"Hahaha, what a joke. Your Space-Time Mangekyo Sharingan? The Uchiha have produced countless wielders of it over the years." Kawasaki spouted nonsense with a straight face. "And here you are, treasuring it like it's some priceless gem."
...
On the battlefields of the Land of Water, on Tsuren Island.
"Impossible!" Obito instinctively denied it.
According to what Madara Uchiha told him, he was the first to awaken the Mangekyo in recent history.
"There are no such records in the Uchiha archives," Obito couldn't help but retort.
Kawasaki said arrogantly, "Who do you think you are? You were a nobody when you left the clan. I am the patriarch of the Uchiha clan. Only I have access to the family's most secret records. Did you really think we've only had a handful of Mangekyo Sharingan users in a thousand years?"
Obito grunted in anger. "I don't believe you."
*Poof...*
Just then, Shisui, who had been standing nearby, vanished in a blink.
Obito's expression tightened. "You're trying to stall for time, waiting for the Reverse Summoning Jutsu to save you!"
Obito roared, thrusting his arms forward. Countless wooden branches shot out, hurtling toward Kawasaki and Itachi.
Kawasaki sneered as a crimson light erupted from his eyes.
Susanoo!
The skeletal construct instantly grew flesh and sinew before donning its armor. Though only a half-body manifestation, its colossal frame shielded Kawasaki and Itachi completely.
Wood Style was powerful, but against a Susanoo clad in Tengu Armor, it was useless!
As Obito used his Wood Style, a burst of black flames erupted on his body, just as expected.
Obito grunted, manifesting his own Susanoo again to block the black flames.
He dismissed the Susanoo once more and stared coldly at Kawasaki and Itachi.
Kawasaki on defense, Itachi on offense?
Why isn't Kawasaki using that technique from last time?
What is he planning?
Logically, Kawasaki's Ame-no-Murakumo Style posed the greatest threat to Obito. Kamui's spatial distortion took time to activate; once the Ame-no-Murakumo struck, it could swallow even the Kamui dimension itself.
Although Obito possessed the space-distorting power of Kamui, his current situation was difficult. If he wanted to use Kamui, he had to materialize. The instant he became tangible, he would be struck by Amaterasu. And for him, the only way to deal with Amaterasu was to use Susanoo.
The Kamui vortex wasn't instantaneous, making his attack speed slower than Itachi's. It had become a perfect stalemate. To attack, he had to use Kamui to break Kawasaki's Susanoo. But using Kamui meant taking a hit from Amaterasu, forcing him to activate his own Susanoo to endure it.
When using both Susanoo and Kamui simultaneously, the distortion speed of Kamui slowed, giving Kawasaki and Itachi more than enough time to evade.
It was a vicious cycle.
Obito studied Kawasaki's Susanoo. Its chakra was abnormally stable. Where was he getting so much ocular power?!
Meanwhile, Itachi's eyes had begun to bleed.
"Let's see how many more times you can use Amaterasu!" Obito sneered, charging directly at them.
Seeing Itachi's eyes bleed, Kawasaki also clutched his face, red liquid trickling through his fingers.
Obito noticed this, and a sense of confidence grew within him.
Kawasaki led Itachi forward. From the beginning, Itachi had used Tsukuyomi once and Amaterasu twice, and the blood from his eyes hadn't stopped. But Kawasaki had formulated this strategy against Obito beforehand. At this point, Itachi could expend his ocular power freely. If he could severely injure Obito, all the better.
At that moment, Kawasaki dismissed his Susanoo.
He and Itachi closed in, engaging Obito in close combat. But Obito was cunning. Even while fighting, he maintained his phasing ability.
The slightest opening from Kawasaki or Itachi, and Obito would seize the chance to strike.
The battlefield transformed into a display of taijutsu from Kawasaki and Itachi. With blades in hand, the two moved with perfect, murderous coordination.
Obito weaved through their relentless assault. But their flawless teamwork gave him no openings.
Once again, Obito prepared to materialize and strike Itachi's neck, only for Kawasaki to slash viciously at his eyes.
Kawasaki skillfully thwarted several more attempts. His control over his body and his reaction speed in battle were incredible, leaving Obito with no window to attack.
Kawasaki's Sharingan spun rapidly as he adjusted his body, executing a series of unbelievable maneuvers. No matter how outlandish the movement, he left no vulnerabilities.
Kawasaki was enjoying the advantage granted by Minato's super-high-speed reflexes.
Every potential moment Obito could materialize was instantly perceived by Kawasaki, preventing him from ever landing a blow.
After more than a minute of this, Obito was still phased, unable to find a single weakness. At that moment, Kawasaki's leg passed through Obito's body as he kicked, and he sneered:
"Obito, how long can you maintain that phasing? Five minutes? Ten? Half an hour?"
"Once you hit your limit, do you really think you can escape?"
"Today, we are the hunters, and you are the prey."
Kawasaki's words were true, and Obito knew it. Although he could remain intangible for a long time, he had to become solid to attack. Relying on his Susanoo to block Amaterasu was no longer a sustainable tactic.
To pose a real threat to Kawasaki and Itachi, his only option was to use his Susanoo to fight them head-on.
It was clear that Itachi and Kawasaki's ocular powers were limited, and their eyes couldn't bear the strain for much longer.
What Obito didn't know was that Kawasaki had another plan.
He hadn't activated his Susanoo or used his Ame-no-Murakumo Style for a reason. Kawasaki's sensory abilities were astounding. Tsuren Island was a frontline position in the Land of Water conflict, making the situation complex.
The twenty-meter-tall, half-body Susanoo he had manifested earlier was already incredibly conspicuous in the dark of night.
Spies from not only the Mist Village but also the Cloud Village, as well as agents from other factions that had landed on the island, were all flocking to their location.
And from the Leaf, the arriving team was led by the master interrogator Ibiki, a familiar face to Kawasaki.
All the players had gathered; the stage was set.
The time was right.
...
Ibiki had also recently landed on the island. The entire island was in turmoil, fraught with danger.
Because of this, Ibiki didn't dare to act rashly; his team operated with extreme caution. They only gathered intelligence when it was relatively safe, sending their findings back to Konoha.
Tonight, Ibiki and his squad heard a massive explosion and then witnessed the figure of a Susanoo.
So, the eight of them crept closer, intending to investigate. As they neared the scene, they unsurprisingly spotted spies from the Cloud and the Mist.
The various groups had noticed each other, but due to the distance, they could only continue to gather intel independently.
Obito, who had been struggling to find an opportunity to attack, finally decided to unleash his Susanoo.
His Mangekyo spun faster, releasing a tremendous amount of ocular power.
A cyan-blue Susanoo rose from the ground.
Fueled by Obito's immense dojutsu, the blue Susanoo quickly grew from a skeleton into a fully fleshed form, donning its Tengu Armor. Its overwhelming presence was a staggering sight.
Obito's Susanoo was a full-body manifestation, fixed at a height of seventy meters in its Tengu Armor mode. Though he could make it even larger, he felt this size was sufficient.
The Susanoo stood on Tsuren Island like a giant beacon, visible for kilometers.
The weaponry of a Susanoo could vary greatly. Obito's did not wield a sword; instead, it formed giant shuriken.
This was his standard armament. Once imbued with the power of Kamui, they would become the unstoppable Kamui Shuriken, a technique that even Kaguya Otsutsuki could not withstand.
...
Kawasaki gave Itachi a look. Understanding perfectly, Itachi lowered his eyelids.
His blood-red eyes snapped open, and an orange-red Susanoo erupted into existence.
Pushing his ocular power without restraint, Itachi's Susanoo grew from bone to flesh, finally cloaking itself in Tengu Armor.