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They hadn't walked for long when a swirling vortex appeared before them. Obito slowly materialized from within.
Though Kagaya's eyes could no longer see clearly, his senses immediately identified the person before him.
"What's this? Has the Akatsuki fallen so low that you need to personally hunt down deserters?"
While Kagaya was deeply surprised by Obito's appearance, he refused to show it.
Obito looked at Kagaya, his gaze lingering pointedly on his eyes.
"How dim they've become."
Hearing this, Kagaya fell silent for a moment before replying. "Dimness doesn't mean they can never shine again. Besides, yours aren't exactly beacons of light either."
Obito scoffed derisively. "Is that so? Then let me see for myself. How much of its former radiance can a light, already so dim, still emit?"
A chain shot out from Obito's sleeve. Then, he lunged at Kagaya with explosive speed!
His killing intent was palpable! After merely exchanging a few words, he attacked immediately, clearly having no desire to waste time.
A flash of crimson appeared, instantly filling Kagaya's pupils. Three-Tomoe Sharingan, activate!
Kagaya's Sharingan could ill afford further strain. As mentioned before, one or two more activations of the Mangekyō would likely lead to permanent blindness. But Kagaya had no choice. With Obito himself coming to kill him, he couldn't rely on Haku and Karin to defeat him. He had to fight, even if it meant forcing his eyes.
Releasing Karin's hand, he circulated chakra. His terrifying speed erupted, allowing him, though reacting later, to strike first—his kunai aimed for Obito's throat a fraction of a second faster!
However...
Whoosh!
It passed right through. Kagaya's entire form phased through Obito's body without inflicting any injury.
Kamui!
This outcome was within Kagaya's expectations.
After the two exchanged positions, they simultaneously turned to face each other.
"Tch!"
Kagaya suddenly lowered his head. His left eye abruptly reverted from the three-tomoe pattern back to its dull grey state.
Just as expected. These eyes have truly reached their limit.
But in the next instant, Kagaya forcibly reactivated the three-tomoe in his left eye!
However, it was in that split second that Obito seized the opportunity, closing in on Kagaya and reaching out to grab his shoulder!
If Obito could get a hold of Kagaya, he would use Kamui to suck him into the Kamui dimension. Once there, Obito would have countless ways to deal with him—even starvation would suffice.
Got him!
A cold sneer touched Obito's lips as he prepared to activate Kamui.
Thump!
In the next moment, even through the mask, Kagaya heard the sound of Obito coughing up blood.
Obito's eyes widened as he looked down. Another Kagaya had just landed a powerful punch squarely in his abdomen!
Just as Obito was about to grab Kagaya, he was sent flying by a devastating blow!
A clone? When?!
Obito was sent flying but quickly righted himself. The blow wasn't fatal.
Simply put, Obito's Kamui allowed him to become "intangible," making him immune to all physical contact. However, in this "intangible" state, Obito also couldn't touch anything. Therefore, to interact with the physical world, he had to deactivate Kamui, becoming tangible. But during that brief window, he himself became vulnerable to physical attacks!
Kagaya had exploited this exact weakness. Using the Body Flicker Clone Technique at the precise moment Obito solidified, he delivered the punch.
If Obito remained intangible indefinitely, Kagaya truly would have had no recourse. Unfortunately for Obito, he was here to kill Kagaya. He couldn't stay intangible forever; how else could he finish the job?
To kill Kagaya, Obito had to deactivate Kamui at specific moments.
Now, Kagaya was breathing heavily. Though he had counterattacked successfully, it had been perilously close to failure!
'Too dangerous. Thankfully, my hand seals were fast enough.'
From here on, he needed absolute focus. He couldn't give Obito any opening!
On the other side, Obito wasn't faring well either. He hadn't anticipated that in such a short timeframe, Kagaya could still form hand seals and execute a ninjutsu!
More critically, Obito's body—or rather, his right half—was fragile. His right side was composed of inferior First Hokage cells, or perhaps White Zetsu material. This granted him significant benefits: a larger chakra pool and a Mangekyō that never faded. But there were drawbacks—it was physically vulnerable!
During the Nine-Tails attack on Konoha, Obito took a direct Rasengan from Minato. His right half immediately turned fluid-like, literally sliding off his body.
Of course, the Rasengan's power played a role, but that wasn't the sole reason. Part of it was the inherent fragility of his right half. Otherwise, how did Kakuzu survive a more powerful Rasenshuriken without melting into a puddle?
Now, having taken a punch from Kagaya, Obito's right half was becoming unstable. If Kagaya were at full strength, Obito, no matter how strong his killing intent, would have retreated without a second thought.
Fortunately for Obito, while his own condition was poor, he knew Kagaya's was worse, perhaps far worse!
Thus, Obito felt confident he could outlast Kagaya.
"Still so fast, Kagaya. Now, tell me... how long can you hold out?"
Obito straightened up, taunting Kagaya before immediately drawing his chain and charging again.
This time, Obito was cautious. No matter how Kagaya attacked, Obito refused to deactivate Kamui.
He had realized there was no need to deactivate Kamui to engage Kagaya directly. He just needed to remain undefeated, after all. Kagaya was the one who couldn't afford to stall.
Using Kamui continuously had a limitation: a maximum duration of about five minutes. With this restriction, stalling seemed unwise for Obito, as he would eventually have to deactivate it.
But while five minutes wasn't long... could Kagaya last that long?
Probably not.
Kagaya sighed inwardly. He knew his own limits. In his current state, maintaining his Sharingan actively for even three minutes was a struggle. Five minutes was truly pushing it.
And once Kagaya deactivated his Sharingan, Obito would undoubtedly attack immediately. So, Kagaya dared not turn it off. Yet, by stalling, he also saw no path to victory.
This is truly disastrous!
Kagaya sighed again. In his weakest state, he had encountered his most troublesome enemy.
His chances of winning were incredibly slim, almost nonexistent.
If Obito was determined to maintain Kamui indefinitely, Kagaya truly had no way to harm him. Even activating Susano'o wouldn't help.
'Five minutes... can I hold on?'