Chapter 322: The Beginning of Tragedy
"As expected, there's no such thing as an invincible jutsu… unless it's a space-time one."
Li Yao's Wind Release Clone watched his slash land on the Earth Release Clone Shiyan, only to leave behind a white mark. He couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
Wind Release, known as the most offensively powerful among the five basic chakra natures, was indeed terrifying once elevated to the level of Kekkei Tōta.
But Earth Release, the strongest in defense among the five chakra natures, had also been elevated to the level of Kekkei Tōta through the Technique of Mass—granting Shiyan an impenetrable defense.
With an imagined mass of one million tons, Shiyan's body possessed absurdly dense pseudo-molecular structure.
Such terrifying physical density not only rendered Wind Slashes, capable of cutting molecules, ineffective—but also endowed his strikes with overwhelming power.
With a single punch, the explosive force of a million tons was unleashed—enough to shatter mountains and tear apart the land. No wonder the Third Raikage couldn't withstand even one blow.
Boom!
RUMBLE!
Across the battlefield, their clash had left behind a landscape of bottomless chasms and impact craters like meteor strikes.
The terrain within several kilometers had been permanently altered by their battle.
It was no exaggeration to say it was like watching gods clash.
From afar, shinobi from both Iwagakure and Sunagakure witnessed the battle—and were painfully aware of the dimensional gap in power between themselves and these two avatars of destruction.
In a flash—
Ten minutes had passed.
Though only ten minutes had gone by, the earth had already been hammered countless times.
By now, both of Li Yao's clones knew it was time to wrap things up.
"Impressive. You're the first who's ever blocked my Wind Slash."
"You're not bad either."
They exchanged compliments. Then, Li Yao's Wind Clone withdrew.
"This battle is yours. Let's call it here, shall we?" said the Wind Clone.
Truthfully, if they kept going without using additional tricks, Li Yao's Wind Clone would lose to Shiyan.
Each Wind Slash consumed chakra.
But Shiyan, with the Technique of Mass reinforcing his body, kept his chakra usage internal—his consumption was minimal.
If the fight dragged on with just taijutsu, the Wind Clone would run out of chakra first.
In that sense, acknowledging Shiyan's victory wasn't wrong.
"No. I want you dead."
Naturally, Shiyan's character wouldn't accept that proposal. He played the part of a man who wouldn't stop until he had killed his enemy—and charged forward again.
But Li Yao's Wind Clone, set on avoiding battle, wasn't someone Shiyan could catch.
With no other choice, Shiyan turned his attacks toward Rasa and the observing Sand shinobi.
"You dare!?"
Li Yao's Wind Clone immediately responded with the authority of a true Kazekage, fiercely protecting his own village's shinobi.
But just as he couldn't stop Shiyan earlier, now he couldn't stop him from striking at Rasa.
"No... Argh—!"
In the end, Shiyan killed Rasa right in front of the Wind Clone. Rasa never even understood why he died.
"Fine!"
"Then you kill yours, I'll kill mine!"
Li Yao's Wind Clone pretended to be furious, turning to attack the Iwa shinobi. Shiyan's expression darkened, and he rushed to stop him.
But just as he couldn't be stopped before, neither could Li Yao now.
Thus, after the Wind Clone killed a few Iwa shinobi, the two exchanged glances and showed reluctant acknowledgment of reality—agreeing not to target each other's forces anymore.
Later, Shiyan returned to Iwagakure with the glory of having defeated but not killed the Fourth Kazekage.
Though he hadn't slain the Kazekage, he had killed Rasa—a renowned shinobi of the world. That was enough to answer for Ōnoki's death.
As for any challengers?
Once people heard what had transpired—and saw the battlefield filled with deep canyons and cratered earth—even skeptics kept their mouths shut.
Unless you could produce that level of destruction yourself—
Or better yet, kill the Fourth Kazekage yourself—
What right did you have to complain?
In fact, surviving a single strike from the Fourth Kazekage would already be impressive.
And so, half a month after his return to the village, Shiyan was officially named the Fourth Tsuchikage—reaching the peak of his career.
Meanwhile, Li Yao's Wind Clone led the surviving Sand shinobi back to the Land of Wind, halting conflict with Iwagakure for the time being.
Though Rasa had died, the slaying of the Third Tsuchikage had elevated Li Yao's status in Sunagakure even further.
He could now return to researching new jutsu in peace.
Next on the agenda—was Obito's descent into darkness.
…
Land of Grass.
In Madara's underground hideout, Obito lay half-naked on a stone slab. Half of his body appeared crushed beyond recognition.
Beside him, White Zetsu stood, one hand fused into the ruined half of Obito's body, steadily injecting cells.
While Li Yao's two clones had been performing their staged battle, White Zetsu had exploited a moment when Minato was absent and orchestrated an "accident."
It resulted in Obito awakening his Sharingan—and made Kakashi and the others believe he was dead.
In truth, Zetsu had barely kept him alive and brought him back to the base in the Land of Grass.
Now, Zetsu was rebuilding Obito's shattered half with White Zetsu cells.
This time, however, he wasn't forcibly fusing the cells. As long as Obito's body didn't reject them, a symbiotic relationship would suffice.
That way, should anything go wrong in the future, Obito's artificial half could be used as a failsafe to kill him.
Sitting on the stone throne before the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, Madara leaned back. His long white hair drooped over half his face. The visible side appeared vibrant and youthful, like a newborn's skin.
But this wasn't regeneration—it was the final glow before death. A burst of vitality from a body rapidly aging into its final days.
Madara wouldn't last much longer.
Soon, Obito's reconstructed body was complete. And remarkably, he adapted to the cells quickly. Though they hadn't fused, there was no rejection either.
After all, White Zetsu cells—derived from the body of the Sage of Six Paths' son—were naturally compatible with those who had inherited the bloodline of the other son.
Which meant Uchiha with awakened Mangekyō Sharingan were the most viable candidates for transplanting Wood Release cells.
Such was the case for Madara. And now, Obito.
Sadly, only Black Zetsu knew this secret. Even Madara had only grasped the truth after reading the Uchiha clan's stone tablet.
That's why Madara and Zetsu had always intended for the Uchiha to be the vessel of their plan.
If not for the wild variable that was Li Yao, Black Zetsu would've never considered altering the script.
But that was all in the past now.
Today, Black Zetsu could clearly see Obito's potential. The fact that he awakened his two-tomoe Sharingan just from trying to protect his comrades proved his gift.
If Rin were to die before his eyes… what kind of terrifying Mangekyō Sharingan would he awaken?
Black Zetsu was eager to find out.
"…Let's hope everything goes according to plan."
But then the image of Li Yao beating Madara into the dirt resurfaced in his mind, and the joy he had felt from Obito's potential was instantly chilled.
All Black Zetsu could do was sigh helplessly—hoping Obito would awaken a power strong enough to defeat Li Yao.
Because Li Yao… was far too unpredictable.
Deep down, Black Zetsu preferred working with Madara and Obito. They were easier to manipulate.
(END CHAPTER)
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