"Hm?"
At some point, Furina had shifted her stance to stand in front of the nameless Uchiha, blocking not only the path but also Obito's unabashedly prying gaze.
"A guy who hides his face and doesn't even dare show it has no business spouting nonsense like 'I'll let you go' or whatever.
Besides, whether she gets handed over to you or not that's this Uchiha lady's own decision. She doesn't need outsiders like you or me making choices for her. Got it?"
"Heh, well said. But since words won't work, let's settle it with our hands."
Hearing this, the single eye exposed on Obito flickered slightly. He wasn't surprised by Furina's refusal or rather, this kind of response was exactly what he had expected.
He didn't deny Furina's words, but their positions were different. To bring permanent peace to the ninja world, he would resort to any means necessary.
"Then bring it. I hope your strength is different from your sneaky, creepy demeanor."
While Furina confronted Obito, the nameless Uchiha behind her looked at the back blocking her path. Once again, that strange feeling from earlier surged in her heart this time even stronger.
"We've only just met. Why is she willing to help me? Is it because she considers me a friend?"
Although this was the nameless Uchiha's first time seeing Obito, that look in his eyes was all too familiar because in the past, members of the Uchiha clan had looked at her with almost exactly the same gaze.
But Furina was different. She had never seen such an attitude before. Why would someone who had just met her not even really acquainted be willing to face off against another Mangekyo wielder for her sake?
After thinking it over, the nameless Uchiha finally found what she felt was a fitting word from Furina's earlier words: "friend."
While the nameless Uchiha was still pondering the meaning of "friend," the standoff between Furina and Obito had basically reached its limit. Neither of them liked to wait. Compared to that, they both preferred to get straight to fighting.
However, during the standoff, Furina hadn't been idle. In that short amount of time, she had put in her sweat and effort.
[Speed: Jonin (8344/50000) → Jonin (50000/50000)]
[Speed: Elite Jonin (0/100000)]
[Speed: Elite Jonin (0/100000) → Elite Jonin (100000/100000)]
[Speed: Kage (0/500000)]
[Strength: Special Jonin (15663/20000) → Special Jonin (20000/20000)]
[Strength: Jonin (0/50000)]
[Strength: Jonin (0/50000) → Jonin (50000/50000)]
[Strength: Elite Jonin (0/100000)]
[Affection Value: 18490]
After spending nearly all the Affection Value she had accumulated during this period, Furina's heart calmed down considerably. No matter how strong one's mentality was, without sufficient strength to back it up, it was no different from a castle in the air.
Originally she had planned to save some Affection Value, but Obito's Kamui was truly troublesome. Moreover, the current him was no longer the inexperienced kid who had been outmaneuvered by Minato Namikaze in his debut battle he was now rich in experience.
Add to that his Wood Release and a whole series of other abilities. If Furina didn't handle it carefully, she really might capsize in the gutter here.
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave"
Facing the oncoming high-pressure water jet, Obito remained completely still, as if waiting for death while watching the attack approach.
But when the attack struck, the expected scene of flesh tearing apart didn't occur. Obito was as if he didn't exist in this world the Water Severing Wave passed straight through him without any resistance.
"Hmph hmph, all your attacks are useless against me."
Obito didn't pay any mind to the Water Severing Wave that had passed through his chest, just as he had said every attack was useless against him.
Combined with his casual attitude, if Furina hadn't known his ability, she might actually have been fooled by him.
Damn it, you really know how to act tough.
Watching Obito slowly approach amid her own attack, Furina couldn't help cursing inwardly. The other's Mangekyo had really drawn a jackpot. If it had been Sasuke's or Itachi's Mangekyo instead, he wouldn't have been able to act this arrogantly.
"How is this possible?"
Seeing her attack pass right through, Furina appeared to grow somewhat anxious. She immediately increased the frequency of her attacks, yet no matter what she did, it seemed unable to affect Obito at all.
"I already told you your attacks are ineffective against me."
Looking at Furina's anxious expression, Obito continued his usual posturing, though this time a hint of amusement crept into his tone.
It seemed he had overestimated Furina a bit before. Now it looked like she was nothing special. That White Zetsu guy had even said she could match him hah.
"It's over."
As his hand was about to touch Furina, Obito declared victory. Once he made contact, absolutely no one could escape.
"Mm!"
Just as Obito's hand reached Furina and he prepared to suck her into the Kamui dimension, a sudden intense sense of crisis surged through his heart. Sensing something wrong, Obito didn't hesitate he decisively abandoned the attempt to grab her.
In the next instant, as he returned to his intangible state, three water pillars pierced straight through his body. If he had stubbornly continued the absorption just now, even with Hashirama's cells enhancing him, he would have at least ended up heavily injured.
Carrying his momentum, the intangible Obito passed straight through Furina without obstruction. Looking back, he also realized what had just attacked him.
"These three blue creatures are your summoned beasts? How interesting. Even I've never seen summoned beasts in this form before."
After a moment of admiration, Obito's gaze suddenly turned dangerous. The exposed Mangekyo Sharingan spun continuously, as if it could see straight through people's hearts.
"Using yourself as bait and then launching a sneak attack with your summoned beasts this tactic is extremely dangerous. Based on my understanding of you, you wouldn't act this way. So... you know my ability, don't you?"
"No, I don't know your ability. But every ability has a weakness. I don't believe you can ignore attacks while launching your own that would basically make you invincible.
Moreover, if you really had that kind of ability, I don't think you'd still be sneaking around like this. For example, isn't Akatsuki supposed to be capturing tailed beasts?
If you had that kind of power, I'd bet you'd have gone village by village capturing them already. How could you still be so low-key? I don't believe you're that kind of person."