Boom!! The Flame Sword pierced Obito's body and plunged into the ground, unleashing flames that scorched the area!
Whoosh! Yet Obito turned sideways and passed straight through the Flame Sword.
"Looks like that surge in visual prowess has made you overconfident. Fine, I'll teach you a lesson, Sasuke!"
Sasuke snapped coldly, "Big talk!"
Whoosh!
Obito charged straight ahead, passing into Susanoo.
Arrogant but calm, Sasuke thought, Just as I expected. His body can pass through anything, but the instant he attacks, he has to become solid!
Whoosh!
Once he closed in, Obito reached for Sasuke's face.
"Now!"
Sasuke's gaze sharpened.
Kagutsuchi!
Roar!!
The black flames around him transformed into a protective wall!
Whoosh!
Obito's palm passed through Sasuke's cheek, followed by the rest of his body.
After emerging through Susanoo's back, Obito turned and said indifferently, "I haven't done anything, and you've already used Kagutsuchi twice..."
Swish!
The great black-flame sword slashed behind Sasuke, setting off another thunderous crash. Obito simply phased through it!
Sasuke shouted, "Is showing off with that phasing ability all you can do?! I haven't seen a single ninjutsu from you yet!"
Obito narrowed his eyes slightly. "Ninjutsu? All right..."
Swish!
He darted aside. Once clear of the black flames, he swiftly formed hand seals and pressed his right palm to the ground!
Wood Release: Thorn Killing Technique!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Vine-like lengths of wood rose beside Sasuke's feet, coiling around him and binding him!
Sasuke's eyes flickered. He targeted the weakness beneath Susanoo's feet. But he's using a technique right now, so he has to be solid!
Boom! The Flame Sword slashed down again, and Obito once again phased through it.
Obito said, "Even when I become intangible, the effects of a technique I've already cast won't disappear."
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The wood kept winding around Sasuke's body, tightening with every coil!
Sasuke said, "So this is Wood Release, just like that Konoha ninja called Yamato uses. Hmph, it's nothing special..."
Chidori Stream!
Crackle!
With a shriek of lightning, the wood binding his body was sliced apart!
Whoosh!
But Obito had already taken the opportunity to slip underground and launch a surprise attack from beneath Sasuke's feet!
Swish!
Sasuke leaped up along with Susanoo. Looking down at Obito emerging from the ground, he sneered, "Cheap tricks. Nothing can hide from these eyes!"
Swish!
While airborne, Sasuke swiftly formed hand seals.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Roar!!
A fireball rushed toward Obito with a wave of heat.
"Fire Release, huh..."
This time, Obito did not phase through it with Kamui. Instead, he formed hand seals and released a powerful Kamui distortion field from his right eye, combining it with Fire Release.
Fire Release: Blast Wave Wild Dance!
Whoosh...!
The spiraling storm of flames overwhelmed Sasuke's Great Fireball Technique in an instant!
Sasuke thought, Damn it... His Fire Release is that powerful when combined with his dōjutsu? But Amaterasu can burn even flames to nothing!
Drip...!
Blood trickled from the corner of his left eye as his gaze focused on the oncoming flames!
Amaterasu!!
Roar!!
Black flames erupted, burning away Blast Wave Wild Dance!
But the colliding flames generated a powerful thermal field, and Sasuke's Susanoo crashed through the top of the hideout, emerging outside!
Obito followed him outside, and the two faced off atop a gigantic beast skeleton.
Obito rolled his shoulders. "Out here, I should be able to cut loose a little..."
Sasuke said arrogantly, "None of your techniques have done anything to me so far. The legendary Madara is nothing special after all!"
Beneath Obito's mask, his eye gleamed. "Is that so? What comes next will make you concede defeat..."
Sasuke replied coldly, "I'll throw those exact words right back at you!"
Roar!
Susanoo's divine weapon, the Heavenly Ama-no-Makaguyumi Bow, took shape. Black flames condensed into an arrow and settled against the string.
Creak!
The bowstring was drawn taut, aimed at the sky!!
Whoosh!!!!
The black-flame arrow pierced the heavens. Exploding high above, it burned the atmosphere, generating an updraft that formed thunderclouds!
Thunder rumbled and rolled, taking the shape of a Kirin that roared in the sky!
Crackle!
Lightning coiled around Sasuke's palm, resonating with the furious thunder overhead. He declared with wild arrogance, "This is my strongest Lightning Release technique, Kirin. Without Susanoo's protection, even the most powerful being will be annihilated in an instant!"
Obito looked up at the sky and said indifferently, "That Lightning Release is powerful, but it can't so much as scratch me..."
Yet a dangerous smile curled Sasuke's lips. "It can't hurt you, but it's enough to destroy your hideout. You don't mind if all those white creatures get wiped out at once?"
Obito's gaze darkened at once. "You're taking this too far, Sasuke..."
Sasuke said recklessly, "So what if I am?! If you're weaker than me, that proves the Akatsuki is nothing special either! And Nagato, the Akatsuki's puppet leader who bows to you, is nothing special either! If he can easily destroy Konoha, so can I!"
Flap!
Obito swept his sleeve aside. "Then go ahead and try. But let me remind you, it's not just the White Zetsu in there. The Red-Haired Woman who came with you is inside the hideout too!"
"..." A trace of hesitation flashed through Sasuke's eyes, only to turn into cold ruthlessness an instant later. "Someone like her doesn't matter anymore!!!"
Swish!
Sasuke raised his palm high and guided Susanoo into a backward leap off the gigantic beast skeleton. The instant he landed, his raised palm came down.
Lightning Release: Kirin!
"Roooar...!!!"
Kirin hurtled down, unleashing an earth-shaking lightning storm!
Crackle! Crackle!
Sasuke watched the destruction before him with cold eyes and clenched his fists. "Now those nuisances are gone. You're next, Naruto..."
Whoosh! But when the lightning storm subsided, the sight before him left Sasuke dumbfounded!
A magnificent purple flame barrier towered between heaven and earth, having blocked Kirin completely!
Sasuke exclaimed, "How is that possible?!"
Whoosh!
Obito passed through the barrier and said quietly as he advanced, "The Uchiha Flame Formation is the Uchiha Clan's most sophisticated barrier technique. Even though you were born an Uchiha, you've never seen it, have you..."
Swish!
Sasuke hurriedly put distance between himself and Obito, his thoughts racing. His visual prowess only works at close range. As long as I keep my distance, he can't do anything to me!
"Naive."
A Kamui vortex opened behind Susanoo, and Obito emerged from it.
Sasuke remained calm in the face of danger. Even if he gets close, as long as I watch for the instant he tries to touch me, he won't succeed!
Sizzle! Blood vessels bulged in Obito's right eye as he issued a genjutsu command to the Eight-Tails within Spacetime!
Whoosh! Inside the Kamui dimension, the Eight-Tails formed a Tailed Beast Bomb!
Whoosh! The Tailed Beast Bomb emerged directly from Obito's right eye and slammed into Susanoo!
Crack, crack, crack...!!
Susanoo's armor began to shatter!
Sasuke cried in horror, "That's... a tailed beast's technique?! How did it come out of his eye?!"
Obito said quietly, "I told you, Sasuke. This time, I'd make you concede defeat..."
Whoosh! He immediately became intangible.
Boom, boom, boom!!!
The Tailed Beast Bomb unleashed an earth-shaking explosion!!
Crack!!!
"Argh...!!"
Fragments of Susanoo scattered in every direction, and Sasuke was hurled backward out of the blast zone in a wretched state...
Whoosh!
Obito appeared with a vortex and pressed his palm against Sasuke's back. A second vortex released from his right eye sucked Sasuke into Spacetime...!
Snap!
The vortex closed, and Obito murmured, "Sasuke, you're still far too green..."
Rustle, rustle, rustle!
White Zetsu emerged nearby. "That ended faster than I expected. When are you letting him out?"
Whoosh! The Uchiha Flame Formation vanished.
Looking at the underground hideout with its roof blasted open, Obito said gravely, "Until we find a new base, let Sasuke stay in there and reflect on his actions..."
White Zetsu spread his hands. "Well, fair enough. Hopefully this will knock his arrogance down a peg..."
Flap!
Obito swept his robe aside, turned, and strode away. Beneath his mask, his right eye shone with a mesmerizing light.
"He'd better. No matter how fine a blade is, if it doesn't sit right in your hand, all you can do is destroy it. No one can stand above the Akatsuki's will. Not Sasuke, and not Naruto..."
Before you continue