"Yes, Brother Gen'yō!"
At Uchiha Gen'yō's command, Shisui's handsome face showed not a trace of fear. Instead, a fierce fighting spirit blazed across it.
To him, Gen'yō's orders were divine decrees.
And fighting a powerful opponent who also possessed space-time abilities was something he had dreamed of.
"Soul Reaper, time to drink blood!"
Shisui growled, and the enormous scythe wrapped in pitch-black chains in his hand hummed with excitement.
Whoosh!
The next second, Shisui became a black afterimage almost too fast for the naked eye to catch and vanished from the spot.
On the battlefield.
Obito was savoring the pleasure of slaughter.
He wove through the flashing blades like an elegant dancer.
Every attack passed straight through his body.
And every seemingly casual reach of his hand claimed a living person's life.
He reveled in the feeling of controlling everything, toying with his enemies in the palm of his hand.
"Too weak. Is this all Konoha's elite can manage?"
Obito was filled with contempt.
Just as he prepared to strike again and snap the neck of a Sarutobi Clan Jonin.
An extraordinarily fierce wave of killing intent suddenly came from behind him to one side.
So fast!
Obito's pupils abruptly contracted.
He did not even have time to fully use Intangibility and could only instinctively shift part of his body into another dimension.
Shrrk!
A pitch-black blade flashed past his mask by the narrowest margin, its shrill whistle tearing through the air.
Sparks flew.
A deep gouge appeared on the hard orange mask.
That had been close.
Just a fraction closer, and his mask would have been cleaved apart.
Obito instantly retreated dozens of meters, looking with lingering alarm at the youth who had suddenly appeared where he had stood.
Short black hair, handsome features, and a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan in his eyes, like his own, but with an entirely different pattern.
He held an enormous, extravagantly shaped scythe.
It was none other than Shisui of the Body Flicker Technique.
"Who are you?"
For the first time, Obito's voice took on a hint of gravity.
That strike had been the first genuine threat he had faced since appearing.
His opponent was fast enough to catch even the instant when he switched between intangible and solid.
"Shisui Uchiha."
Shisui rested the Soul Reaper scythe on his shoulder, a confident smile curling his lips.
"On Brother Gen'yō's orders, I've come to experience your skills!"
"An Uchiha? Another Uchiha who has awakened the Mangekyo?"
Obito's gaze grew increasingly dark.
Things had slipped completely out of his control.
Originally, in his plan, the Uchiha Clan should have served as the tool that triggered the Nine-Tails' Attack, then been driven to extermination by Konoha High Command.
But now, not only had they escaped extermination, the entire clan had defected and displayed such terrifying power.
First Uchiha Fugaku, then Shisui Uchiha.
Not to mention Uchiha Gen'yō in the distance, who had remained composed throughout and whom he could not see through at all.
"Since you're all so eager to die, I'll grant your wish!"
Obito's fury was fully ignited.
He would never allow any Uchiha to stray from his script.
"Kamui!"
Obito vanished again. He would use the Space-Time Ninjutsu he took the greatest pride in to tear this presumptuous young Uchiha to pieces.
Yet the instant he vanished, Shisui disappeared as well.
"Body Flicker Technique!"
Boom!
In the center of the battlefield, two blindingly fast afterimages collided with a thunderous crash.
No, more precisely, Shisui's Soul Reaper scythe once again slashed unerringly toward Obito's body just as it was about to become solid.
And at the very last moment, Obito narrowly managed to use Intangibility again.
The blade passed through his body.
When the strike missed, the two instantly separated, then clashed again at the other end of the battlefield.
Clink, clink, clang, clang!
The crisp clash of metal and the hum of distorting space rang continuously across the rocky wasteland.
All anyone could see were two blurred figures, one black and one orange, flashing, colliding, and separating furiously across the battlefield at a speed beyond comprehension.
Every exchange left either a deep slash in the ground or a crater warped by space.
"Is... is this what a fight between Shisui of the Body Flicker Technique and that Masked Man looks like?"
A Konoha Ninja swallowed with difficulty, his eyes filled with horror.
"Are we really the same species as them?"
They could not even clearly see a battle of this level, let alone intervene.
"So strong!"
Ōnoki floated in midair, cold sweat covering his enormous bulbous red nose.
"That young man named Shisui can actually match that bizarre Masked Man in speed."
"No, he's even gaining a slight upper hand!"
Ōnoki saw it clearly.
In every exchange, Shisui took the initiative to attack, while the Masked Man could only dodge and defend.
Though the Masked Man's intangibility had no counter, Shisui was faster.
He always managed to force the Masked Man to abandon his attack and switch to defense before he could strike.
This left the Masked Man constrained at every turn despite all his bizarre abilities, making the fight unbearably frustrating.
Damn it, damn it, damn it!
Obito was filled with fury and irritation.
He was like a top player equipped with god-tier gear, getting outplayed so badly his scalp tingled by an opponent whose movement was even more absurd than a script.
Against Shisui's ridiculously overwhelming speed, the Kamui he was so proud of had completely lost the initiative.
"Is this your Space-Time Ninjutsu?"
Shisui's voice drifted like a phantom from every direction.
"Too slow!"
"You're full of openings!"
"Before me, that speed you're so proud of is nothing but a joke!"
Before his words faded, dozens of Shisuis appeared on the battlefield at once.
Shadow Clones? No, they were afterimages left by his extreme speed.
These afterimages swung their Soul Reaper scythes from every direction at once, forming an impenetrable net of deadly blades that closed over Obito.
"Secret Technique: Body Flicker Blade Dance!"
Faced with this all-encompassing assault, Obito's expression turned uglier than ever before.
He knew there was nowhere left to dodge.
There was simply not enough time to use Intangibility fully and evade it all.
The only way was.
"Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs!"
Obito roared. He also had the First Hokage's cells hidden in his Kamui Dimension.
He abruptly solidified his right hand and slammed it hard against the ground.
Dozens of thick, sharp wooden spikes erupted wildly from beneath his feet, attempting to block Shisui's attacks and buy him time to use Intangibility.
Yet in those few tenths of a second when he became solid to unleash his ninjutsu.
A sharp gleam flashed through Uchiha Gen'yō's eyes as he watched from the mountaintop.
"Now."
At the same time, on the battlefield.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the Masked Man, who had been reduced to a sorry state under Shisui's relentless pressure, then glanced at Uchiha Gen'yō, who seemed to have all his attention focused on that battle.
A mad thought rose in his mind once again.
An opening.
This is my only chance.
While Uchiha Gen'yō is distracted by that high-level duel, I'll launch a lethal strike from behind.
As long as I can kill him.
With no leader, the Uchiha Clan will surely fall into chaos.
There will still be hope of winning this war.
"I stake my name as the Shinobi Hero on it!"
Unprecedented resolve blazed in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes.
The chakra within him began burning furiously without restraint.
"Uchiha Gen'yō!"
"This time, you're certain to die!"
Like a cannonball, Hiruzen Sarutobi once again charged toward the seemingly defenseless figure in white whose back was turned to him.
He concentrated everything he had learned throughout his life into this single strike.
Yet what he did not see was.
The instant he moved, Uchiha Gen'yō's lips curved into a cold, mocking smile.
"Finally couldn't hold back, old fool?"
"I've been waiting for you."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's all-out strike was about to land.
Yet Uchiha Gen'yō did not even look back.
He merely turned around slowly, looking at the "Shinobi Hero" hurtling toward him as though he were already dead.
"Uncle Fugaku, take a rest for now."
"It's my turn to personally take apart this old bag of bones who doesn't know his limits."
"How many moves do you think I'll need to make him kneel and repent for his stupidity?"