A black Truth-Seeking Orb twisted and contorted, forming into the Heavenly Swamp Spear, a staff-like weapon that settled into Obito Uchiha's hand.
Obito couldn't accept it. He had betrayed Madara, chosen to endure everything alone to become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki for the sake of the Moon's Eye Plan. After climbing all the way to the top, he refused to back down in front of another person.
Especially when this guy was blind.
Obito charged forward at incredible speed, swinging the Heavenly Swamp Spear toward Shirou's body. His voice was rough and deep.
"Now! I'm the strongest in the world!"
"The strongest has never been you..." Shirou calmly raised his hand.
A black Truth-Seeking Orb twisted into a longsword in his grasp, intercepting the Heavenly Swamp Spear. The massive explosion sent both of them flying backward.
Obito hurriedly raised his arm to shield his face from the smoke created by the collision, only for Shirou to burst out of the cloud, rushing straight at him.
"...and it's not me, either," Shirou's voice was still calm as another Truth-Seeking Orb gathered in his palm. The sharp black blade he formed instantly slashed off Obito's arm.
"!!!"
Obito retreated in a flash. Their speed was dizzying. Even Tobirama and Minato, both masters of the Flying Thunder God Technique, couldn't keep up and could only watch in shock.
It was too fast. This was pure physical speed.
This was movement on a Six Paths level, a speed that surpassed the need for space-time abilities, and their bodies suffered no damage from such velocity.
"So fast..." Madara's Rinnegan eyes narrowed slightly. Even though he had obtained the Rinnegan and surpassed Hashirama, he couldn't easily join a battle of this caliber.
Six Paths... it completely transcends all other ninja. It's a different tier entirely—the absolute peak a ninja can reach.
And yet... the difference between them was enormous.
Shirou's black sword was terrifyingly fast. Obito retreated miserably, but his severed arm quickly regenerated. A
fter becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, his recovery was extreme; a severed arm or a damaged heart was just a minor wound. However, this powerful regeneration seemed to be the only thing keeping him in the fight.
Obito formed another Truth-Seeking Orb into a shield. He now realized he could only rely on the absolute defense of the Orbs and hope that the power he had just gained was enough.
But... he was wrong again.
"Sage Art: Lightning Style!"
A flash of silver lightning streaked from Shirou's palm. It sliced diagonally through the Truth-Seeking Orb, splitting Obito's shield in two.
"How is that possible!" Obito couldn't believe his eyes. Shirou swung his black sword through the opening in the shattered shield and sliced straight through his body.
"No way!" Even Black Zetsu looked shocked. Truth-Seeking Orbs were supposed to neutralize other jutsu, not be split by a Lightning Style attack.
"There is a kind of power in this world called natural energy," Hashirama immediately realized what had happened, his voice serious. "Natural energy is equal to chakra; it can strengthen the chakra in one's body to form a unique Sage Art chakra. Just now, Shirou used Sage Art chakra..."
"That's about right," Shirou said, shaking the blood from his sword. His voice remained peaceful. "More accurately, what I control is Six Paths Sage Art, which is a level higher than ordinary Sage Art chakra."
He continued, "I know the essence of the Truth-Seeking Orbs better than you do... and I understand Six Paths-level combat better than you ever will."
Obito's body, which had been cut in half, quickly fused back together.
He now truly understood that he couldn't beat Shirou. Becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki had put his power above regular ninja, even above Hashirama and Madara, but he still couldn't surpass Shirou.
To defeat Shirou... perhaps he could rely on unique battle experience.
But even there, he was lacking. Shirou had more experience at the Six Paths level than anyone, he was a peer of the Sage of Six Paths himself and knew these battles better than anyone.
His only hope... was his Kamui Mangekyo Sharingan.
But just as Obito thought of using it, he realized he couldn't access Kamui's intangibility after becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki. His new body was simply too strong. His space-time ninjutsu couldn't instantly transport his dense, powerful form.
Without his Kamui's intangibility, he was actually weaker than before when standing in front of Shirou.
"This isn't a power you should covet..." Shirou said, reaching for Obito's chest.
"But I'm the one who deserves it in the end!" Obito's tone turned cold as his body drifted back. Scales on his skin flared up with red flames.
Black rods appeared in Obito's hand, wrapped in red fire, and he nailed them to the ground. A crimson barrier erupted between him and Shirou.
But it wasn't just one barrier. Six barriers formed at once, locking Shirou inside.
"Six Red Yang Formation..." Obito raised his fingers, his eyes fierce. This was the strongest barrier in the ninja world, far stronger than the Four Red Yang Formation used in Konoha.
However, Obito didn't believe it could stop Shirou. He was just trying to buy a little time.
The remaining Truth-Seeking Orbs behind him quickly formed various ninja tools before him.
But for everyone watching Obito's stubborn resistance, only one thought came to mind: a desperate struggle.
All those present were powerful ninja with extraordinary battle experience and insight.
To them, Obito, as the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, fighting at the Six Paths level looked like a genin fighting a battle far above their station.
It was as if Obito was a child who had been handed the sharpest blade in the world and was naively challenging an adult.
Of course, Shirou's combat style was also very simple. But to everyone watching, Shirou seemed like an adult watching a child fool around, casually landing two blows that left the child in despair.
"Obito Uchiha has become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki," Sai of the Allied Shinobi Forces calmly reported to headquarters. "Shirou has taken action. Obito is already about to lose."
"Wait..." Nara Shikaku, at Alliance HQ, was caught off guard. "Isn't that a bit too fast? Shouldn't Obito as the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki be able to compete with Shirou?"
"Completely... not," Sai replied. "There's not even a glimmer of hope for him to win. Even though, according to Shirou's own words, they're on the same tier..."
Sai paused for a moment, then offered a simple comparison. "Watching this battle... it's like watching Lady Tsunade fight Sakura from our village."
"Why that example?" Shikaku found it strange but quickly understood the massive gap it implied. "So the difference really is that big..."
"I'll add to that," Kankuro, who was observing the battlefield, interjected after Sai finished. "I think it's actually like a twelve-year-old Sakura... and I'm not joking."
"I understand," Shikaku sighed helplessly and brought up another issue. "Our sensory barrier has detected four sudden, intense chakra surges, each with the power to destroy Konoha. Were those attacks from Shirou against Obito?"
"No..." Sai shook his head, his eyes on the battle.
He watched the ninja tools forming in front of Obito, the Divine Tree behind him, and the four red Tailed Beast Bombs appearing. He muttered quietly, "That's Obito's last counterattack..."
"But..." Sai looked at Shirou, trapped inside the Six Red Yang Formation, and held firm to his opinion. "No matter how hard a twelve-year-old Sakura tries, she can't beat Lady Tsunade."