"Foolish."
Obito's voice gradually steadied. He stamped hard on the ground, jolting the Uchiha Gunbai out of where it had been embedded.
With a casual grab, he caught the Gunbai in his hand.
Clang!
A dull metallic collision rang out as a longsword struck the Uchiha Gunbai, sparks faintly flickering.
Their eyes met. The eyes beneath the white mask looked at the scarlet Mangekyō before him, and a disdainful sneer curled his lips.
"Genjutsu is meaningless against the Rinnegan."
An invisible ripple spread across the Rinnegan's rings, instantly shattering the genjutsu that had been on the verge of succeeding.
Itachi said nothing. Gripping the longsword's hilt with both hands, he abruptly lunged forward.
Not even the Rinnegan could make out his trajectory. In an instant, the blade pierced Obito's body.
The next moment, Obito's figure turned intangible, vanishing from the spot along with the Uchiha Gunbai in his hand.
His figure appeared atop a streetlamp a short distance away.
The sword strike had torn a sharp gash across his abdomen, and a little blood stained the wound.
But unlike a certain fellow whose "major artery" Tobirama had once sliced open, the "Madara" before him seemed to bleed only slightly from his abdomen before quickly recovering.
A glint of understanding flashed through Itachi's eyes. It seemed the white-masked man before him needed to consciously activate his intangibility.
Although it had only been a test, the scales of victory were already slowly tipping in his favor.
As for why...
Itachi flicked the longsword stained with Obito's blood. In the sunlight, its faintly eerie, pale-purple blade came into view.
As Root's leader, Itachi analyzed missions whether he was assigning them to his subordinates or carrying them out himself.
He never fought unprepared. Thus, after receiving orders from the Hokage, he had studied the