Huo Guang's body held its downward-slashing posture as he neared the ground. The air around him formed clear ripples in the Sharingan's vision.
Though he was still ten centimeters above the ground and would land in an instant, he moved slowly in Obito's eyes.
Obito actually had enough time to think calmly. Then he found a path as intricate as a carved design, raised his arm under his own control, and slipped it past the blade, letting his opponent's sword strike down along his body.
His arm rose slowly and gracefully within his awareness. He extended his hand, and the four stacks of shuriken across his fingers plowed up Huo Guang's chest. The resistance of flesh and blood traveled clearly through the shuriken and into his brain.
The flesh peeled open all the way to the chin, where the bone stopped the blades. At that moment, Obito chose to thrust upward, knocking the man away.
The movement looked "slow" through the Sharingan, but to everyone else it was as fast as lightning. Obito had only just managed to slip past the blade and raise his shuriken.
Then, with a sharp shing, they carved a deep gash across Huo Guang's chest, a full five centimeters wide and deep enough to expose bone.
Obito flicked his index and middle fingers, sending two shuriken flying. They shot toward Huo Guang like shooting stars.
Suddenly, the earth beneath his feet softened. Demon Leech pressed both hands to the ground and used Yellow Springs Swamp to turn it into a bog. Obito's mind registered what was happening, but his body no longer had enough chakra to act, and he was trapped before he could move.
"Tweet—"
A whistle sounded long and drawn-out in his ears. A towering earthen wall rose, then suddenly tilted and crumbled toward him.
Earth Flow Wall!
Rock Dwelling Collapse!
Those two ninjutsu had been unleashed one after another, right after Yellow Springs Swamp. Through Obito's Sharingan, he could only watch helplessly as the earthen wall tilted toward him, so slowly it seemed to take forever, and came crashing down.
But he couldn't break free, much less escape. All that remained was the frenzied spinning of the two tomoe in his eyes...
He heard Kakashi's voice, slow and sluggish, and felt him grab his clothes and pull him backward.
But the falling wall crushed his legs and half his body. Sharp pain crept through him bit by bit, every layer distinct. What would have been a moment of agony stretched out under the Sharingan's power, each detail drawn out in full.
He could clearly feel the pain spreading, precise down to about a centimeter at a time.
In reality, all of this had happened in the blink of an eye.
Nara Tama, hidden nearby, was also stunned by the sudden turn of events. Wait, the whole sequence is different, and Kakashi still gets blinded? He was shocked by the unbelievable misfortune Kakashi had suffered. Could this be the power of fate?
As for Obito being taken out by three ninjutsu, Nara Tama had watched the whole thing clearly, but it didn't surprise him.
Kakashi's misfortune was a coincidence. Obito's wasn't.
Nara Tama had seen White Zetsu hiding in the shadows like him, watching the battlefield. When Obito awakened his Sharingan just now, White Zetsu had abruptly disappeared, then reappeared just as suddenly. In an instant, it had possessed three Rock Ninja and used the Earth Style Ninjutsu each was best at.
Yellow Springs Swamp trapped Obito's feet, Earth Flow Wall rose, then Rock Dwelling Collapse brought the wall down on him.
All in one smooth sequence!
White Zetsu had clearly acted with awareness and a plan. It meant to keep Obito there.
Could it be that when Obito awakened his eye just now, White Zetsu suddenly disappeared to report to Uchiha Madara? Then, after receiving specific instructions, it came back to keep Obito here... Makes sense. A prodigy who awakened the Mangekyo in one go.
At the thought that he was about to gain the Kamui space, where he could hide his real body in another dimension, he grew excited.
At last, the threat of his clan's extermination hanging over his head could ease up a little.
He focused his attention on Obito.
He kept turning it over in his mind. This mission to destroy Kannagi Bridge could be called a coincidence.
So Uchiha Madara couldn't have been plotting against Obito from the start. The battle here drew White Zetsu to observe. Then White Zetsu discovered that Obito had awakened the Mangekyo in one go, so it went back to report, and Uchiha Madara came up with this plan on the spot.
White Zetsu was unbelievably fast just now, making the round trip in no time at all. That doesn't leave me much time to act!
It probably won't dare reveal itself. My chance will come in the brief moment after Kakashi and Rin have switched eyes and Obito has passed out. He considered it, then warned himself, If things go wrong, retreat. Don't try to snatch a chestnut from the fire.
"Obito!" Nohara Rin rushed to his side and pressed her hand to his chest, using the Mystical Palm Technique to keep him alive.
Kakashi, however, charged alone into the Rock Ninja with his sword. His White Fang flashed like lightning, and not one of the Rock Ninja, including Huo Guang and Demon Leech, could withstand even a single blow.
A terrifying killing intent gathered around Kakashi. It poured from his White Fang, seeming to bring the entire battlefield to a standstill. He moved as if slipping through the cracks in time, cutting open his enemies' throats one by one.
After killing them all, Kakashi went to Obito. "Obito, you and Rin stay here. I'll destroy the bridge and complete the mission.
"Once we get back to camp, Kin will be there. He'll definitely be able to save you. You have to hang on. Rin, you—"
"Cough!" Obito coughed up a mouthful of blood and spoke with difficulty. "No, don't bother. I don't want that guy Kin seeing me in such a pathetic state. Rin, don't waste your time on me. I... cough, most of my internal organs have been crushed. There's no way I can hold on until we get back.
"Besides, right now..." Right now, Uchiha Kin was commanding the main battlefield and busy fighting. Obito couldn't let the war suffer because of him.
"Obito!"
"Damn you, Kakashi. I... cough, I'm no dead last. You saw how amazing I was today, didn't you?" Obito managed a feeble smile, but he was already struggling to muster even that much strength.
Then he looked at Kakashi's left eye. "Rin, give him my eye. Kakashi, use my eye and see the world for me...
"I still have so many dreams I haven't fulfilled... Remember, you have to..."
With that, he passed out.
Nohara Rin couldn't decide what to do, so she could only look to Kakashi. After a long silence, he said, "Obito, I'll see the world for you. Rin, let's do it!" Kakashi's voice turned cold. "We still have a mission to complete!"
"Kakashi!" Nohara Rin's heart clenched, and she could hardly breathe from the pain.
Kakashi said, "Obito... He always wanted to be a hero, someone people admired. Not someone they laughed at. I think one day, people will admire him! No one will call him a dead last who only talks big."
Nohara Rin said, "Obito isn't a dead last."
"Yeah."
Before you continue