Izanagi.
A rare genjutsu cast on oneself, blurring the line between illusion and reality.
Thus, when one suffered something harmful in reality, such as death or injury, the illusion and reality could be reversed, making those harmful events that had occurred "nothing more than an illusion" and leaving the caster unharmed.
"I finally did it!"
Obito's face was utterly numb and exhausted.
Using Yin Release to sever Chakra, the soul, and their connection to oneself, making them independent.
It sounded simple, but if a hundred people tried it, all hundred would die. There would be no exceptions.
Even Obito had only managed to complete it once after hundreds, even thousands, of attempts, relying on the time granted by Izanagi's immortality—and the price...
"Only three left?"
Obito glanced at the several blind Sharingan on his chest. His heart ached as he released Izanagi.
When the illusion created by Izanagi ended, blood suddenly welled from his Mangekyō Sharingan, trickling down his cheeks before finally dripping onto the ground.
His Eye Power plummeted to its lowest level since he had awakened the Mangekyō.
It wasn't just his eyes.
His hands, chest, and back were all continuously seeping crimson blood.
Obito, having lost too much blood in an instant, collapsed to the ground. Strangely, the blood flowing from his body left no trace on him; it soon all ran onto the ground instead.
The blood seemed to have a mind of its own. Drop by drop, it gathered together, eventually forming a puddle of red, jelly-like substance.
"Ahahahahahaha! Cough, cough... haha!"
Though his Eye Power had weakened to an unprecedented degree and his face was as pale as paper, Obito lay on the ground and roared up at the sky:
"Uchiha Chen!"
His weak shout was filled with the joy of surviving a catastrophe.
"You can't control me!"
After a long while,
with the Chakra supplied by the Sage Body on the left half of his body, Obito finally recovered enough strength to move.
He struggled to his feet and activated his Sharingan, studying the "child" he had separated from himself. But no matter how long he looked, he couldn't see anything about this strange life that resembled him.
"Forget it! This thing's already become Uchiha Chen's puppet. It'll only cause trouble if I leave it alive!"
Obito formed Hand Seals and, after straining for a long time, gathered enough Chakra to cast a Great Fireball. He opened his mouth and spat a fireball at the blood-red substance.
Amid the flames, a small vortex briefly appeared, then vanished.
A few seconds later, seeing nothing left on the ground but charred earth from the raging fire, Obito nodded. His head throbbed as he staggered away.
His plan to control Yagura and the Three-Tails had failed, but he still had plenty of things to do.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
"Meow!"
When the smoke from the Summoning Technique cleared, there stood a tiger as tall as a person—no, a slightly oversized cat.
The snow-white Persian cat stretched languidly, its cute triangular ears swaying as its brilliant, gemstone-green eyes warily scanned the surroundings before settling on Uchiha Chen's face.
"Oh, it's you, Lord Chen. Why have you summoned me? I don't see any enemies around."
"Amane, I wanted to ask you to deliver a letter to Shisui!"
Uchiha Chen waved a folded letter with one hand. His other, wicked hand had already taken the cat by surprise and started stroking the silky fur beneath Amane's neck.
"Purr!"
A rumble came from Amane's throat, and she swished her tail in obvious pleasure.
"Mm! Delivering a letter costs 2,000 ryo, or 5,000 for express service. You know how it is—the clan's been working to increase its income lately."
Amane licked her paw and accepted the letter, but her adorable paw remained extended in front of Uchiha Chen.
The Ninja Cat Clan had always been like this—
Fighting was free after you signed a contract; cats loved fighting. But every additional service came with a fee.
Uchiha knew the cat's habits. He handed over the money he'd prepared and reminded her:
"This is urgent! As soon as possible!"
"When have I ever let you down?"
Amane gave Uchiha a flirtatious glance, then released the Summoning Technique and vanished from in front of Uchiha Chen.
"The letter will reach your Uchiha camp on the eastern front this afternoon. I'll wait for Shisui to return and give it to him!"
After Amane disappeared, Uchiha Chen covered his eyes, his expression grave.
[Prosthetic Eye-001]
[Eye Power: 25/1000]
He had used his permanent Kotoamatsukami on Obito. Now Uchiha Chen could only use Kotoamatsukami: Light to control both Yagura and Suikazan Fuguki, and he had to reinforce the genjutsu on them every other day.
Each use of Kotoamatsukami consumed five points of Eye Power. Controlling two people cost ten, and the Nine-Tails Chakra replenished the prosthetic eye's Eye Power far too slowly to keep up.
So now Uchiha Chen could only hope Shisui would meet up with him quickly, then use his Kotoamatsukami: Shadow Erosion to permanently alter Karatachi Yagura's will.
I wonder how long it'll take Shisui to get here? I still need to keep some Eye Power in reserve, just in case. Maybe... I should reluctantly cut down Fuguki?
Just as Uchiha Chen was debating whether to kill Fuguki, who was no longer of much use, to conserve Eye Power, Pakura's furious shout suddenly rang out nearby!
"What the hell is that? Scorch Release: Fireball!"
A blast of Scorch Release swept through a large stand of dead trees. Amid the surrounding flames, the sounds of Pakura's unrelenting attacks could be heard.
Uchiha Chen was puzzled.
He could hear Pakura attacking and using her jutsu, but there was no sign or sound of the enemy striking back.
Could it be Obito, whom he had controlled, coming back? Kamui could indeed make him seem like a ghost.
Uchiha Chen bounded toward Pakura and finally saw the being she was fighting.
It was a blood-red figure that only vaguely resembled a person. It drifted through the air while Pakura pursued it.
Amid the flying Scorch Release fireballs, Pakura frowned, her expression grave.
All her attacks passed straight through the strange Blood Shadow without any resistance, unable to harm it in the slightest.
"Who are you?"
The Blood Shadow gave no answer. Then, as if it had suddenly sensed something, it turned around and drifted straight toward Uchiha Chen.
Why did this suddenly feel like a ghost story?
Uchiha Chen raised a hand and threw several kunai, but they passed through the Blood Shadow just as effortlessly as Pakura's jutsu, failing to slow it even for a moment.
"This ability... Obito?
No, wait. Could that really be Obito?"
Uchiha Chen couldn't make sense of it.
As the Blood Shadow drew closer, Uchiha Chen clenched his fist. "Susanoo!"
When in doubt, call on Susanoo!
A skeletal arm wrapped in deep-red flames stretched between the Blood Shadow and Uchiha Chen. Instead of stopping, the Blood Shadow drifted toward him with even greater urgency!
Susanoo's skeletal arm swung out. The Blood Shadow neither dodged nor passed through Susanoo; Uchiha Chen's Susanoo simply caught it in its palm.
Ding!
The text that suddenly appeared in the prosthetic eye left Uchiha Chen momentarily stunned:
"An unfamiliar source of Eye Power detected. Inscribe it?"
"An unnamed Eye Power storage device detected!"
Before you continue