On the other side of the battlefield, Tobi used his space time Ninjutsu and arrived swiftly at the location Ashveil had designated.
Hidden within the shadows, he observed Ashveil in silence.
After Uchiha Itachi, this man had become the second set of shackles placed upon him.
Obito did not want to relive the years of restraint and pressure Itachi had forced upon him.
Slowly, his eyes darkened beneath the mask.
Why hesitate?
Why not eliminate Ashveil here and now?
According to Nagato's information, Ashveil wished to cooperate with him and assist in the Eye of the Moon Plan.
But Obito did not trust that so easily.
Who could say what Ashveil was truly thinking?
What unsettled him most was the gap in strength.
Ashveil's combat power far surpassed his own.
Working alongside someone stronger than himself made Obito deeply uneasy.
So why not remove the threat altogether?
Even without Ashveil, the Eye of the Moon Plan could still be completed.
There was no reason to rely on someone this dangerous.
With that thought, Obito activated Kamui and vanished from his position.
At the same time, Ashveil, who appeared to be resting with his eyes closed, let a faint smile form on his lips.
Though his eyes remained shut, his Overlord Color Domain had already been fully deployed.
The moment Obito stepped within a ten kilometer radius, the moment he entered Ashveil's domain, his presence and killing intent were laid completely bare.
Ashveil sensed it all.
A battle was inevitable.
He felt a hint of resignation.
As expected, Obito continued closing the distance using Kamui.
Boom.
A chain shot toward Ashveil without warning.
There was no need to dodge.
Ashveil slightly narrowed his eyes.
Boom.
A surge of Conqueror's Haki erupted outward, blasting the chain away effortlessly.
"Hey, Tobi," Ashveil said lazily. "You've already arrived, so why not say hello?"
Ashveil knew full well that Tobi's true identity was Uchiha Obito, and that the name Uchiha Madara was merely a disguise.
He used the name deliberately.
Purely to provoke him.
Even now, Ashveil had no intention of exposing Obito's identity.
He wanted to enjoy this.
As expected, Obito said nothing.
Instead, he launched his second attack without hesitation.
Beneath the mask, Obito's Sharingan spun rapidly.
A violent surge of spatial distortion erupted from his eyes.
This technique would not kill Ashveil directly.
It would drag him into another dimension entirely.
In the Shinobi World, this was a near broken ability.
Ashveil briefly considered meeting it head on.
Would spatial distortion collapse before absolute power?
The thought intrigued him.
It had happened before, when he fought Imu in the Pirate World.
But after a moment, he dismissed the idea.
If he truly got trapped in another dimension indefinitely, that would be tedious.
The instant Obito activated his technique, Ashveil expanded his Overlord Color Domain.
In a flash, his figure vanished from where he stood.
Obito's Kamui swallowed nothing but empty air.
His surprise attack, his trump card, had failed.
Completely.
Obito froze.
In his memory, only one person had ever displayed speed like that.
His teacher, the Fourth Hokage.
Yet even the Yellow Flash did not feel this overwhelming.
Ashveil's speed matched the Yellow Flash, but his power was on an entirely different level.
"Damn it," Obito muttered coldly. "This is the first time I've felt pressure like this."
In the next instant, Ashveil reappeared from another direction.
Obito's eyes narrowed sharply.
"That technique just now," he said slowly. "Was that space time Ninjutsu?"
Ashveil ignored the question.
Instead, he raised his hand and unleashed Shinra Tensei.
Boom.
The ground roared.
Within a one kilometer radius centered on Ashveil, the air itself was blasted away, forming a vast vacuum zone.
Trees disintegrated into dust.
The forest was erased in an instant.
From within the distorted space, Obito stared in shock.
"This level of power," he thought. "It rivals a Tailed Beast."
No.
It was worse.
That had been casual.
If Ashveil attacked seriously, the destruction would be far beyond that.
Even Obito, who had once slaughtered his entire clan, felt caution grip his heart.
He had never felt this wary, not even against the Fourth Hokage.
Now he understood how Nagato had been defeated.
Ashveil studied Obito calmly.
Kamui was indeed troublesome.
Body phasing alone allowed Obito to kill anyone weaker than himself instantly.
Against stronger opponents, it still allowed him to fight on equal footing.
A strange thought crossed Ashveil's mind.
If Obito had not pursued Six Paths power during the Fourth Shinobi World War, and if he only focused on survival, he might truly never die.
After phasing, Obito reappeared at a different angle.
Ashveil did not even turn around.
"In that case," he said calmly, "we can talk now, right?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Obito's expression.
Ashveil had appeared from his blind spot, yet still sensed him.
Did his eyes function like the Byakugan?
They looked ordinary.
Too ordinary.
Obito's gaze hardened.
The Eye of the Moon Plan involved Rin.
He would never allow anyone to disrupt it.
"Ashveil," Obito said coldly. "I admit you're powerful. But defeating me won't be easy."
"If it ends in a draw, you have no right to negotiate with me."
A draw?
Ashveil chuckled.
It seemed he had been too restrained.
Obito actually believed they stood on equal ground.
"Obito," Ashveil said lightly, "what exactly are you thinking?"
Obito frowned beneath his mask.
Wasn't he right?
As long as he maintained phasing, he could not be defeated.
Could Ashveil maintain Shinra Tensei endlessly?
Obito calculated silently.
What he did not realize was that Ashveil did not need to.
Within the Overlord Color Domain, the moment Obito touched even a trace of Conqueror's Haki, his position would be exposed completely.
Ashveil could move instantly.
The instant Obito solidified, the attack would already be there.
No reaction time.
As Obito's words faded, Ashveil condensed a flash of Conqueror's Haki.
It arrived before Obito could even process it.
Obito's eyes widened.
The speed was horrifying.
It felt like being locked onto by an Uchiha's gaze, once targeted, escape was impossible.
At the last moment, Obito activated phasing.
The beam passed through his body.
Boom.
Two thousand meters away, the attack detonated.
The forest convulsed in a massive earthquake.
A towering mountain was erased, leaving behind a colossal crater.
Smoke poured upward endlessly.
Even after phasing, Obito wiped his brow.
Cold sweat dripped down his face.
For the first time in years, fear had found its way back to him.