Uchiha An wore an expression of regret, as if he hadn't gotten what he wanted, while Obito's face had nearly turned green. But with his mask on, no one else could see it.
The Phosphorus Corrosive Insects were completely uncontrollable. The moment they hit the ground, they scattered in every direction.
The swarm let out a dense, bone-chilling buzz and glimmered with a purple light. Wherever it passed, it ate tiny holes into the ground.
Uchiha An had no choice but to use the Herb Gourd to suck some of the swarm back in.
But he didn't suck them all up. Just as the swarm was about to stop covering Obito, he used the Herb Gourd to release some of the insects again.
Under his precise control, the tide of insects surged and rippled like a ribbon, always hovering at a dangerous threshold and completely enveloping Obito's body.
The instant Obito's Kamui ran out and his body became solid again, the insects would swarm over him and start biting.
They didn't need to devour him completely. Even a little contact would leave Obito in serious trouble.
In the original story, Obito had sacrificed one of White Zetsu's arms to take down Aburame Torune.
But now, the swarm covered the entire area around him, leaving not even the tiniest gap. One arm wouldn't be enough to solve this problem.
Obito was well and truly stuck.
He still had other techniques he could use, such as Kamui Attack and Wood Style. They were powerful, and might not even be weaker than An's techniques.
But he was so used to bullying weaker opponents with his intangibility that he instinctively relied on it in every fight.
That reliance had made him invincible in the past, but now it had become a fatal shackle holding him back.
In the shinobi world, battles were battles of information. Once an opponent learned your secrets, even the most powerful Ninjutsu could be countered.
Uchiha An had seized on that very fact, turning Obito's own tactics against him by laying this deadly insect trap.
It had taken only one move for Uchiha An to suppress Obito.
Now, if Obito wanted to change tactics, he first had to exit his intangible state—and then the Phosphorus Corrosive Insects would engulf him.
It was an inescapable Vicious Cycle. Intangibility had once been the perfect defense, but now it had become the most dazzling of cages.
Obito hurriedly retreated, but An advanced whenever he did, never letting him escape the swarm's reach.
"Enough! Both of you, stop!" Pain finally arrived and shouted angrily. "I already said that fighting among members of the organization was forbidden. Did you just ignore me?"
"Leader, Obito came to kill me!" Uchiha An raised a hand to complain while controlling the swarm. "Look where the fight started—it was inside my residence! Obito came to my door to kill me!"
Pain swept his gaze around and saw that this was indeed the case, making him even angrier.
"Obito, if you don't want to cooperate with the Akatsuki Organization, then leave. Stop causing trouble here!"
The Rinnegan glinted coldly in the shadows. Pain raised a hand slightly, his Black Cloak with Red Clouds fluttering in the wind, as if he were ready to strike at any moment.
Without Uchiha Madara's legendary aura, Uchiha Obito alone wasn't enough to impress Nagato.
Now that An had exposed the flaw in Obito's intangibility, Obito's standing in Pain's eyes had fallen further and further. There was no need to treat him with courtesy anymore.
If Obito still refused to get the message, Pain wouldn't hesitate to deal with him personally.
Veins bulged across Obito's face. Beneath his mask, his Sharingan spun wildly, and a wave of humiliation surged through him once again.
How many years had it been since anyone dared look down on him?
He almost turned and stormed off, but White Zetsu hurriedly reminded him in secret to keep the bigger picture in mind and not let a minor matter jeopardize their plans.
After a long silence, Obito finally said in a muffled voice,
"Forget it. Our plan is ultimately more important."
"I acted rashly this time. I won't come after this kid again."
"But once the plan succeeds, I won't let him off."
"Heh heh..." Uchiha An sneered at Obito, taunting him openly. "You won't let me off? I won't let you off either!"
"I'll make sure you live in hell!"
"Heh..." Obito turned and left with a cold laugh, leaving behind only a sentence, his voice suppressed to the breaking point. "I'm already in hell."
This time, An didn't stop him. He sucked all the insects back in and called after Obito's retreating figure,
"Then I'll show you that hell actually has eighteen layers!"
Although he hadn't managed to destroy Obito's Kamui Space, the information had already gotten out.
With Itachi being a traitor, there was no need to worry about the outside world finding out.
Obito's days of relying on the Kamui Space to crush every enemy from now on were over!
Uchiha An followed Konan with a cheerful smile, found another room, and went to sleep in peace.
At last, he could rest.
He could rest, but Konoha couldn't.
Minato's sudden return and the information he'd brought back had thrown the entire village into an uproar.
"What? The Rinnegan?" The Third Hokage was so startled that his pipe fell onto the desk.
"That's right." Minato furrowed his brow, his voice heavy. "I'm certain those were the eyes possessed by the legendary Sage of Six Paths."
"And the Dojutsu of the Rinnegan is incredibly powerful. From controlling gravity to sealing Tailed Beasts, it's versatile and has no obvious gaps."
"Although it has a recovery-time weakness, there's only a five-second window. Ordinary people would find it difficult to seize that opportunity."
"And worst of all, the two villages have already clashed. I'm afraid war is unavoidable."
The Third Hokage took several puffs on his pipe and sighed.
"These are truly troubled times!"
"We worked so hard to reach peace agreements with Cloud Village and Iwagakure. How long has the peace even lasted? Now we're about to go to war again!"
"Sigh. It would be better to avoid a war if we can!"
"Minato, is there really no way to negotiate?"
Minato shook his head.
"I'm afraid it'll be difficult."
"Those twin Uchiha deserters in particular seem to hate the village."
"Something like Susanoo, which should exist only in legends, must have extremely strict conditions for activation."
"The village should have a serious talk with Clan Head Fugaku and find out what's going on. At the very least, we need to learn the facts and figure out their weaknesses."
"Fugaku..." The Third Hokage's expression stiffened, and he fell silent.
Minato was perceptive. The moment he saw the Third Hokage's expression, he knew something was wrong and asked outright,
"Did something happen to Clan Head Fugaku?"
"Was he assassinated by the deserters?"
"Well... Ahem..." The Third Hokage cleared his throat twice and said awkwardly, "It's rather complicated..."
"The Uchiha Clan was wiped out by the village because they intended to rebel."
"What?" Now it was Minato's turn to be shocked.
"The Uchiha Clan was going to rebel?"
"And the entire clan was wiped out?"
"Third Hokage, are you joking?"
The two stared at each other, at a loss for words.
Minato was going to become Hokage, and the Third Hokage knew he couldn't fool him with a lie. But he couldn't bring himself to tell the whole truth either, so he let his gaze wander and said nothing.
After a long while, under Minato's furious gaze, the Third Hokage put his pipe back in his mouth, lowered his head, and muttered,
"It was all Danzo acting recklessly. I've already punished him."
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