The Ninja World.
Land of Rain—at the now completely transformed Sun God construction site.
Nagato was still attacking.
His punches, as powerful as Night Guy's, rained down continuously on the Heavenly Obstruction Star.
Dust and rainwater mixed together, forming muddy puddles on the ground.
He glanced at the stabilizing Heavenly Obstruction Star, then at the inland sea in the distance.
Something clicked in his mind.
He started adjusting his attack patterns, gradually shifting the Heavenly Obstruction Star toward the sea.
He was planning something big.
Originally, the plan—supported by the Sun God Kingdom's land development department—was to build a luxury villa district and high-rise buildings near the inland sea.
With the appeal of oceanfront properties, it would likely attract many wealthy investors, boosting the Land of Rain's economy.
But now, after feeling the composition of the Heavenly Obstruction Star's soil and rocks, Nagato had a new idea.
Lord Hitoshi had always taught his subordinates not to be too rigid in their thinking.
Whether on missions or in daily work, they had to analyze situations from different perspectives.
Take the Heavenly Obstruction Star, for example.
At first glance, it seemed like a disaster.
But once controlled, who's to say it couldn't become a valuable resource?
The Land of Rain had constant rainfall, but its self-contained ecosystem prevented the sea level from rising.
Don't ask how. The ninja world is just weird like that.
Despite all this time, the Land of Rain had never been flooded.
However, due to the region's unique environment, soil was relatively scarce.
If they could use the Heavenly Obstruction Star's materials to create an artificial island, then build a high-end villa district in its center…
Not a bad idea.
Narrowing his eyes, Nagato began his new project.
He also sent a message through the Akatsuki network, summoning two subordinates to help stabilize both the sea and the Heavenly Obstruction Star.
It was a massive undertaking.
If he did it alone, the commotion would be huge.
And if he accidentally triggered a natural disaster, that would be a problem.
Besides, stabilizing the Heavenly Obstruction Star and reclaiming land from the sea would be a great achievement.
As their leader, it was only right for him to share some credit with his two Edo Tensei subordinates, helping them earn enough merit to secure a full resurrection.
The First and Second Hokage didn't disappoint him.
Even before Obito had begun making his moves, Senju Tobirama had already started analyzing his abilities.
By now, he had almost figured everything out.
Using his own sensory skills, the Akatsuki network, and his years of teamwork with his older brother, Tobirama's thoughts were now being transmitted directly into Hashirama's mind.
"Big brother, it's about time."
So it's finally happening? My smart and clever little brother!
Hashirama nodded and secretly gave his younger brother a thumbs-up, making Senju Tobirama roll his eyes in exasperation.
"I've pretty much figured out his abilities. Aside from his incredible reflexes and the physical strength to match our Taijutsu, there are two troublesome aspects."
"First, his phasing ability. It seems that normal attacks can't touch him, and you have to wait for the exact moment he attacks to counter. My Flying Thunder God can manage that, but combined with his other ability to shrink objects, my Flying Thunder God slash would be rendered useless before it even lands. He can also shrink himself to dodge attacks. The two abilities overlap a bit, but they give him top-tier survival skills—he can freely choose which method to use to evade attacks."
"The second issue is that normal Ninjutsu attacks seem to replenish his stamina. Only Senjutsu and Taijutsu are effective against him."
Tobirama summed it up simply.
"These abilities are definitely tricky to deal with, but that doesn't mean they're impossible to counter."
A confident look appeared on his face.
Fights between ninja were all about intel. Once you knew your opponent's abilities, finding a way to deal with them wasn't too hard.
Of course, that only applied as long as the opponent's strength wasn't on the level of Senju Hashirama or Uchiha Madara.
Well, nowadays, you had to add some other names to that list too.
For example, many people in the ninja world knew that Hyuga Hitoshi could summon the moon, but so far, only the Land of Thunder had seriously discussed it. Their scientific Ninjutsu wasn't weak, and they had even developed a chakra cannon. However, after finishing their research, they immediately reported it to the Sun God Kingdom, seemingly to avoid any misunderstandings.
After all, Raikage had already been beaten to the point of begging for mercy by Hyuga Hitoshi. His "Will of Lightning" had shattered along with his pride, and he didn't think possessing such a dangerous weapon was a good thing. He also didn't believe the Sun God Kingdom wouldn't have a way to deal with it.
And he was right.
Instead of banning the Land of Thunder from using such weapons, Hyuga Hitoshi even openly praised the scientists who developed the chakra cannon. His words carried an unmistakable air of absolute confidence—"I'm invincible, do as you please."
He wasn't worried at all that the cannon could destroy the moon, nor was he concerned that it could be used against the Sun God Kingdom.
When your power reached a certain level, you really didn't have to care. Even if others knew your abilities, it didn't matter.
But compared to them, Obito was nowhere near that level.
Next round.
Tobirama used his familiar move—throwing a mix of Flying Thunder God kunai and regular kunai straight at Uchiha Obito.
Obito smirked, standing still as the kunai phased right through him. Without even looking back, he swung a half-powered strike toward the side. After multiple exchanges, he already knew Tobirama would teleport in with a Flying Thunder God slash after this move.
And this time, Tobirama was leaving an even bigger opening than before.
Idiot.
Obito sneered.
The Second Hokage was always reckless like this, relying on Edo Tensei's immortality to probe his opponents again and again.
But Obito had been deliberately making him think Edo Tensei was untouchable.
Obito wasn't an idiot. Idiots didn't understand villains. He had been waiting for the perfect chance to take down the Second Hokage for good.
His opponent wasn't someone like Nagato, who could seal off space. As long as that wasn't the case, Uchiha Obito was untouchable!
As for Edo Tensei?
Tilting his body slightly, Obito activated his Sharingan, connecting to the time-space of the Karma mark's master instead of his own Kamui dimension.
He had sensed them—the black cubes created by Otsutsuki Isshiki, made from Yin-Yang Release. Those things seemed to be a perfect counter to Edo Tensei bodies!
"Daikokuten!"
As he withdrew his hand, Obito activated his eye technique. A black cube suddenly materialized in front of him and shot toward the incoming Second Hokage, who had teleported in with Flying Thunder God.
A miscalculation?
This brat didn't fall for the trap and even countered!
But no problem, time for Plan B.
Tobirama smirked unexpectedly, making Obito frown. Instead of blocking the black cube, Tobirama simply raised two fingers behind his back.
The next moment, his big brother, Senju Hashirama, shot forward like a cannonball, leaped into the air, and kicked the black cube, sending it flying—right toward Obito's head.
Was he seriously using the very thing Obito summoned against him?
Obito chuckled mockingly.
Did these two Hokage really think this was going to work?
Reactivating his phasing ability with Kamui, he stood there confidently.
But the next second, a figure rushing in from the distance made his expression change instantly.
"Made it just in time."
Panting heavily, a certain white-haired ninja didn't even stop to catch his breath. He immediately used Kamui to suck the black cube into Obito's own Kamui dimension.
Inside that dimension, Obito looked up at the cube that was about to crash down on him. His face changed, and he hurriedly disabled his phasing ability in the real world to dodge the impact.
But doing so completely exposed his body to the First and Second Hokage.
"Just as I thought! This guy can't use phasing and his other eye's ability at the same time—at the very least, he needs a short delay! Big brother, hit him!"
With explosive speed, Tobirama and Hashirama swung their fists straight at Obito's face.
Bang!
A left and right hook struck at the same time. With no way to dodge, Obito was sent flying, rolling several times before crashing to the ground.
From a distance, Hashirama raised his hand toward Obito's landing spot.
"Senjutsu! Myojinmon!"
A massive red torii gate fell from the sky, perfectly locking onto Obito. In an instant, his chakra was sealed, leaving him unable to move!
The battle was over.
Hashirama and Tobirama exchanged a high-five, then nodded toward Kakashi, who had rushed to the scene.
Kakashi returned the nod.
No words were needed between men who worked well together.
Ever since the Sun God Seal's intelligence network detected Obito's presence, Kakashi had known Kamui would be needed. He had teleported from Konohagakure straight to Amegakure, sprinted all the way here, and arrived just in time for Tobirama's attack.
With Tobirama's sharp sensory abilities, he had detected Kakashi's Sharingan had the same roots as Obito's. Using his sensory technique, he coordinated the perfect Plan B.
"This guy seems to have just recently gained this power. I was wondering why he wasn't using both eyes' abilities at the same time. Now I get it—there must be a limit. There's a delay when switching between the two, almost like those eyes don't even belong to him."
Tobirama crossed his arms, analyzing the situation. But now that he thought about it, Obito's other eye really wasn't his—it was with Kakashi. If both had belonged to him, once he got used to his new dojutsu, he'd be even harder to deal with.
"This is a farewell gift from an old friend. But the Obito who said, 'Those who don't cherish their comrades are worse than trash'—that Obito is dead."
The moment he attacked Minato-sensei and Kushina, that statement became nothing but nonsense.
Kakashi spoke calmly.
"Didn't expect the shinobi of this era to have such dramatic stories."
Senju Hashirama scratched his head, sighing.
"The leader is like that, and so is he."
They knew about Nagato's past, which was why they willingly called him leader. But Obito?
He didn't deserve sympathy, and he didn't need it either. He simply looked at the people around him with cold eyes, not bothering to say a word.
Yes.
Senju Tobirama's analysis was spot on. When he activated his second-stage wedge, the eye with the triangular pupil wasn't actually his. It was just a regular Sharingan, always ready to trigger Izanagi as a last resort. But this time, the three people in front of him coordinated so well that he didn't get the chance.
And honestly, he was confident that if the eye had been his, he could have freely switched between abilities or even used both at once.
But a failure was a failure.
Looking at these people celebrating as if they understood the truth of the ninja world, he found it laughable.
When the world ends, when the Ten-Tails becomes the Divine Tree, when a new Chakra Fruit grows, Otsutsuki Isshiki will return.
The Otsutsuki Clan will rule the ninja world again!
Ridiculous. They have no idea.
Watching these fools, Obito suddenly burst into wild laughter, leaving Kakashi and the others confused.
But in the sky above, Otsutsuki Isshiki, who had been observing everything, also wanted to laugh.
No, he just found it ironic—someone like Obito, who knew nothing, laughing at others for knowing nothing. That was neither polite nor elegant.
"Do you think their teamwork was elegant?"
Hyuga Hitoshi asked in a teasing tone.
"Elegant? Extremely elegant!"
Isshiki, sweating profusely, repeated the exact words he had used earlier when asked if the Sun God Seal was elegant.
At the same time, he was formulating a plan.
Danger.
This man was far too dangerous.
Even now, he didn't dare mock the woman hanging from his waist. He didn't even dare respond when she flipped him off, fearing that angering this man would get him slapped to death.
This was a gap in power—one that had only widened since he fell from a living Otsutsuki to a parasite clinging to Jigen's body.
That decline made him even less confident in facing this man.
Unless he could revive right now, he wouldn't dare make a move. It was an instinct unique to his Otsutsuki bloodline.
And Obito? He clearly wasn't qualified to be a proper vessel.
No. He had to escape.
The longer he stayed, the worse his chances became.
Glancing at Obito, who was completely suppressed, Isshiki took a deep breath, then turned to Hyuga Hitoshi and gave a polite bow toward Kaguya.
After spending so much time among humans, the ever-elegant Isshiki knew that if he wanted to slip away, he needed a distraction.
Otherwise, he wouldn't make it out alive.
And he knew Kaguya well—this woman, who had stayed chaste for so long on their homeworld, had a remarkably thin skin.
"Congratulations to the two of you. May you have children soon! When that day comes, Isshiki will personally visit!"
Whoosh—
As soon as he spoke, Kaguya's face instantly turned red. She buried her head in Hyuga Hitoshi's chest, as if her deepest thoughts had just been exposed.
Seeing this, Isshiki was overjoyed. In a flash, he shot downward like lightning, punching the torii gates sealing Obito aside. Then, without stopping for a moment, he activated his space-time ninjutsu, darted toward the Uzumaki behind him, and disappeared before anyone could react.
"I mean, was that really worth getting so embarrassed over?"
Pulling the Moon Goddess back out, Hyuga Hitoshi sighed.
Isshiki had escaped, but only because he hadn't bothered to stop him.
What he hadn't expected was Kaguya's reaction.
"You think you can still run?"
Hyuga Hitoshi looked at her, almost like an ancient mathematician studying an equation.
At this point in their relationship, did she really think he'd just let her go?
"Acquaintance."
For once, Kaguya gave a brief response. Then, still blushing, she clung to his waist again and pretended to be dead.
An acquaintance, huh?
That's different.
What if he went back and told their homeworld? How embarrassing would that be?
"Tch. Now you're embarrassed? You stay up past midnight every night watching while munching on fries, and I never saw you blush then."
Hyuga Hitoshi rolled his eyes, deciding to ignore her.
Isshiki had fled, but not because of his own mistake.
He had let him go.
And why?
Because just now, he had seen through Jigen's parasite—the true thoughts of Otsutsuki Isshiki.
That guy plans to contact the home planet after returning. He thinks the current Shell Organization is no match for the Sun God Kingdom and wants to understand the power of the Sun God Seal.
So, after going back, he intends to call for reinforcements, completely giving up on so-called elegance and pride, and notify three familiar people from the home planet to come and help.
Those three names sound quite familiar.
"Hoo..."
The fish has taken the bait.
It's time to start harvesting.
With everything ready, the Sun God smiled expectantly, gazing downward as he slowly spoke:
"Let the ruined Chunin Exams begin!"
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