Since assuming the persona of Madara, Obito had never been this humiliated.
At this moment, his killing intent reached its peak.
"Where is Shinho?"
The memory of the Heavenly Cascade of Light replayed in his mind, sending chills down his spine and freezing his body.
Although Izanagi had resurrected him, the experience of death was very real.
In other words, he had genuinely died, melted away in an unimaginably brutal manner.
The pain was second only to witnessing Rin Nohara's death.
"..."
Black Zetsu shook its head silently.
The dazzling radiance of the Heavenly Cascade of Light had severely impacted its sight and perception.
Furthermore, all of its attention had been focused on Nagato.
"Damn it!"
Obito gritted his teeth. "I must make him die a miserable death!"
"Is that so?"
A calm voice came from their left.
Both Obito and Black Zetsu were startled, instinctively turning toward the source of the voice, their expressions freezing in place.
It was none other than Shinho, the man they had just been discussing.
"Would you look at that?! I just caught two rats," Shinho said with a faint smile.
He had stayed hidden because he knew Obito would use Izanagi and had been waiting for the opportunity to locate Black Zetsu.
Now, his objectives were achieved.
Black Zetsu's expression turned grim.
It, too, understood what was happening.
For a manipulator who had operated in the shadows for a thousand years to be proactively hunted was a humiliating failure.
"Die!"
Obito slammed his hands together, his expression beneath the mask twisted with rage.
Fire Release: Great Fire Annahilation!
The surrounding space distorted as a storm began to brew.
Obito exhaled a ball of flame.
The fire was drawn into a storm, transforming into a massive, spiraling inferno.
In an instant, the flames engulfed Shinho.
Heavenly Cascade of Light!
Shinho stood his ground, deploying the same technique once more.
Boundless light erupted outward, centered on him.
The light coalesced like flowing water, forming a radiant river.
The spiraling flames collided with the light river.
Space warped as chakra and Primeval Essence clashed, stirring violent waves.
But the stalemate lasted only a moment.
The light river consumed the flames and surged toward Obito and Black Zetsu.
Black Zetsu reacted quickly, diving into the ground to escape.
"How is this possible?!"
Obito couldn't believe his eyes, his combination of Fire Release and Kamui had failed.
There was no time to think.
He immediately made his body intangible.
The light river passed through him without causing any harm.
The commotion naturally drew the attention of the Fourth Raikage and the others.
"Madara isn't dead?"
Even the battle-hardened Fourth Raikage couldn't help but express his surprise.
To survive such a terrifying technique, was he truly the legendary Uchiha Madara?
"And the one fighting him… is Shinho!"
Mabui blurted out, a sense of relief washing over her.
Shinho's presence in the shadows had been a constant source of pressure for them.
No one wanted to be caught off guard by the sudden appearance of a devouring light river.
Now that he had revealed himself, he was still a daunting adversary, but at least he could be seen.
Konan spread her wings and landed in front of Nagato.
Because of Shinho, the chaotic battle momentarily paused.
With his arrival, the fighting was bound to resume.
Given Nagato's injuries from the previous clashes, Konan had no choice but to forgo her aerial advantage to protect him.
Anko Mitarashi and the others showed concern on their faces.
Based on the current situation, Konoha was at a numerical disadvantage.
Their only hope was Shinho.
"Lord Hokage," Konan suddenly said, "his ocular technique only lasts for a maximum of five minutes."
"What?! How do you know that?!"
Obito instinctively turned to Konan, his expression darkening.
Intangibility, at its core, was an application of Kamui.
When attacked or obstructed, parts of his body could be shifted to his personal dimension.
To outsiders, it appeared as though he was impervious to all attacks.
The five-minute duration of intangibility was Obito's greatest secret.
It was also his fatal weakness.
After five minutes, he could no longer remain intangible and would have to materialize.
Obito had never imagined that his secret would be exposed by Konan.
But how?
He couldn't figure it out.
Obito's face turned grim, and he felt an overwhelming urge to kill Konan immediately.
His secret, now public knowledge, meant others could exploit his weakness.
Not just Shinho but also the Fourth Raikage and even Black Zetsu.
But now was not the time to worry about that.
The immediate priority was defeating Shinho.
"Raikage, what are you waiting for?!"
Obito finally dropped the pretense of being Madara, shouting directly.
With his secret exposed, combined with Shinho's perfectly timed ambush and the forced use of Izanagi, he realized Kamui alone wasn't enough to deal with Shinho.
In this moment of crisis, he made the decision to rally allies.
The Fourth Raikage's eyes narrowed.
Without hesitation, the Fourth Raikage acted decisively.
He didn't like Shinho, nor did he like this Madara.
If both could perish together, that would be the ideal outcome.
But the current situation made it clear that such an outcome was impossible.
If Shinho defeated Obito and then turned on them, it would already be too late.
Not to mention, Konoha still had Nagato and Konan in their ranks.
Under the protection of his Strongest Armor, the Fourth Raikage moved, vanishing instantly from sight.
Shinho barely caught a flash of movement before his vision was consumed by dazzling lightning.
Elbow!
The Raikage's elbow thrust forward, lightning coalescing around it, striking directly at Shinho's chest.
The Fourth Raikage froze for a moment.
Was it this easy?
"As expected of the fastest man in the ninja world," Shinho remarked calmly.
In his normal state, he couldn't keep up with the Raikage's speed at all.
That wasn't surprising, after all, even the Mangekyō Sharingan couldn't.
"You!"
The Raikage's eyes narrowed.
This was the first time someone had taken his Elbow unscathed.
Shinho, however, wasn't surprised.
The combination of the Five Element Bear Skin Gu, which reduced Lightning Release's power, and the Turtle Jade Wolf Skin Gu, which provided automatic defense, had neutralized the attack.
Two Rank Five Gu's protecting against the Raikage's strike was no cause for astonishment.
Wood Release!
Uchiha Obito clapped his hands together.
The ground around Shinho surged as several thorn-covered trees erupted into existence.
The branches twisted like serpents, lunging toward Shinho.
"Wood Release?"
The Fourth Raikage retreated, his body becoming a blur of lightning as he exited the attack's range.
His face was filled with disbelief.
Since when did Madara use Wood Release?
Wasn't that the signature ability of Hashirama Senju?
Compared to his surprise, Konoha's ninjas were utterly stunned.
In their minds, Wood Release held an almost mythical status as it symbolized the invincible Hashirama Senju.
Could the Hokage truly win?
The next moment, it was as if time itself had paused.
A surge of deathly energy erupted, rising to the heavens.
Six-Armed Heavenly Zombie King!
Shinho didn't hesitate, activating his Peak Rank Five Killer Move.
Over ten Gu were activated simultaneously.
It was as though a demon god had descended.
Shinho barely moved, and the branches binding him snapped apart instantly.
"That technique again…" Nagato muttered, his tone complex.
He remembered being completely overpowered by this very same Six-Armed Heavenly Zombie King.
But now, he didn't feel concerned.
After all, they were allies now.
Konan remained silent as she stared at the Six-Armed Heavenly Zombie King.
It was her second time witnessing it, yet it still left her in awe.
A monster like this had no place in the ninja world.
"..."
Obito's lips twitched.
He had only heard Black Zetsu describe Shinho's battle with Nagato, but seeing it firsthand was terrifying.
"Let me test how powerful you really are!"
The Fourth Raikage's voice was icy as his muscles bulged outward.
Lightning erupted around him, enveloping his body in a storm of pure energy. He looked like a thunder god.
A fierce and domineering aura filled the air.
Leaping into the air, he transformed into a streak of lightning.
His speed was so fast it seemed like he teleported, appearing above Shinho's massive figure in an instant.
Guillotine Drop!
The Raikage aimed his razor-sharp hand blade at Shinho's enormous head, slashing downward with blinding light.
A grin spread across his face.
As expected!
Shinho still couldn't react to his speed.
Theoretically, the larger the target, the slower it moved.
The Six-Armed Heavenly Zombie King, which had made Nagato and others tremble in fear, might actually be his perfect match.
But in the next moment, his vision went black.
The Raikage instinctively looked up.
A giant hand was reaching for him.
Before he could react, the hand closed around him.
"Impossible!"
The Raikage's face was filled with shock.
The next moment, his body was hoisted high into the air.
Boom!
He was slammed into the ground like a cannonball.
A massive crater formed on impact.
Shockwaves rippled outward, and dust flew in all directions.
"Lord Raikage!"
Mabui's face turned pale as she cried out in alarm.
"Big Bro!"
Killer Bee turned into a flash of lightning, rushing into the crater.
"I… I'm fine… cough!"
The Raikage struggled to his feet.
He was no longer the imposing figure he had been before.
The Strongest Armor had dimmed, losing its brilliance.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
"Incredible," Shinho said softly, his voice carrying a note of genuine admiration.
The lightning-release chakra armour was certainly durable.
Any other ninja would have been reduced to a bloody pulp from that throw.
Only the Raikage could survive such an attack.
If it weren't for the power boosts seen in the late stages of the ninja world's battles, the ultimate victor might very well have been the Kumogakure.
"..."
The Raikage stared at Shinho, feeling no trace of praise in his words, only mockery.
Although he didn't want to admit it, Shinho had matched his speed.
This meant he had no advantage left.
"It's all on you now, Killer Bee."
The Raikage spoke with a heavy tone.
As his words fell, the ground shook with a deafening roar.
A towering figure, larger than a mountain, emerged.
It was the fully transformed Eight-Tails.
Its bull-like body and octopus-like tails stretched over sixty meters.
Shinho's six-meter-tall figure looked like that of a child in comparison.
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