Retreat

"Junior, I'd like to see if your strength is as stiff as your tongue!" Uchiha Obito felt a nameless fire rising from being spoken to in such a manner, his voice turning icy cold.

"Haha..." Uchiha Akira laughed, mocking, "If you truly were Uchiha Madara, or if you actually possessed the strength of Uchiha Madara, why would you waste so much breath on me?"

"You'll find out my strength soon enough!" Uchiha Obito narrowed his eyes, pressed his palms together, and finished his hand seals in an instant: "Fire Style: Storm Dance!"

The power of Kamui combined with Fire Style; the power of Kamui distorted space, triggering a vortex-like storm, while a massive amount of flame was spewed from his mouth. The vortex-like storm twisted the scorching flames, forming a massive, spiraling inferno that lunged toward Uchiha Akira.

Facing Uchiha Obito's ferocious Fire Style attack, Uchiha Akira had no intention of meeting it head-on.

Although his exchange with Deva Path Pain had been brief, manipulating natural lightning had consumed a significant amount of his energy and chakra.

Under these circumstances, there was no need to clash directly with Uchiha Obito.

Having inherited everything from Uchiha Madara and donned Tobi, Uchiha Obito was an existence even more difficult to deal with than Nagato.

For offense, he had Wood Release, and after his abilities were enhanced by Tobi, Uchiha Obito's level of Wood Release was hard to gauge.

However, judging by the performance of Yamato in the original story, Uchiha Obito was at least at the level of Yamato after being possessed by Tobi.

This was already a very difficult level to handle, at least for the current Uchiha Akira.

In terms of defense, Uchiha Obito had no need for it; his Kamui was the ultimate defense.

Therefore, Uchiha Akira never intended to go toe-to-toe with Uchiha Obito from the start.

On the shattered battlefield, a flash of lightning streaked by, and Uchiha Akira's figure appeared dozens of meters away.

"Tch..." Uchiha Obito was extremely annoyed; he had also realized that Uchiha Akira had no intention of engaging in a direct confrontation.

Rumble...

A thunderous roar echoed from the sky once more as the clouds, previously torn apart by the shockwaves of the explosion, began to gather again.

Vast dark clouds reappeared in the sky, with rolling thunder flickering in and out of sight.

"Damn it, with the weather in the Land of Rain, it's not certain I can take him down even if I fight him," Uchiha Obito muttered to himself, feeling cursed by his luck.

Uchiha Akira had no intention of attacking either, standing quietly in the heavy rain while observing Uchiha Obito.

After the two stood in a standoff for a while, a White Zetsu with a deathly pale body emerged from the ground.

As soon as the White Zetsu appeared, it looked at Uchiha Obito: "Lord Madara, Nagato asks that you help him bring back the Deva Path."

Uchiha Obito did not speak, merely nodding indifferently.

The Animal Path and its Summoning Beast had long since been reduced to ashes during Uchiha Akira's attack.

"Forget it, it's better to retreat for now. With the weather in the Land of Rain bolstering him, Uchiha Akira's strength has reached a terrifying level; even I cannot easily take him down."

A red light flashed in Uchiha Obito's eyes, and he vanished from the spot.

When he reappeared, he was already beside the charred body of Deva Path Pain.

Before Uchiha Akira could make a move, Uchiha Obito and Deva Path Pain disappeared from the spot.

The activation speed of Kamui was incredibly fast; it did not exhibit the phenomenon of ripples spreading like a stone thrown into a lake.

The absorption speed of Kamui was instantaneous; even Karin could not perceive Kamui, as her sensory abilities could not keep up with its speed.

She could only sense things appearing and disappearing in an instant.

Therefore, once a certain distance was established, Uchiha Obito had no reservations; his Kamui was simply too fast.

There was no jutsu in the entire ninja world that could guard against the coming and going of space-time ninjutsu.

After Uchiha Obito vanished from the battlefield, Uchiha Akira did not lower his guard.

Given Uchiha Obito's temperament, it was entirely possible he might attempt a surprise counterattack.

Several kilometers away, Uchiha Obito appeared before Nagato and Konan, carrying the charred Deva Path Pain.

Looking at Yahiko's charred body, a flash of guilt crossed Nagato's face as he looked at Uchiha Obito: "Mr. Madara, thank you for your help this time, otherwise..."

Uchiha Obito remained silent, only nodding slowly.

He then scrutinized Nagato for a few moments and spoke: "You were too careless this time. Do not be so reckless in the future; the power of the Rinnegan has not been fully developed yet."

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

Having lost the confidence of a 'god,' he bowed his head, conceding to Uchiha Obito.

"Be more careful in the future. The Land of Rain is about to become lively; Konoha will not let this matter rest so easily." Uchiha Obito glanced at Nagato and Konan. "Prepare yourselves. It would be best to seize control of the Land of Rain first; otherwise, Hanzo will surely lean toward Konoha."

Nagato remained silent for a long time before saying: "We will resolve the matter with Hanzo as soon as possible."

"Mr. Madara." Nagato looked at Uchiha Obito and asked: "Uchiha Akira's Lightning Style was incredibly powerful earlier. Is the Demonic Statue alright?"

Uchiha Obito waved his hand and said: "The Demonic Statue is naturally fine. After sealing the Six-Tails, the Demonic Statue has gradually begun to recover; the injuries from earlier will heal quickly."

"Why didn't Mr. Madara finish off Uchiha Akira? With the Wood Release you have displayed in the past, I imagine Uchiha Akira would be no match for you?" Nagato looked at Uchiha Obito with confusion.

Back when Nagato had finished creating the Deva Path Pain, his confidence had been sky-high, and he had proposed a spar with Uchiha Madara.

The result was that Uchiha Obito had used Wood Release to deliver a massive blow; the sight of that Wooden Buddha Statue rising from the ground remained deeply etched in Nagato's mind to this day.

"In the Land of Rain, the timing and the terrain are both on Uchiha Akira's side." Uchiha Obito shook his head. "Judging by his performance earlier, his chakra is abundant, and he still has the strength to utilize the weather to cast the Lightning Style he used before."

"It is not yet time to expose my abilities; the critical moment has not yet arrived," Uchiha Obito said in a deep voice.

On the other side, more than ten minutes had passed, and Uchiha Obito had not appeared; it seemed he had truly left.

Although Uchiha Akira's vigilance did not completely vanish, he appeared to heave a sigh of relief.

He gripped his ninja blade and began to sweep the battlefield.

A few minutes later, he stopped in front of a charred, black mass over ten meters in size.

A brilliant flash of blade light erupted, slicing the charcoal block before him in two and revealing the withered wood encased within.

It was a piece of the body that had been blasted off by the Demonic Statue Thunder Punishment.

With several consecutive slashes, he completely stripped away the ten-meter-long charred shell, exposing the innermost part: a piece of the Demonic Statue's tissue, only two or three meters in size and resembling a withered branch.

Looking at the branch-like shell of the Demonic Statue, Uchiha Akira rubbed his chin and sealed it into a scroll.

Something like this should be of great use.