At that moment, a fierce chase was unfolding within the Land of Rain!
Iron-Arm Toad flew ahead with Jiraiya on his back!
The Animal Path's Yatagarasu pursued behind, carrying Obito and Shikaku.
Konan, transformed into an angel, chased from the far rear!
The scene... was like flying a kite!
How had things come to this? It all began half an hour earlier, when Obito sensed two masses of chakra clashing fiercely to the southeast, within the Land of Fire!
He immediately recognized Sasuke's chakra!
The other chakra was utterly unfamiliar to him, but identifying its components made it easy enough to deduce whose it was!
"The Nine-Tails' chakra and Nagato's chakra are being absorbed by another chakra full of darkness and malice... There's no mistake. It can only be him!!! That man has finally appeared!! And he's fighting Sasuke Uchiha!!!"
As Obito reeled in shock, Shikaku offered a timely suggestion.
"Lord Obito, this is the perfect opportunity for the Nine-Tails Hunt!"
"How so?"
"First, tell me how their battle is going."
"In the short term... they're evenly matched!"
"Then it's simple. Once they've both suffered heavy injuries, enter the battlefield and strike decisively. Use the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's power directly to retrieve 'Madara Uzumaki's' Nine-Tails!"
Shikaku simply called Madara, who occupied Naruto's body, "Madara Uzumaki"!
Obito asked, "And after we retrieve Madara Uzumaki's Nine-Tails?"
Shikaku said, "The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path will begin transforming into the Ten-Tails."
Obito said, "I know that better than you do."
Shikaku said, "Wherever Sasuke is, Orochimaru can't be far away. If you seize the opportunity to capture Sasuke, exchanging him for the other half of the Nine-Tails in Orochimaru's possession will be child's play. Even if you fail to capture him, with Madara Uzumaki's half of the Nine-Tails, the