"Rin-chan..."
Tears slid from Obito's eyes.
He felt as though his heart had stopped for a moment.
He had thought he was going to lose Rin!
Rin's eyes were brimming with tears too as she choked out her words.
"I'm okay, Obito-kun, but Nami..."
As it turned out...
The moment the stone spears came hurtling toward them...
Nami had shoved Rin into the fissure.
But he had failed to dodge in time and was struck by the stone spears.
Obito's heart sank as he listened. He told the girl in his arms,
"Hold on tight."
Curled up against Obito's chest, Rin nodded firmly.
"Okay!"
Holding Rin, Obito leaped up and emerged on the surface.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Over a dozen shuriken flew toward them.
Obito darted aside, dodging the incoming shuriken.
Then he pushed off hard with his toes.
His figure flickered as he raced toward Kakashi and the others.
"Earth Release: Stone Spear Technique!"
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
Having learned from what had happened to Kakkō and the others...
The ninja from Iwagakure...
Chose not to engage at close range before getting a clearer grasp of their opponents' abilities.
Instead, they kept unleashing ninjutsu from a distance, pinning the group down and preventing them from leaving.
This was their home turf. There was no need to rush.
The longer they dragged things out, the greater their advantage would become.
"Obito, over here!"
With Kakashi and the others covering him...
Obito successfully evaded the barrage of attacks and regrouped with them.
He set Rin down beside Kakashi.
During the brief lull in the fighting...
He looked toward Nagano Nami, who lay in a pool of blood not far away.
Four or five stone spears had pierced Nagano Nami's body.
He was struggling to lift his head and look their way.