Far from the main battlefield, Tobi emerged from the rock using the Ephemeral Technique, leaning against the stone as he watched the show.
A battle between the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and the Demigod of the Shinobi World was a rare sight.
Suddenly! A whooshing sound came from above!
Uchiha Mizukiku, having approached from Tobi's blind spot unnoticed, leaped over the rock and slashed downward with his short sword.
He thought his sneak attack had succeeded, but he saw that Tobi had already looked up, staring at him with a pair of three-tomoe Sharingan!
The feeling Tobi gave him was one of utter ease; the gap between himself and Tobi was vast!
When his eyes met those Sharingan, Uchiha Mizukiku felt contempt.
Perhaps contempt for his strength, or perhaps contempt for him personally.
Tobi tilted his head, easily dodging Uchiha Mizukiku's short sword, and jumped forward.
Uchiha Mizukiku pushed off the rock, closely pursuing Tobi.
Strike after strike, no matter how fast Uchiha Mizukiku's blade was, it couldn't even graze Tobi's clothes.
Ahead was another cliff face. Tobi jumped down from the cliff.
Danzō, seeing Uchiha Mizukiku chasing after him, quickly followed.
At the base of the cliff, Tobi continued fleeing into the distance, with Uchiha Mizukiku in hot pursuit.
Danzō glanced back at the battle around the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
He thought to himself, It seems Tobi is wary of me, not wanting me and Hanzo to join forces against Uzumaki Nagato, so he's deliberately luring me away.
Danzō thought, This suits me perfectly...
After chasing for a few minutes, descending several step-like cliff faces, Danzō saw Uchiha Mizukiku and Tobi again.
The two stood motionless.
Uchiha Mizukiku was using a genjutsu.
Uchiha Mahiru's Mangekyō hadn't displayed much genjutsu capability.
And genjutsu was Uchiha Mizukiku's strong point.
Danzō saw Tobi frozen in place and thought, Indeed, only the Sharingan can deal with the Sharingan.
Seeing the genjutsu take effect, Uchiha Mizukiku suddenly moved, his short sword thrusting directly at Tobi's mask!
Danzō's pupils constricted. The Mangekyō dōjutsu, here it comes!
A black dot suddenly appeared in front of Uchiha Mizukiku.
The black dot expanded, becoming a Yono Shima.
If Uchiha Mizukiku stepped on the Yono Shima, he would instantly be crushed into pulp.
One of Uchiha Mahiru's dōjutsu: Mangekyō: Yono Shima!
Uchiha Mizukiku was prepared. Not only did he not pull back, but his left leg, positioned behind, pushed off the ground with even more force.
His entire body flew forward, not only avoiding the Yono Shima but also allowing him to strike Tobi's mask sooner.
Tobi's movement frequency suddenly increased. He raised his hand, grabbed Uchiha Mizukiku's wrist, and violently slammed him towards the ground, towards the Yono Shima.
Uchiha Mizukiku was greatly shocked. Why is Tobi's taijutsu so strong?
Even the strongest taijutsu specialist in Konoha wouldn't be much better.
However, Uchiha Mizukiku wasn't in despair.
He wasn't fighting alone; Lord Danzō was there.
If Lord Danzō intervened promptly, for example, using a Wind Release from the side, he wouldn't fall onto the Yono Shima.
While slamming Uchiha Mizukiku down, Tobi divided his attention to guard against Danzō.
Tobi guarded against the left, the right, and behind, but what he didn't expect was that Danzō would catch him off guard from the most impossible angle!
Danzō had somehow used Body Flicker to appear right in front of him, he...?
Damn it...
Danzō stepped on Uchiha Mizukiku's back, charging towards Tobi!
Earlier, to avoid the Yono Shima, Uchiha Mizukiku's whole body was flying forward horizontally.
However, Danzō utilized Uchiha Mizukiku; stepping on his back also allowed him to avoid the Yono Shima.
Attacking head-on completely exceeded both Tobi's and Uchiha Mizukiku's expectations.
Uchiha Mizukiku had considered that Lord Danzō might not save him, might sacrifice him for Konoha's sake and attack Tobi from behind.
He could accept that scenario.
Everything was for Konoha.
But he never, ever expected that Lord Danzō would not only not save him but also stomp hard on his back...
Uchiha Mizukiku's waist bent downward first, like a pitiful shrimp.
As his abdomen made contact with the Yono Shima, only despair remained in Uchiha Mizukiku's heart.
Lord Danzō always said that for Konoha, everyone should be prepared to sacrifice.
Wave after wave of Root members sacrificed because Lord Danzō was also prepared to sacrifice.
Uchiha Mizukiku had seen many people sacrifice for Lord Danzō. When it became his turn, he still felt his heart fill with ice.
Uchiha Mizukiku instantly collapsed, turning into a pile of pulp.
Using Uchiha Mizukiku as a stepping stone, Danzō's Vacuum Blade also pierced Tobi's throat.
The sharp Wind Release chakra turned the kunai into a long blade of wind.
The Vacuum Blade struck solidly.
Tobi's throat was pierced through.
Both the swirl-patterned outer layer and the windpipe and cervical spine inside were penetrated!
Danzō then reached forward, three fingers like an eagle's claw, grabbing for Tobi's eyes.
Danzō's eyes were full of triumph.
A brilliant tactic considers everything, especially the element of surprise.
Who in their right mind would think that Uchiha Mizukiku was also a tool?
Teammates can also be part of the tactic.
Slap!
Danzō's fingers abruptly stopped just five centimeters from the mask.
Tobi raised his hand and grabbed Danzō's wrist!
Danzō was stunned!
What's going on?
The Vacuum Blade pierced through Tobi's throat! Why can he still move?
Right now, only thin layers of skin on either side connect Tobi's throat!
The Vacuum Blade is very wide!
Even if White Zetsu is a special creation of Wood Release cells, a severed neck should still mean death!
Tobi solidly gripped Danzō's wrist. He didn't even bother with Danzō for a moment, instead turning his head to look up at the cliff face above.
Someone's coming.
Holding Danzō's wrist with one hand and stepping on the pulp that was Uchiha Mizukiku with one foot, the two people and the pulp instantly vanished.
Dozens of seconds later, another Tobi slowly walked out.
He looked around the base of the cliff in confusion.
Inside the swirl mask, two voices discussed.
"What happened? Did I just see you?"
"See me? You mean you saw yourself, right?"
"There are some deep footprints on the ground. Someone was fighting here just now."
"The rain hasn't washed away the traces yet. Someone was indeed fighting."
"Really strange. I keep feeling like I saw you, which means I saw myself."
"Let's go. Don't worry about this place for now. Let's go keep an eye on Nagato."
"This is the most important lesson in Nagato's growth. We need to properly assess Nagato's condition."
Just after Tobi turned to leave, the Pitcher Plant of Black and White Zetsu emerged from the ground.
White Zetsu shouted: "Uchiha Madara-sama was killed by Konoha's Fox!"
Black Zetsu said: "Don't get so agitated. Lord Madara didn't plan to live much longer anyway.
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and the Rinnegan have been entrusted to Uzumaki Nagato. We just need to watch over Nagato properly."
"What?!" Tobi forcefully pried open the Pitcher Plant of Black and White Zetsu, even bending it out of shape, shouting:
"Why so sudden! Wasn't Lord Madara waiting for us to report back on Nagato's progress?"
Black Zetsu said: "Fox has half of Senju Hashirama's strength, and Lord Madara already bestowed the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to Nagato.
Without the Demonic Statue's assistance, without a source of life force, is it really surprising that Lord Madara was no match for Fox?
What we must do is ensure Nagato's growth and guarantee the sealing of the nine Tailed Beasts.
However, we must find a way to deal with Fox. That Anbu is too strong."
***
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(End of Chapter)