"This is Konoha, huh?"
"After all these years of development, it no longer looks like the primitive place it once was."
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki gazed down at the prosperous village below, a trace of arrogance in his eyes.
As one of the higher-ranking members of the Ōtsutsuki clan, he naturally had no regard for the trifles of the shinobi world.
Utterly confident in his own strength, Isshiki made no attempt to conceal himself.
Ignoring the wary, bewildered stares of the people below, he retrieved a glass of red wine from his time-stilled pocket dimension and began drinking with elegant ease.
"Humanity is only worthy of praise for things like this."
Swirling the wine in his glass, Isshiki slowly descended to the ground.
In an instant, dozens of masked Anbu surrounded him.
"Who are you? State your name!"
One of the Anbu coldly demanded.
"Noisy."
Isshiki gave a dismissive snort.
Dozens of black rods appeared out of nowhere and pierced through every Anbu's chest.
"How is that possible? That was too fast..."
"I couldn't see it at all. Damn it!"
"Evacuate the civilians..."
The dozens of Anbu collapsed to the ground, while everyone nearby stood frozen in shock at Isshiki's power.
Ever since the Divine Kingdom had been established, anyone selected for the Anbu had to possess at least elite jonin-level strength.
In other words, in that single instant, this man had defeated dozens of elite jonin.
"A rabble."
Isshiki showed no interest in pursuing the fleeing crowd.
Once he reincarnated using Kawaki's body, there would be no reason for the shinobi world to continue existing.
Before long, the civilians had all dispersed. Kashin Koji, Sanzu Amado, Obito Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha, Jiraiya, and the others had also arrived.
The moment they saw Isshiki, Jiraiya and the others were secretly stunned.
This was their first time seeing a true member of the Ōtsutsuki clan.
The legendary Ōtsutsuki looked completely different from humans.
"Kashin Koji, your injuries healed rather quickly."
"Sanzu Amado... so you really did betray me."
Isshiki gave a quiet snort upon seeing Koji and Amado.
Did those two really think revealing a little information about him to humanity would be enough to stop him?
"Hey, you Ōtsutsuki Isshiki or whatever your name is, don't get too full of yourself."
"I'd like to see what you're really capable of."
Obito frowned at Isshiki's calm expression, feeling thoroughly annoyed.
'What kind of joke is this? The only person I allow to act cool in front of me is Brother Yuzuru!'
Isshiki raised a brow after hearing Obito's words.
"And who are you?"
"I'm Obito Uchiha, the Hokage of Konoha!"
"Then you must know where Kawaki is, correct?"
"Of course I do. But I'll never tell you."
Isshiki gave an amused laugh, as though speaking to himself.
"Then I suppose I'll have to kill until you submit."
The moment he finished speaking, several black rods appeared directly before Obito.
Obito sensed that something was wrong, but before he could react, the rods had already appeared on his body.
Splat!
Clang...
One black rod pierced through Obito's shoulder, while several others fell harmlessly to the ground.
A hint of approval appeared in Isshiki's eyes.
"Your ability is intangibility, isn't it?"
"It's quite impressive, but..."
"Unless you maintain that state at all times, the next attack will be your death."
With his ability seen through at a glance, Obito gritted his teeth and pulled the black rod from his shoulder.
His Mangekyō Sharingan had not even been able to catch the trajectory of Isshiki's attack.
"Damn it. Did his attacks just appear out of thin air?"
Koji immediately answered, "Obito, he possesses the ability to shrink objects at will and restore them to their original size."
"He shrinks those black rods until they are invisible to the naked eye, then instantly restores them the moment they reach his target."
"That is how he attacks."
"Furthermore, he can transfer inanimate objects into a pocket dimension or summon them back out from it."
Koji loudly revealed Isshiki's abilities, causing everyone to frown.
Even knowing how the ability worked, countering it would be difficult.
The fact that the rods could not be seen with the naked eye was already enough to leave them helpless.
"Interesting. Are you trying to use genjutsu on me?"
Isshiki suddenly turned his gaze toward Itachi, contempt plain in his eyes.
The next second, an enormous and vigorous spiritual force erupted like a tangible gale.
Itachi covered his eye and staggered back several steps. For the first time, shock appeared on his usually composed face.
His opponent's spiritual power was so overwhelming that it had effortlessly torn apart Itachi's Tsukuyomi world.
Seeing both Obito and Itachi suffer setbacks, Jiraiya and the others could only stare in disbelief.
So this was the Ōtsutsuki clan.
They were absurdly powerful.
Isshiki tossed his wine glass into his pocket dimension and spoke indifferently.
"Enough. I've lost interest in playing around."
"As long as I kill enough people, I'm sure you'll hand Kawaki over yourselves."
After saying that, he prepared to kill Obito, Itachi, and the others.
But a figure suddenly appeared before him, blocking his path.
"Now that you've fought a true member of the Ōtsutsuki clan, you should have a clearer goal to work toward in the future, right?"
"Yes!"
Looking at Yuzuru standing before them, Obito and the others all nodded heavily.
They had originally wondered why Yuzuru, who should have arrived long ago, had not shown himself.
So he had deliberately allowed them to fight a true Ōtsutsuki first, letting them mentally prepare for the battles to come.
Thinking this, Obito loudly declared, "Brother Yuzuru, don't worry. The Ōtsutsuki clan isn't all that impressive. One day, I'll surpass them all!"
After this encounter, their vague idea of the Ōtsutsuki clan had become something clear and tangible.
As long as they had a goal, there would come a day when they surpassed it.
Listening to their exchange, anger slowly surfaced on Isshiki's face.
So this man had been using him as a sparring partner?
How arrogant.
Isshiki let out a cold snort.
"Yuzuru Uchiha, the last time we met in the black market, I backed down only because I had not found a suitable vessel for reincarnation."
"Don't tell me you truly believe you possess the strength to threaten me."
A faint smile appeared on Yuzuru's lips.
"Wouldn't we find out after fighting?"