Just as the Mahiru was about to strike Kakashi, an Ice Mirror appeared out of thin air between the two, causing the Mahiru to strike the Ice Mirror with its blade, producing a crisp sound.
Kakashi, however, pressed forward relentlessly, shattering the Ice Mirror before him and piercing the Mahiru's belly.
With a "bang," the Mahiru in front of him turned into a cloud of smoke, and Kakashi stopped what he was doing.
After the battle, he realized that he couldn't control the Lightning Blade well; in other words, this Ninjutsu couldn't be used in actual combat yet.
"There's a flaw!"
On the other side, a shadow Shadow Clone suddenly burst out from underground, preparing to attack Obito and Rin, who were in the back. However, Mahiru, who had already awakened his Obito with One-Tomoe Sharingan, had much sharper perception than before and managed to block the opponent's first attack in time.
"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!"
Kicked away the outstretched arm of the Mahiru, Obito hand seals and spat out a dragon-head-shaped flame that struck the Mahiru, shattering the Shadow Clone.
With Rin behind him, Obito, Obito Kunai, warily looked around to prevent a sudden enemy attack.
"I didn't expect the Shadow Clone to be dealt with so quickly. Damn it, they weren't just ordinary brats. And how were those Shadow Clone even dealt with...?"
Hidden behind a tree trunk, the Mahiru cautiously poked its head out, observing the situation on the battlefield.
When he saw the spot where his Shadow Clone had been hiding, his pupils contracted sharply, and he instantly understood how his Shadow Clone had died.
Rows of Ice Mirror stood there, radiating a white luster.
Combining the Shadow Clone that had just been dealt with, the Mahiru understood everything.
A chill ran down my spine, followed by sharp pain in my leg and arm joints.
Four Senbon pierced through the joints of his limbs, stripping the Mahiru of its control over his limbs. He was out of control and fell to the ground face down.
"The White Death God, the Konoha Ice Release ninja who struck fear into the hearts of enemies on the battlefield of Kumogakure..."
With his limbs out of control and knowing he was doomed, the Mahiru spoke with difficulty, turning his head to look at Kazashiro behind him.
Kazashiro ignored his opponent and instead continued to create Senbon to insert into the Mahiru's acupoints, attempting to block any possible way for his opponent to turn the tables.
By the time Kakashi, Obito, and the others arrived in front of the Mahiru, it had already been riddled with thorns by Kazashiro.
"Obito, use Illusion Technique on him."
Seeing that the preparations were complete, Kazashiro gestured for Obito to step forward and use his Sharingan on the Mahiru.
Soon, Kazashiro and the others learned that there were two Jonin guarding the way ahead, and that a large force led by the Special Jonin Sumashi was heading towards them.
"Three Jonin, huh? That's quite a luxurious setup."
Unable to extract any further information, Kazashiro swiftly slit the Mahiru's throat and began to consider his next move.
The next move could be risky; who knows if Madara and that old fox are secretly watching him from somewhere right now?
No, it should be about Obito.
Kazashiro guessed half of it correctly.
There is indeed something watching them, but it's not Black Zetsu, but a White Zetsu.
As everyone knows, a kind and gentle old man from the Uchiha lives underground in the Land of Land of Grass. This old man relies on White Zetsu to gather intelligence for him so that he can keep abreast of the movements in the Shinobi World.
Upon realizing that Obito possessed the Sharingan, the White Zetsu immediately burrowed underground, intending to inform Madara of this.
At this moment, Madara Uchiha was leaning against a chair made from a huge hollowed-out tree stump, with a scythe beside him serving as a cane, and a huge, unidentified tubular object inserted behind him to supply him with the nutrients necessary for survival.
"Huff... huff..."
Accompanied by soft snoring, the elderly Madara was nowhere near the image of his former self, who had swept across the Shinobi World and danced endlessly. He had aged beyond recognition, and if he were to leave the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, he would surely die on the spot, beyond saving.
"Masamune-sama~"
With a sickeningly sweet sound, White Zetsu awakened Madara.
"Hmm?"
Opening his eyes, Madara was clearly a little dazed, and it took him a while to fix his gaze on White Zetsu.
I'm really getting old; I can't even remember when I fell asleep.
"What's wrong?"
Madara Uchiha, his voice hoarse, asked White Zetsu why he had been awakened.
"Lord Madara, as you instructed, I've observed the young Uchiha brats on the battlefield and discovered an interesting fellow."
White Zetsu revealed Obito's name and that he possessed the Sharingan.
"Uchiha Obito, I remember it was..."
Upon hearing the name, Madara began to ponder.
He had been sending White Zetsu to monitor the Uchiha Clan, all in order to find a successor to restrain Nagato one day.
After all, you can't put all your eggs in one basket. What if Nagato doesn't grow up as you expected? Wouldn't you be doing charity work, giving away Rinnegan for nothing?
"Obito... Obito... Huff... Huff..."
Muttering Obito's name, Madara Uchiha's voice grew softer and softer until it finally turned into snoring again.
"Uh, Lord Madara~"
"I'm listening."
Madara, who was woken up again by White Zetsu, refused to admit that he had fallen asleep, and at the same time remembered Obito's information.
"That child is good. You must keep a close eye on him. His heart is full of love, but once he becomes aware of pain, that love will turn into intense hatred. In that case, he will agree with my ideas and become my agent."
"But the people around that guy are not easy to deal with. One of them is that Ice Death Wind... um, is that his name?"
"No, it should be the Ice White Wind."
"No, no, no, it should be white ice wind."
"No, no, no, it should be..."
Seeing that the White Zetsu were about to start arguing, Madara, who was getting a headache from the noise, spoke up and stopped them, "Alright, there's a tough one here, isn't there?"
Seeing the White Zetsu nod, Madara stretched out his arm, waited a moment, and then a black blob slid out from his wide sleeve, landed on the ground, and crawled onto one of the White Zetsu.
"Black Zetsu, go and see if you can bring that brat over without alerting them."
Looking at the product of his Yin-Yang Release training, Madara gave an order to the other party, while simultaneously glancing at another White Zetsu not far away. "Continue to monitor that brat fighting the Kirigakure Village. If you have the chance, bring him over as well."
That's right, you can't put all your eggs in one basket, and that applies even to agents.
Even if Black Zetsu and White Zetsu both fail, Madara can still find a third target to control, only that they are a bit older.