"I'll take it from here." Standing in front of Tsunade, Sora faced Uchiha Obito head-on.
Tsunade was strong, no doubt—but her hemophobia still hadn't been cured. Who knew if Obito might exploit that?
As Tsunade stepped back, Jiraiya and Orochimaru arrived as well, forming a triangle formation with Sora.
They exchanged glances, silently agreeing—whoever this guy was, he wasn't leaving alive.
But no one knew the kind of despair Obito was experiencing.
All I wanted was to unleash the Nine-Tails… Why are there so many Kage-levels guarding her?!
According to his plan, he expected to face Minato and maybe Hiruzen. Who the hell were all these monsters?!
As their fierce gazes locked on him, Obito shed imaginary tears behind his mask.
At this point, he had no interest in unleashing the Nine-Tails—he just wanted to figure out how to retreat without dying.
"Who are you?" Jiraiya asked, breaking the silence. Sora, who had been ready to strike, paused for now.
Obito forced himself to stay calm. "I am... Uchiha Madara!"
He was panicking inside, but he had to admit—dropping that name still carried weight.
Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade were visibly shaken, their expressions growing grim.
Sora, on the other hand, just sneered. "Bullshit. If you were Uchiha Madara, we wouldn't still be standing here."
With that, he didn't waste another word. He unsheathed his blade and launched a lightning-fast iai slash.
Whoosh! A silver arc tore through the space between them, slicing through Obito's body.
"It won't work," Obito mocked. "You can't even—"
He was just about to boast about his Kamui when Sora cut him off again.
"Relentless attacks! Don't leave a single gap! He can't maintain this for more than five minutes!"
As he launched another jutsu, Sora's face was full of mocking disdain, making Obito nearly cough up blood.
The earlier attack had been a deliberate provocation to force Obito to use Kamui. Now that they knew his secret, they could simply keep up constant pressure until the ability wore off.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru didn't hesitate. One after the other, they launched fierce attacks.
"Fine. Then take this—Ninja Art: Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes!"
As expected of Orochimaru, his move was overwhelming. A mass of snakes poured forth, biting and writhing toward Obito.
Though the snakes couldn't deal much damage directly, their poison was no joke. Obito had no choice but to keep using Kamui to phase out.
Sora and Tsunade backed away in disgust, keeping a wide berth.
Anyone with a fear of snakes or trypophobia would've passed out on the spot.
Obito moved while maintaining Kamui, but with Sora and the others chasing him down, he couldn't afford to stop.
Five minutes later, he was forced to drop Kamui.
Gasping for breath like a broken bellows, Obito was clearly spent.
Sora didn't hesitate.
"Chidori!"
A flash of blue lightning streaked past. Sora's right hand pierced Obito's chest cleanly.
"It's done." Orochimaru and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief. That damn phasing ability had been exhausting to deal with.
"Izanami!"
Just as Obito's body began to dissolve, Sora shouted, "He's not dead yet—he's trying to escape!"
///
Another five minutes passed.
With one final Great Fire Annihilation, Sora turned Obito to ashes—literally cremating him, leaving not even a speck behind.
Obito: Much appreciated, really.
"I know what you're all thinking," Sora said, clapping his hands. "Let's talk after this mission. For now, back to your posts."
Everything had gone as Sora expected.
Aside from his Mangekyō illusions, phasing, and the Hashirama cells giving him a weak version of Wood Style, Obito was essentially useless.
Once his Kamui was dealt with, he couldn't even throw a proper Fireball. What else could he do?
So, naturally, he died right there. And to spare Kakashi and Minato the heartbreak, Sora thoughtfully handled the cremation himself.
Just as he was picking up the dropped card, he saw it—a golden glow calling to him.
Without hesitation, he pounced like a hungry tiger and scooped it up.
"Holy crap! Holy crap! HOLY CRAP!!!"
This was only the second golden card he'd ever acquired. The sheer joy was overwhelming.
[Golden Card: Phasing — Can be fused into Myriad Techniques at Will. Fuse now?]
"Yes, fuse! Fuse it now!"
No hesitation whatsoever. He issued the mental command instantly.
This was amazing. Obito really was a top-tier villain. Executing divine justice came with top-tier rewards.
Sora shamelessly praised his own righteousness as he strolled back to his assigned sector with a bounce in his step.
But what he didn't notice… was the inky-black shadow that appeared where Obito had died.
Not a single Kage-level among them noticed it.
"He's dead… So why were there so many elite shinobi guarding Konoha?"
Black Zetsu's already dark face twisted even darker. His gaze slowly turned toward the direction of the Root division.
Then, he melted into the earth, heading toward the Land of Rain.
With Obito dead, all hope now rested on Nagato. The plan must not fail.
Today's events had caught him completely off guard. The Three Sannin had all shown up… but what terrified him most was that boy.
How did that child know everything about Obito?
The first time they awakened Obito's Mangekyō, it had taken Madara's genjutsu and Black Zetsu's careful manipulation just to succeed.
This was Obito's first time ever using Kamui in front of others—so how had it been exposed?
The more he thought about it, the more wary he became.
"That child must not be underestimated. He must die—soon!"
But when he thought about his current available forces, a deep sadness filled Black Zetsu's heart.
"Mother… I feel so helpless…"
He gazed miserably up at the moon, eyes glistening with tears.
///
With the outside situation under control, things inside the delivery chamber took a sudden turn.
Hearing the commotion, Minato tried to go outside and check—but the Nine-Tails suddenly went berserk inside Kushina's body.
He could still suppress it—barely.
But then, as if injected with a stimulant, the beast's power surged—more than doubling in intensity.
Despite using every ounce of strength, Minato couldn't stop it. In just two seconds, the seal broke.
The Nine-Tails burst forth, roaring into the world once again.
Gritting his teeth against his injuries, Minato used Flying Thunder God to instantly teleport newborn Naruto to safety, along with Kushina and Biwako Sarutobi.
And just like that, the Nine-Tails emerged on the outskirts of Konoha.
"RAAAAAHHHHH! I'M FINALLY FREE!!!"
///
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