Chapter 279

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Obito's combat prowess truly defies the standard shinobi ranking system.

Technically speaking, Obito's shinobi rank would be considered Super Kage level at best, based on his chakra reserves, physical capabilities, and Sharingan level.

However, with his Mangekyō Sharingan's Kamui technique, Obito's combat power is terrifyingly immense. He can contend with the likes of Kaguya, and fight Madara to a standstill.

The core reason for this lies in the nature of his Mangekyō Sharingan's dojutsu. Those who can defeat him find themselves unable to actually deal with him, leaving them with no choice but to submit.

Conversely, those strong enough to contend with him also find themselves helpless against his abilities—you can't catch him, nor can you hit him. Obito can engage in battle or retreat at will, and can toy with his opponents as he pleases.

In a sense, Obito is the true embodiment of a "fifty-fifty" fight—no matter who he faces, he can always go a few rounds with them.

Naturally, this applies to Jigen as well, even when he's using his Second Form of the Karma Seal.

With Obito's arrival, the pressure on Madara and the others was significantly reduced. The Divine Art: Daikokuten employed by Isshiki was no longer a threat.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

The densely packed black and red cubes continued to fall from the sky, but before they could reach the ground, the swirling space of Kamui expanded in the air, swallowing the descending cubes whole and storing them in Obito's Kamui dimension.

"I heard you say earlier that you have as many of these strange cubes as you need."

Obito, with his hands clasped behind his back, took on an enigmatic stance. "Well, now I'm curious to see how many you actually have left."

He continued, "Oh, and by the way, I should mention—no matter how many of these bizarre cubes you use, I'll just store them all. My Kamui space is vast and empty; these would make for nice decorations."

Jigen retracted his hand, staring at Obito from a distance, his gaze fixating on Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan.

"You're quite the exceptional Uchiha, especially when it comes to Mangekyō Sharingan techniques. You could be called the strongest of the Uchiha."

Jigen's compliment was delivered with a serious tone, but Obito wasn't buying it.

"Do you even need to say that?" Obito retorted, turning to Madara. "Lord Madara, doesn't the entire shinobi world already know that?"

Madara, showing no intention of arguing, nodded in agreement.

Receiving Madara's approval once again clearly pleased Obito, making him smile even more.

Jigen's words meant nothing to him—how valuable could his praise be?

Obito truly didn't care.

"What I actually wanted to say is, with such remarkable talent, you shouldn't throw your life away so carelessly," Jigen continued in a calm voice. "If you retreat now, you can preserve your life. When my master revives, I can explain the situation and let you serve at his side."

Obito didn't respond, his expression gradually becoming colder. His eyes widened slightly, and the swirling space of Kamui enveloped Jigen entirely.

If this strike connected, no matter how strong Jigen's body was, the spatial rending power of Kamui would tear him in two.

Divine Art: Sukunahikona!

But as the space of Kamui closed in, Jigen's body suddenly shrank to the size of dust particles, rendering the Kamui vortex that was tailored to his original size completely ineffective.

Whoosh.

In his minuscule form, Jigen didn't remain idle. Despite his tiny stature, his body erupted with immense power, and in a flash, he closed the distance to Obito, aiming to gouge out Obito's eyes.

As long as Obito remained on the battlefield, Jigen would be fighting with one arm tied behind his back—his Divine Art: Daikokuten would be useless.

As Obito had said, no matter how many times Jigen used those black and red cubes, Obito could just store them in his Kamui space or transport them elsewhere.

Thus, Obito had to be dealt with first; otherwise, relying on the Second Form of the Karma Seal alone, Jigen wouldn't stand a chance against Obito, Madara, and Kimimaro working together.

Sage Art: Storm Release Light Fang!

Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!

Without the interference of the black and red cubes, both Madara and Kimimaro could instantly pinpoint Jigen's location. As long as he didn't shrink down to the size of molecules or atoms, both of them could sense his presence immediately.

The problem was that even the Divine Art: Sukunahikona had its limits. Shrinking a person down to the size of molecules or smaller was beyond the reach of even Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, let alone Jigen.

A straight blue laser shot forward, precisely covering Jigen's high-speed trajectory. He now had to either slow down and evade or abandon his attempt to attack Obito. Tanking the hit head-on wasn't an option.

But if Jigen decided to change his attack route, Kimimaro's Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion would cover all possible escape paths.

As long as Jigen remained in his shrunken state, he couldn't escape the combined assault of Madara and Kimimaro. He would be left with no choice but to wait for death.

Left with no other options, Jigen made his decision.

His body instantly returned to its original size, and the red markings of the Karma Seal flashed. The hidden energy within Jigen's body erupted violently.

Boom!

It was as if a bomb had gone off inside Jigen. The overwhelming power spread throughout his entire body, and under his control, it gathered in both of his fists.

With both fists striking simultaneously, Kimimaro's Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion was shattered, and Madara's Storm Release Light Fang was narrowly dodged by a twist of Jigen's body.

But Obito wasn't just going to stand by and watch.

Kamui Shuriken!

The skeletal form of a first-stage Susanoo appeared in an instant, holding three pitch-black shuriken in each hand, which it hurled toward Jigen's position.

"Let's see how you handle this!" Obito thought with a vicious gleam in his eyes.

Kamui Shuriken was Obito's only spatial offensive technique, and it was incredibly powerful and nearly impossible to counter. In essence, it was even stronger than Kyomu's Dimensional Slash.

Kamui Shuriken's attack covered a wide area. When it detonated, it could cause a spatial collapse in a given region, where everything within would be sucked into the vortex and shredded to pieces.

If there had been only one, there might have been room to dodge. But with Obito throwing six at once, this wide-area spatial attack left no room for escape.

Furthermore, when Obito used Uchiha-style shurikenjutsu to throw the Kamui Shuriken with his first-stage Susanoo, it became nearly impossible for the enemy to predict their landing spots by tracking their flight paths before they actually detonated.

With these three factors combined, Kamui Shuriken was considered one of the most difficult spatial attacks to evade.

Given Jigen's physical resilience, if he failed to dodge, death was his only outcome.

"You forced me into this!"

Jigen was pushed to the brink of death. Facing certain doom, he naturally wanted to drag a few down with him.

Buzz.

The red markings of the Karma Seal flashed rapidly across his body. The markings, which had already spread across his form, grew thicker and intertwined, covering Jigen's entire body in black.

Boom!

A massive surge of power erupted. A black and red spatial portal appeared behind Jigen, not to teleport him away, but to shield him.

"It actually blocked it!"

Obito was shaken to his core. No one understood the full power of Kamui Shuriken better than him, and there were very few in the world who could withstand it.

"It's a spatial distortion caused by a higher-level power," Madara immediately deduced. "Spatial abilities don't have inherent rankings, but the primal force that drives them does.

Everyone, be cautious. Jigen has unleashed a higher-level power. He's definitely using some kind of desperate measure."

Obito and Kimimaro nodded, their expressions tense as they watched Jigen, now protected by the black and red circular spatial portal.

"Sharp senses, and a keen analysis."

Suddenly, Jigen, now in the Third Form of the Karma Seal, spoke, but his voice had changed—it was now someone else's voice.

It wasn't just the voice. Jigen's entire body began to change, transforming completely into the form of Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.

His skin turned snow-white, and the horn on his head, once black, became a pale, bone-like structure.

Ōtsutsuki Isshiki had temporarily restored his peak power by channeling it through the Karma Seal on Jigen's body.

"Chakra... This power originally belonged to me. All of you are just the descendants of thieves. How could you possibly understand chakra better than its true master?"

Isshiki flexed his neck, and his body vanished in an instant. Before anyone could react, his fist had already driven into Obito's abdomen.

There was no time for Obito to even register what had happened!

Boom!

The air shook with a thunderous roar, and Obito disappeared from the spot. A kilometer away, a massive plume of smoke and a mushroom cloud shot into the sky.

One strike. It only took one strike!

Madara's face twisted in shock, his muscles tensing as adrenaline surged through his body, every nerve standing on end.

Thud.

"Hm? Not bad reaction speed," Isshiki remarked as Madara intercepted his second punch. "But it's only 'not bad.' How about this one?"

Thud, thud, thud.

Light and shadow seemed to weave through the air as Isshiki pressed the attack, with Madara barely managing to defend. In just a few heartbeats, they exchanged over a dozen blows.

Boom!

A loud crash echoed through the area, accompanied by blue, particle-like fragments scattering everywhere as Madara was sent flying, blood spraying through the air.

"Ugh, Susanoo, huh?" Isshiki sneered. "Such a low-level power. The descendants of that traitor Kaguya really are disappointing."

Without bothering to pursue the now-flying Madara, Isshiki turned sharply to face Kimimaro, locking eyes with his bright blue Tenseigan.

Isshiki had ambushed Obito and clashed with Madara in mere moments, but that was more than enough time for Kimimaro to react and launch his own attack.

Shinra Tensei!

One of Isshiki's eyes was a Byakugan, and the other was a Jōgan. Both activated simultaneously, unleashing an invisible repulsive force that slammed into the rapidly approaching Kimimaro.

Boom!

Kimimaro also knew this technique, but when faced with a power like Isshiki's, which far surpassed even Kaguya at her peak, Kimimaro's Tenseigan couldn't compare, nor could the level of power within his body.

The invisible repulsive force that Kimimaro unleashed was instantly shattered upon colliding with Isshiki's, and along with it, the greyish bone Kimimaro had extended from his palm.

Crack.

The Shikotsumyaku shattered completely, and Kimimaro's body was flung backward by the repulsive force.

"Such a nostalgic yet revolting power," Isshiki muttered as he chased after the retreating Kimimaro, his fist, brimming with deadly intent, aiming straight for Kimimaro's chest.

"Rest in peace. You're unworthy of wielding this power."

The fist continued to descend, but just as it was about to land, Isshiki's brow furrowed, and he pulled back his fist. Another black and red spatial portal appeared, shielding Isshiki just as it had Jigen before.

It was Obito's Kamui Shuriken—he had come to Kimimaro's aid at the critical moment.

Limbo: Border Jail!

Meanwhile, Madara, shirtless with a fist-shaped dent in his chest, made his move as well. The four shadows that had been destroyed by Jigen were now summoned again.

However, this put an enormous strain on Madara's body and drained a considerable amount of his energy. He was now fighting with everything he had.

"Numbers don't make up for a lack of combat power," Isshiki sneered. "It's just like how you can crush one ant with your foot, and crush a whole group of ants the same way."

"Enough of your nonsense!" Madara roared as he launched his attack. The four shadows, identical in power and perfectly in sync with him, joined the assault on Isshiki.

Two fists can't fight against four hands, or so the saying goes. Madara alone might only last a few exchanges against Isshiki before showing weakness, but with the four shadows, he managed to fight Isshiki to a standstill.

After rescuing Kimimaro, Obito didn't join the fray. Instead, his gaze shifted to the battlefield where the young geniuses of the Dragon Nation were fighting.

Without a word, Obito activated Kamui, pulling Sasuke, who had been in a heated battle with Naruto, into his Kamui dimension, along with Hinata, Neji, Toneri, and the other geniuses.

He glanced at Naruto one last time, but resisted the urge to act. After all, in his childhood, he had once called Minato sensei. Though they had parted ways, they eventually fought on the same side, making it inappropriate to target Naruto.

With the battlefield cleared of the Dragon Nation's young prodigies, Itachi, who had been keeping an eye on them, no longer had any reason to hold back and naturally joined the fight against Isshiki.

Thud!

Isshiki staggered back a few steps, looking down in disbelief at his chest, then raising his eyes to glare at Madara, who was responsible for this injury.

He had actually been wounded by someone like this.

"Haha! Hahaha!"

Madara's face was smeared with blood, his body covered in wounds, yet his laughter was as arrogant as ever.

"Even ants can bite, and not only does it hurt, they can kill!" Madara smirked as he wiped the blood from his mouth with one hand and popped his dislocated arm back into place. "You've given me a taste of battle's thrill. I'll make sure to give you a spectacular finale!"

"Foolishness!"

Isshiki scoffed, charging toward Madara once more.

At the same time, Kimimaro, Itachi, Shisui, and Obito joined the fray, leaving only Kisame, who wisely chose to stay on the sidelines, clutching his Samehada and maintaining a safe distance from the epicenter of the battle.

This level of combat was far beyond him. If he recklessly jumped in, he wouldn't even know how he died.

Watching from the shadows, Kyomu couldn't help but smile at the scene. Kisame was making the right choice, but Kyomu hoped his mindset wouldn't be affected by this.

The era of gods battling each other had finally arrived.

(End of Chapter)