Obito's expression was incredibly ugly.
He had originally thought that, with his Rinnegan and the new Six Paths of Pain, coming here to grab a few feudal lords as hostages would be an easy job.
He hadn't expected Natsuki's Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God) to be this flexible, warping in with a whole batch of reinforcements in an instant, and even bringing a Tenseigan user whose sole job was to counter his Rinnegan.
His Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push) and Bansho Ten'in (Universal Pull) were clearly no worse than Nagato's, but they were being completely pinned down by that Hyuga. Even when he did use them, they didn't achieve much. On top of that, he kept having to rely on Kamui (Authority of the Gods) to phase himself, otherwise he could be hit by that Hyuga's long-range strikes at any moment.
He had wanted to rely on the "new Six Paths" to win, but the reinforcements plus that Mizukage were no weaklings either.
They had actually managed to bring down both Yagura and Roshi.
Now there were only four Edo Tensei jinchuriki left. Should he gamble it all?
Obito didn't want to retreat this hastily, so he controlled the four jinchuriki to enter full tailed-beast mode!
Last time, when he realized the new Six Paths were still lacking in power, he had directly pulled four tailed beasts back out from the still-crippled Gedo Statue and re-sealed them into the jinchuriki. With his Rinnegan control, the jinchuriki naturally became perfect jinchuriki, able to draw out their full power.
This was not the time to hold back. A perfectly fine "Six Paths" had already been cut down to four paths; what was the point of hiding anything now!
In the next instant, the four jinchuriki transformed. The towering forms of the Two-Tails, Four-Tails, Five-Tails, and Six-Tails loomed up, blotting out the sky and exuding an overwhelming pressure.
"Not good! That lunatic actually re-sealed the tailed beasts into the jinchuriki. This is trouble!" Onoki's brows furrowed tightly, feeling that things had taken a dire turn.
With tailed beasts on the move, and four of them at that, this whole area was doomed, let alone the safety of any feudal lords.
It would be hard enough for the few of them just to keep themselves alive.
Obito let out that signature Uchiha mad cackle. "Hahaha! You're all pretty strong, huh? If you've got what it takes, try blocking the tailed beasts. Try blocking the Bijuu Dama (Tailed Beast Bombs)! Go die!"
Then, all four tailed beasts began to gather Bijuu Dama at the same time.
Everyone's faces changed drastically. They wanted to find cover, but they knew cover was useless. For a moment, no one knew what to do.
Bijuu Dama were basically the equivalent of nuclear weapons. At this distance, how could they possibly escape?
"Don't panic!"
Onoki forced everyone to stay calm.
Then he floated up into the air. Was he planning to personally clash head-on with the Bijuu Dama?
Dust Release was powerful, but going up against Bijuu Dama with it didn't seem to have much chance of success.
But Onoki also knew that he had to step forward. As a veteran of the previous generation, he had to lead by example and show everyone that only by not fearing danger could they have hope.
However, at that moment, another figure flew up even faster than him, in a blink reaching an altitude almost level with the four tailed beasts. Suspended in mid-air, that figure took up the stance of the Eight Trigrams Palm.
Onoki's expression shifted. "That Hyuga kid…"
"Relax. None of us are dying here. My Tenseigan is a sage's eye, after all."
The blue eyes Neji had now brimmed with confidence, a confidence so infectious that Onoki actually dazed out for a moment and chose to believe him, simply stopping where he was and waiting to see what Neji would do.
In the next second: boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The four massive Bijuu Dama crashed toward them, practically arriving at the barrier in an instant.
Everyone felt their breathing almost stop.
Neji took a deep breath, his body suddenly spinning at high speed. Terrifying repulsive force blasted out from his palms, instantly forming a massive repulsive barrier that enveloped everyone inside.
"Hakke Shinkū Shō: Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm: Rotation)!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The four Bijuu Dama slammed into the repulsive barrier and were actually bounced right back along their original trajectories by that overwhelming repulsive force. A second later, there was an earth-shattering rumble, followed by four different tailed-beast screams of agony.
The tailed beasts had been blown up by their own Bijuu Dama!
"W-we're… saved?"
"Of course we're saved! Neji-kōhai just bounced all four Bijuu Dama back at them!"
"Hahaha! As expected of the Tenseigan, as expected of a sage's eye. That's insanely strong! The Hyuga clan, that ancient clan, from today will be famous throughout the entire shinobi world!"
The explosive power of the Bijuu Dama was immense, and the shockwaves they produced were no small matter. Even the residences of the feudal lords collapsed.
Fortunately, Neji had bounced them back to explode right on the tailed beasts' heads, and because the tailed beasts were so tall, the detonations happened pretty high above the ground. That was the only reason the impact on the ground wasn't catastrophic.
Immediately after, the four tailed beasts shrank back down.
Onoki seized the opportunity to fire off a Dust Release: Jinton (Dust Release), and Mei followed right up with Yoton (Lava Release), spewing forth molten torrents. Shino's insects didn't remain idle either, swarming straight at the enemy.
Obito was already completely dumbfounded. He had never imagined that Neji could develop repulsive force to this level. Using repulsive force to perform a Kaiten that bounced back Bijuu Dama was ridiculous!
But he had no time to hesitate. He manipulated the four Edo Tensei jinchuriki to evade the attacks, then turned and retreated without looking back…
He understood that as long as Neji was present, his objective was impossible to achieve, and if he stayed any longer, his losses might become even greater.
So, retreat was the only option.
The others saw this and didn't give chase either. In truth, they were too exhausted. Those Bijuu Dama had scared them so badly their legs had gone soft; some of them had almost peed themselves.
Watching Obito withdraw, everyone finally let out a long breath.
Even Neji felt relieved. This was his first time ever reflecting four Bijuu Dama, and it had been more than intense. The chakra expenditure was no joke either.
Fortunately, it had worked. Otherwise, this "Hyuga Heaven" would have been standing in a coffin by now.
Onoki looked over at him, and for once a smile appeared on his face. "Your name is Neji of the Hyuga, right? You're very impressive. This old man likes youngsters like you. Do you have a girlfriend? My granddaughter Kurotsuchi is very pretty. How about I introduce you to her… Oh, you've met before, haven't you? You were on the same surprise attack squad when you went to hunt down Kabuto, right? I think my granddaughter is really not bad…"
Neji's mouth twitched. He honestly didn't know how to respond.
Just how afraid was Onoki that his granddaughter wouldn't be able to get married, if he was trying to sell her like this everywhere he went?
Shouldn't this be something Kurotsuchi decided for herself?
Neji, however, had no idea how bitter Onoki felt inside. Onoki knew very clearly that his granddaughter had a thing for Deidara, but that guy was already an Edo Tensei, sealed inside Natsuki's girlfriend's Crimson Gourd. There was obviously no way that could ever work.
Which left him with no choice but to swallow his pride and go look for a few outstanding young men to introduce to his granddaughter.
At that moment, Mei tilted her head back and shouted, "You two, get down here already. Talking up there is exhausting. Onoki, stop trying to poach Neji-kōhai. He's now the celestial clan head of the Hyuga, you know. No way he's marrying into Iwagakure!"
Onoki's face darkened. "Did I say he was going to marry in? This old man is just helping introduce them! You meddlesome big-age leftover woman, don't get in the way!"
B-big-age leftover woman?!
He actually called me a big-age leftover woman?!
That damn Onoki! Does he think I want to be single? It's that nobody is willing to marry me!
I'm this beautiful and this sultry, so why does nobody fall for me!
(End of Chapter)
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