The Numerical Beauty of Wood Style

"Wood Style: Forest Creation!"

Among the many bloodlines in Konoha, Wood Style holds an extremely special status.

It is not only because it is the bloodline of the First Hokage, representing Konoha itself, but also because the Wood Style bloodline possesses a numerical beauty that is difficult for ordinary people to reach.

After safely escorting Naruto to the Hokage Building, Yamato returned to the battlefield immediately.

He opened with Forest Creation.

Yamato pressed his palms together and slammed them onto the ground. Countless trees and vines erupted from the earth, engulfing the entire combat zone, including Youhu, Kakashi, and Itachi, who were currently facing off against Obito.

Upon discovering that Forest Creation was ineffective, Yamato was puzzled.

He had clearly struck the Masked Man, but the vines had passed right through him; it was as if the opponent did not exist in the same space as them.

Seeing the confusion on Yamato's face, Kakashi quickly explained:

"Yamato, the... the Masked Man is using Phasing. Before the phasing ends, our attacks are ineffective."

"Kakashi..."

Yamato noticed that the Masked Man seemed to have revealed his face, and he also noticed that Kakashi's expression was off. Guessing that Kakashi might have a deep connection with the Masked Man, he decided not to say anything more.

Everyone has a past they are unwilling to recall; he himself had once nearly killed Kakashi.

At a time like this, it was better not to press for answers.

The five minutes passed quickly. Obito was forced to end his Phasing, and he swung his scythe sword with a paralyzed arm, severing all the vines that were eager to strike.

As soon as one batch of vines was severed, another quickly grew in its place.

Obito's slashing speed was clearly unable to keep up with the rate at which the vines were regenerating.

Obito could only take a deep breath. While forming hand seals, he utilized his ocular jutsu, Kamui, and roared, "Fire Style: Blast Wave Wild Dance!"

The space distorted by Kamui whipped up a massive storm, and the fire, fueled by the wind, spread in all directions.

Soon, a giant fire tornado formed in the surroundings, burning the nearby trees and vines and sending up thick, black smoke.

Seeing the black smoke rising around him, Obito felt unwilling to give up, but he still intended to hide within the smoke and use Kamui to escape. As long as he could get away today, he would eventually have his revenge.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Wood Style: Cutting Spikes!"

The Kakashi Squad saw through Obito's attempt to escape and immediately began weaving hand signs to unleash their signature ninjutsu.

Water Style was used to suppress the fire. After the Water Dragon Bullet circled through the woods, it successfully halted the spread of the flames and incidentally shifted the direction of the rising black smoke.

Fire Style was used to block Obito's escape. Itachi's intuition told him that Obito's use of Space-Time Ninjutsu had a significant flaw.

Wood Style was used to capture Obito. The unique property of Wood Style is its ability to absorb Chakra; as long as they could make contact with Obito, he would lose Chakra and be unable to activate his Space-Time Ninjutsu.

Aside from Youhu, who was patrolling the edge of the battlefield, every member of the Kakashi Squad had their own task to perform.

Watching Obito and the others locked in a chaotic battle, Youhu moved along the periphery with his dagger, giving off the impression of someone who wanted to step in and help but was too incapable to be of any real use.

Of course, Youhu preferred to call his current behavior "battlefield observer."

Youhu was different from Kakashi and the others; he held no deep grudge against Obito. Aside from Obito having a few screws loose and a personality like a white-eyed wolf, he was actually quite decent in other aspects.

His goal was to reveal Obito's identity, so there was no need to go for the kill.

If he truly wanted to take Obito down, he could have just used his Mangekyo a moment ago. Even if Obito didn't lose a Sharingan, he would have at least been left with a serious injury.

But if he did that, his Mangekyo Sharingan would inevitably be exposed.

He would also lose the benefits gained from Obito. Obito was a prime leek on his path to becoming stronger, and he wasn't about to harvest the whole thing in one go.

Sustainable harvesting was the best choice.

The chaotic battle between the two sides continued.

As the toxins broke down, Obito's body gradually returned to normal. From initially fleeing the three-man siege, he began to launch a counterattack.

To counter Yamato's Wood Style ninjutsu, Obito also began using Wood Style, striking Yamato's body with the Thorn Insertion Technique.

If it weren't for the fact that Yamato also possessed the Wood Bloodline, the Thorn Insertion Technique alone would have been enough to kill him.

Even so, Yamato was still seriously injured. He clutched his wound, glaring at Obito in the distance with a grimace, and commanded the vines on the ground to attack, but Obito simply phased through them to dodge.

The situation for Kakashi and Itachi was equally grim.

They hadn't expected Obito to have mastered Wood Style ninjutsu as well. The combination of the Mangekyo Sharingan and Wood Style gave them the illusion of having returned to the Warring States Period.

The four great ninja villages back then were likely just as helpless when facing the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.

If Youhu knew what Kakashi and Itachi were thinking, he would only retort that they were overthinking it.

Obito's strength lay in Kamui; he was otherwise just average. In front of Madara and Hashirama, Obito would always just be a brat.

Seeing Kakashi and the others falling into a disadvantage, Youhu, fearing that Kakashi might die, hurried to his side.

"Captain Kakashi, are you alright!"

Kakashi panted heavily and said, "I can barely keep going. You go help Yamato stop the bleeding first; if his wounds aren't treated, he might die."

"Alright."

Youhu didn't waste any words. He used the Body Flicker Technique to reach Yamato's side and pulled out some gauze to begin dressing the wound. Although he wasn't a formal Medical Ninja, he had learned how to treat injuries.

While applying medicine powder to help stop Yamato's bleeding, Youhu took the opportunity to collect some of Yamato's blood.

Yamato's blood was a valuable commodity. Combined with the blood of Obito he had collected earlier, he had now gathered the blood of the only two ninjas in the Ninja World who had awakened Wood Style.

Using Deception Points, he could transplant the Wood Bloodline into himself.

Once he possessed the Wood Bloodline, he would be able to use Mangekyo Dojutsu at will. He might even be able to manifest Susanoo as easily as playing a game.

Avoiding the gaze of Yamato and the others, Youhu stowed the collected blood away. While observing the intelligence of his surroundings, he changed the subject:

"Senior Yamato, the wound is bandaged. Just hold on a little longer; the ninjas from the village will be here soon."

Yamato nodded silently, his eyes fixed on Obito not far away.

This was the first time he had ever seen another Wood Style Ninja. His own Wood Bloodline had been obtained through experiments; among that batch of test subjects Orochimaru had used, he was the only one who had survived.

Danzo had also once tried to replicate the Wood Style experiments, but he had ultimately failed.

Therefore, Yamato knew that transplanting the Wood Bloodline was by no means an easy task.

So, where did the Wood Bloodline of the Masked Man that Captain Kakashi was familiar with come from? Was there a scientist in the Ninja World who surpassed Orochimaru?

Or perhaps, the Masked Man was in collusion with Orochimaru.

"I must finish them off."

At this moment, Obito's expression was extremely grim. Being injured multiple times tonight made him realize that he was not invincible. There were still quite a few ninjas in the Ninja World capable of threatening his life.

Just as Obito intended to act, a figure resembling a pitcher plant emerged from the soil and shouted:

"Lord Madara, the Third Hokage is about to arrive."

Obito frowned. He knew that in his current state, he could not be a match for the Hokage. He didn't even have enough confidence to finish off the four people in front of him.

"Since the Hokage is coming, I will spare your lives for now."

Obito glared fiercely at Youhu and the others, then immediately activated Kamui, stepping into a space vortex and disappearing from sight.