"We're finally going to see each other! We're finally going to see each other!"
In the forest, Obito's body was covered by Spiral Face, and he hurried toward the battlefield in a black robe.
After all those long days and nights of waiting, he had finally reached this day. He was incredibly excited.
All this time, he'd been thinking about Kakashi and Rin. Surely the two of them had been thinking about him, too?
"But that old man's a pain. He insisted I go out looking like this."
Obito hurried onward, grumbling under his breath.
"Doesn't he know you should dress up and look your best when you're seeing someone again? Honestly.
And you—you lied to me, too. You could've brought me out directly, so why did you say that old man had to 'open the door' first?"
Spiral Face was momentarily speechless at Obito's words. He might not be the brightest, but Obito seemed even dumber than him.
"If I weren't covering your body, would you have this much strength?"
Although Spiral Face sounded a little exasperated, he still explained.
"You've only just recovered. How much of your strength do you think you can use? You needed my body to carry out this rescue.
"And besides, if Lord Madara hadn't agreed, I couldn't have brought you out. So I didn't lie to you."
This time, Obito hadn't used the Ten-Tails' power to open the door. Instead, Spiral Face had simply brought him up through the ground.
After all, he'd made a bet with Madara, and Madara wouldn't make things difficult for him over this.
Of course, there was something White Zetsu hadn't told Obito: he also needed to check how far Obito's fusion had progressed.
Obito had recovered so quickly because White Zetsu's cells had been injected into his body. So far, everything was going smoothly.
But they still needed to observe how much of an effect those cells could have and how much power they could unleash in Obito.
"Fine. I guess you're right."
Obito felt like he couldn't win an argument with Spiral Face, so he changed the subject.
"By the way, what's happening over there? How are Kakashi and Rin doing?"
"To be honest, not well."
Spiral Face's voice soon sounded from within him.
"They were supposed to run into the Kirigakure shinobi and get chased. That was our plan.
"But they've had terrible luck. They unexpectedly ran into Iwagakure shinobi along the way.
"Iwagakure and Kirigakure are enemies, and they both wanted to deal with the Konoha shinobi, so now they're all fighting each other.
"It's a real mess. Pretty entertaining, actually."
"Iwagakure?"
Obito's expression changed as soon as he heard White Zetsu's words.
"How did this happen? What's going on? Didn't you guarantee there wouldn't be any problems?"
"I don't know either. That guy called Haori was just unlucky. His fight caused so much commotion that it attracted the Iwagakure shinobi."
Spiral Face replied casually, but his words made Obito grit his teeth.
Why did it have to be that guy again? Why was he here, too? Why did he keep showing up everywhere?
"But don't worry. Things aren't going well, but that guy called Haori is pretty strong."
When Spiral Face saw that Obito hadn't responded, he continued.
"Things are rough, but with him there, they can hold out."
"Shut up! Stop talking about that guy!"
Obito was in a foul mood, and his expression turned cold.
"What about the Konoha shinobi? Things have gotten this bad, so why haven't they arrived? And what's Minato-sensei doing?"
"The Konoha shinobi are on their way, but they're too far away to help right now."
Spiral Face didn't mind Obito's attitude and told him everything he could.
"As for your teacher, he's busy right now. He's probably negotiating with the Iwa shinobi. Konoha won the battle, so there are lots of things for him to handle."
"Again? Why does it always happen like this?"
Obito's feelings grew complicated, but he quickly pushed them aside.
"Forget it. It was like this last time, too. But that's fine."
This time, I'll be the hero again!
With that thought, Obito sped up. He could faintly hear the sounds of battle ahead.
"What a pain."
In the forest, Haori, Kakashi, and Rin stood back-to-back, fending off attacks from every direction.
The situation was a complete mess. The Iwagakure and Kirigakure shinobi were fighting each other, but they hadn't forgotten about Haori and the others.
The three of them were under immense pressure.
Fortunately, their enemies weren't working together. From time to time, they even ended up helping Haori and the others. Otherwise, Haori and Kakashi might have managed, but Rin definitely wouldn't have held out.
The situation was taking a heavy toll on Rin, but she still forced herself to stay focused and deal with everything around her.
"We need to find a way to break through."
Haori quickly surveyed the enemy surrounding them. The Kirigakure shinobi were Anbu, and they were stronger. The Iwagakure side was nearly unable to keep them at bay.
Faced with this situation, he thought for a moment, then lowered his voice.
"If we can break through, the pressure on us will ease.
"They're already enemies with each other, so that'll work in our favor.
"By the way, did you summon Minato?"
Every squad sent out had received a Kunai from Namikaze Minato so they could summon him in a critical moment.
That Kunai was now in Kakashi's hand.
"I already tried, but there's been no response."
Kakashi spoke between breaths, his gaze still fixed on the enemies around them.
"Is that so? Then I guess we'll have to rely on ourselves."
Haori sighed at his answer. Namikaze Minato failing to show up at a critical moment seemed to be the norm.
The fastest man in the Shinobi World was also the one most likely to be late. Even when it wasn't really his fault, it was still a headache.
"I'll force our way through. You cover Rin."
Since Namikaze Minato couldn't get there in time, Haori would have to figure something out himself.
He wasn't sure why Madara's plan had turned into such a mess, and Rin didn't seem to be acting strangely, either.
At least, Haori hadn't noticed anything unusual with his Sharingan, so he couldn't be bothered to worry about it!
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
As soon as he spoke, Haori completed his Hand Seals. A huge fireball shot straight toward an Iwa shinobi in front of them.
The Iwa shinobi reacted quickly to Haori's Fire Release. He leaped backward at once, forming Hand Seals at the same time.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
A wall of earth rose quickly, solidly blocking Haori's fireball. But the powerful explosion still sent everyone nearby scrambling for cover.
"Go!"
Haori seized the opportunity. He grabbed Rin and flung her forward, barely pulling her out of the way of a Kirigakure shinobi's sneak attack, then rushed after her.
"They're trying to break through! Stop them!"
The Iwagakure and Kirigakure shinobi weren't stupid. Even as they fought fiercely, they'd kept their eyes on Haori and the others.
The instant they noticed Haori's group making a move, both sides stopped fighting in an unspoken truce and charged toward them!
"I'll hold them off. You two go."
Haori stayed calm. There were a lot of enemies, but he wasn't afraid.
He gave a sharp shout, then swung his Ninja Sword at a shinobi pursuing them from the side.
"I can't keep going on like this."
Rin saw Haori holding off the enemies and Kakashi fighting hard, too. Clenching a Kunai in both hands, she gritted her teeth and thought to herself.
She'd lost count of how many times they'd protected her along the way.
That wasn't what she wanted. She was a capable shinobi, too!
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Rin saw an Iwa shinobi sneaking up behind Haori. Haori was focused on the enemy in front of him.
Rin's gaze hardened at the sight. She absolutely wouldn't let herself become a burden to everyone!
In an instant, Rin charged toward Haori instead of retreating.
The moment the Iwa shinobi struck, she thrust her Kunai forward with all her strength!
Thud—
The sound of metal piercing flesh rang out, and bright red blood sprayed into the air.
The Iwa shinobi stared at Rin in disbelief. He didn't seem to have expected the girl who'd been their weak point all along to show such courage.
"I did it."
Seeing the Iwa shinobi crumple to the ground in front of her, Rin felt a small burst of joy. But just then—
"Be careful, Rin!"
Kakashi's voice suddenly rang out from nearby. As the Iwa shinobi fell, someone wearing a white Spiral Mask appeared silently.
The Kunai in his hand was already thrusting straight toward Rin's chest.