"Wood Style: Forest Creation!"
Among Konoha's many bloodline limits, Wood Style held an extremely special position.
Not only because it was the bloodline limit of the First Hokage and represented Konoha itself, but also because the Wood Bloodline possessed a kind of numerical beauty that ordinary people could hardly reach.
After escorting Naruto safely to the Hokage Building, Senior Yamato returned to the battlefield at once.
His opening move was Forest Creation.
Senior Yamato brought his hands together and struck the ground. Countless trees and vines burst from the earth, drowning the entire battlefield, including Youhu, Kakashi, and Itachi, who were fighting Obito.
After discovering that Forest Creation had no effect, Senior Yamato was puzzled.
He had clearly struck the Masked Man, but the vines had passed straight through him. It was as if the other party existed in a different space from them.
Seeing the confusion on Senior Yamato's face, Kakashi hurriedly explained:
"Yamato, Obito—the Masked Man—used Phasing. Before the Phasing ends, our attacks are ineffective."
"Kakashi..."
Senior Yamato noticed that the Masked Man seemed to have revealed his face, and then saw that something was wrong with Kakashi's expression. He guessed that Kakashi might have a deep relationship with the Masked Man, so he said nothing more.
Everyone had a past they did not want to remember. Back then, he had nearly killed Kakashi.
This was not the time to ask too many questions.
Five minutes passed quickly. Obito was forced to end his Phasing. With his numb arm, he forcefully swung his Scythe Sword and cut down all the vines around him that were ready to strike.
After one batch of vines was cut down, another batch quickly grew.
Obito's slashing speed was clearly no match for the speed at which the vines formed.
Obito could only take a deep breath. As he formed Hand Seals, he used the Mangekyo Dojutsu Kamui and shouted, "Fire Release: Blast Wave Wild Dance!"
Kamui twisted space and raised a massive storm. The flames rode the wind and spread in every direction.
A huge fire tornado soon formed around them, burning the nearby trees and vines and sending thick black smoke into the air.
Seeing the black smoke rising around him, Obito felt unwilling to give up. Even so, he planned to hide in the smoke and use Kamui to escape. As long as he managed to get away today,
he would be able to take revenge sooner or later.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Wood Style: Thorn Killing Technique!"
Kakashi Squad saw through Obito's attempt to flee and formed Hand Seals, each casting their signature techniques.
Water Style was used to stop the flames. After the Water Dragon Bullet traveled through the woods once, it successfully prevented the fire from spreading and conveniently changed the direction in which the black smoke rose.
Fire Style was used to stop Obito from escaping. Itachi's instincts told him that Obito's use of Space-Time Ninjutsu had a major weakness.
Wood Style was used to capture Obito. Wood Style's characteristic was absorbing Chakra. As long as it touched Obito, the loss of Chakra would prevent him from activating his Space-Time Ninjutsu.
Apart from Youhu, who moved around the edge of the battlefield, every member of Kakashi Squad had something to do.
Watching Obito and the others become embroiled in a chaotic battle, Youhu patrolled the perimeter with his short sword. He gave off the impression that he wanted to step forward and help, but was too weak to do anything.
Of course, Youhu preferred to call his current role that of a battlefield observer.
Youhu was different from Kakashi and the others. He had no deep grudge against Obito. Aside from having some issues in the head and being somewhat ungrateful, Obito was a fairly decent person in other respects.
His goal was to expose Obito's identity. There was no need to finish Obito off.
If he truly wanted to attack Obito, he only needed to use the Mangekyo once just now. Even if Obito did not lose a Sharingan, he would at least have suffered severe injuries.
But if he did that, his Mangekyō Sharingan would inevitably be exposed.
He would also lose the benefits he could obtain from Obito. Obito was a prime source of gains on his path to becoming stronger, and Youhu could not bear to harvest him all at once.
Draining the pond to catch the fish sustainably was the best choice.
The chaotic battle between both sides continued.
As the toxins were broken down, Obito's body gradually returned to normal. From initially fleeing under the combined assault of the three, he slowly began to counterattack.
To deal with Senior Yamato's Wood Ninjutsu, Obito also began using Wood Style, striking Senior Yamato's body with Thorn Insertion Technique.
If Senior Yamato had not also possessed the Wood Bloodline, Thorn Insertion Technique alone would have been enough to kill him.
Even so, Senior Yamato still suffered severe injuries. He clutched his wound and glared fiercely at Obito in the distance, directing the vines on the ground to attack him, only for Obito to evade them through Phasing.
Kakashi and Itachi's situations were just as bad.
They had not expected Obito to have mastered Wood Ninjutsu as well. The combination of the Mangekyō Sharingan and Wood Style gave them the illusion that they had returned to the Warring States Period.
The Four Great Ninja Villages of that era must have felt just as helpless when facing the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.
If Youhu had known what Kakashi and Itachi were thinking, he would only have complained that they were overthinking it.
Obito's strength lay in Kamui. He was merely average in other respects. In front of Madara and Hashirama, Obito would forever be nothing more than a little boy.
Seeing Kakashi and the others fall into a disadvantageous position, Youhu feared that Kakashi might die and hurried to his side.
"Captain Kakashi, are you all right?"
Kakashi panted heavily. "We can barely keep going. Go stop Yamato's bleeding first. If his injuries aren't treated, he might die."
"All right."
Youhu did not waste words. He used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Senior Yamato and took out gauze to stop the bleeding. Although he was not a formal Medical Ninja, he had learned how to treat wounds.
As Youhu applied Medicine Powder to stop Senior Yamato's bleeding, he took the opportunity to collect some of his blood.
Senior Yamato's blood was valuable. Combined with the blood from Obito that he had collected earlier, he had gathered the blood of the only two Ninja to awaken Wood Style in the Ninja World.
Through Deception Points, he could transplant the Wood Bloodline into himself.
Once he had the Wood Bloodline, he would be able to use the Mangekyo Dojutsu freely. Perhaps he could even activate Susanoo whenever he pleased.
Avoiding the eyes of Senior Yamato and the others, Youhu put away the collected blood. While observing the surrounding situation, he changed the subject and said:
"Senior Yamato, your wound has been bandaged. Hold on a little longer. The village's Ninja will be here soon."
Senior Yamato nodded silently, his eyes fixed on Obito in the distance.
This was the first time he had seen another Wood Style Ninja. His Wood Bloodline had been obtained through experiments. Among Orochimaru's batch of test subjects back then, he was the only one who survived.
Danzo had also tried to replicate the Wood Style Experiment, but ultimately failed.
Therefore, Senior Yamato knew that transplanting the Wood Bloodline was absolutely not an easy task.
Then where had the Masked Man familiar to Captain Kakashi obtained his Wood Bloodline? Could there be a scientist in the Ninja World who surpassed Orochimaru?
Or had the Masked Man reached some sort of agreement with Orochimaru?
"I have to eliminate them."
Obito's expression was extremely ugly at that moment. Being injured repeatedly that night had made him realize that he was not invincible. There were still plenty of Ninja in the Ninja World who could threaten his life.
Just as Obito was about to act, a figure resembling a Pitcher Plant emerged from the soil and called out:
"Lord Madara, the Third Hokage is about to arrive."
Obito frowned. He knew that in his current state, he could not possibly defeat the Hokage. He was not even confident that he could deal with the four people before him.
"Since the Hokage is coming, I'll spare your lives for now."
Obito glared viciously at Youhu and the others. Then he activated Kamui, stepped into a Space Vortex, and vanished without a trace.
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