Chapter 271: Prelude to Chaos
The girl's voice — one that should have been clear and bright as silver bells — landed on Obito's ears now like a demon's whisper.
Kamui!
He triggered it almost reflexively, the technique most familiar to him, the one he trusted most, hoping to slip past whatever the Hokage was unleashing on him in the dark!
But just as she'd said—
Too late.
Obito felt that same overwhelming force from three years ago wash over him again.
A pale, delicate fist — fine enough that faint blue veins showed clearly beneath the skin — landed squarely on his body.
The girl's fist looked, on the surface, utterly harmless. If anything, it might have passed for some irritated girl throwing a light, playful punch at someone who'd annoyed her.
But—
Would anyone actually believe that?
Would anyone dare believe that?
Anyone who knew even a little about this Hokage understood that beneath that slender frame lurked a genuinely monstrous force.
Her greatest strength lay in exactly this kind of power — the most primal, the most unrefined, the most contemptibly simple.
No technique. No subtlety. Just a fist, thrown straight at you.
For nearly every shinobi alive, a single punch from her ended in one of exactly two outcomes.
You dodged, and you kept living.
You didn't, and you died.
That simple. The plainest, most unadorned attack imaginable.
And yet, absolutely lethal.
The fist landed on Obito's shoulder, his crimson eyes wide.
In that instant, Obito felt himself reduced to something like an ordinary man.
While standing directly across from him charged a full-grown, adult rhinoceros at full speed.
An invisible shockwave rippled outward in every direction from that single strike.
Every blade of grass across the ground bent flat beneath the pressure, refusing to stand upright, refusing even to look up at the Hokage before them.
Faced with a Hokage wielding power this pure, everything in the world seemed to have no choice but to bow its head.
Obito's body shot backward like a cannon shell, plunging deep into the black, endless sea below.
He felt his own body.
Even with Steel Release's protection, that single punch had left one arm entirely unusable, twisted and deformed beyond function.
Obito's expression turned to genuine horror, and he immediately prepared to trigger Kamui underwater, planning to escape entirely.
Too much.
The gap between them is simply too vast.
Obito genuinely couldn't imagine what this Hokage had been fed to grow into something like this.
Even with the Ghost Sprout Technique, mastery over Swift Release, Steel Release, and Storm Release, alongside his own Sharingan and Wood Release—
Five top-tier kekkei genkai, all his own.
On top of that, a massive reserve of Hashirama cells, and the black rod — a creation born of Yin-Yang Release.
And still, he wasn't a match for this Hokage.
But just as he prepared to trigger Kamui and escape, the pink figure — unnoticed until now — plunged into the sea after him.
Streaking straight toward him at full speed!
Obito's pupils contracted sharply. There was no time left to use Kamui!
He'd have to face the full weight of the Hokage's power alone, right here.
Triggering Kamui to escape took time.
And Obito didn't believe, for even a second, that the Fifth Hokage would fail to seize that window.
After all — sixteen years ago, the Fourth Hokage himself had been precise enough to escape Kamui's own space in that same narrow gap.
"Storm Release — Storm Dragon Rampage!"
Black mist merged with the surrounding seawater, crimson lightning wrapping around Obito's entire body.
He raised his one remaining functional arm, aiming it directly at the Hokage charging toward him.
Crimson lightning roared through the depths like a growling dragon.
Storm Release was, at its core, a fusion of Lightning and Water Release — and now, with Obito submerged entirely underwater, that crimson lightning's power would be amplified several times over.
Cold, unbothered indifference filled those golden eyes.
Facing the incoming assault, the Hokage neither dodged nor flinched.
She simply gathered her chakra, condensing it around her body, shining like a beacon in the black depths.
Her single hand formed a sword-seal in front of her chest.
Yang Release — Ward.
The Hokage had no interest in tanking the attack with raw physicality alone — she simply activated her own signature technique.
Using her own peerless chakra control, she took her overwhelming chakra reserves, combined with her own vigorous vitality, and deployed it across the surface of her body, condensing, condensing, condensing.
This technique cost a genuinely enormous amount of chakra, and demanded exceptional control from whoever cast it.
Realistically, only someone with truly vast chakra reserves could ever manage it.
But those with vast chakra reserves tended, almost universally, to share one particular flaw.
They preferred brute force over finesse.
One jutsu doesn't kill you? Then I'll throw ten. Fifty. A hundred!
No understanding whatsoever of nuance, of proper technique.
Exactly like Naruto.
The Hokage's surrounding chakra flame flickered once and settled back into calm.
But Ward's effect had already taken hold.
The roaring crimson dragon slammed directly into the Hokage!
Instantly, the seafloor erupted with crackling lightning!
Countless sea creatures floated belly-up to the surface!
Yet the Hokage treated that crimson lightning as though it didn't exist at all, charging straight at Obito!
"WHAT?!"
Obito stared, stunned — the moment his mouth opened, seawater poured straight in.
Kamui!
He triggered it again immediately, streaking upward toward the surface!
A savage, explosive punch detonated through the seafloor like a bomb — in an instant, the surrounding water scattered violently apart!
What kind of power was this?
This was the Hokage's power.
Cold eyes tracked Obito surging upward, and the pink figure launched herself after him in a single leap.
At the surface, Obito spat out a mouthful of bitter, salty seawater, his gaze cold, fixed on the Hokage ahead.
Her hair, damp from the seawater, clung together in strands, droplets streaming off her entire body — she looked, on the surface, faintly disheveled.
But only on the surface.
She'd only thrown three punches, this whole fight.
The first, dodged via Kamui.
The second, crippled his arm and sent him underwater.
The third, left him fleeing for his life.
What a terrifying person.
Utterly impossible to believe she was only sixteen.
"Obito. Any chance of escape?"
Black Zetsu spoke, still tucked inside Obito's sleeve.
"What do you think?"
Obito answered, slowly rising to his feet, his gaze fixed on the girl before him.
Of course.
That fight three years ago — we should have committed everything, whatever the cost, to kill her then.
That single moment of hesitation had led directly to this exact situation now.
The shinobi world had produced someone who could stand alongside Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.
But it was far too late to dwell on any of that now.
"Obito Uchiha."
The Hokage stepped forward across the water's surface, one step at a time.
The churning waves beneath her feet stilled, one step after another.
With each step, the moisture clinging to her body diminished bit by bit.
By the third step, not a single droplet remained on her — no trace at all of her having just plunged into the ocean.
"I didn't expect you'd actually have the nerve to show yourself before me in person."
"What exactly gave you that kind of courage."
The distance between them had closed to less than ten meters now.
"Let me think."
The Hokage's mouth curved into a faint, amused smile.
That smile, to Obito, was blinding — unbearable.
It was the smile only a stronger being could ever direct at someone weaker. Absolute. Unquestioned.
Under that smile, under those golden eyes, Obito pressed his lips together hard.
Once again. Once again, this same crushing helplessness.
The last time he'd felt this way had been the night Rin died.
He'd despaired of the entire world, that night.
But this time...
He despaired of his own weakness.
There was a chasm between himself and this Hokage.
An enormous, unbridgeable chasm.
No matter how desperately he fought forward, he could never even hope to touch the hem of her robe.
"Is it because of... Izanagi?"
The name of an Uchiha forbidden technique fell from the Hokage's mouth, and Obito's expression shifted visibly.
Right. The intelligence leaked back at the Kakashi confrontation had already revealed that he'd once used Kamui in conjunction with Izanagi to save a comrade's life.
Of course this Hokage would know about Izanagi by now.
No — even without Kakashi's slip, she'd have known this anyway.
She was the Hokage, after all.
Everything within Konoha lay open to her.
"Don't get ahead of yourself."
Obito growled low, his cold gaze fixed on the Hokage steadily closing the distance.
Her attitude — as though she already held every card — left him feeling genuinely humiliated.
What was he, in her eyes?
Some clown, thrashing pathetically in front of her, unable to accomplish a single thing?
"Ahead of myself?"
The Hokage laughed coldly, and her form vanished from sight — Obito's scalp crawled instantly!
"Getting ahead of yourself requires having something to back it up with."
"And I..."
"...happen to have exactly that."
As the words fell, the Hokage had already appeared behind Obito, unnoticed, her hand forming a blade, and she swung it downward at him from the side!
The strike cleaved a long, gaping rift straight through the ocean itself!
But—
Obito remained entirely unharmed.
He'd avoided it via Kamui once again.
Watching this, the Hokage's eyes carried a faint, subtle trace of mockery.
"Let me guess. You've been maintaining Kamui continuously ever since the moment you hit the seafloor, haven't you?"
"How long has it been now?"
"One minute, thirty-six seconds."
The Hokage's words left Obito's expression grim.
Caught.
Ever since his fight with Itachi, he'd learned his lesson — every time he activated Kamui now, he tracked exactly how long it had been running.
"You think you've got me cornered?"
Obito looked at the Hokage.
Urgency gripped his chest. If he didn't strike back now—
It would be over.
"What do you think?"
She wore the same unbothered expression as always.
Obito, wary, pulled back to create distance from her — but the Hokage made no move at all in response.
She simply watched him, calm.
That distance meant nothing to her. She could close it in the blink of an eye.
Less than that, even.
The black rod slid free from Obito's sleeve.
A creation of Yin-Yang Release.
This was the only method Obito could think of right now.
A path to victory.
If he could drive this rod into the Hokage's body, disrupting her chakra flow directly—
He would win.
Anyone struck by this rod, without exception, fell into a state of complete chakra paralysis.
Even this Hokage. No exception.
Black Zetsu, usually the one steering strategy, had gone quiet ever since negotiations had broken down.
Even he couldn't figure out how to leverage their current position to defeat this Hokage.
Everything... seemed already decided.
Then Obito moved, his form blurring like a violent gale.
Speed pushed to its absolute limit.
Swift Release.
The ocean surface churned violently again under Obito's motion.
The Hokage watched him charge toward her with genuine interest.
Within moments, the black rod in his hand was on the verge of striking her.
And yet, she still didn't react.
The Hokage seemed entirely unaware of Obito's incoming attack, standing calmly atop the water.
Obito's chest tightened at the sight.
Why isn't she dodging?
Is this a trap?
Should I... follow through with the strike...
In the next instant, Obito's form passed straight through the Hokage's.
In the end, Obito chose not to strike.
Because he was still maintaining intangibility.
None of this had escaped the Hokage's awareness at all.
It had simply been a bluff.
But the very next instant, a sharp, violent whistling sound tore through the air!
The black rod drove straight toward the Hokage's back!
And this time — she moved.
A single pale finger caught the incoming rod, stopping it cold.
Exactly as Obito had once used Steel Release to stop Sasuke's blade.
"How... is that possible."
Obito stared at the scene, dumbstruck, unable to believe it.
The black rod disrupted chakra flow — but it needed to actually pierce the target's body to do so.
But what if it simply couldn't pierce through at all?
A single pale finger held the razor-sharp rod completely still.
Yang Release — Ward.
Still in effect.
"Who told you that something this blunt could actually pierce my Ward?"
"That's rather underestimating me, don't you think?"
"Still — seems you've dropped Kamui right now, haven't you."
At those words, Obito felt an oppressive shadow of death settle over his entire body.
Yang Release — Dominion.
A technique combining his own vital life force with precise chakra control and genjutsu, used to overwhelm and intimidate.
Against someone like Obito, escaping its grip took only a moment.
But that brief moment was more than enough.
In that instant, explosive chakra flame gathered in the Hokage's palm.
The flame that bloomed in that instant lit up the surrounding darkness for dozens of meters.
Blue-pink chakra stood out with stark, unmistakable clarity against the ink-black sea.
The flame took the shape of a beast's head, letting out roar after roar.
A tiger's roar echoed out over the ocean.
Chakra flame coalesced into a snarling, ferocious tiger's head in the Hokage's grip.
Just as Obito was only beginning to shake off Dominion's grip—
That tiger's maw clamped down instantly around his throat!
Chakra flame blazed fiercely in the Hokage's hand as she seized Obito by the neck, lifting him one-handed, that explosive chakra pouring into his body, forcibly disrupting the flow of his own chakra pathways!
In that instant, Obito's one remaining functional hand instinctively clamped around the Hokage's wrist, desperately trying to fight for his life!
But how could his strength possibly compare to hers — and worse, his own chakra was already thrown into total chaos by her forceful intervention.
Under the Hokage's near-brutal chakra assault, Obito let out a cry of pure agony.
He could feel it — his own chakra pathways rupturing, collapsing, snapping under that terrifying force, one after another.
She was a top-tier medical ninja. She knew exactly which pathway carried the most chakra, where it flowed thickest.
The Hokage held Obito aloft with one hand, the chakra flame in her grip illuminating her face against the darkness of night.
So young. So terrifying.
A face genuinely, delicately beautiful — and yet, in this moment, to Obito, she looked like the single most horrifying being in the entire world.
The grip tightened further, and Obito felt himself increasingly unable to breathe.
It didn't feel like a person's hand around his throat anymore — it felt like a steel-forged beast's claw, clamped shut, unyielding.
No resistance possible. No escape possible.
Obito's face, gripped in the Hokage's hand, flushed darker and darker, finally settling into a deep, bruised purple-blue.
And then, with a single, crisp crack—
The chakra flame slowly died down.
Obito's movements stopped entirely, his hand falling away, limp.
He was dead.
With a soft splash, the corpse once known as Obito Uchiha dropped onto the water's surface, floating there in silence.
Black Zetsu, still tucked in his sleeve, said nothing at all.
The Hokage regarded the corpse before her, calm.
A long moment passed.
Before those golden eyes, the corpse seemed to grow transparent.
And then—
Vanished.
Not just the corpse — Black Zetsu vanished with it.
Watching this, Sakura fell into thought.
So even chakra forcibly disrupted at the moment of death can't prevent Izanagi from triggering?
Clearly enough.
Obito had already carved the trigger conditions for Izanagi into place, long before ever coming here.
And now, the time had come.
Izanagi, activated.
The price — a single Sharingan eye.
Watching the sea gradually settle back into calm, Sakura turned and headed back toward Turtle Island without a backward glance.
Black Zetsu's words had already told her exactly what came next.
Leak the fact that she'd killed the previous Daimyo, and the other four Great Nations — even the minor ones — would automatically band together into a coalition against Konoha.
Akatsuki wouldn't even need to lift a finger. The so-called nobility would form their alliance instantly, on their own.
That class would never allow a rebellious figure like her to keep existing among their ranks.
Even the nobility within the Land of Fire itself — currently held firmly in check under Sakura's own thumb — would find their breaking point and push back.
She needed to prepare for this.
As if sensing something, Sakura glanced back once, her eyes returned to their usual green, fixed on some dark patch deep within the ocean.
A storm, coming?
Sakura smiled, unconcerned.
A storm?
Then let it come harder.
She'd originally intended to nurture the seeds of rebellion slowly, gradually, letting shinobi everywhere's own natural instinct to resist rise on its own timeline.
But since it had come to this — a few more direct methods would be necessary.
The seed already planted — time to make it sprout faster. Grow faster.
Her first target...
Would be the Land of Wind.
(End of chapter)
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