton (Dust Release) got blocked!"
Onoki was annoyed. "If my Jinton (Dust Release) had hit it head-on, at the very least half that Gedō Mazō would have been reduced to dust."
Natsuki immediately said, "Then we pin the enemy down, and the Kage focuses on the main assault against Gedō Mazō."
Onoki and Mei had no objections. That was indeed the optimal plan.
So, Natsuki and Mei rushed Obito together. Obito had been about to run to Gedō Mazō's side to protect it, but the two of them cut him off.
The new Six Paths wanted to move in and support him, but Shino, Akatsuchi, Konan, and Samui threw themselves in their way instead.
Shino even dared to face two jinchūriki alone. "Sorry, you two, but you're going to have to keep us company a while longer. You're not going anywhere near that side!"
As he spoke, he unleashed his kikaichū (destruction insects) at full power, instantly blanketing the two of them.
Yugito immediately spat fireballs in an attempt to burn the swarm to death, but realized that the insect casualties were minimal. Their resistance to fire was astonishing. Rōshi hurled magma orbs as well, but even then, more than half of the swarm survived.
To strengthen his bugs, Shino had deliberately sought out magma, on the basis that magma's temperature was among the highest natural extremes.
If he could cultivate insects that could withstand magma, then there would be no need to fear any Katon (Fire Style).
Now was the time to put that theory to the test.
And the results were exactly what Shino had hoped for. He was overjoyed and immediately released even more insects, wrapping Yugito and Rōshi completely and ravenously devouring their Bijū chakura (Tailed Beast chakra), to the point that even portions of their half-Tailed-Beast forms were eaten away.
Because they had absorbed too much Bijū chakura, some of the insects could not endure it and died, but others survived and swelled, growing larger and larger—some of the biggest were the size of a human head.
Shino was not surprised, and he directed these giant insects to lunge at the other enemies as well.
Konan, meanwhile, took on the regenerated Pakura. Knowing how lethal Pakura's Shakuton (Scorch Release) was, she refused to engage in close combat. Instead, she used paper clones in a human bomb strategy, sending clone after clone in with explosive tags attached. It was barely enough to keep Pakura tied down.
Akatsuchi handled Utakata without too much trouble. Utakata's base strength was not exceptionally high; even with the power of a Tailed Beast, he was only pushing Akatsuchi back by a small margin.
As for Samui, she had been injured earlier when she blocked Han's charge. Her lower back was still aching from being smashed aside by him.
Han wielded Futton (Boil Release). The superheated steam granted him terrifying speed, letting him ram into targets like a roaring locomotive, and his attack power was immense.
That one block earlier had almost knocked Samui's guts out of place.
She had no idea how long they would need to keep this up. She could only hope that Natsuki's side would succeed quickly.
Jiraiya, for his part, was now facing the remaining Yagura. Since the Three-Tails had yet to be captured, the former Three-Tails jinchūriki had not been granted its power in this Edo Tensei body, so his current strength was not particularly impressive.
In short, the new Six Paths were completely pinned down.
And Natsuki and Mei had fully intercepted Obito.
In theory, Natsuki alone might have been enough to stall him, but just in case, the two of them moved together.
And indeed, that "just in case" soon appeared. A half-black, half-white figure suddenly emerged from the ground and launched Mokuton (Wood Release) attacks at Natsuki and Mei.
Natsuki immediately used Mokuton (Wood Release) to block the strike, and Obito seized the opening, sprinting toward the Gedō Mazō.
"Jinton—!"
"Kamui… tch!"
Obito had just been about to use Kamui (Divine Authority) to stop the Jinton (Dust Release) the way he had earlier, when Natsuki flashed in with Arashi Shunshin (Storm-Style Body Flicker), his light-speed kick already swinging through. Obito was forced to choose intangibility.
When he used Kamui (Divine Authority) on other objects, he could not phase himself at the same time.
If he insisted on blocking the Jinton (Dust Release), he would definitely be killed by Natsuki's light-speed kick. So he chose, without hesitation, to protect himself.
Buzz—!
The light of the Jinton (Dust Release) appeared in front of Gedō Mazō in an instant. The statue reflexively raised both hands to block, and it actually managed to stop the attack—but both of its arms were disintegrated into atoms on the spot.
Now it had broken arms and a broken leg. It was truly a pitiful sight.
"Roooar!!"
It let out a sky-shaking howl of agony, like it had just watched its entire family die.
Obito could not care about anything else. Still in his intangible state, he rushed toward it. Just when it looked like Onoki was about to unleash another attack, Obito used Shinra Tensei (Heavenly Subjugation of the Omnipresent God) to blast him away.
Then he darted up to Gedō Mazō and used Kamui (Divine Authority) to absorb the statue into his personal dimension.
The very next second, Natsuki's light-speed kick came whipping in again. In his fluster, Obito only managed to twist his torso slightly, and his entire shoulder and half his chest were blown apart, sending him flying.
He did not make a sound, as if the pain belonged to someone else.
A moment later, a White Zetsu rose up from underground, tore off one of its own arms and half its chest, and handed them to Obito. Obito calmly accepted the pieces and joined them to his body. His maimed torso was restored in an instant.
Back when he had "died," he had already used White Zetsu's body parts to rebuild himself.
So this kind of operation was nothing more than daily routine to him.
To everyone else watching, though, it was utterly insane.
For anyone else, that level of injury would have been fatal. Obito had not even groaned, and he had not shed a single drop of blood. Then he had fixed himself completely in moments.
He was basically a monster.
Soon, Obito regrouped with Black Zetsu.
Black Zetsu said, "Obito, we should retreat. We can't stay here."
Obito nodded. He had been about to toss out a few more threats, but seeing Natsuki poised to throw out another light-speed kick at any moment, he hesitated.
Even with the Rinnegan and Shinra Tensei (Heavenly Subjugation of the Omnipresent God) to repel everything, there was still a five-second cooldown. For someone with Natsuki's extreme speed, five seconds was an eternity.
Fighting Natsuki was dangerous. Right now, he had no real chance of winning.
So, retreat it was.
The space around them twisted into a spiral, and Obito and Black Zetsu vanished on the spot. The new Six Paths were forced to withdraw as well.
Natsuki, Onoki, and Mei exchanged a glance and let out a collective sigh.
They had not expected Obito to be so decisive—to store Gedō Mazō away and bolt without hesitation. It was truly a shame.
No one felt more regret than Onoki. He had been a hair's breadth away from turning Gedō Mazō into dust, but Obito had blocked him again and again. It was infuriating.
Natsuki and Mei had done their best to keep Obito occupied, but with his phasing ability, it had been almost impossible to pin him down.
Unless Kakashi came along, they could not completely lock down that intangibility.
Natsuki clicked his tongue in frustration. It seemed that next time they had to bring Kakashi specifically to deal with Obito. After all, you needed Kamui (Divine Authority) to defeat Kamui (Divine Authority), or there really was no good way to handle him.
(End of Chapter)
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