The Masked Man's Phasing Ability

Following Qiuyang's directions along the best route, the group encountered no enemies on the way, aside from some difficult terrain.

Even the few they did run into were weaklings with no real skill. They were taken out in two or three moves.

"Pervy Sage, do you think the person the Akatsuki sent this time might be that Explosion Release ninja Sakura and I ran into before?"

Naruto asked worriedly. Kakashi-sensei hadn't come with them this time, and if that person flew up into the sky on another clay bird, he'd be hard to deal with.

"I don't know. Anyway, once we enter the village, our only task is to help them hold off the invaders. There's no tactical plan."

Sakura and Yamato both agreed, while Naruto showed great enthusiasm, rolling up his sleeves and saying he'd make sure to teach the Akatsuki members a lesson.

Even if the Explosion Release ninja could fly, he'd surely think of a way to defeat him when the time came.

Jiraiya, at the front of the group, glanced back at Naruto, whose chuunibyou was acting up, and let a barely perceptible smile tug at his lips.

This kid... He's pretty good at keeping everyone's spirits up.

Nadeshiko Village was a small ninja village several times smaller than Konoha. It had always enjoyed a quiet, carefree existence, keeping out of the world's affairs.

But misfortune could strike without warning. As Iwagakure had expanded in secret over the past few years, it had set its sights on this village.

They figured even a mosquito's leg was worth eating, and wanted to forcibly absorb the village's power.

But every delegation they sent to negotiate came back empty-handed. Enraged, Iwagakure joined forces with the Akatsuki, with whom they had long cooperated, and launched a brazen attack on the village.

They planned to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys, wiping the village off the map as a warning to any villages that might refuse to cooperate, now or in the future.

That was simply how the Ninja World worked—survival of the fittest.

The outcome was only to be expected. The Masked Man sent by the Akatsuki alone had nearly wiped out the entire village.

The Masked Man's wide-scale Fire Release had set fires all across the village. Even the Iwagakure ninja who had come along drew a sharp breath at the power he displayed, then silently set about clearing out the scattered resistance elsewhere in the village.

Meanwhile, Nadeshiko had fled to the clan shrine with some of her people and her master, who was barely clinging to life. They were on the brink of despair.

Visible on her face, arms, and legs were several alarming wounds. Her clothes had also been torn to shreds during the fighting.

Combined with her peerless beauty, she looked heartbreakingly vulnerable after all she'd suffered...

But the Ninja World was cruel. The enemy wouldn't spare you just because you were beautiful.

The three strongest of the village's five elders had already been killed. The remaining two were outside, fighting the mysterious Masked Man to the death.

If those two were killed as well, their village... would have no hope left.

"Nadeshiko... don't be afraid. I... I've already sent a plea for help to Konoha."

Nadeshiko covered her face and sobbed at his words.

"Wuwu... Master, we only just sent the message. There's no way they can get here in such a short time."

She wasn't afraid of dying. She only hated that she lacked the strength to protect her master and her people.

Hearing screams from outside, Nadeshiko's gaze hardened. She drew a kunai and gripped it in reverse, taking up position in front of the door. She told her trembling clanswoman to take her master and leave through the back.

Creak—

A shrill sound, sharp enough to pierce her eardrums, rang out. Then the man in the orange spiral mask—the one who had slaughtered so many of her people—appeared in the doorway.

The wind swept through the open door. Nadeshiko could clearly smell the blood of her clansmen in it, and she nearly threw up from grief.

"For the future of the Ninja World, give up resisting! I'll end your suffering soon."

Just as the Masked Man was about to enter and slaughter them, a voice suddenly rang out from above the shrine.

"Rasengan!"

The Rasengan, glowing white, struck the Masked Man squarely on the head—and then... passed straight through him?

A Konoha ninja?

Nadeshiko's face lit up. She'd never imagined Konoha could send help so quickly, only a few hours after they'd sent the distress signal.

"What's going on with this guy?"

Naruto was dumbfounded as he slammed the Rasengan into the ground, then leaped back to put some distance between them.

Had his attack... passed right through him? How was that possible?

To test his theory, he created several Shadow Clones, formed two more Rasengan, and charged at the Masked Man, who had just turned around.

"Nine-Tails brat. I didn't expect to find you here."

The Masked Man spoke without a hint of emotion, as if he hadn't even noticed the Rasengan coming straight at him.

Naruto and his Shadow Clones charged through the Masked Man with their Rasengan, nearly causing the two spheres to collide with each other.

"Damn it, why can't I hit him?"

Unwilling to believe it, Naruto turned around and kept attacking different parts of the Masked Man's body with his Rasengan, trying to find some kind of opening.

The Masked Man ignored Naruto for the moment and looked up at another man watching from the shrine roof—Jiraiya.

"Have you noticed me?"

Jiraiya keenly noticed that the eye hidden beneath the mask seemed to glow a bloody red...

He jumped down. After Naruto's Shadow Clones passed through the Masked Man again, the man kicked one of them apart, then dodged the Rasengan Naruto himself sent flying at him.

This was too bizarre. Jiraiya hurriedly called Naruto back.

"Pervy Sage, what kind of jutsu is this guy using? Why are none of my attacks working?"

Naruto warily watched the Masked Man in the black cloak patterned with red clouds and asked.

Drawing on his wide experience, Jiraiya had more or less figured out the man's methods from the attacks he'd just seen.

"When he's attacked, he makes his body intangible. But when he attacks, he becomes tangible again. Otherwise, there'd have been no reason for him to specifically dodge the Rasengan you threw at him just now."

In other words, to hit the Masked Man, they had to time their attacks for the instant he became tangible to strike. Otherwise, none of their attacks would be of any use.

But by alternating between solidity and intangibility, the Masked Man could easily use feints to prevent a sneak attack.

What a troublesome ability! If only Jiraiya had been skilled in genjutsu; then he could have tried to see if it would work.

Could he... summon the two Great Toad Sages and enter Sage Mode?

"As expected of Jiraiya, one of the Konoha Sannin. You figured out my ability in such a short time."

Behind the mask, Obito wasn't afraid of Jiraiya's strength. He hadn't attacked because he was considering whether to take the opportunity to capture the Nine-Tails.

But since he was still keeping his identity hidden, he ultimately decided it would be better to leave capturing the Nine-Tails to Nagato.

And what he had to do now... was simply eliminate everyone in Nadeshiko Village.

"My mission today isn't to fight you. So..."

As he spoke, Obito quickly formed Hand Seals, then suddenly turned and spat a spiraling flame that could incinerate everything at Nadeshiko and her people.

Fire Release: Blast Wave Wild Dance!

"Damn it—!"

Jiraiya hadn't expected the enemy to play so dirty. There was no time to use the Body Flicker Technique to reach them and save them.

He could only watch as the spiral flames warped by Kamui shot toward Nadeshiko at incredible speed.

There was no escaping!

The girl helplessly closed her eyes. The last image to surface in her mind was of Qiuyang holding her close that night when he'd felt cold.

You bastard, Uchiha Qiuyang, you took advantage of me... Next life, I'll make you pay me back with interest.

"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!"