Uchiha Obito, Fire Style: Fire Dragon Heaven Dance

"Understood, I will go notify Sasori and Deidara."

Upon hearing Deva Path Pain's words, Zetsu responded immediately.

The latter's figure gradually faded away.

Not long after!

In a certain hidden location!

"Pain intends to have Sasori and Deidara recruit Hyuga Chiba. If the latter refuses, they are to kill him and bring back the Tenseigan."

"If necessary, the Pain Six Paths will go personally to eliminate him!"

Zetsu's figure reappeared, reporting Deva Path Pain's decision to a man wearing a swirl-patterned birch mask that revealed only his right eye, dressed in the same flame cloud robe.

This man was none other than the student of the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato, the close friend of Hatake Kakashi, the successor of Uchiha Madara, one of the high-level figures behind the Akatsuki, the accomplice to Uchiha Itachi during the Uchiha Clan massacre, the protagonist of the "Kamui's Hidden Tears" story that moved the ninja world, and a beast second only to Shimura Danzō... Uchiha Obito!

"The Hyuga Clan actually possesses a Tenseigan that stands on par with the Rinnegan? Why have I never heard of this?"

At this moment, Obito asked with a tone of confusion: "Could this just be the ancestors of the Hyuga Clan bragging?"

"Judging by Hyuga Chiba's performance today, his Tenseigan doesn't seem to live up to that title."

"At the very least, the Pain Six Paths created by Nagato's Rinnegan are capable of easily destroying Konohagakure."

"It is even less likely that he would fall into such a long state of weakness like Hyuga Chiba."

"No, the Tenseigan is indeed an existence on the same level as the Rinnegan!" Zetsu, or rather Black Zetsu, the true living fossil of the ninja world, corrected him: "It's just that the one who once possessed the Tenseigan left behind very little information in the ninja world."

"As for Hyuga Chiba's Tenseigan, the reason you feel it is inferior to Nagato's Rinnegan is mostly because he has only just awakened these eyes, and he is not someone like the Uzumaki or Senju who are born with massive amounts of Chakra."

"But there is no doubt that if given enough time to grow, Hyuga Chiba will absolutely become a huge potential threat to our plans."

"And the only thing that can execute the Moon Eye Plan is the Rinnegan."

"However, his Tenseigan might be of use to us."

"In that case, we must eliminate this threat." Hearing this, Uchiha Obito made his decision immediately: "Someone with such massive potential, once they possess power like Nagato's, might not necessarily be willing to follow our arrangements."

"We don't need such a person to join the Akatsuki either."

"Prepare yourself. We will follow behind Sasori and Deidara and go meet Hyuga Chiba together."

"If he truly accepts the recruitment, find an opportunity to finish him off and take his Tenseigan."

Outside Konohagakure!

"Are you sure Hyuga Chiba is up ahead?"

A Root Captain, dressed similarly to the Konoha Anbu but radiating a much colder aura, moved rapidly through the treetops while questioning a Root Ninja with sensory abilities beside him.

"Are you sure? His position hasn't changed at all, as if he's waiting for his pursuers?"

The Root Ninja nodded, though he responded with a hint of confusion: "What's even stranger is that there are traces of chakra around him from using certain ninjutsu multiple times."

"His position hasn't changed, and he's frequently using ninjutsu in the same spot?" Upon hearing this, the Root Captain was momentarily startled and puzzled. "What on earth is he thinking?"

"He should be at his weakest right now; otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to flee."

"Why would he stay in one place for so long and waste his already limited chakra?"

"Could it be a Shadow Clone?" A third Root Ninja on the other side of the captain offered a guess. "He seemed to use his main body to draw attention before, while using a Shadow Clone to steal the Scroll of Sealing from the Hokage's Office."

"Or perhaps, this is actually a trap set for his pursuers?"

"Let's be cautious," the Root Captain commanded immediately. "Lord Danzo's orders are to bring back Hyuga Chiba, or his Tenseigan."

"Even if we are all wiped out, we must create more opportunities for the Root forces following behind us to complete the mission."

"Understood!" The other two Root Ninjas nodded firmly in response.

Not long after, the three Root Ninjas reached the target area.

They saw Chiba (Shadow Clone) sitting cross-legged on the ground with his eyes closed, surrounded by marks left by various five-element ninjutsu, including scorch marks, water damage, and lightning strikes.

"Is he practicing ninjutsu? Judging by the traces, he possesses at least five chakra natures."

"But as a member of the Hyuga Clan, why would he learn ninjutsu? Could this also be a change brought about by the Tenseigan?"

Various thoughts flashed through the Root Captain's mind, but his hand had already thrown several shuriken at once.

The other two Root Ninjas also threw kunai attached with explosive tags at Chiba from two different directions.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Kaiten!"

Chiba, who had been sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, opened his pure Byakugan. He rose rapidly in place, creating a small tornado filled with crimson flames.

The shuriken and kunai thrown by the three Root Ninjas were all swept into the fire tornado, failing to cause any real damage to Chiba inside.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Kaiten?"

"What the hell is that?"

All three Root Ninjas had undergone rigorous training and would not normally be surprised by anything, but they truly couldn't keep their composure now.

Before this, none of them had ever imagined that the Hyuga Clan's Kaiten could be played like this.

But once they regained their focus, they realized that this "Fire Style: Fire Dragon Kaiten" wasn't actually a particularly high-difficulty ninjutsu.

Theoretically, any Hyuga Clansman who knows how to use Rotation and possesses Fire Style ninjutsu would be capable of pulling this off.

But why, then, were they so astonished to see it now?

"Earth Style: Earth Rising Spears!"

Surprise was one thing, but the Root Captain reacted quickly, summoning sharp earth spikes from the ground. It was both an attack on Chiba and a move to cut off his escape route.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"

"Lightning Style: Lightning Dragon Bullet!"

At the same time, the other two Root Ninjas each summoned a dragon—one of water, one of lightning.

They rapidly fused together, forming a water dragon crackling with intense electrical current, surging toward Chiba with even greater power.

The Chakra I recovered while meditating earlier is almost exhausted. Since that's the case, I'll use that technique.

Seeing this, Chiba pondered for a brief moment before his body began to spin once again:

"Wind Style: Rotation Wind Void Blade!"

In an instant, countless wind blades erupted from Chiba as the center, indiscriminately shredding everything in the vicinity.