"It's so lively! But it seems we're late!"
As space distorted, a Masked Man appeared outside the mirage.
"It was my carelessness. I sensed something was off earlier, but I didn't expect there to be someone hiding in the shadows!"
Jue also poked his head out from the nearby reef, looking at the mirage that was distorted by the Steam Impasse Danger Bomb.
The fact that Zetsu, also a sensory ninja, failed to detect it is enough to prove that Hozuki Mangetsu is indeed something special.
"The Hōzuki Clan's Mirage Summoning Jutsu and Steam Impasse Danger Bomb —does the Hōzuki Clan still have ninjas with such power today?"
"You'll have to ask Tobi about that; he knows Kirigakure better than anyone else!"
Seeing that Obito was just staring at the mirage without saying anything, White Zetsu and Black Zetsu started discussing among themselves.
Indeed, as they said, with such a wide-range Genjutsu and explosive power, the remaining members of the Kirigakure Hōzuki Clan in Kirigakure are so few that no one can perform it.
Aside from the Second Mizukage Gengetsu Hozuki, there is only one other person who can master these two techniques, and the answer is obvious: Hozuki Mangetsu!
"I never imagined that besides Konoha and Hidden Cloud Village, the Northern Lands would also get involved. I really underestimated them!"
Obito's eyes narrowed slightly; the loss he suffered in the Northern Lands had left a deep impression on him.
Zetsu, who was standing to the side, also thought of Hozuki Mangetsu's identity, and his expression became serious.
Should we make a move?
Upon hearing this, Obito hesitated for a moment, but quickly shook his head. This was Pain's battle, and if they intervened without permission, the other party would not only be ungrateful but would also blame them.
After all, they knew Pain's temperament very well; such an arrogant person wouldn't speak easily, especially since he was the leader of the organization.
However, before they could observe for long, two large birds appeared at the edge of their field of vision, and the two could no longer sit still.
"Not good!"
The large bird that appeared in the distance was naturally Deidara, Sai, and the others.
Deidara and Hidan stood on the clay bird and rushed towards them at high speed.
The other one is the big bird drawn by Sai, with Jiraisui standing on it as well.
"Water Bubble Empty Practice Bomb!"
Within the mirage, Hozuki Mangetsu raised his hands and continuously fired bubble bullets at Pain and the Asura Path.
Meanwhile, the fat clone was also running around, and its body began to swell again.
Having fought Jiraiya and taken a hit from an explosion, Pain had also depleted a lot of Chakra, and their Ninjutsu attacks were almost ineffective within the mirage.
However, the opponent's Ninjutsu was unaffected, and the two could only temporarily evade Hozuki Mangetsu's attacks.
However, after Hozuki Mangetsu's clone exploded once again, the mirage in front of them completely disappeared.
After Pain used Shinra Tensei to neutralize the shockwave, Hozuki Mangetsu was nowhere to be seen.
The series of unexpected events infuriated Pain. He wasn't afraid to fight them head-on, but both Jiraiya and Hozuki Mangetsu were like eels, running away after delivering a combo attack.
It's impossible to hit it or catch it; it's like a fly, which is really frustrating.
Pain glanced at Obito and Zetsu behind him and immediately gave them orders.
"Snipe the invading enemy with all your might!"
Before he finished speaking, he had already sprinted forward.
Upon hearing this, Obito and Zetsu did not stop and went to meet the two large birds in front of them.
At this point, the Jiraisui had already joined Jiraiya, and Darui, thanks to his Lightning Swift Body, had arrived even earlier than Jiraiya.
However, the giant bird that Deidara and Hidan were on did not stop, and flew straight to Hozuki Mangetsu, who was a step behind.
Just as Hozuki Mangetsu was about to reach Nendoroid, a sudden change occurred.
A spatial Uzumaki suddenly appeared behind Deidara and Hidan.
The two had long known that there were people in the Akatsuki who were proficient in Space-Time Ninjutsu and had participated in the last invasion of the Northern Lands.
Although they had never fought each other before, they were on high alert the moment they entered Amegakure.
So the instant the space fluctuated, Hidan swung his large scythe backward and arrived in front of Obito in the blink of an eye.
Seeing that his sneak attack had failed, Obito could only intangibly transform his body, but his hand continued to move, still reaching towards Hidan.
The scythe sliced through Obito's intangible body, and Obito's hand touched his body Kamui was activated.
But Deidara, who had just realized what was happening, wasn't about to let him have his way; the Clay Bomb was already stuck to Obito's body.
"Drink!"
As Deidara shouted, several explosions rang out from Obito's body. Although the blast radius was not large, it achieved the purpose of precise explosion.
Taking this opportunity, the two distanced themselves from each other.
"Damn! He really is a cunning old fox!"
Hidan watched the Masked Man engulfed in smoke with wary eyes, while Deidara's Byakugan was fixed on the smoke. His attention had been focused on the area below, so he was a beat slow to react.
If there hadn't been two people on this trip, he probably would have been infected too.
"Oh dear, I messed up! That's really unexpected!"
As the smoke cleared, Obito casually patted his slightly torn robe, his tone showing little disappointment.
"As expected, it's an annoying ability. Luckily, I was prepared!"
Deidara stuffed a lump of clay into his mouth, and when he opened his palm again, a wad of scraps of paper appeared before his eyes.
As the wind blew, the scraps of paper drifted towards Obito. Even though Obito had intangible, the scraps of paper still clung tightly to him.
These clay scraps that look like paper scraps are not as simple as they appear. Deidara is a master of explosives.
He was certain that if he dared to reveal his physical form, Deidara would not hesitate to show him the art of explosion.
With the clay bird beneath him, Obito would have to think twice.
As for whether the two people in front of him are worried about the explosion hitting them, only Obito will know after he tries it.
This show of mutual destruction failed to deter the enemy; instead of retreating, Obito advanced and faced both of them simultaneously.
Deidara charged forward, wielding only a Kunai, but he could control the Clay Bombs swirling around Obito.
With his subtle manipulation of his Byakugan, he could precisely control those Clay Bombs, achieving more accurate explosions without causing a chain reaction.
Fortunately, the clay bird was big enough, so the two of them had some room to work with.
While Deidara briefly held Obito, Hidan had already completed the preparations for the ceremony.
He drank the blood from the small vial he carried with him, then threw the vial away and drew a small six-pointed star circle at his feet for the ritual.
"Deidara! Get out of the way, let me handle this!"
Hearing the voice behind him, Deidara wisely retreated. Obito, who had gained a slight advantage, did not think that he had defeated his opponent. He looked at Hidan, who was standing Fudō in front of him, with a questioning gaze.
Hidan had transformed into a zombie-like figure, looking at Obito with a sinister smile.
"You can make your body intangible, right? I wonder if you're immune to my attacks!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Hidan plunged the large scythe in his hand deep into his chest.