Before White Zetsu's head could even finish warping against the surface...
Tobi had already pulled himself back together, all four hands rising at once as the air around his palms twisted—and burst into flame.
A scorching flame condensed between them, compressed so violently that the surrounding space hissed and cracked. It was a wide blast meant to burn everything in sight.
Tobi's single eye curved into a smile within the grooves of his half spiral face.
"Fuga."
At almost the same moment, White Zetsu's body twisted against the shattered ground.
Instead of resisting Fujishiki's grip, he let the force throw him backward. His feet scraped across the pale earth, and as he slid, one hand rose.
A red flash gathered in his palm, black lightning crawling around it like veins. The next instant, White Zetsu's eyes sharpened.
"Black Flash: Cero."
Flame and crimson energy erupted at the same time.
One was a furnace-like torrent that devoured the air.
The other was a red beam wrapped in black sparks, tearing open a fissure through space as it shot forward.
Two attacks converged on Fujishiki from opposite angles, close enough that even space-time movement should have been impossible.
Fujishiki did not even dodge. A mocking smile remained on his face.
Boom!
The white world trembled.
A pillar of fire and crimson light swallowed Fujishiki whole.
For a brief moment, even the remaining echoes of battle were drowned out.
Then two muffled groans rang out.
"Gah…!"
"Ghkk!"
Tobi's body was thrown backward first, his four arms torn open as if his own flames had clawed through him from the inside.
White Zetsu crashed into the ground farther away, half his torso ripped apart, black lightning still snapping across his wounds. Blood spilled beneath him, but his torn flesh was already beginning to knit itself back together.
Neither of them looked away.
Their eyes remained fixed on the smoke.
Step.
Step.
A figure walked out from within the fading blast.
Fujishiki Ōtsutsuki was completely unharmed.
He lifted one hand and casually blew away the smoke drifting around his fingers, as though brushing dust from a sleeve. Then he flexed his hand once, slowly, with faint amusement in his eyes.
"Your reflection is not bad." His gaze settled on White Zetsu. "Anything aimed at you is returned. Any intent to harm you is rejected. Simple. Clean… and utterly disgusting. But what happens when the one attacking with intent… is you?"
White Zetsu's expression changed. Of course, he understood what Fujishiki meant, but he still gave the appropriate reaction, as if his guard had been shaken.
He knew very well that one of Fujishiki's abilities was to transfer the damage he received onto his enemies. Even White Zetsu's reflection could not bypass that. If he was the one attacking, then the reflected damage would still return to him.
Still, they had to complete the last part of the plan.
Next, they had to…
White Zetsu glanced at Tobi.
Tobi gave a small nod with his single eye.
Then both spoke at once.
"Eight Inner Gates…"
"Gate of Death, open."
In the next moment, both of them rose to their feet as red chakra suddenly erupted from their bodies.
Boom!
Steam rose like blood from their skin.
Fujishiki's brows lifted slightly.
"Hoh?"
"What is this now?" he murmured with interest. "Your chakra is increasing at an absurd rate…"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Tobi and White Zetsu vanished.
For the first time since the battle began, Fujishiki moved before he fully intended to.
A fist cut past his cheek.
Another strike tore through the space where his ribs had been.
White Zetsu appeared behind him with black lightning burning around his knuckles, while Tobi's four arms attacked from four different blind spots at once.
Fujishiki's body swayed.
A punch grazed his hair.
A kick tore through the edge of his sleeve.
White Zetsu's fist came within a finger's width of his chest.
Fujishiki disappeared and reappeared several dozen meters away, standing above the shattered ground, eyes colder than before.
They had nearly reached him.
It might not have changed the result. Even if one of those attacks landed, it might not have done anything meaningful.
But that was not the point.
They had forced him to retreat.
Two creatures who were not even the one he had been waiting for had almost caught him... which further fueled his annoyance.
Tobi rolled his shoulders, the red steam around his body twisting like a curse.
"Running already?"
White Zetsu wiped blood from his chin.
"You looked shaken for a moment there… why is that?"
"Do not mistake a moment of curiosity for fear."
Fujishiki's eyes swept over them with open contempt.
"You two are still not enough."
He raised his hand and beckoned lazily.
"You should call that captain of yours."
"Where is he hiding? Watching from some dark little hole? Did he realize he could not match me, so he sent you two insects to die first?"
Of course, Fujishiki knew about their captain. By now, there was hardly a true member of the Ōtsutsuki clan who had not heard of them.
These three were infamous across the universe for the terrible and malevolent deeds they had committed.
As for the leader of the three…
[Codename: Unknown.]
That was all the Ōtsutsuki Clan had.
Very little was known about him. Even when some members of the Ōtsutsuki clan questioned their superiors for information, or used their absurd abilities to get a read on him, nothing could be found.
They could not trace him back.
That alone left him wrapped in an unknown mystery.
The vice-captain of the team was known by another codename.
[The Accursed One.]
With his gruesome appearance, four arms, and a history of twisted atrocities against his victims, he was feared even more deeply by the male members of the Ōtsutsuki clan.
To them, he was not simply dangerous.
He was something cursed.
The team's greatest mystery, second only to their captain, carried the codename:
[Silence.]
Very little was known about him. He rarely spoke, and compared to the others, he seemed far less aggressive.
The only image of him came from an Ōtsutsuki who had bet his life to obtain it.
In the photo, Silence stood against a wall with both hands in his pockets, a hood drawn low over his face. Only the scar near his mouth could be seen.
Beside him, the vice-captain had already pinned an Ōtsutsuki member to the ground, gripping both of his hands as the man struggled beneath him.
Even without seeing what came next, everyone present understood enough.
Whatever the Accursed One was about to do, it would be far worse than death.
There were other members in the team as well, but none were as notorious as those three.
They were the ones known across the universe, the ones the Ōtsutsuki clan had ordered to be hunted down or captured alive.
And yet, until now, no one had succeeded.
Fujishiki had always thought the stories were exaggerated. To him, they were nothing more than a gang that knew how to hide in the dark and prey on weaker clan members.
But after witnessing these two for himself, he finally understood.
If left alone, they truly would become a problem.
Although they were not a real threat to him, the captain behind them still had not shown himself.
Not that Fujishiki cared much.
Even if that so-called captain appeared, Fujishiki was confident he could kill him all the same.
White Zetsu and Tobi showed no surprise when they heard Fujishiki mention their captain.
If anything, they felt proud.
Then, without warning, both of them unleashed their ultimate moves.
"Void Impact."
"Void Flash."
White Zetsu stood in one corner.
Tobi stood in another.
From opposite directions, the two of them struck at Fujishiki in a pincer attack, their movements resembling Might Guy's Night Guy, yet far more powerful.
Fujishiki's thoughts were interrupted by their shouts. He laughed and spread his arms, as if welcoming the attacks head-on.
"Hah."
But in the next instant, he sensed something strange.
These attacks… they were not meant to…
No.
They were trying to…
Fujishiki's eyes shifted around him.
Only then did he realize he could no longer move.
The space around him had been sealed by the pressure of the attacks coming from multiple directions, locking him in place.
When Fujishiki tried to teleport, the warped space twisted his portals apart before they could fully open.
And even though the damage from the attacks was transferred back onto White Zetsu and Tobi, their willpower and regeneration allowed them to endure it.
'What are they trying to accomplish?'
Fujishiki could not understand what they hoped to gain by pinning him in place.
But soon, he had his answer.
A figure broke through from underground, his body drenched in red blood. Across his flesh, countless eyes slowly turned white one after another.
His entire body was covered in Sharingan.
He was constantly using Izanagi to undo the damage dealt by Fujishiki and the violent pressure of the surrounding attacks, each one killing him the moment he appeared nearby.
What was this thing?
There had to be a limit to this kind of nonsense.
Fujishiki's eyes flashed red. His aura erupted outward, blasting away the attacks that had been holding him in place.
But the figure was still clinging to his leg.
Fujishiki raised his foot and crushed it into the ground.
Yet the thing simply came back.
His expression darkened.
So he crushed it again.
Bang! Bang!
"Release me, you filthy lower creature…!"
Far in the distance, White Zetsu and Tobi smiled when they saw the figure vanish for good this time.
"Tch. Persistent vermin. I do not know what scheme you insects are weaving, but it ends here."
Fujishiki raised his hand.
In the next instant, Tobi exploded into a bloody mist.
White Zetsu met the same fate.
"Although your ability was troublesome, did you truly believe I was merely parrying your attacks?"
Fujishiki snorted, then glanced at the blood staining his hand and laughed.
Overcoming that irritating ability had not been difficult. All he needed was an opening.
His pride had kept him from using his full strength against such lowly beings, but they had gone and irritated him.
All of his abilities complemented one another perfectly.
His body was immortal, not only on a physical level, but even down to the soul itself. Any damage he received could be transferred onto his enemies.
And if the creature before him was too far beneath his level, he could even seize control of their blood.
To him, crushing such beings was no different from trampling insects beneath his feet.
But what truly made him feared, and the reason he had been chosen, was another ability altogether.
An ability that made him almost invincible in a one-on-one battle.
Death Requital.
In the hidden dimension, Obito looked at the two broken traces of data floating before him.
Tobi and White Zetsu were gone.
This time even their souls had been destroyed as well.
If he had not stored their data beforehand, bringing them back would have been almost impossible.
"…You two fools have done more than enough. Rest for now. Leave what comes next to me."
For the first time in a long while, Obito Uchiha was angry.
"Haa…"
His preparations were already complete.
The data he had gathered with their help had proven invaluable.
...
On the barren white battlefield, Fujishiki Ōtsutsuki stared at the empty space where Tobi and White Zetsu had vanished, then let out a cold laugh.
"Is that all?"
His voice spread across the shattered world.
"Your subordinates were torn apart, their souls crushed, and you still refuse to show yourself?"
Fujishiki's lips curled with disgust.
"Hiding in some dark little hole even now… what a fitting captain for insects."
He turned slightly, as if already bored of the battle.
"To think the Ōtsutsuki Clan wasted so much attention on your little group. In the end, you were nothing but vermin that learned how to bite before being stepped on."
He took one step away but in the next moment, a smile spread across his face again.
"…Oh?"
He slowly turned his head.
The space behind him was bending.
A dark figure stood within it, silent and unmoving.
Fujishiki looked at him with open mockery.
"I didn't think you would show yourself just because I insulted your subordinates."
His voice lowered, cruel amusement dripping from every word.
"What happened? Did it hurt to watch them die?"
"Are you grieving? Angry? Or did you come here because you want revenge? Hahaha!"
Fujishiki laughed for a while, but when Obito gave him no answer, the amusement in his eyes slowly faded.
"Tch."
He clicked his tongue and raised one hand toward Obito, his palm opening lazily.
"Not talking, are we?"
A mocking smile spread across his face.
"Don't stand there acting all high and mighty. Your followers died like dogs, and you couldn't save a single one of them."
His eyes narrowed.
"For someone they've built up into such a mystery, you're disappointingly ordinary."
Then he chuckled.
"Still, there's no need to look so upset."
"I'll send you to them shortly."
Oddly enough, Fujishiki's control failed.
The blood in Obito's body did not answer him.
For the first time, Fujishiki's expression shifted.
"Oh…? That is a first."
Only then did Obito raise his gaze.
His face barely changed, but the look in his eyes carried a quiet, condescending coldness.
"Don't look so impressed."
His voice was flat.
"You were never worth speaking to. And I don't waste words on corpses."
Fujishiki's expression darkened.
"You—"
His voice stopped there.
Obito was already walking toward him.
One step after another.
Yet Fujishiki could no longer move. The air had frozen. The drifting dust hung motionless. Even the flow of time itself had been brought to a halt.
Arriving right beside him, he simply raised his hand and drove it straight through Fujishiki's chest.
Then the darkness opened.
"Devouring Coffin."
A black coffin-like space swallowed Fujishiki whole.
The next moment, Fujishiki found himself standing in a silent void. He looked around, momentarily confused by the sudden shift, before his gaze lowered to his own body.
Faint traces of stopped time still clung to him.
His eyes narrowed in dread.
"So that's what happened…"
The hole in his chest was closing. Even the wound carved into his soul was repairing itself, as if the attack had never existed.
Fujishiki let out a low whistle.
"Impressive."
The darkness around him began to move.
Threads of black energy crawled across his body, sinking into his flesh, his chakra, his existence itself. Obito stood before him in silence as the devouring began.
Even then, Fujishiki did not panic.
His lips curved into a confident smile.
That was when Obito finally spoke.
"Death Requital."
Fujishiki's smile froze.
Obito looked at him coldly.
"That is why you are so confident."
Fujishiki's eyes widened in disbelief.
"How do you know that?" he snapped. "That shouldn't be possible. Not even low-ranked Ōtsutsuki are allowed to hear of it. Those who know are either dead, or few enough to count on one hand."
His expression twisted in anger.
"And I know you didn't hear it from them."
Obito's gaze remained calm.
"It's thanks to you."
Fujishiki's face changed.
"What are you—"
He stopped mid-sentence, clenching his teeth.
Then, as realization struck him, his expression turned ugly.
"So those two… that entire fight…"
"You used them for that? Those damn bastards…"
But a moment later, his confidence returned.
"So what?" Fujishiki laughed once again. "Even if you know, what changes? You know full well you can't kill me."
His laughter echoed through the darkness all around them.
"Hahaha…!"
Obito lowered his gaze slightly.
"Yes."
Then his eyes changed.
A lock-like pattern appeared within them, cold and absolute.
"That would be true normally."
The corner of his mouth rose into a faint, chilling smile.
"But I just happened to have a way around it."
Death Requital — an absolute counter-curse that activates only when the user is genuinely killed by another. The death is rejected from the user and forced onto the killer instead, ignoring immortality, regeneration, soul protection, or resurrection. However, the user cannot exploit it by allowing himself to be killed on purpose, and enemies can still avoid the condition entirely by sealing him.
That was the ability Fujishiki relied on most.
And it was also the one thing that made even Obito cautious.
If Obito killed him head-on, there was a chance the result would be reflected back onto him—even enough to kill him.
As for devouring Fujishiki directly, Obito was not certain whether that would bypass the condition. Technically, devouring him would still fall under the act of "killing," and whether the ability would recognize it as such was not something Obito wanted to test carelessly.
So he had remained cautious.
With his Divine Eye of Lockdown, he could seal any ability, as long as he understood it.
That was why he had allowed the clone to approach Fujishiki for so long. The moment it touched him and maintained contact for nearly the required amount of time, Obito had already gathered enough information through it.
Enough information to cancel that ability.
Fujishiki heard every word, and for a moment his face went still before his expression twisted.
"No…"
His voice was low, as if he was trying to reject the truth before him.
"That's impossible."
The Devouring Coffin continued to crawl over his body. It seeped into his flesh, his chakra pathways, his soul, and even the invisible mark where his ability had once been rooted.
Fujishiki didn't care at this moment, his eyes instead snapped toward Obito.
"How can such a dōjutsu exist?!"
"No… no, no, no!"
"I don't accept this!"
Fear appeared in Fujishiki Ōtsutsuki's eyes.
He struggled with everything he had but there was nothing he could change.
"I was close…"
"I was this close."
Fujishiki stared at Obito with hatred filled eyes until they looked almost blood-red.
"I was going to become a god!"
"You…"
His face twisted savagely.
"You bastard…"
The last of his pride turned into a curse.
"I curse you."
"I hope your end is uglier than mine."
Obito's expression did not change.
"Your curse dies with you."
With those cold final words, Fujishiki Ōtsutsuki—who had stood only one step away from godhood—died with nothing left but regret and hatred.
After the process finally ended, Obito completely devoured Fujishiki.
The power that surged into him was enormous.
In the next instant, the white world beneath his feet shattered apart.
Not only that world, but the nearby dimensions were torn apart as well. Cracks spread through the space around him, crawling outward like broken glass.
Obito could feel the difference immediately.
His vision, his senses, his perception of existence itself—It was like seeing the world clearly for the first time after a lifetime spent staring through fog.
A true transcendence.
He had finally reached it.
The height of gods.
A level comparable to the four main gods of the Ōtsutsuki clan.
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