Chapter 49: The Terrifying Dōjutsu "Ten no Tokotachi"!
"Do you hate your own powerlessness?"
"Do you hate your own weakness?"
"Do you hate this damn war?"
"Do you hate..."
Naruto held the lifeless Uchiha Hōtai in his arms. Even though the two had retreated while fighting until they were near the Konoha base, even though the signal flare for help had long been fired, and even though Naruto had blocked several blades for Uchiha Hōtai...
But the outcome was already decided. Uchiha Hōtai, who had followed Naruto for three years, was dead. This middle-aged man, who was a teacher, a friend, and a retainer, was dead...
"Go to hell!"
Blood and tears streamed from Naruto's eyes as he swung his blade again, seemingly unaware that the Sharingan in Uchiha Itachi's eyes—whose body he occupied—had changed.
The ninja sword in his hand suddenly unsheathed, tracing a streak of white light through the air. This streak was incredibly dazzling at that moment, as if it wanted to slice through space and flesh to strike directly at the soul!
At the moment the blade was swung a second ago, the result seemed predetermined for the next second. The blade's light tore through space and severed time, as if everything in the world were frozen, forced to watch in despair as the light approached inch by inch.
Just like Naruto's despair at this moment, everything in the world truly felt that same despair before this strike. They knew they would die; they knew that if they just moved, even if only by a tiny distance, they could avoid this light and escape their fate of being slain.
But despair is sometimes exactly like that: knowing what will happen but being powerless to stop it. It was the same for Naruto as he swung his blade, and for Uchiha Obito, who was currently frozen in space and time, unable to activate Kamui or move even an inch!
Naruto's slash appeared so slow in Uchiha Obito's eyes, but he knew it was an illusion. This only happened when a blade was so fast that it temporarily severed and interfered with the timeline around him.
This power, akin to that of a god or demon, rendered the usually invincible and elusive Kamuicompletely useless.
The feeling of standing still and waiting for death was just as helpless and desperate as when he had witnessed Rin Nohara die before his eyes...
When the lightning-fast blade light struck Uchiha Obito, he could clearly feel his flesh being torn apart and his internal bones being split in two—yet the process felt so incredibly slow!
This irrational despair made Uchiha Obitosomewhat regret his actions just now.
He knew very well that the ability Naruto gained after opening his Mangekyo Sharingan was entirely thanks to him. After all, a Mangekyo's Dōjutsu is closely related to the situation of the person at the time of Awakening.
While teasing and mocking Naruto by using the spatial ability of Kamui to kill his teammates one by one, Naruto's greatest wish was for his slashes and Ninjutsu to hit their mark—even to slice directly through space to reach Uchiha Obito hidden in his separate dimension!
What the heart desires, reality reflects, especially for the Mangekyo Sharingan, which prides itself on numerous bizarre Dōjutsu.
When Naruto used Uchiha Itachi's body to evolve the Sharingan into the Mangekyo, his first Dōjutsuwas already determined: "Ten no Tokotachi," which could freeze space and sever time!
"You've truly, completely amazed me!"
Uchiha Obito's body contained one-half White Zetsu. White Zetsu were cultivated by Uchiha Madara using the Gedo Statue and Hashirama cells, and the one used on Uchiha Obito was an elite among them.
Although half of his body was severed by Naruto's slash, empowered by the Dōjutsu "Ten no Tokotachi," it only temporarily stripped Uchiha Obito of his fighting strength and did not cause a fatal wound.
Furthermore, due to the dual pressure of Awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan and exhausting his Chakra, Naruto fell into a deep coma after delivering that Peak strike. This undoubtedly gave Uchiha Obito the chance to escape or even kill Naruto.
"Should we kill him?"
The combined form of Black Zetsu and White Zetsu emerged from the ground after deactivating the Mayfly Technique. Looking at Uchiha Obito, whose heart was exposed, he offered his suggestion.
"Although he is an indispensable part of the plan, he clearly shows signs of deviating from our original expectations. Keeping him might affect our future plans."
"Keep him!" Obito's voice trembled, but his body had already begun to heal rapidly. "It's just a small accident; there's no need to worry!"
"But his ability happens to counter yours. If we let him be, it could lead to unpredictable consequences for the plan to capture the Nine-Tailed."
Black Zetsu still didn't give up on persuading Obito. In Black Zetsu's view, it was better to eliminate such an unstable factor as soon as possible.
"My words have already taken root in his heart. I believe that when he realizes he cannot change any of this, he will voluntarily fall into our embrace." Uchiha Obito was clearly very confident in his persuasive skills. "At that time, the identity of Akatsuki's Vermilion Bird will be settled, and the success rate of capturing the Nine-Tailed—or even other Tailed Beasts—will increase significantly!"
"I hope you don't end up shooting yourself in the foot!" Seeing that the persuasion was fruitless, the "black and white conjoined twins" decisively activated the Mayfly Technique again, sinking into the ground and disappearing.
After resting for a moment, Uchiha Obito also activated Kamui and disappeared into a swirling spatial fluctuation.
...
After Naruto woke up from his injuries, the Konohahigher-ups learned that the Uchiha squad was nearly wiped out. They issued a transfer order, bringing Naruto back to the village and assigning him to the Anbu, which reported directly to the Hokage.
After this battle, although the Uchiha Clan gained a lot of prestige and Uchiha Fugaku's plan could officially begin, the blow to their own strength was real.
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan wasn't that easy to awaken. One must know that there were only about a dozen Uchiha Ninjas who had openly awakened the Three-Tomoe, and half of them were older generation Uchiha past their prime.
Despite the heavy losses for the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Fugaku was exceptionally excited. This was because Naruto had awakened the Mangekyo, a power far greater than ten pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan combined!
Furthermore...
So far, including Uchiha Fugaku, the Uchiha Clanhad two pairs of Mangekyo Sharingan. Since the two were blood relatives, if it came to it, sacrificing one to create the second pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan in Uchiha history wasn't impossible!
Because Naruto had awakened the Mangekyo, he gained access to more Uchiha secrets. It even reached the point where Uchiha Fugaku would provide detailed explanations whenever Narutoasked.
During his time in the Anbu, Naruto also successfully gained Hiruzen Sarutobi's trust through his own hard work and his familiarity with the man.
Naruto was not only promoted to Anbu Squadron Leader but also began acting as a double agent, jumping back and forth between the Konohahigher-ups and the Uchiha Clan!
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