"Kill him for me! Kill him!"
"Strike his soul with pain!"
Sasori roared internally, desperately trying to regain control of the soul puppet.
But no matter how he struggled, the puppet remained firmly gripped in Ryūjin's hand, completely unmoving.
Boom!
In the next instant, Ryūjin's fist pierced straight through Sasori's body. He reached inside and pulled out an oval-shaped container.
That object was Sasori's core, his true body and control center.
As long as this core was taken, Sasori's puppet body became nothing more than an empty shell. If the core were placed into another puppet, he could be revived again.
In that sense, the form of immortality pursued by Orochimaru had already been perfectly achieved by Sasori.
The moment Ryūjin removed Sasori's core, the connection to the fourth scroll puppet was severed. The soul puppet vanished instantly.
Without hesitation, Ryūjin activated his Kamui and sent the core into the Kamui Dimension.
Originally, he intended to finish Sasori off completely. However, the appearance of that soul puppet had caught his interest.
If he could understand it, he would gain another absurdly powerful weapon.
A technique that directly targeted the soul.
Thud!
Sasori's puppet body collapsed to the ground. As it fell, Ryūjin caught sight of its back and immediately understood.
That terrifying puppet had come from Sasori's fourth scroll.
Each of Sasori's four scrolls was stronger than the last. The fourth had never been revealed before, and no one knew what it contained.
Ryūjin had not expected it to be this ridiculous.
However, what he did not know was that this technique came at a heavy cost. The soul puppet could not be controlled through ordinary means. It required direct manipulation through the user's own soul.
The attack Sasori had launched moments ago had already caused serious damage to himself.
In his current state, even if the core still existed, whether Sasori could ever recover was uncertain.
After dealing with everything, Ryūjin cleared away the surrounding gold dust.
At a distance, Obito Uchiha saw Ryūjin standing unharmed, while Sasori lay motionless on the ground.
"Sasori is dead."
There was no surprise in Obito's eyes. Once this man decided to kill, survival was never an option.
Ryūjin casually stored Sasori's puppet body into the Kamui Dimension, then began walking toward Obito.
Obito's expression darkened.
"Obito, let's abandon the Nine-Tails for now."
A figure rose from the ground, its head wrapped in a pitcher plant, half black and half white.
Black Zetsu and White Zetsu had appeared.
"Damn it! What nonsense are you talking about!" Obito snapped.
Was he really going to retreat again?
"You know this is the correct choice," Black Zetsu said calmly. "You've seen his abilities. Even with the Rinnegan, you wouldn't win."
"Shut up. Your voice is annoying," Obito replied coldly.
He hated to admit it, but the gap between him and Ryūjin was obvious.
Taking the Nine-Tails from him was nearly impossible.
"Damn it..."
His fists clenched tightly.
"Let's withdraw for now," Black Zetsu continued. "There will always be another opportunity."
After a moment of silence, Obito exhaled slowly.
"Our goal is to destroy Konoha. The Nine-Tails is just a means. Even without it, I can still achieve everything."
He paused briefly, then added,
"Leaving it here to keep this Uchiha occupied isn't retreat. It's strategy."
With that, he convinced himself.
A space vortex formed in front of him as he prepared to enter the Kamui Dimension.
But he overlooked one crucial detail.
The moment Kamui connected the real world to its dimension, Ryūjin could sense every Flying Thunder God Technique mark inside.
And there were several.
During the battle, Obito had absorbed Ryūjin's marked kunai into his dimension. On top of that, Ryūjin had secretly placed a mark on Obito himself.
This gave him a perfect opportunity.
As Obito's body phased into the Kamui Dimension and the connection began to close,
Swish!
Ryūjin vanished instantly.
He had already left a shadow clone behind, so there was nothing to worry about outside.
The next moment, inside the Kamui Dimension.
Obito had just landed when he felt a hand press down on his shoulder.
"In here, you can't use intangibility, right, Obito?"
Ryūjin's voice sounded behind him.
Before Obito could react further, the pressure disappeared.
Ryūjin had not attacked.
That alone surprised him.
Turning around, Obito stared at him coldly.
"Even if you tried, you couldn't kill me."
"So confident?" Ryūjin replied casually. "Izanagi, right?"
Izanagi could rewrite reality itself. With that, Obito had every reason to be confident.
Obito's expression stiffened.
This feeling, being completely seen through, irritated him.
"You hide your face and act mysterious. What gives you the right to stand above me?" Obito shot back.
Ryūjin shrugged.
"Says the guy wearing a mask all day."
Obito fell silent.
"Relax. I didn't come here to argue," Ryūjin continued. "I have something to ask you."
Obito frowned slightly.
"You actually need something from me?"
"Even trash has its uses," Ryūjin said flatly. "You're no exception."
Obito's temper flared, but he held it back.
"Talk."
"Do you know about the Infinite Tsukuyomi?"
The moment the words left Ryūjin's mouth, Obito froze.
"...What did you just say?"
For a second, he thought he misheard.
How could anyone else know about the Infinite Tsukuyomi?
"Where did you hear that?" Obito demanded, his voice low.
"So you do know," Ryūjin said, sounding satisfied. "Good. I asked the right person."
"Answer me."
Ryūjin waved it off.
"The same way you did."
"Impossible."
Obito's mind raced.
He had always believed he was the sole inheritor of Madara Uchiha's will.
But now, that certainty wavered.
"Why not?" Ryūjin replied calmly. "The stone tablet at Naka Shrine is right there. If you can read it, so can I."
He added casually,
"Don't act like you're the only one with the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan."
Obito was completely thrown off.
After a brief pause, he recalled something.
Madara had once mentioned that the Eye of the Moon Plan came from the Six Paths Sage, recorded on the tablet at Naka Shrine.
"So you saw it there too," Obito said slowly. "Is that why you're after the Nine-Tails?"
"I finally found someone who understands," Ryūjin replied, almost amused. "I've been wanting to talk about this."
Obito narrowed his eyes.
"What exactly are you getting at?"
Ryūjin looked directly at him.
"I think the plan is fake."
The words hit like a shockwave.
Obito's expression changed instantly.
===
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