Click.
The hairpin, burned black and brittle, made a crisp sound like a wafer biscuit shattering when stepped on.
Linto slowly clenched his fists, his eyes colder than ever, Star Platinum appearing behind him.
"Star Platinum The World!"
He appeared before Obito in a single step.
"Ora ora ora ora!"
Star Platinum swung his iron fists, but it was like hitting air, passing straight through Obito's body.
Phasing again.
This wasn't Linto's first time dealing with Obito; he had witnessed Obito's phasing ability during the last battle where the Mizukage was defeated.
Since the opponent had entered a phased state, Linto stopped paying attention to Obito. He scanned the surroundings, releasing his Ripple energy.
The dust on the ground, as if losing its gravity, floated faintly. The dust covered the townspeople and the Roran survivors, allowing him to carefully sense if there were any survivors.
None.
They were all dead.
Large areas of the desert had crystallized from the intense heat, indicating the explosion's temperature had exceeded 2000 degrees.
Let alone ordinary people like the townspeople, even Linto's physique would have been severely injured if he were at the center of the explosion.
Time Stop ended.
Obito felt his vision blur; Linto was already standing in front of him, his cold eyes fixed on him. A sky-high killing intent whipped up a gale, and instantly, clouds churned.
"Long time no see, Linto—"
Before he could finish, Star Platinum punched him.
Linto didn't want to say another word to Obito.
He had only met the Roran survivors once and had only known the townspeople for a few days. Linto didn't even know the townspeople's real names.
But Linto knew one thing.
These innocent people who died in the explosion, they might have been ordinary folks, or they might not have even had proper names, but they all worked hard every day for their own convictions.
The Roran survivors gave up a more comfortable life. For decades, they had diligently guarded the dragon vein seal in this corner of the desert, preventing the seal from loosening and the dragon vein from leaking, thus averting disaster.
The blind townspeople had good perceptive abilities. They could have easily found a position as a retainer in a wealthy family in a town or city and lived without worry about food and drink. But they just couldn't stand many things and chose to become rats living underground.
A blind man, unable to stand certain things, called himself a "rat," yet he was the most admirable person.
A person with Sharingan, calling himself "Akatsuki," a symbol of the blazing sun, was a complete beast.
Linto really wanted to use "The Hand" to roll everything back an hour.
But instead of despair, Linto felt an extreme, almost explosive anger!
His anger blazed like a fire, his mental power pushed to its limit, and Star Platinum's fists shone with starlight.
Since he couldn't turn back time—
Linto raised his hand and pointed at Obito.
"Then I'll blow him up!"
Star Platinum rushed out, engulfed in fury, his punches like shadows, piercing Obito's body once again.
Linto remembered clearly that while Obito was phased, he couldn't attack, only passively take hits and dodge. Phasing, like Time Stop, had a time limit.
Last time in Kirigakure, Star Platinum had pummeled Obito with a barrage of punches.
It was a shame that Pain intervened later and used Chibaku Tensei, preventing Linto from discovering his precise time limit.
But judging by Obito's nervous expression at the time, it wouldn't have lasted more than ten minutes, possibly less.
However, Linto remembered this, and Obito surely did too.
The opponent dared to appear before Linto again and put on a victorious front, suggesting he had made preparations during this time.
While controlling Star Platinum to punch, Linto kept his guard up, holding the Ruin Blade in one hand and Golden Spin in the other, waiting to see what trick Obito had up his sleeve.
Just then—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions occurred again centered on Obito. Strangely, the number of explosions was almost equal to the number of punches Star Platinum threw.
For every punch Star Platinum threw, an explosion occurred.
The high temperature and impact intensified with each layer, rolling towards Linto, who was less than a step away.
Linto swung his sword, cutting the surging explosion flames in half.
But Star Platinum's range was too short, and the aftershocks still managed to reach Linto's skin, tearing away a large chunk of flesh, even blackening the blood beneath.
Linto paused his assault and retreated a few steps.
He stopped not because of his injuries. These wounds would heal in seconds as his Nature Power flowed in, regenerating flesh and repairing skin.
Linto couldn't comprehend what he was seeing and hearing.
Why could Obito still attack while phased?
Had his ability evolved?
"No, the masked man in front of me isn't attacking at all."
With Linto's dynamic vision, he could clearly see that Obito was just passively taking hits, letting Star Platinum's fists pass through him.
The so-called attacks, the explosions, were purely related to the frequency of Star Platinum's punches.
"What kind of ability is this?"
Noticing the confusion on Linto's face, Obito felt an immense sense of satisfaction.
The endless contemplation he had gone through day and night had finally paid off.
"You, who is called 'invincible,' why are you backing down?"
Obito scoffed, his figure flickering.
"If you won't come, then I will!"
Obito attacked Linto.
Star Platinum swung its fist again, and Linto watched the path of the punch closely.
This time, Linto finally saw it—
The moment Star Platinum's fist fell and left Obito's clothes, a patch of white appeared on Obito's clothes...
"Clay?"
Boom!
Another explosion occurred!
...
The battle between Linto and Obito was too swift. Kakashi, Rasa, and the others only had time to draw their kunai.
It wasn't that they were slow to react, but Linto and Obito's fighting style—to attack immediately upon meeting, without unnecessary words, posturing, or even hand seals—was too contrary to the usual ninja way.
Kakashi and Granny Chiyo from the right, Rasa and Kohaku from the left, they formed a pincer movement, each performing hand seals, intending to help Linto deal with Obito.
Suddenly, two strong gusts of wind came from behind them, colliding with both groups and pushing them further away from the main battlefield where Linto and Obito were engaged.
The sounds of fierce weapon clashes echoed through the swirling sand and stones. In just over ten seconds, everyone was pushed to the corners of the Roran ruins, unable to see each other, only able to faintly hear the sounds of explosions from the core battlefield.
As the wind and sand settled, Kakashi stood firm. He looked at a few steel needles stuck in his green vest, then at Granny Chiyo, who was unharmed beside him, and his expression was a bit awkward.
"Don't be discouraged, young Hatake boy. I could dodge them all because he used techniques I'm most familiar with," Granny Chiyo comforted him.
Kakashi was surprised to hear comfort from Granny Chiyo, but then the old lady continued:
"Also, don't overthink it. I'm not saying this to comfort you, but to give you some confidence. Don't die too quickly later; at least block a few of my strikes for this old woman."
Kakashi took off his vest and rubbed his still sore neck.
"On account of the tea yesterday, I will."
Whoosh—
A gust of wind blew, scattering the dust and revealing a man lying on the ground.
Sasori the Red Sand.
"Long time no see, old woman."
Sasori glanced at Kakashi, who had his neck crooked, and frowned slightly. "I don't quite understand, could you explain it to me?"
Granny Chiyo clasped her hands together in her sleeves, her eyes lowered, and said, "Helping my dear grandson answer questions is a grandmother's duty."
"Then can you tell me why your 'grandmother' chose to stand by the son of her enemy?"