Just as Baki felt a stirring of relief in his heart because of Gaara.
A covert surge of Chakra flooded into the room!
Almost the instant this Chakra appeared, a voice simultaneously rang out from the rooftop above the room.
"Finally found you, the One-Tail Jinchuriki, Gaara!"
Uchiha Obito hung upside down, gazing down at Gaara seated at the center of the room, a hint of amusement in his voice.
Seeing Uchiha Obito suddenly appear, Gaara's pupils couldn't help but constrict. Before his body could even react, Baki had already leapt into the air.
Kunai in hand, Baki slashed swiftly toward Uchiha Obito's neck. His speed and urgency were astonishing!
Unfortunately, the kunai passed through Uchiha Obito's body without any resistance at all, producing a sharp whistle as it cut through the air.
Uchiha Obito didn't even glance at the attacking Baki. His gaze remained fixed on Gaara below. The moment Baki's attack ended, he materialized his true body and lunged toward Gaara.
Uchiha Obito's face, hidden beneath the mask, shifted slightly. Baki, who should have been falling back down after jumping into the air.
Was instead floating in midair, defying all logic!
A faint glint of reflected light flashed out. Though it lasted only an instant, Uchiha Obito's Sharingan still caught it.
It was only then that Uchiha Obito noticed the extremely thin steel wire wrapped around Baki's other hand. This wire had somehow already been connected to the ceiling.
Due to the dim lighting throughout the room, Uchiha Obito hadn't noticed the steel wire in Baki's hand at the very beginning!
And because of that momentary oversight, Baki used the wire's pulling force to execute a sharp spin in midair, landing a kick squarely on Uchiha Obito's body.
The blow was incredibly heavy. Even though Uchiha Obito had reacted at the last moment and deflected some of the force, his body still flew sideways from the impact.
However, that was the extent of it. Uchiha Obito quickly recovered in midair and landed steadily on the ground nearby.
On the other side, Baki had no intention of continuing the attack. He cursed those sensor shinobi inwardly and swiftly dropped from the air, positioning himself in front of Gaara.
Baki shielded Gaara with his body, speaking without even turning his head.
This was Sunagakure's home ground. Though he wasn't sure how the fellow across from him had slipped past the sensor shinobi, given the commotion from their brief clash, the surrounding Sand Shinobi were likely already on their way here.
Almost the instant the thought crossed Baki's mind, multiple Chakra signatures began moving, appearing within the perception of everyone present.
"Such rich combat experience."
Uchiha Obito brushed off the spot where he'd been kicked, letting out a strange laugh. His voice was unhurried, showing not the slightest sense of urgency.
"Are you the one who came to capture me?" Gaara kept his head down, making his expression unreadable. He slowly stood up, his arms dangling at his sides.
Streams of sand poured from Gaara's gourd, spilling onto the ground around him.
Seeing this, Baki's face involuntarily darkened. It was obvious that Gaara hadn't listened to a single word he'd just said.
Gaara suddenly snapped his head up, his face twisted into a ferocious expression as he roared with killing intent.
The sand that had just spilled from his gourd instantly began to churn, transforming into countless sand bullets that fired forward like a machine gun.
Since Baki was standing in front of Gaara, the moment Gaara activated his jutsu, Baki instinctively dove to the side!
However, precisely because of Baki's movement, Uchiha Obito also sprang into action. He dove forward, and under the effect of Kamui, paid no attention to the sand bullets raining down from all directions.
Uchiha Obito closed the distance to Gaara at tremendous speed. Since the room's space was limited.
In just one or two breaths, Uchiha Obito had already appeared right in front of Gaara.
Seeing his attacks having no effect, Gaara let out a low growl and swept both arms forward. The surrounding sand surged in response.
Massive amounts of sand attacked Uchiha Obito while simultaneously forming a sand shield in front of Gaara.
This chain of actions was completed almost instantaneously. Clearly, compared to the Chunin Exams period, Gaara's strength had increased significantly.
Uchiha Obito still passed through without any hindrance. His single exposed eye emitted a faint crimson glow as he raised one arm and pressed it toward Gaara's head!
Accompanied by an extremely faint sound of something cutting through the air from ahead.
A remarkably thin steel wire came hurtling from the front, aiming with incredible precision at Uchiha Obito's neck.
If Uchiha Obito continued forward, his entire head would likely be sliced clean off by this wire. The one who had launched this attack was none other than Baki.
With Gaara right before his eyes, Uchiha Obito showed no hesitation whatsoever. He instantly entered the Kamui state, his body phasing through the wire and Gaara's body at high speed, emerging behind them!
At the same time, a series of heavy thuds echoed as dozens of Sand Shinobi arrived simultaneously, surrounding Uchiha Obito in an encirclement formation.
Wave after wave of intense killing intent radiated from these Sand Shinobi, their combined pressure converging and locking onto Uchiha Obito.
A smile crept onto Baki's face as he stared at the surrounded Uchiha Obito with ice-cold eyes.
Under the current circumstances, Uchiha Obito had absolutely no chance of taking Gaara away!
Not only that, but Uchiha Obito was now surrounded. Space-Time Ninjutsu might be extremely rare, but that didn't mean it was invincible.
Baki refused to believe that this fellow's Space-Time Ninjutsu was unbeatable. There was no jutsu in the Shinobi World that was truly invincible — it was simply a matter of not having found the counter yet.
Even Namikaze Minato, the "Yellow Flash" who possessed Space-Time Ninjutsu, needed specially crafted kunai for coordinate positioning.
Hearing the confidence in Baki's tone, Uchiha Obito showed not the slightest concern about being surrounded. Instead, he shook his head and spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness.
Uchiha Obito stroked his chin, his tone filled with something strange, before suddenly shifting his words.
"Besides, who ever said my goal was to take the Jinchuriki away?"
"Tail-Release Seal — Release!" Uchiha Obito placed a single hand on his chest and uttered these words with exceptional calmness.
Long before Uchiha Obito had used Kamui to pass through Gaara's body, one hand had already made contact with the spot on Gaara's back.
However, since Baki had been standing in front of Gaara, he was positioned precisely in a blind spot and completely missed Uchiha Obito's subtle movement.
Baki's expression changed in an instant. Only now did he notice that Gaara had been standing motionless in place with his head lowered the entire time.
A roar like that of a wild beast, accompanied by violent and terrifying Chakra, erupted from Gaara's body.
A terrifying aura swept across the surroundings. At the same time, Gaara's body began to expand at a visible rate.
Baki's face grew grim as he swept his arm and shouted at the surrounding Sand Shinobi.
That fellow's goal from the very beginning was never to take Gaara away — it was to make the Tailed Beast go on a rampage!
[
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