It turned out that the first time Kakuzu was sent flying, Obito had already used Genjutsu to plant a suggestion in his mind.
Kakuzu was still dreaming of a happy ending in the Genjutsu, unaware that Obito had long since had him in the palm of his hand.
"Hey, Obito, I could've hit him with another Shinra Tensei just now."
While Yahiko was still unhappy about Obito stepping in, Kakuzu suddenly broke free of the Genjutsu for some reason.
"Ah, sorry. I'm still not very good at Genjutsu. I can still use it, but, but..." Seeing Kakuzu struggle free of his Genjutsu, Obito hurriedly tried to talk his way out of it.
Yahiko didn't dwell on it. They both knew that, with Kakuzu's current strength, he was no match for them. Still, to be safe, Yahiko decided to finish him with his strongest attack.
"Super Shinra Tensei!"
This was one of the Rinnegan's abilities. Using it consumed an enormous amount of Chakra, concentrating all the Chakra of the Six Paths of Pain in the Deva Path and releasing its power in a single burst. It repelled everything in the surrounding area, affecting a range of over ten kilometers. After using it, the Deva Path would be unable to use Ninjutsu for a long time, and it would even shorten the lifespan of Nagato's real body.
In the original manga, Nagato concentrated all the Chakra of the other five Pains in Pain's Deva Path, increasing the range and power of Shinra Tensei and instantly leveling all of Konoha.
Obito also knew he had been unreliable just now. In a real fight, an opponent who broke free of his Genjutsu would have escaped long ago, so he too decided to finish Kakuzu in one blow.
But how could Kakuzu just sit there and wait for death? His remaining masks all unleashed Ninjutsu, hoping to stop Yahiko from using his technique.
"Earth Release: Earth Spear!"
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
"Water Release: Water Curtain!"
All four masks unleashed Ninjutsu of different natures at once, hoping to interrupt Yahiko while he was gathering power.
Obito instantly took out his weapon, the Uchiha Gunbai, and used the Body Flicker Technique to move in front of Yahiko.
All the Ninjutsu crashed against the Gunbai.
But Obito Uchiha was unharmed.
"Uchiha Reflection!"
The Uchiha Gunbai absorbed all the Ninjutsu, converted them into wind-natured Chakra, and reflected them back.
By then, Yahiko had finished gathering power. His Super Shinra Tensei struck with such force that none of the spectators could keep their eyes open.
When the light faded, only Obito and Yahiko remained in the arena.
[Ōnoki: This... this kind of Ninjutsu...]
Ōnoki was stunned by Super Shinra Tensei. Even from the distant stands, he could feel the pressure it produced.
Some spectators in the front rows could barely withstand the air pressure. Fortunately, the Inventory System had separated the arena from the stands.
The Inventory System then announced Kakuzu's defeat.
[Beep. Kakuzu has been defeated. Obito Uchiha and Yahiko are victorious.]
[Rin: That's wonderful, Obito!]
After speaking, Rin turned to Kakashi, wanting to get him to cheer for Obito with her, but she found that his expression was a little off.
"Kakashi, are you all right?" Rin asked with concern.
"Ah, I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm just happy for Obito, that's all," Kakashi hurriedly explained.
Rin suspected nothing further. After all, Kakashi had personally given Obito ten thousand gold coins. Seeing how close the two were, Rin naturally said nothing more.
After the match, some were happy while others were miserable. Tsunade deeply regretted not betting everything she owned on Obito. If she had, she could have earned back the money for a resurrection in one go.
The most heartbroken of all was none other than the Shinobi World Professor, the strongest Hokage, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi. After selling off all his Ninjutsu, big and small, he had bet one hundred thousand gold coins on Kakuzu to win. Who could have imagined those two idiots would turn the tables?
Hiruzen Sarutobi's blood pressure shot up, and he could no longer even stand. Seeing that Hiruzen didn't look well, Homura and Koharu hurried over to ask what was wrong.
But how could Hiruzen Sarutobi dare tell them that he hadn't bet on a contestant from his own village, but on the other side to win?
Now Hiruzen Sarutobi could only swallow his losses.
By the time Obito returned to Rin's side, he was beaming with excitement. Even he hadn't expected his future self to be so impressive, with an endless variety of Ninjutsu and a weapon that could reflect them.
It was also worth mentioning that Obito had not only spent very few gold coins this time, but had also won thirty thousand gold coins by betting on himself.
Before leaving, Yahiko had even made a point of returning five thousand to him. By that reckoning, he had gained a full twenty-five thousand gold coins for nothing.
Obito then transferred ten thousand gold coins straight back to Kakashi.
"Don't worry, Kakashi. I won't forget your help. Here are your ten thousand gold coins back," Obito said with great magnanimity.
Rin, meanwhile, looked puzzled. Why had Obito worn a white mask and used all sorts of Ninjutsu when he appeared?
"I really have Kakashi to thank for that. The Inventory System said I could spend two thousand gold coins to choose my future self to fight," Obito explained.
Kakashi stubbornly refused to tell Obito about his antics just now. Obito had made money anyway, so once Kakashi paid Might Guy back, who would know he had lost his bet?
Even more unfortunate were Konan and Nagato. When they saw the news of Yahiko's victory, they looked both happy and sad.
They were happy that Yahiko had won, but sad that they had gambled away everything the Akatsuki owned.
Seeing Yahiko approaching with a delighted look on his face, the two decided not to hide what they had done.
"Yahiko, we bet all the Akatsuki's money on Kakuzu."
Before Yahiko could tell them he had earned twenty-five thousand gold coins, he heard the terrible news from Konan. Sure enough, he couldn't leave money in her hands. Konan was far too wasteful.
"It's all right. I earned twenty-five thousand gold coins this time," Yahiko told them. He also explained that he had invited a Konoha Ninja to join the Akatsuki.
"We really have that Konoha Ninja named Obito Uchiha to thank!" Konan exclaimed.
"Yes, yes! Brother Obito and I hit it off right away. We share the same great ideal," Yahiko said.
He and Obito had also agreed that one of them would become Rain Shadow and the other Hokage, and that together they would bring peace to the Shinobi World.
If they knew how things had ended for them in the original timeline, they surely wouldn't have been so happy. After all, Obito was the mastermind behind Yahiko's death and indirectly killed Konan.
Would they regret the decisions they made today?