"Choji!"
Everyone was worried, but none of them could break away.
Shikamaru and Ino were even more anxious, but their own mission was critical, so they could only choose to believe that Choji's thick skin and sturdy body would keep him alive.
Obviously, they were wrong.
In the next second, a house-sized chakra shell smashed into the Five-Tails and blasted it straight backward, sending the massive beast crashing heavily into the sea.
Then everyone saw Chojuro standing there, looking like his kidneys had given out, barely supporting himself with the twin sword Hiramekarei, panting like a dog.
Mei walked forward carrying Choji, and praised him, "Nice work, Chojuro. You actually managed to knock the Five-Tails flying."
Chojuro was too exhausted to speak. Just now he had squeezed every last drop of chakra he had to force Hiramekarei to form a chakra shell that big. His liver and kidneys would probably never forgive him for this.
Fortunately, the chakra shell had done its job and he hadn't let the Mizukage down.
You had to admit, the twin sword Hiramekarei was truly terrifying. It could blast away Sasuke's Susanoo and it could blast away a tailed beast as well. The only question was whether the user had enough chakra.
Sasuke: Can we not bring up things from the original story?
Seeing this, everyone finally let out a long breath of relief.
Darui couldn't help exhaling. "Looks like we've got reinforcements. The Mizukage herself came with her guard. This fight should be in the bag now."
As he spoke, he immediately ramped up his output, outright copying Natsuki's Yasaka no Magatama (Eight Span Magatama) and firing a storm of laser-like projectiles. In an instant he drove the Two-Tails back step by step.
Yamato also relaxed a little. "Hurry and give me a hand. This guy spits acid mist. My Mokuton can't hold him."
In theory, Yamato also knew Suiton and Doton, but faced with corrosive acid mist, those elements didn't seem very useful either. It was a total headache.
But Yamato was misunderstanding things. Suiton and Doton could be extremely powerful too. The problem was that his chakra reserves just weren't enough.
A man who ended up kidney-shot just from overusing Mokuton to build a single three-bedroom apartment really had no concept of what "overwhelming chakra" meant.
Mei flashed through hand seals and spat out a stream of water. "Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu (Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique)!"
Water Dragon Bullet? That was going to be enough?
Yamato stared, stunned, as that thin stream of water suddenly swelled to a torrent greater than a waterfall. It wrapped around the Six-Tails and transformed into a colossal water dragon, lifting the beast's massive body straight into the sky.
"What… what kind of chakra is that?"
Yamato drooled with envy, feeling that people really couldn't be compared to each other.
And she wasn't done yet. Mei turned toward the Two-Tails, puffed her cheeks, and unleashed, "Yōton: Yōkai no Jutsu (Lava Style: Dissolving Monster Technique)!"
A wide swath of highly corrosive liquid splashed down over the Two-Tails' head, sizzling and eating away with a terrifying hiss. Just watching it made Darui's scalp tingle.
This Mizukage was absolutely terrifying.
With Mei and Chojuro's timely arrival, their side finally broke out of their disadvantage.
The four Edo Tensei jinchūriki were powerful, but Shino, Mei, and Darui were no pushovers either. Handling them was no longer a problem.
Obito's frustration was visible to the naked eye. His phasing time limit was about to run out, while Neji's long-range point-strike barrage still hadn't stopped. A bad premonition gnawed at him.
"Damn it! Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push) barrier!"
He decisively chose to use Shinra Tensei again, but instead of a quick tap like before, he held it down.
This caused the Rinnegan's repulsive force to stop being an instant blast and instead act like a prolonged protective shell around him, ensuring he could safely ride out the gap when Kamui's intangibility ended.
Sure enough, in the next second Neji's Shinkūshi (Divine Sky Fingers) slammed into the barrier, and the protective shell successfully blocked the finger strikes.
The corner of Obito's mouth lifted. He was just about to feel pleased when he noticed that at some point Neji had switched from Shinkūshi (Divine Sky Fingers) to Shinkūshō (Divine Sky Palm). Palm strikes sheathed in raging repulsive force smashed into the barrier and shattered it in an instant, then slammed hard into Obito's body.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three consecutive hits. His shoulder, thigh, and kidney area were all left mangled and torn.
His body was patchworked together from White Zetsu tissue. While that made it easier to repair, the inherent durability was mediocre at best. Being struck by Neji's Shinkūshō (Divine Sky Palm) caused serious damage, and the pain nearly made Obito collapse on the spot.
Fortunately he immediately reactivated his intangibility and finally managed to catch his breath, but now the look he cast at Neji's pale light carried clear wariness and caution.
As expected of the Tenseigan (Reincarnation Eye). It had actually broken his "absolute defense."
This couldn't go on.
Obito fumed inside, but all he could do was look for a way to escape. Maybe he never should have acted on his own. He should have stayed with Madara. With his current level, operating solo was a losing proposition.
"Damn it. Having the Rinnegan should mean being the strongest."
He cursed inwardly, still not understanding the truth.
Nagato had possessed the Rinnegan as well, and he hadn't been invincible. So why did Obito think that just having the Rinnegan would make him untouchable?
The fact was, the former dead-last was not a born powerhouse. In terms of growing into his strength, his natural instincts weren't that great. Otherwise he wouldn't be using the Rinnegan like this.
Just as he was spacing out, a shout suddenly rang out.
"Ino! Now!"
"Ninpō: Shintenshin no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Mind Body Switch Technique)!"
Buzz!
A surge of mental energy slammed into Obito's mind and directly seized control of his body.
Using Obito's voice, Ino said, "Shikamaru, I did it! What now?"
Shikamaru quickly replied, "Ino, control the jinchūriki and make them revert. Have them stay still. We'll pull out the black receivers first."
Ino did exactly as instructed. Soon the four tailed beasts began reverting from their transformed states back into their original hosts.
Ino did have a question, though: Why are we having Choji go after the jinchūriki and not Obito?
Shikamaru shook his head. "It won't work. If we attack Obito, you'll share the damage. Even if we bind him or try to seal him now, he can escape at any time using Kamui's phasing. There's nothing we can do about that yet. We still don't have a way to counter Kamui."
Everyone fell silent at that, feeling a little helpless.
The truth was, no one thought Obito himself was all that strong. He was just a guy who relied on Kamui to run wild.
Without Kamui, the Rinnegan wouldn't save him. He'd still get knocked flat easily.
But fine. If they could dismantle the four jinchūriki, it would be like cutting off Obito's arms and legs. After that, as long as Neji kept an eye on him, Obito wouldn't be able to stir up any more trouble.
No one hesitated. They immediately went all out on the immobilized Edo jinchūriki.
Shino's bugs bit through several black receivers on the spot. Darui simply tore Yugito's Edo body apart with his sword and yanked all the black rods free.
These people were Edo Tensei bodies and couldn't truly die, so speed was all that mattered.
Chojuro swung Hiramekarei and chopped Han's body into three pieces, clearing the way for someone with sealing techniques to remove the rods afterward.
Just when everyone thought it was over, Ino suddenly screamed. Her mind was forcefully ejected from Obito's body and snapped back into her own. She collapsed unconscious on the spot.
"Ino!"
Shikamaru rushed to check her condition. Once he confirmed she was unharmed, he let out a long breath of relief.
Then he looked back at Obito. The Sharingan in Obito's eye was glowing an eerie red. It seemed his Mangekyō had forcibly driven Ino's mind out.
(End of Chapter)
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