Uchiha Obito Appears

"Ah..." Inside a cave several kilometers away, Nagato let out a low, guttural roar as his immense chakra erupted without reservation.

Within the Thunder Domain, Deva Path Pain let out a low growl and slammed his palms violently onto the ground:

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

Bang!

Accompanied by an explosion of endless smoke, a humanoid monster as massive as a mountain tore through the earth and appeared within the Thunder Domain.

Half of its body was buried in the ground, yet the exposed upper torso alone was larger than a Tailed Beast, appearing as if a mountain had suddenly manifested out of thin air.

Endless bolts of lightning crashed down, leaving only faint, charred traces upon its hide.

The moment the monster appeared, it roared toward the heavens, then stretched its massive body forward, opening two withered, skeletal palms to shield Deva Path Pain within.

"Demonic Statue of the Outer Path?" Uchiha Akira's gaze sharpened as he beheld the humanoid monster that dwarfed the mountains.

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

Uchiha Akira stood atop the mountain peak, flicking his right hand lightly, and the Heavenly Punishment Divine Sword vanished from the sky.

The next moment, a blue radiance that connected heaven and earth erupted.

Amidst the boundless lightning, the thunder transformed into a storm that ravaged the land, spreading in every direction.

Wherever the lightning passed, mountains and earth were ground into dust; then, in the blinding glare, that dust turned into blue smoke, which was subsequently swallowed by the endless lightning.

In the blink of an eye, the spreading lightning formed a massive blue sphere of light, several kilometers in diameter, enveloping the land.

Only then did the thunderous roar reach the ears, making the entire world tremble.

The massive explosion scattered the clouds across the sky, allowing the Land of Rain to see the blue sky once more.

Several kilometers away, Hyuga Kaoru and Aburame Shigang were hidden in different locations.

The disturbance from the firmament had left them both shaken to their cores.

Hyuga Kaoru, in particular, possessed the Byakugan and could see much more, which was why she understood just how vast the power gathered in the sky truly was.

As a deafening roar echoed, Hyuga Kaoru clearly felt the mountain range behind her tremble violently.

Crack, crack, crack...

A series of fracturing sounds emerged as the surrounding earth and mountains split into pitch-black fissures, followed by rubble swept up in a violent, boundless storm.

"What terrifying power..." Hyuga Kaoru thought, stunned. "If I possessed this kind of strength, perhaps I would have a way to break free from the Caged Bird Seal..."

After a long while, the endless lightning dissipated, and the storm caused by the attack subsided.

Amidst the endless dust, a figure as massive as a mountain stood silently upon the earth.

On the devastated land, Uchiha Akira bore a few faint, charred marks. He looked at the mountain-sized figure standing in the smoke, his expression grave.

A hurricane, blowing from an unknown source, swept the dust from the battlefield, revealing the true form of the massive figure.

The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was now charred black, standing in a massive crater like a giant piece of charcoal, with thick black smoke rising from its body.

Its originally splayed fingers appeared melted away; the ten massive digits were gone, leaving only the wrists.

The withered, branch-like protrusions on its back were also significantly shortened, nearly leveled.

Beneath the statue, Deva Path Pain lay on the ground like a piece of charcoal, completely motionless.

Around the area where the statue stood, piles of pitch-black charred debris were scattered in disarray.

Clearly, these were body tissues that had sloughed off after the statue was struck by the lightning.

Seeing the state of the statue, Uchiha Akira narrowed his eyes; he knew the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had not been fundamentally destroyed.

The vast, surging chakra within the statue, deep as an ocean, was the best proof of that.

"Truly terrifying. It is worthy of being the God Tree Sprout; even as a mere empty shell, it is something that can sustain a life," Uchiha Akira mused.

Bang~

With a dull thud, the charred statue transformed into a massive cloud of smoke and dissipated, leaving only the charred Deva Path Pain lying in the crater.

Just then, Uchiha Obito, wearing the Tobi-brand Bio-Armor, appeared out of thin air, thrusting a sharp wooden spike toward Uchiha Akira.

However, as if he had anticipated this, Uchiha Akira's body flashed with lightning, and he appeared over ten meters away as if teleporting.

The speed of Kamui was indeed incredibly fast, but Uchiha Akira had been prepared; ever since entering the Land of Rain, he had been on guard against Uchiha Obito.

After Uchiha Obito's strike missed, he secretly cursed his luck.

Uchiha Akira stood ten meters away, eyes narrowed, staring unblinkingly at the figure who had appeared from nowhere: "Sharingan? A rat hiding in the shadows—who are you?"

Though he knew who stood before him, now was not the time to reveal his true identity.

Therefore, Uchiha Akira needed to play his part.

"Heh..." Uchiha Obito chuckled, saying nonchalantly: "Who am I? Uchiha Madara!"

"Ha..." Uchiha Akira laughed, disdainfully: "A rat hiding in the shadows dares to call himself Uchiha Madara? Would Uchiha Madara resort to such sneak attacks?"

"Is this the state of the Uchiha now? So naive. A ninja has always been one to use any means necessary to achieve their goals. No wonder that since the First Hokage, none of the Third Hokage's successors have ever been from the Uchiha!"

Uchiha Obito's words were filled with disappointment.

"Hmph! If you were truly Uchiha Madara, you would know exactly why the Uchiha Clan never attained the position of Hokage!"

Uchiha Akira let out a cold snort, looking him up and down before coldly stating:

"Furthermore, what business is it of a Rat hiding in the shadows like you whether the Uchiha Clan attains the position of Hokage or not? Setting aside whether you are Uchiha Madara or not, so what if you are? You are nothing more than a man abandoned by his own clan!"

"Hmph! You juniors certainly have sharp tongues!" The Sharingan exposed by Uchiha Obito was filled with rage.

"Enough, you can fool others, but don't fool yourself—you, Uchiha Madara?" Uchiha Akira shook his head and chuckled.

Uchiha Obito said indifferently: "People are always limited by their own perceptions. The phrase 'a frog in a well' describes your kind perfectly."

Uchiha Akira smiled, completely unbothered: "One question: do you dare to reveal your true face?"

"Heh!" Uchiha Obito laughed dismissively, "Why would I need to prove who I am to you?"

"Fair point." Uchiha Akira nodded, saying nonchalantly: "How could someone like you, a Fox masquerading as a tiger and operating in the dark sewers, ever dare to reveal your true face?"

As he spoke, he looked at Uchiha Obito across from him and added meaningfully: "Once you lose that tiger skin, I fear you will be nothing at all."