Hell Has Eighteen Layers

Uchiha An wore a regretful expression, clearly displeased that his plan hadn't fully succeeded, while Obito's face turned ashen. Fortunately, his mask hid his expression from outside view.

Phosphorus Corrosive Insects were completely beyond anyone's control. The moment they landed, they scattered everywhere.

The swarm emitted a chilling, dense hum, flashing with a faint purple glow. Wherever they passed, even the ground was corroded with tiny holes.

Uchiha An could only use his herbal gourd to draw some of the insects back.

However, he didn't suck them all back. When the swarm was about to lose coverage of Obito, he manipulated the herbal gourd to spew them out again.

The tide of insects undulated like a silk ribbon under his precise control, constantly maintained at a dangerous tipping point, keeping Obito completely covered.

The moment Obito's Kamui time ran out and his body de-phased, these insects would immediately swarm him.

There was no need to devour him completely; as long as a single insect managed to latch on, Obito would suffer greatly.

In the original story, Obito had to sacrifice an arm from a White Zetsu to take down Aburame Torune.

But now, the swarm covered his entire body, leaving no gaps. This was not a problem that could be solved with just one arm.

This put Obito in a real bind.

He actually had other means he could use, such as Kamui attacks or Wood Release, which were also powerful and might not be weaker than An's.

But he had grown accustomed to bullying weaker opponents with his phasing ability, subconsciously using it in every fight.

This reliance on past successes, which had made him invincible, now became a fatal shackle binding him.

In the ninja world, combat was a battle of information. Once information was uncovered by the opponent, even the most powerful ninjutsu had ways to counter it.

Uchiha An had seized upon this very point, turning the tables and setting up this deadly insect formation.

Just a single move's difference, and Obito was suppressed by Uchiha An.

If he wanted to change tactics now, he first had to exit his phased state, only to be instantly consumed by the Phosphorus Corrosive Insects.

This was an unsolvable, deadly loop. Phasing, which was supposed to be perfect defense, had now become the most magnificent cage.

Obito frantically retreated, but the more he retreated, the more An advanced, always keeping him within the swarm's coverage range.

"Alright, stop this at once!" Pain finally arrived, shouting angrily, "I told you before, infighting is forbidden within the organization. Did you not take my words seriously?"

"Leader, Obito was trying to kill me!" Uchiha An, while controlling the ebb and flow of the insect swarm, raised his hand to complain, "Look at where the fight started, it was in my residence. Obito attacked me!"

Pain's gaze swept over and he found it to be true, his anger intensifying.

"Obito, if you don't want to cooperate with the Akatsuki Organization, then get lost and stop causing trouble here!"

The Rinnegan glinted coldly in the shadows. Pain slightly raised his hand, his Black Cloak with Red Clouds rustling in the wind, clearly ready to act at any moment.

Without the legendary halo of Uchiha Madara, mere Uchiha Obito couldn't earn Nagato's respect.

Especially now that An had exposed the flaw in Obito's phasing, Obito's standing in Pain's eyes had plummeted, and there was no longer any need to be polite to him.

If Obito continued to be unreasonable, Pain wouldn't hesitate to personally eliminate him.

Obito's face was covered in bulging veins, the Sharingan under his mask spinning frantically. A wave of humiliation washed over him again.

How many years had it been since someone had looked down on him like this!

He almost wanted to just storm off, but a White Zetsu hastily reminded him in secret that the bigger picture was more important and they couldn't afford to lose sight of the main goal over a minor issue.

After a long silence, Obito finally grumbled:

"Fine, our plan is more important after all."

"I was impulsive this time. I won't bother this kid again."

"But after the plan succeeds, I won't let him off."

"Heh heh..." Uchiha An cackled at Obito, his face full of provocation, shouting, "You won't let me off, and I won't let you off either!"

"I'll make you live in hell!"

"Heh heh..." Obito sneered and turned to leave, only dropping a heavily suppressed sentence, "I'm already in hell."

This time, An didn't stop him. He retracted all the insects and shouted after Obito's retreating back:

"Then I'll let you know that hell actually has eighteen layers!"

Although he hadn't managed to disable Obito's Kamui space as intended, the relevant intelligence had been leaked.

With Itachi, that double agent, around, there was no fear of the outside world not knowing.

Obito's good old days of dominating all enemies with his Kamui space were now a thing of the past!

Uchiha An chuckled and followed Konan, finding another room to sleep soundly.

Finally, he could rest.

He could rest, but Konohagakure couldn't.

Minato's sudden return and the intelligence he brought back had the entire Konohagakure on the verge of explosion.

"Nani? Rinnegan?" The Third Hokage's pipe fell from his mouth onto the table in surprise.

"Yes," Minato's brows were tightly furrowed, his tone heavy. "I am certain, those are the eyes possessed by the legendary Sage of Six Paths."

"Furthermore, the Rinnegan's dojutsu is incredibly powerful, capable of gravity control and sealing Tailed Beasts. It's truly comprehensive, with no blind spots when used."

"Although it has the weakness of a cooldown period, the five-second interval makes it difficult for ordinary people to find an opening."

"And what's worst is that the two villages have already clashed, so war is likely unavoidable."

The Third Hokage took several puffs of his pipe, sighing as he said:

"These are truly troubled times!"

"We finally reached a peace agreement with Kumogakure and Iwagakure, and after such a short period of peace, we're going to war again!"

"Sigh, it's best to avoid fighting if we can!"

"Minato, is a peace talk really impossible?"

Minato shook his head:

"I fear it will be very difficult."

"Especially those Uchiha twin rogue ninjas, they seem to harbor intense hatred for the village."

"Susanoo, something that only exists in legends, must have extremely harsh activation conditions."

"The village should have a good talk with Clan Head Fugaku to understand what's going on. At the very least, we need to gather intelligence and figure out their weaknesses."

"Fugaku..." The Third Hokage's face stiffened, and he was unable to speak.

Minato, being quite sharp, immediately sensed something was wrong from the Third Hokage's expression and directly asked:

"Did something happen to Clan Head Fugaku?"

"Don't tell me he was assassinated by rogue ninjas?"

"This... cough cough..." The Third Hokage coughed twice and said awkwardly, "The situation is rather complicated..."

"The Uchiha Clan has been annihilated by the village for attempting rebellion."

"Nani?" Now it was Minato's turn to be shocked.

"The Uchiha Clan would rebel?"

"And they were wiped out?"

"Lord Third Hokage, are you joking?"

The two looked at each other, speechless.

Minato treated him as the Hokage, and the Third Hokage knew he couldn't fool him with lies, but he also couldn't tell the whole truth. He could only shift his gaze and say nothing.

After a long pause, facing Minato's angry gaze, the Third Hokage picked up his pipe again, lowered his head, and mumbled:

"It was all Danzo's reckless actions. I have already punished him."