Retreat

"Kid, I'll see whether you're as tough as your mouth!" Uchiha Obito was incensed by the taunt, and his voice turned icy.

"Haha..." Uchiha Akira laughed and sneered, "If you really were Uchiha Madara, or had his kind of strength, why would you have wasted so much time arguing with me?"

"You'll see what I can do soon enough!" Uchiha Obito narrowed his eyes and brought his hands together, forming the Hand Seals in an instant. "Fire Release: Blast Wave Wild Dance!"

Combining Kamui's power with Fire Release, Kamui twisted space and stirred up a vortex-shaped storm. Then Obito spewed a torrent of flames from his mouth. The vortex twisted the scorching fire into a massive, spiraling inferno that surged toward Uchiha Akira.

Faced with Uchiha Obito's fierce Fire Release attack, Uchiha Akira had no intention of meeting it head-on.

His fight with Deva Path Pain had been brief, but controlling the lightning had still cost him a great deal of effort and chakra.

There was no need to clash head-on with Uchiha Obito now.

After receiving all of Uchiha Madara's legacy and donning Tobi, Uchiha Obito had become even harder to deal with than Nagato.

When it came to offense, Obito had Wood Release. With Tobi boosting his abilities, it was hard to gauge the level of his Wood Release.

But judging by Yamato's performance in the original story, Uchiha Obito was at least as strong as Yamato had been while possessed by Tobi.

That was already an extremely difficult level to handle. At least for now, Uchiha Akira would struggle against him.

As for defense, Uchiha Obito had no need to defend himself. His Kamui was the strongest defense there was.

So Uchiha Akira had never intended to meet Uchiha Obito head-on.

A flash of lightning streaked across the shattered battlefield, and Uchiha Akira appeared dozens of meters away.

"Tch..." Uchiha Obito was displeased. He had realized that Uchiha Akira had no intention of fighting him head-on.

Rumble...

Another boom rolled across the sky. The clouds scattered by the blast gathered again.

Dark clouds filled the sky once more, and rolling thunder flickered within them.

"Damn it. With the Land of Rain's weather, I might not be able to take him down even if I fight him." Uchiha Obito cursed inwardly.

Uchiha Akira had no intention of attacking either. He stood motionless in the downpour, watching Uchiha Obito.

After the two faced off for a while, a pale White Zetsu emerged from the ground.

As soon as it appeared, it looked toward Uchiha Obito. "Lord Madara, Nagato needs you to bring Deva Path back."

Uchiha Obito said nothing, only nodding indifferently.

Animal Path and its Summoning Beast had already been reduced to dust by Uchiha Akira's attack.

"Forget it. I'd better retreat for now. With the Land of Rain's weather boosting Uchiha Akira, he's reached a terrifying level. Even I can't take him down easily."

A red glint flashed in Uchiha Obito's eyes, and he vanished.

When he appeared again, he was beside Deva Path Pain, whose body was charred black.

Before Uchiha Akira could do anything, Uchiha Obito and Deva Path Pain disappeared.

Kamui activated extremely quickly. It didn't create ripples like a pebble tossed into a lake.

Its absorption happened in an instant. Even Karin couldn't sense Kamui; her perception couldn't keep up with its speed.

She could only sense something appearing and vanishing in an instant.

Thus, once he had put some distance between them, Uchiha Obito could act without any qualms. His Kamui was simply too fast.

There was no ninjutsu in the entire Shinobi World that could guard against the comings and goings of Space-Time Ninjutsu.

Even after Uchiha Obito vanished from the battlefield, Uchiha Akira didn't let his guard down.

Given Uchiha Obito's nature, he might still double back for a surprise attack.

Several kilometers away, Uchiha Obito appeared before Nagato and Konan, bringing along Deva Path Pain, whose body was charred black.

Seeing Yahiko's charred body, a flicker of guilt crossed Nagato's face. He looked at Uchiha Obito. "Mr. Madara, we were lucky to have you this time. Otherwise..."

Uchiha Obito remained silent, only nodding slowly.

He studied Nagato for a moment, then said, "You were too careless this time. Don't make that mistake again. You still haven't fully developed the power of the Rinnegan."

"Yes, I understand, Mr. Madara." Nagato lowered his head slightly.

He had lost the confidence to call himself a "god," and now bowed his head and yielded before Uchiha Obito.

"Be more careful from now on. The Land of Rain is going to get lively. Konoha won't let this go so easily." Uchiha Obito glanced at Nagato and Konan. "Prepare yourselves. You'd better take control of the Land of Rain first. Otherwise, Hanzo will surely side with Konoha."

Nagato was silent for a long while before replying, "We'll deal with Hanzo as soon as we can."

"Mr. Madara," Nagato asked, looking at Uchiha Obito, "Uchiha Akira's Lightning Style was incredibly powerful. Is the Demonic Statue all right?"

Uchiha Obito waved a hand. "The Demonic Statue is fine. After sealing the Six-Tails, it had already begun to revive. Those injuries will heal soon."

"Why didn't you take out Uchiha Akira, Mr. Madara? With the Wood Release you showed us before, surely he wouldn't have been a match for you?" Nagato asked, puzzled.

After Nagato had finished creating Deva Path Pain, he had been brimming with confidence and asked to spar with Uchiha Madara.

Uchiha Obito had responded by hitting him with a powerful Wood Release technique. The sight of that Wooden Buddha Statue rising from the ground had left a deep impression on Nagato, etched into his memory.

"In the Land of Rain, the advantage of both time and terrain is on Uchiha Akira's side." Uchiha Obito shook his head. "Judging by what he just showed, he has plenty of chakra left. He can still draw on the weather to use that Lightning Style technique from before."

"It's not time to reveal my abilities yet. The crucial moment hasn't come." Uchiha Obito's voice was low.

Elsewhere, more than ten minutes passed, and Uchiha Obito didn't reappear. It seemed he really had left.

Uchiha Akira remained wary, but seeing that, he seemed to relax a little.

He took up his Ninja Blade and began to clear the battlefield.

A few minutes later, he stopped in front of a piece of charred wood more than ten meters across.

A brilliant blade of light flashed. One slash split the blackened mass before him, revealing a piece of deadwood wrapped in charcoal.

It was part of the Demonic Statue's body, blasted off by Demonic Statue Thunder Punishment.

After several more slashes, he stripped away all the charred outer layer, more than ten meters across, revealing the Demonic Statue's innermost tissue, only two or three meters long and resembling a dead branch.

Looking at the Demonic Statue's branch-like shell, Uchiha Akira stroked his chin and stored it in a scroll.

This sort of thing should be useful.