Scheming

"Clang! Clang!"

The sound of kunai clashing rang through the forest again and again. Gradually, as Obito shifted his attention to the bigger picture, his rhythm in the fight with Karu was inevitably thrown off.

Of course, it was only the rhythm between the two of them that Karu had dragged back under control. On the larger scale, Obito still held the advantage, simply because—

"Clang!"

Karu put strength into his right hand and instantly knocked Obito flying back. Then the kunai in his hand dropped with the motion, freeing both hands to form seals!

"Lightning Release: Lightning Net!"

Originally, Karu had been preparing to use a powerful lightning strike to deliver a heavy blow to Obito. But he had only formed the basic Lightning Release seal when he saw the Obito he had knocked away launch a counterattack!

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Claw Crimson!"

It was precisely because he saw those Shuriken wrapped in flames that Karu changed moves on the spot. Fortunately, he had only formed a basic seal, so there was still time to switch.

Otherwise, he would definitely have died here. His lightning strike might not necessarily have killed Obito, after all—he had already witnessed the dynamic vision of the Sharingan just now.

The lightning net shot from Karu's hands blocked Obito's Phoenix Sage Claw Crimson, sending it scattering in all directions, but he was not happy about it. Because—

"Hiss!"

After releasing Phoenix Sage Claw Crimson, Obito landed on a tree and, with a sweep of his right hand, grabbed the threads he had arranged during the earlier fight and brought them to his mouth. At the same time, for some unknown reason, Karu's right hand had also been tangled in threads and hoisted up!

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"

In an instant, three lines