Uchiha Obito Appears

"Ah..." In a cave several kilometers away, Nagato let out a low growl, unleashing all the powerful chakra within him.

Within the Thunder Domain, Deva Path Pain let out a low shout and slammed both palms against the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"

Bang!

As endless smoke billowed outward, a gigantic humanoid monster, as large as a mountain, burst through the earth and appeared within the Thunder Domain.

Half its body was buried in the ground. Even its exposed upper half was larger than a Tailed Beast, as if a mountain peak had suddenly risen from the earth.

Endless bolts of lightning crashed down, leaving nothing more than thin trails of charred marks on its body.

As soon as the monster appeared, it threw back its head and roared. Then its enormous body stretched forward, and its two withered palms opened, enclosing Deva Path Pain.

"The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path?" Uchiha Akira narrowed his eyes as he spotted the humanoid monster, larger than a mountain.

"There's no time to worry about that. So what if it's the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path? Let it feel the power of nature!"

Uchiha Akira stood atop the mountain and casually waved his right hand. The Heavenly Punishment Divine Sword in the sky vanished at once.

The next instant, a blue radiance burst forth, reaching from heaven to earth.

Amid boundless lightning, the thunderbolts became a raging storm that swept across the land in every direction.

Wherever the lightning passed, mountains and earth crumbled into dust. The dazzling light then turned the dust into wisps of smoke, which were soon swallowed by the endless lightning as well.

In the blink of an eye, the boundless lightning spread out, forming a blue sphere several kilometers across that engulfed the land.

Only then did a deafening roar ring through the heavens, shaking the entire world.

A massive explosion thundered through the air. The endless storm scattered the clouds overhead, allowing the Land of Rain to see blue skies once more.

Several kilometers away, Hyuga Kaoru and Aburame Shigang were concealed in separate locations.

The commotion in the sky had just reached them, leaving both of them shaken to the core.

Hyuga Kaoru was especially affected. With her Byakugan, she could see more than most, and so she understood just how immense the power gathering in the sky had been.

As a deafening roar rang out, Hyuga Kaoru felt the mountain ridge behind her shudder violently.

Crack, crack, crack...

The sounds of fractures rang out as the surrounding mountains and earth split open with black fissures. Then rocks swept toward them amid a violent, boundless gale.

"What terrifying power..." Hyuga Kaoru was deeply shaken. If I had power like this, perhaps I could find a way to break free of the Caged Bird Seal...

After a while, the endless lightning faded, and the storm caused by the attack finally died down.

Through the endless dust, a colossal figure, as large as a mountain, stood silently upon the earth.

On the devastated land, Uchiha Akira bore faint scorch marks. He looked toward the immense, mountain-like silhouette standing amid the smoke, his expression grave.

A gale blew in from somewhere, carrying away the dust that shrouded the battlefield and revealing the gigantic figure's true form.

The Demonic Statue was now charred black all over, standing in a huge crater like a giant lump of burnt charcoal. Thick black smoke poured from its body.

Its five outstretched fingers looked as if they had melted. All ten enormous fingers were gone, leaving only the wrists.

The branch-like protrusions on its back had also been worn down by a great deal, almost entirely flattened.

Beneath the Demonic Statue, Deva Path Pain lay on the ground like a charred log, completely lifeless.

Scattered around the ground where the Demonic Statue stood were heaps of blackened charcoal.

Clearly, these were pieces of its body that had broken off after the statue was struck by lightning.

After seeing the condition of the Demonic Statue, Uchiha Akira narrowed his eyes. He knew that the statue had not suffered any fundamental damage.

The vast chakra surging through its body, as boundless as rivers and seas, was proof enough.

Terrifying. No wonder it's the God Tree Sprout, something that can keep a person alive even when all that remains is an empty shell. Uchiha Akira thought.

Boom~

A heavy thud rang out as the charred Demonic Statue turned into a massive cloud of smoke and vanished. In the crater, only the blackened Deva Path Pain remained, sprawled on the ground.

Just then, Uchiha Obito appeared out of thin air, wearing the Tobi-brand Bio-Armor. A sharp wooden spike in his hand shot toward Uchiha Akira.

But Uchiha Akira seemed to have anticipated it. Lightning flashed around his body, and he appeared more than ten meters away as if he had teleported.

Kamui was certainly fast, but Uchiha Akira had already been on guard. Ever since entering the Land of Rain, he had been watching out for Uchiha Obito.

After his attack missed, Uchiha Obito thought to himself, What a pity.

Standing more than ten meters away, Uchiha Akira narrowed his eyes and stared at the man who had appeared out of thin air. "Sharingan? You're hiding your face and skulking around. Who are you?"

Although he knew who the man in front of him was, this wasn't the time to reveal his true identity.

So Uchiha Akira needed to put on an act.

"Heh..." Uchiha Obito chuckled and said casually, "Who am I? Uchiha Madara!"

"Haha..." Uchiha Akira laughed loudly and sneered. "You're hiding your face, yet you dare to claim you're Uchiha Madara? Would Uchiha Madara resort to a sneak attack?"

"Is this what the Uchiha are like nowadays? So naive. A ninja has always done whatever it takes to achieve their goals. No wonder no Uchiha has ever held the Hokage Position since the First."

Uchiha Obito's words were filled with disappointment.

"Hmph! If you really were Uchiha Madara, you'd know why the Uchiha Clan never got the Hokage Position!"

Uchiha Akira snorted, sizing him up before continuing coldly.

"And what does the Uchiha Clan's chance of gaining the Hokage Position have to do with a skulking rat like you? Never mind whether you're Uchiha Madara or not. Even if you are, so what? You're just someone your clan abandoned!"

"Hmph! You've got a sharp tongue, brat!" The Sharingan visible beneath Uchiha Obito's mask brimmed with anger.

"Enough. You can fool other people, but don't fool yourself. You, Uchiha Madara?"

Uchiha Akira shook his head with a mocking laugh.

Uchiha Obito said coolly, "People are always confined by the limits of their own understanding. 'A frog in a well' suits people like you perfectly."

Uchiha Akira smiled, wholly unconcerned. "One question: do you dare show your real face?"

"Heh!" Uchiha Obito scoffed. "Why should I prove who I am to you?"

"Fair enough." Uchiha Akira nodded and said casually, "A fox borrowing a tiger's might, skulking around in dark sewers—how could someone like you dare show his real face?"

As he spoke, he looked at Uchiha Obito and said meaningfully, "Once you lose that tiger skin, you'll be nothing."