Chapter 136

Shisui's words cut through the tension as he appeared beside Kakashi, ready to confront Obito once more. "Commander, the mask he's wearing seems to be interfering with genjutsu. Unless I can make direct eye contact, I don't think I can trap him," he explained swiftly, recounting his failed attempt to ensnare Obito in genjutsu upon his materialization. It appeared that Obito's new mask provided him with a safeguard against such techniques, but Shisui remained confident that his Mangekyo Sharingan could overcome any defenses as long as he made direct eye contact.

"It's fine. Just try and see if you can get him under your Genjutsu. But be careful; that Zetsu thing should be nearby, so stay on guard," Kakashi whispered to his team, his voice low but firm. Torune and Itachi were already focused on stabilizing Pakura, their unwavering trust in their teammates evident in their actions.

"Hehehe, long time no see, Kakashi. It seems like you've been doing great lately. You've even mastered the Sharingan I gave you to a certain degree," Obito remarked with a twisted sense of familiarity, as if addressing an old friend. He made no effort to conceal his true identity, knowing full well that his name and deeds were no secret in Konoha, his bounty was a testament to his notoriety.

But Kakashi remained unmoved; his gaze hardened with resolve. He had long ago come to terms with the fact that the friend he once knew was gone, replaced by a vengeful enemy driven by darkness. The truth about the Nine Tails' rampage, revealed by Minato, had severed the last ties of attachment Kakashi felt toward Obito. Now, all he desired was to see Obito's head on a platter, a grim offering to be laid at Kushina's grave.

Kushina had welcomed him into her family with open arms, offering him the love and warmth he had lost with the passing of his own father. In Minato and Kushina, he had found solace and belonging. But Obito, once a part of their circle, had betrayed them all, choosing vengeance over kinship. In Kakashi's eyes, the man before him was not a friend but an enemy to be vanquished, a shadow of the past that must be eradicated.

"Shinshin no Shisui, I never would have believed that another Uchiha would be capable of awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan. But it seems the current Uchiha has been hiding too deeply. Even the current clan head of the Uchiha is a Mangekyo user, right? I wonder, Who did you kill or lose to awaken these cursed eyes?" Obito's voice dripped with mock curiosity as he probed Shisui, biding his time.

What the others didn't know was that his Kamui dimension was still affected by the stunt that the little ANBU had pulled last time. Though he had come up with a workaround, it drained him of his energy during long-distance jumps, and his body had yet to fully recover from the damage he suffered.

"By the way, Kakashi, I heard a rumor stating that the Leaf's Yellow Flash is still alive and well. Is that true? It seems like I will truly get my chance to kill him with my own two hands. Last time, he was lucky enough to escape from me," Obito boasted, his voice dripping with arrogance. With Konoha now a fortified fortress, obtaining information from within the village had become nearly impossible. However, what Obito failed to realize was that he received this news so late due to the pathetic state of the current Akatsuki.

Kakashi's demeanor shifted subtly, his expression tightening at Obito's words. He knew the truth of the matter, especially regarding the events during the Nine-Tails rampage. It wasn't as Obito stated. The reality was that Obito never stood a chance against his sensei, Minato Namikaze. The mere mention of Minato's name was enough to send shivers down the spines of all their enemies.

Kakashi remained silent, his gaze steady as he contemplated Obito's delusions of grandeur. He understood the depths of Obito's resentment and the twisted perception he held of their past encounters. Yet, beneath it all, there lingered a sense of pity for the man who had once been his friend.

"He's stalling for time. His chakra seems quite chaotic. Maybe he hasn't completely recovered yet," Itachi observed, quickly assessing the situation alongside Torune. Obito couldn't help but feel frustrated; despite Itachi's face being hidden under the ANBU mask, he had developed an inherent dislike for all little ANBU, and he recognized the prodigious Uchiha's voice. It was the same Uchiha who had laid out a trap and almost killed him with that weird fuinjutsu seal during the Fourth Shinobi War. Because of this kid, Obito had lost control over Kirigakure, suffering his first defeat at the hands of this little monster.

"Tch, it's you, kid. Don't think you can change the outcome of the fight just because you guys know a bit about my powers. Well, despite that, both of you are excellent Shinobi. Would you guys like to join Akatsuki?" Obito's offer came with a surge of chakra, signaling his intent to end the stalling and escalate the confrontation. Meanwhile, Sasori's expression twisted in a mix of frustration and incredulity. He had nearly been torn to shreds in the process of hunting down a Kage-class shinobi, yet here was the same masked man , offering a free pass to the two Uchiha. The offer he got seemed almost insulting, given the circumstances.

"[Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kōtan]" (Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a World of Trees) A surge of massive chakra flowed into the ground as Obito planted his arms into the earth, causing enormous trees to sprout from his arms.

However, Obito didn't anticipate Kakashi's chuckle and the subsequent command, "Do it, now!" Acting swiftly, the third ANBU from Shisui's team performed a series of hand signs and plunged his hands into the ground, releasing his own wooden chakra to wrest control from Obito. The clash of their wood release techniques ensued, with the ANBU utilizing a technique personally taught to him by Tsunade, leveraging the immense chakra reserves he possessed from a ritual.

Caught off guard by the sudden intrusion, Obito found himself delayed, which was all Kakashi needed. He had already prepared his signature move, "[Raiton: Kirin]"—a dazzling dragon made of lightning that suddenly descended from the sky. Kakashi had torn a scroll ahead of time in anticipation of the conflict, originally intending to use this attack against Sasori if he managed to dodge or defend against Kamui. Now, Kakashi unleashed the devastating move against Obito.

In a split second, Obito released his connection with the wood he had generated because he couldn't use Kamui with the massive trees still connected to him. The lightning dragon tore through the sandy terrain where Obito stood, slicing through the budding trees that Yamato was holding in check. The sand turned into crystal glass due to the extreme heat generated by the lightning. Just as Obito planned himself into the dimension, Kakshi countered with his own Mangekyou, denying Obito his escape route.

Obito, realizing his disadvantage without hesitation, sacrificed half of his grafted body to slash with the lightning dragon directly, and in exchange, pulled Sasori into the Kamui dimension. This forceful action shredded the almost broken Sasori into more pieces,but Obito knew that Sasori, being a puppet, would not be affected by the rash transition even under Kakshi's suppression. The next moment, the lightning dragon completely engulfed the defenseless Obito.

A few dozen miles away from the clash between the Leaf ANBU and the Akatsuki, a patrol team of Sand Shinobi, consisting of a squad of a dozen Sand Ninja, looked on in awe at the massive lightning dragon descending from the sky.

"Quick, fire the emergency flares!" The captain of the patrol didn't even think twice because the sheer scale of the Jutsu, which was visible from dozens of miles away, showed the caliber of the Shinobi. Despite it being their own territory, he was not stupid enough to rush head-on into the area of conflict blindly. Luckily, there was a sand ninja outpost nearby, and once they saw the flares, they would come in force immediately.

On the other side, even the Leaf ANBU saw the flares going up a dozen miles into the air, effectively signaling they were on hostile territory. Obito somehow managed to survive the massive lightning strike and even saved Sasori. Maybe it was due to him having the body grafted with Shodaime's cells; however, his condition was simply pathetic, as almost half of his body was completely charred black. It seemed like he chose to sacrifice half his body in exchange for survival.

"Commander, we need to retreat now. The sand shinobi are coming! Our objective is to secure Pakura safely, not clash with Akatsuki," Shisui commented, although Kakashi was trying to hold Obito from teleporting away using his Mangekyou. It was draining a massive amount of chakra. Despite them having the upper hand, completely killing off Obito in a short time was not feasible, and their mission had no involvement with Akatsuki's members. With Shisui's words, Kakashi weighed the situation and released his Kamui, which was keeping Obito from completely diving into his Kamui dimension.

"Someday, Obito, I will take your head and offer it to the people who died in the village during the tragedy that you created," Kakashi murmured, but his voice carried towards Obito.

The moment Kakashi did so, Obito created a distance because he knew if he directly tried to go into the dimension, he would need to materialize himself. So, not underestimating the Leaf ANBU anymore, Obito, the famed space-time user, used his legs to sprint in the direction of where the flare came from because he was sure that the Leaf ANBU would not pursue him.

"Leave him be. We will get him some other time. Let's vacate the area before the sand shinobi come in," Kakashi commented while he flickered next to Pakura, who had regained her consciousness due to Torune's temporary treatment.

"You guys, why are you guys after me?" Pakura questioned, her voice quivering. Earlier, she had thought her end was near, but now she was surrounded by what seemed like Leaf ANBU.

"Pakura of the Scorch Style, by the Hokage's commands, we have been ordered to escort you back to the Leaf village. We will need to move out immediately, so I apologize for the inconvenience." Kakashi spoke and gestured towards Itachi with a series of hand signs.

"No! I don't want to come with you guys; just kill me." Pakura, who had regained a bit of her strength, wanted to protest.

"That was not a request, Pakura. We have orders, and our Hokage-sama doesn't like to be kept waiting. At least you should be happy that you are getting a second shot at life," Kakashi commented. However, before Pakura could question what the man meant, Itachi jabbed a few of her chakra points, effectively sealing them, while he placed a few fuinjutsu seals to restrain her.

As an added measure, Yamato also used his wood technique to bind her. With Pakura secure, Kakashi immediately used an enclosing technique to seal Pakura in a scroll, and they cleared the area so as not to get caught in a conflict with the sand shinobi. Although they were confident in taking down any sand shinobi that came their way, they did not want it to look like Konoha had breached the alliance treaty first. Because even though it was a facade, both villages were essentially allies on paper.

A dozen minutes after the Leaf ANBU cleared the area, close to a hundred Sand Shinobi arrived at the scene, and what they beheld froze their souls. A vast expanse of the sandy desert had been transformed; half-sprouted trees now dotted the landscape, while right at the center, a swath of devastation cleaved through the emerging forest, turning the terrain into glazed glass.

"What the hell?" One of the Sand Chunin couldn't help but exclaim, fear creeping into everyone's hearts. What kind of monstrous technique could have wrought such an aftermath? The realization dawned that the wielder of such power was beyond their capacity to handle. The captain of the patrol silently thanked the gods for not rushing headfirst into this area. Had they done so, it would surely have spelled certain death.

"Is that the famed Mokuton of the Leaf Village? But why are these trees only half-sprouted?" A Sand Shinobi, bolstering his courage, cautiously approached the eerie scene, inspecting the half-formed arboreal structures.

"That's not what we should be asking. What were the Shinobi of the Leaf doing here? We need to relay this information back to the village immediately," another Sand Shinobi interjected, his tone urgent. As of now, the only village known to possess the Wood Release Jutsu was the Leaf Village.

As the Sand Shinobi grappled with the implications of the scene before them, whispers of concern and speculation filled the air. The shattered landscape bore witness to a confrontation of titanic proportions, leaving behind a chilling testament to the power wielded by those involved. With a sense of foreboding, they knew that the repercussions of this encounter would ripple far beyond the borders of their desert realm.

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Mountains Graveyard

Obito returned to the hideout half-dead, forced to confront the humiliation of facing the rest of the Akatsuki. Nagato offered no words, only a disdainful glance at Obito's pathetic condition, amplified by the presence of the hastily assembled puppet beside him—a grotesque reminder of their failed mission.

"It seems like quite the haul you brought back for the organization, Obito. I didn't realize we were collecting junk," Nagato sneered, his tone laced with mockery as he observed Obito's battered form and the disheveled puppet, which was supposed to be the famed Sasori of the Red Sand.

With disappointment etched on his face, Nagato resumed his work, already engrossed in creating new puppets for his six paths.

"The injuries are too extensive. Even with my expertise, I cannot restore your current body back to its original state, even with the help of Zetsu's cells." Orochimaru, having finished examining Obito's injuries, gave his honest opinion. However, he was intrigued by the technique that had brought Obito to the brink of death, a feat that pushed a space-time user to such limits—a technique even Orochimaru had not encountered.

"How long will it take for you to create my new body?" Obito, flushed with anger and embarrassment, questioned Orochimaru.

"Patience. I will need years, maybe even close to a decade, to fully mature the body that I have started developing," Orochimaru explained casually, as he used a scalpel to remove a chunk of charred remains from Obito's destroyed half.

"No, I cannot wait that long. I need a new body now!" Obito roared, but Zetsu, lurking in the background, chose not to intervene. He had lost all hope in Obito and was unwilling to help him any further.

"Well, if you're in such a hurry, I'm sure your new friend here can cobble together a few puppets and create a body for you," Orochimaru chuckled. However, his interest in Sasori's pseudo-immortality was also piqued. The longer Orochimaru stayed with the Akatsuki, the more surprises they revealed, and the black Zetsu had become his greatest treasure trove.

"You, snake bastard, are you insulting my art?" Sasori, functioning as a makeshift puppet, launched a hidden weapon, but Orochimaru casually swatted it away, unaffected by the poison. He simply chuckled and carefully packed all the samples.

"I'll see what I can do about your body, but my advice is to avoid such battles in the future. Your body won't withstand the strain," Orochimaru cautioned before leaving for his lab.

"Why, why, why? Not once, not twice, but three times I have suffered such humiliating defeats at the hands of those damned Leaf Shinobi. I will bury them, I will bury them all!" Obito roared in frustration, his anger boiling over. Turning to Zetsu, he demanded updates on their plans to infiltrate Konoha and break through its fuinjutsu barrier. Obito couldn't comprehend where it all went wrong—once a supreme being who even bested the famed Yellow Flash of the Leaf, now reduced to a target for ridicule.