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Just as Kagaya felt he was on the verge of defeat, far away, one of the Mangekyō Sharingan in Kuro's eyes, perched on Karin's shoulder, flickered faintly.
Of Shisui's two Mangekyō eyes, one had been used by Kagaya, the other by Danzō. The one Kagaya used, lacking Hashirama cells, wouldn't be usable for over a decade. However, the eye used by Danzō was different. When Danzō used it, his body contained Hashirama cells, drastically reducing Kotoamatsukami's cooldown to just a few hours.
And now, months—far more than a few hours—had passed since Kagaya killed Danzō.
Obito was still engaged in his deadly dance with Kagaya when suddenly, his entire body froze.
Kagaya was stunned. What was this...?
Seeing the struggle in Obito's eyes, familiar with this sight, Kagaya immediately turned to look at Kuro in the distance. Indeed, it had used Kotoamatsukami!
A kunai appeared in his hand, and Kagaya immediately slashed at Obito's throat.
But unfortunately, Obito's Kamui was still active. Though immobilized, Kagaya couldn't harm him.
"What's going on?!"
Kagaya stared at Obito in shock. This guy... wasn't controlled? Why hadn't Kamui deactivated?
His eyes widened as he stared at Obito's Mangekyō. An absurd thought surfaced—could this guy actually be resisting Kotoamatsukami?
It wasn't impossible. First, no matter how powerful Kotoamatsukami was, it was a product of the Mangekyō, placing it in the same tier as all other Mangekyō abilities. It wasn't a higher-dimensional attack.
This alone meant the Mangekyō inherently possessed the capacity to resist it. Just like Kagaya back then—he couldn't fully resist Kotoamatsukami, but when Danzō tried to control him, he wasn't instantly subdued. Initially, Kagaya could resist; he just couldn't maintain it indefinitely, forcing him to use his left eye's ability to copy Kotoamatsukami and cancel it out.
And Danzō? When Kuro's Kotoamatsukami hit him, he wasn't instantly controlled either, because he possessed the Mangekyō. However, Danzō had just used Kotoamatsukami himself, depleting much of its power. Moreover, Danzō wasn't the true owner of that Mangekyō. Thus, his resistance was weaker, and he was subdued relatively quickly.
Now, that Obito could initially resist Kotoamatsukami didn't surprise Kagaya. But resisting for several seconds... and still holding out... that was terrifying. Kagaya knew his own limits; resisting Kotoamatsukami with his Mangekyō for ten seconds was likely his maximum. Yet this Obito before him was still resisting after nearly half a minute!
Clearly, this feat could only be attributed to the combined power of the Mangekyō and Hashirama cells.
Once again, Kagaya confirmed just how immense Obito's ocular power was, enhanced by Hashirama cells. Even in his current state, purely comparing ocular power, Kagaya was far inferior!
If Obito possessed a complete pair of Mangekyō, forget Kagaya's current condition—even at his peak, Kagaya would need to flee immediately.
Fortunately, this guy only had one Mangekyō.
"Go!"
Kagaya shouted towards Karin and the others.
If Obito continued resisting like this, the ultimate victor would undoubtedly be Obito! Kotoamatsukami was a one-time-use ability with no staying power. In a battle of attrition, it couldn't possibly win.
Kagaya had considered waiting, gambling that Kotoamatsukami would still be active after five minutes. In that scenario, even if Kotoamatsukami didn't fully control Obito, once the five-minute Kamui limit expired, an immobilized Obito would be at his mercy.
But upon further thought, Kagaya dared not take that gamble. His condition was too poor, and Karin and Haku were with him. Winning the gamble meant smooth sailing; losing could mean death for all of them!
The best course now was to escape. Once Kagaya's eyes evolved into the Eternal Mangekyō, it wouldn't be Obito coming for him—it would be him hunting Obito!
There was absolutely no need for Kagaya to gamble his life here against Obito. That would be an exceedingly unwise choice.
"Right!"
Karin and Haku responded without hesitation, immediately springing into action.
Escape was paramount!
This time, to prevent lagging behind, Kagaya even kept his Sharingan activated as he fled.
Soon, Kagaya and his group vanished from the area. Obito remained trapped, locked in a desperate struggle against Kotoamatsukami.
In a certain village.
A blonde woman, dressed in a white top and blue pants, appeared thoroughly drunk. Beside her, a dark-haired girl cradling a pig in her arms tried to console the blonde.
"Tsunade-sama, it's alright. It's not the first time you've lost. You should be used to it by now."
As soon as she finished speaking, the dark-haired girl seemed to realize something and immediately changed her tune.
"Wait! Tsunade-sama, you lost again! We're truly out of money. We're drowning in debt, Tsunade-sama. Maybe we should stop gambling? No—we absolutely must stop gambling!"
The blonde woman was, of course, the famed Sannin, Tsunade. She glanced at the dark-haired girl beside her.
"Shizune, you have to believe me. Next time! Next time I'll win it all back! I've lost so many times; I can't keep losing forever, right? A person's luck has to change!"
Shizune gave Tsunade a look of utter exasperation, offering a subtle reminder.
"You're... a bit special."
For others, a long losing streak might eventually turn around for a win or two. But the person before her was truly something else—once she started losing, she just kept losing, never winning. It was utterly baffling.
Tsunade let out a boisterous laugh. "Hahaha! Shizune, I know what you mean!"
Shizune subconsciously sighed in relief. If Tsunade-sama understood her point and decided to quit gambling, that would be wonderful.
But in the very next second, Tsunade declared, "You mean that since I'm so special and have lost so many rounds, I'm bound to win many rounds soon, right? Hahaha, you really get me, Shizune."
Shizune jumped up.
"Tsunade-sama, that's not what I meant!"
"Hahaha, I know, I know."
"Tsunade-sama, if you keep gambling, you'll definitely lose again. You can't gamble anymore!"
"The next time will be a win. It will be!"
"It won't!"
"You don't believe me? Fine, let's go back and gamble some more!"
"Eh? Eh? That's not what I meant, Tsunade-sama! We really can't gamble anymore. We won't even be able to afford to feed Ton-ton!"
And so, Tsunade and Shizune bickered noisily on the street. The people around them seemed unfazed, as if accustomed to the sight, simply ignoring the two.
Meanwhile, the people from the gambling den behind them grew excited.
What? "The Legendary Sucker" was coming back for more? That's wonderful news! Come on back!