Chapter 4 — Against Kirito
"What?"
Uchiha Kirito stared at Obuya as if he had just heard something absurd, his face twisting into a mixture of disbelief and anger.
This was completely unexpected.
In the past, he had bullied Obuya countless times. Not once had Obuya resisted. Not once had he even dared to talk back. Yet now, the same person was standing in front of him, openly threatening him without the slightest hesitation.
The sudden reversal left Kirito momentarily stunned.
Behind Obuya, Rin was just as shocked. She quickly reached out and tugged lightly at his sleeve, her voice low and urgent, trying to stop things from escalating any further.
"Obuya… don't…"
"Rin, don't worry," Obuya said calmly, not even turning his head. His tone was steady, controlled. "I know my limits. I'm not here to kill him."
There was a faint chill in his voice as he continued.
"Today, I just want him to understand who the real fool is."
Rin froze.
Those words didn't sound like a joke. They carried a quiet certainty that unsettled her. She simply couldn't imagine how Obuya—who had always been at the bottom among their peers—could possibly stand against someone like Kirito.
"Hahaha…"
Kirito suddenly burst into laughter. But there was no humor in it. His expression twisted, his eyes sharp and vicious, like a wild animal that had just been provoked.
"Good… very good," he said slowly, his voice dripping with malice. "Trying to show off in front of a girl, huh? You've actually got the nerve to talk to me like that."
His grip tightened.
"Fine. Today, I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget. Let's see if you still dare open your mouth next time."
Rin's heart sank.
She knew exactly how dangerous Kirito was. In truth, it wasn't just him—anyone from the Uchiha Clan possessed natural advantages that made them far stronger than most of their peers.
Even Obito, who was constantly ridiculed within the clan, still far surpassed ordinary academy students.
"Stop, Kirito!" Rin stepped forward, raising her voice. "The village has strict rules. You're not allowed to use ninjutsu recklessly or attack others like this. Do you want to break the law?"
Kirito glanced at her coldly and let out a dismissive snort.
"I'm just teaching him a lesson. Why would I need ninjutsu for that?" he said, his tone mocking. Then his gaze returned to Obuya, filled with hostility.
"Kid… prepare yourself."
Ignoring Rin completely, Kirito moved.
He snatched a knife from one of the students nearby in a swift motion. His body leaned forward, and in the next instant, he dashed straight toward Obuya.
Ten steps.
In just a few strides, he closed the distance. Then, without warning, he leapt into the air. The blade flashed under the dim light as he swung it downward with full force.
The target—Obuya's shoulder.
If that strike landed cleanly, his arm would be crippled instantly.
Kirito showed no hesitation.
Part of his boldness came from a simple fact—Obuya was not an official Konoha ninja. Even if he injured him severely, it would not truly violate the village's strict regulations.
The sudden attack caught everyone off guard.
Rin's face turned pale as she rushed forward, but she was too late to stop him.
Obuya, however, did not move.
At the exact moment the blade descended—
Whoosh!
A surge of wind tore through the air.
A pale, semi-transparent dome expanded outward from Obuya's body, instantly covering an area of over ten meters.
The Surgical Barrier.
The moment Kirito entered the space, he felt it.
An invisible force pressed against him, resisting his movement. The power behind his strike weakened, as if something was dragging his body down and disrupting his balance.
At the same time, Obuya's senses sharpened.
Inside the barrier, everything felt different.
The speed of Kirito's attack—something that would have been difficult to react to under normal circumstances—now appeared noticeably slower.
Clear.
Predictable.
Obuya shifted slightly to the side.
The blade sliced through empty air.
"Missed…? How—"
Kirito's eyes widened in shock.
His attack, which should have been decisive, had completely failed.
Before he could recover—
A hand pressed against his chest.
It was perfectly timed—the instant his strength from the swing had faded, and before he could gather the next burst of force.
"Zzz—!!"
A violent current surged from Obuya's palm.
The high-frequency electricity shot directly into Kirito's heart, spreading through his entire body in an instant.
His eyes bulged.
His body froze mid-motion, every muscle locking rigid.
"Cough—!"
Blood burst from his mouth as he convulsed, his face contorting unnaturally, as if every blood vessel beneath his skin was about to rupture.
Then, like a puppet with its strings cut, he collapsed stiffly onto the ground.
"Ah—!"
The surrounding students screamed in shock, their voices filled with panic.
Everything had happened too fast.
Rin stood behind Obuya, completely stunned.
"That… was Lightning Release?"
"This Obuya… he hasn't even mastered basic chakra control. How could he possibly use Lightning Release?"
"No, look closely—his body…"
At someone's remark, everyone focused on Kirito again.
The area where Obuya had struck him—the chest—showed no external damage whatsoever.
Not even a burn mark.
"Lightning Release is supposed to tear things apart… so why isn't there even a scratch?"
Confusion spread among them.
Only Obuya understood the truth.
This wasn't Lightning Release.
It was Cardiac Shock—an ability rooted in the Surgery Fruit, fundamentally different from elemental ninjutsu.
Kirito lay on the ground, his body stiff and unresponsive. His consciousness remained intact, but he couldn't move a single muscle.
Obuya had held back.
A fight like this might be overlooked.
Killing, however—especially killing an Uchiha—would bring consequences he couldn't afford.
Step by step, Obuya walked forward and stopped in front of Kirito.
Looking down at him, his expression remained calm.
But in Kirito's eyes, there was nothing but humiliation, shock… and a deep, burning unwillingness to accept defeat.
With a casual flick of his foot, Obuya sent the fallen knife sliding toward himself, catching it cleanly in his hand.
"I warned you," Obuya said quietly. "Apologize to Rin."
"You refused."
His grip tightened slightly on the blade.
"I said that if you didn't..."
His gaze turned colder.
"I'd make your life very difficult from now on."
"Obuya… don't…"
Rin's voice trembled, her face pale.
But Obuya didn't stop. He swung the blade upward from below. The tip scraped against the ground for a brief moment, sending sparks into the air—
Then—
Slash.
Kirito's right wrist was severed instantly.
Before anyone could react—
Slash.
His right leg was cut off just as cleanly. The entire sequence was smooth, precise… almost surgical. Yet what followed was even more horrifying.
Kirito didn't scream. There was no blood nor pain.
His severed limbs lay on the ground, but his expression remained frozen in shock, unable to process what had just happened.
The surrounding students stared in terror, their minds blank.
Obuya bent down calmly, picked up the severed hand, and rotated it slightly.
Then he pressed it back onto Kirito's arm.
Click.
The limb reattached seamlessly. But, it was reversed. The palm now faced upward, twisted in the opposite direction.
He picked up the severed leg and reattached it the same way—flipped, facing backward. One foot pointed forward, the other pointed behind.
"Ahhh—!"
The crowd erupted in screams, unable to contain their fear any longer.
"What… what kind of jutsu is that?!"
"That has to be medical ninjutsu… high-level medical ninjutsu!"
"I've only heard about this kind of technique… actually reattaching limbs like that…"
Rin stood frozen, her mind in chaos.
As someone training to become a medical ninja, she knew how difficult such procedures were. Even the most skilled shinobi would need time, precision, and tools to perform something like this.
Yet in Obuya's hands… It looked effortless.
But what Obuya had used was not medical ninjutsu at all. It was the power of the Surgery Fruit. The technique—Barrier: Human Reassembly. Reattaching Kirito's limbs was nothing more than a demonstration.
If he wanted to…
He could have taken Kirito apart completely and put him back together piece by piece—like assembling a set of toys.