The ninja war dragged on for another two years. During these years, Arisu stayed in the Fire Daimyo's residence in the Land of Fire. His days were simple and peaceful, eating, sleeping, and reading.
"Arisu-kun, have a drink with me."
The Fire Daimyo smiled and handed over a cup of hot tea. Arisu nodded, accepted it, and drank it in one go.
The Daimyo looked at the snow falling outside the window and could not help sighing.
"Sigh, the fighting outside is getting worse and worse. All the trade routes have been cut off. I wonder when Lord Hokage plans to end this war..."
By now, the Daimyo's orders no longer had any control over Konoha.
The Land of Fire and Konoha were more like equal partners. Konoha provided military protection throughout the country and paid taxes to the Daimyo every year. The Land of Fire supplied resources, opened policies, and allocated land.
"One year, two years... I'm afraid it won't end."
Arisu shook his head and gave his judgment.
Before he could finish speaking, an Anbu member hurriedly pushed open the door and bowed.
"Lord Arisu, urgent orders from Lord Hokage. You are to immediately head to the eastern coast of the Land of Fire and support Kakashi's team. They were ambushed by Kirigakure Anbu. Their situation is unknown."
Arisu nodded after hearing this, his expression still calm.
When the news of the Kannabi Bridge battle had arrived two years ago, he had already learned of Obito's death.
Later, Kakashi and Rin had been transferred to the Mist battlefield.
Now the battlefield was much closer to him. It was likely support specially arranged by Danzo.
"Understood."
Arisu responded, then said goodbye to the Daimyo. His figure flashed away as he rushed toward the eastern coast.
———
On the way, Arisu sensed another chakra.
Obito's chakra... and Tobi's chakra.
"If Obito is here, then..."
A look of certainty flashed through Arisu's eyes.
Then explosions sounded in the distance.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Arisu quickly arrived at the location.
But the moment he arrived, he saw the classic scene.
"Pft!"
A Raikiri pierced Rin's heart.
Kakashi's eyes widened as if they were about to split apart. He froze in place, then immediately fainted and collapsed to the ground.
"Sigh... I didn't make it in time."
Seeing this scene from a distance, Arisu was startled, then let out a slight sigh.
"Sigh, I came too late..."
"Have a safe journey. Goodnight, Nohara Rin. See you in the Pure Land..."
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I WON'T ACCEPT THIS!!!!!!"
A mad, hysterical voice came from the other side.
Obito was wrapped in White Zetsu. His single eye was crimson, and his Mangekyo Sharingan was glowing.
The expressions beneath the Mist Anbu masks changed.
They thought Konoha reinforcements had arrived.
"Konoha reinforcements?!"
The leading Mist Anbu's heart tightened as he subconsciously gripped his shuriken.
"Kill him!"
Three Mist ninja rushed forward at the same time, their swords thrusting toward Obito's throat, heart, and lower abdomen.
Obito did not move.
The three swords passed through his body without any resistance, as if they had struck nothing but a shadow.
"What's going on? It passed through!?"
The three Mist ninja's pupils shrank. Before they could react, Obito had already raised his hand.
Puchi!
Obito's right hand pierced straight through the chest of the ninja on the far left, his five fingers closing tightly.
Puff!
Wood Release instantly burst through the ninja's back.
"Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs Technique!"
Warm blood splashed across Obito's face, but he showed no reaction. He simply pulled his hand back and let the corpse collapse to the ground.
The other two ninja were scared out of their minds and turned to run.
Obito's figure blurred slightly and instantly appeared behind them.
"Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs Technique!"
The same movement.
The same sound.
After two dull sounds of flesh being torn apart, two more cold corpses appeared on the snow.
"What kind of jutsu is this?!"
The remaining Mist Anbu turned pale. Someone immediately formed hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
A huge water dragon roared forward and slammed toward Obito with overwhelming force.
But the water dragon still passed through his body. It smashed the rocks behind him into pieces and sent water spraying everywhere.
"It's useless... all of it is useless..."
"Rin is dead... this world... no longer has any reason to exist...", Obito muttered quietly.
He suddenly raised his head, and the glow of his Mangekyo Sharingan surged.
The next second, he charged into the Mist Anbu like a flash.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
One ninja swung a long blade at his head.
The blade passed through his neck without leaving even a trace of blood.
Obito grabbed the man's wrist with his backhand and twisted lightly.
Crack!
The sound of breaking bones was clear.
Before the man could scream, Obito had already taken the blade and stabbed it through his throat.
Another ninja launched a sneak attack from behind. A shuriken shot accurately toward the center of his back.
Obito did not even turn around.
His body shifted slightly.
The shuriken passed through his shoulder and embedded itself in a tree ahead.
Meanwhile, he had already turned around and punched the attacker in the face.
This punch carried endless despair and directly caved in the man's skull. Red and white matter splattered across the ground.
Some tried to hide with the Hidden Mist Technique.
But under the Mangekyo Sharingan's perception, they had nowhere to hide.
Obito killed every one of them.
His body was covered in blood. It dripped from his clothes and spread across the snow, forming patches of vicious red plum blossoms.
In the end, he used, "Wood Release: Hell Chaos!"
A single sweep cleared everything out.
The area around him was covered with corpses.
Obito did not bother with Kakashi nearby.
Instead, he tightly held Rin.
Suddenly, Obito sensed Arisu.
The moment he looked up, he saw Arisu standing not far away.
Obito, beneath the White Zetsu covering, clenched his teeth tightly.
"Why!? Why!? Why are Konoha's reinforcements always like this!?!"
"If you had come earlier... if you had arrived just a few seconds earlier, Rin wouldn't have died!!!"
Obito looked at Arisu with blood-red eyes.
He remembered being crushed under the giant rock before, when Minato had taken so long to arrive.
And now the same thing had happened with Rin.
"Who are you?"
Pretending not to recognize Obito, Arisu asked coldly.
Obito clenched his fists.
'Why did Konoha's reinforcements always arrive so late!?'
"Why did you only show up now!?"
Uchiha Obito roared at Arisu.
Tobi recognized Arisu at a glance and quickly said to Obito, "Obito, let's go!"
But Obito was on the verge of a mental breakdown. The only thing in his mind was resentment over why Konoha's reinforcements had arrived only now.
The next second, Obito charged straight at Arisu.
Arisu frowned inwardly. He had not expected Obito to direct his anger at him.
After all, he was the one who had helped Obito get his academy enrollment papers. Back then, Obito had even called him his benefactor.
But on second thought, Obito even killed his own teacher later, so it was not strange.
In the blink of an eye, Obito appeared in front of Arisu and immediately attacked with Wood Release while roaring,
"Why did you only come now!?"
Arisu moved instantly.
A hand strike swept across horizontally.
"Puff!"
Obito's pupils shrank.
He did not even have time to activate Kamui.
'How could that speed be so fast?!'
The next moment, the White Zetsu covering Obito's abdomen was instantly pierced through, and Obito was sent flying several meters away.
That one hit instantly brought Obito back to his senses.
Tobi also panicked.
It was not because he feared Obito would die. He knew Arisu would not kill anyone.
What he feared was disrupting the Great Sage's plan and failing his own Sage assessment.
Tobi quickly shouted, "Obito! Run!"
After regaining his senses, Obito did not hesitate.
Taking Rin with him, he used Kamui and left.