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Compared to the distant battlefield where Kakuzu and Roshi clashed like natural disasters, the confrontation between the twenty-plus Kirigakure Ninja and the eight Konoha Ninja was eerily quiet—a stalemate.
The Mist Nin remained motionless, perched in the trees like silent specters.
Not because they lacked the will to fight—but because their commander had yet to give the order.
Ao's Byakugan opened beneath his eye patch, veins bulging faintly. His field of vision stretched far beyond the front line—sweeping the trees, the ground beneath them, and even the distant battlefield where an enormous explosion had just erupted.
The Konoha side stood in tight formation—two squads arranged in a layered defense. Outnumbered nearly three to one, they couldn't afford a single misstep.
Yet the thunderous shockwaves coming from where Roshi battled the rogue enemy made Shisui's chest tighten with unease.
His expression remained calm—but inside, his nerves were drawn taut as wire.
Roshi was not merely a valuable Jonin.
He was a stabilizing pillar between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha's upper echelons.
He was the one Itachi listened to, trusted, and followed.
If Roshi fell here, everything they were working toward would collapse.
The ocular power that had momentarily softened after Roshi drew Kakuzu away now surged once more.
Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan opened.
A single glance.
Several Kirigakure Ninja cried out in agony, clutching their heads as reality distorted around them. Losing balance, they toppled from the branches they'd been crouched upon.
Their startled comrades scrambled to catch them.
Ao's Byakugan tracked every detail.
Shisui's eyes—the power radiating from them—were clearly stronger than before.
But before Ao could reassess the situation, something else entered his expanded vision.
A shadow.
Someone else was hiding nearby. Not Kirigakure. Not Konoha.
Just one eye visible… and the chakra inside it—Sharingan?! A third party? Reinforcements? Or something far more dangerous?
This battlefield was becoming too unstable.
If the two sides kept escalating, things would spiral out of control.
Ao made a swift decision.
"All units—retreat!"
The Kirigakure Ninja barely hesitated.
They knew this drill too well by now.
A series of smoke bombs hissed open—white smoke billowed, swallowing the field whole.
The Mist Nin vanished into the fog, moving with practiced coordination and without a single backward glance.
Shisui watched the last of the shadows disappear, then let his Mangekyō fade into the familiar three-tomoe. His breath eased—but only slightly.
Because Roshi was still out there.
And he was facing no ordinary opponent.
"Everyone," Shisui said sharply, "the immediate threat has passed. We move to support Roshi—now."
Hidden deep within the trees, Obito watched the Mist Nin retreat with empty, unreadable eyes.
They had collapsed the moment a few comrades fell under genjutsu.
An entire assault force—thrown into disarray by a brief disruption.
He finally understood why this front had dragged on without result.
The Mist Nin had become… soft.
Hidden Mist… reduced to this?
Even when he was still in Konoha, even when the world felt hopeless, he'd never seen units retreat so fast—so willingly—over something so minor.
He snorted softly.
"And this is the village the Fourth Mizukage commands?"
His gaze turned toward the direction where Shisui's squad was now racing.
If Shisui and the Uchiha Anbu reached Roshi, Kakuzu's situation would turn… troublesome.
And that was something Obito could not allow.
Zetsu's half-black, half-white form slid out of a nearby tree trunk, its body unfurling with an organic shrrrp.
"Obito," White Zetsu chirped in his usual airy tone, "Kakuzu's situation looks reeeeally bad~"
Obito's brows twitched beneath the mask.
"He can't handle one Konoha Ninja?"
His irritation deepened. First the Kirigakure forces were slacking, and now this.
Shisui hadn't even reached the battlefield yet, and Kakuzu—Akatsuki's so-called treasurer—was already on the verge of losing?
Whether Obito liked it or not, Kakuzu was still a valuable asset. Losing him here would be a waste.
The space around Obito warped like rippling water.
In the blink of an eye, he materialized at the edge of the ravaged battlefield—where colossal roots and monstrous vines tore through the ground like living beasts. His single Sharingan eye swept the chaos.
Wood Release.
And not some crude imitation—this was powerful and expansive.
The one overwhelming Kakuzu… Obito recognized him.
"Uchiha Itachi's teammate. No—his captain."
So he was here.
Kakuzu looked half-ruined. Three masks destroyed, movements sluggish, his body twitching with visible strain. Meanwhile, the Konoha Jonin stood unharmed, expression unreadable beneath the drifting smoke.
Shisui would arrive any moment.
And if Itachi's captain was this troublesome, Obito had no intention of revealing his hand. Not here. Not yet.
He still hadn't forgotten Minato's Rasengan from the night of the Nine-Tails—its impact embedded in his memories deeper than any scar.
He would act—but carefully.
During that brief moment of silent observation, Roshi's eyes shifted. He had immediately noticed the newcomer—the masked man with long hair and an ominous aura.
Roshi flicked his finger, dropping a tiny wooden chip onto the forest floor.
Prepare for Kamui.
Obito's arrival diverted Roshi's attention for a fraction of a second—and that was all Kakuzu needed.
Gasping inwardly, Kakuzu finally felt a sliver of space to breathe. This entire fight had been suffocating. The opponent seemed to know his abilities inside and out—anticipating his angles, his timing, and even his masks. He couldn't escape the rhythm of Roshi's attacks.
If this continued unchecked, he'd lose another heart before Kirigakure even finished their warm-up.
Just as he frantically recalculated his options, a swirling distortion appeared beside him, and a masked figure popped out of thin air—right within killing range.
Kakuzu reacted instantly.
Black threads burst out like a nest of striking vipers—and passed clean through Obito.
"WOOAAAH! That was close! Super-duper close!" Obito yelped in a deliberately exaggerated panic, waving his arms around. "Kakuzu-senpai, it's me!! It's me!! Tobi! Reserve member of the organization!"
"The Hidden Mist guys ran away! They abandoned us and fled already!"
"What?!"
Kakuzu's rage spiked.
Those Kirigakure cowards retreated first?
Before his anger could fully detonate, Obito's hand landed on his shoulder.
A twist—a distortion—and both vanished.
Roshi stared at the spot where they had disappeared, the battlefield abruptly falling silent.
Roshi released the last of his Wood Release.
In this era of the Ninja World, when it came to the ability to retreat with utter ease—to leave the battlefield with no warning and no trace—there was no question.
Uchiha Obito, with Kamui, stood unrivaled.
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