It was as if Kurogane Ren had gathered all of his remaining chakra into this single technique. The moment several Vacuum Waves shot toward Uchiha Obito, the chakra around his body seemed to be completely drained.
A smile curved on Obito's lips as he stepped forward, completely ignoring the incoming Vacuum Waves.
However, after passing through his body, the Vacuum Waves did not dissipate. Instead, they abruptly changed direction, slashing toward the joint where the massive arm of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path connected to its body.
Seeing this, Nagato's eyes flickered. It was time for him to fulfill his promise.
At some point, a black rod had once again emerged from his back, reconnecting him to the Demonic Statue.
"What?!"
Sensing the shift in trajectory, Obito turned sharply to look at the statue.
The Vacuum Waves struck the same point on the statue's shoulder joint again and again, more than a dozen times in rapid succession.
Though this technique was powerful enough to cut through early-stage Susanoo, it still seemed insufficient against the Demonic Statue. And yet…
The enormous arm, dozens of meters long, suddenly snapped off. It separated cleanly from the statue and began to fall from the sky.
In that instant, Obito's eyes widened. So the target had been the statue all along?
All those previous attacks had merely been a distraction. And Kurogane Ren, who now appeared to be out of chakra… was he really?
Even though Obito didn't want to admit it, the answer surfaced clearly in his mind.
No.
It had all been an act.
"How cunning," Obito cursed inwardly as he dashed toward the falling arm, intending to store it in the Kamui dimension.
Even if the opponent only wanted a single arm, he would not let him succeed.
Kurogane Ren watched this unfold without making a move to stop him. After all, with Kamui, stopping him was nearly impossible.
If the arm actually fell, it might indeed become difficult for him to secure it. But from the very beginning, he had never intended to let it fall.
On the surface of the severed arm, intricate sealing markings began to spread rapidly from a single point, covering it entirely in an instant.
Kurogane Ren spoke casually, "I never said I only made one shadow clone."
While he had been bombarding Obito with ninjutsu to draw everyone's attention, it wasn't just to position his Wind Release attack. One of his shadow clones had already used Earth Release to move undetected onto the Demonic Statue.
The statue itself was far too large to seal entirely. It would require too much time and effort. But a single arm…
Still massive, but manageable.
"What is this?" Obito noticed the sealing markings.
In the next moment, the enormous arm vanished into a puff of white smoke. In its place, a gigantic scroll dropped from the sky, landing in the hands of Kurogane Ren's shadow clone, who stood atop the statue's shoulder.
"Tch. I was hoping to collect the whole creature, but it seems I'll have to settle for just an arm," the clone said with a grin.
Obito narrowed his eyes and rushed toward the clone. His target was clear—the massive sealing scroll in its hands.
The clone yawned lazily, seemingly unconcerned, and even tossed the scroll up into the air.
Though puzzled, Obito still shifted his focus toward it, intending to seize it.
But in the next instant, the scroll vanished from his sight.
Obito halted mid-motion. A mocking chuckle reached his ears as the clone dispersed into a puff of smoke.
"Summoning Technique," Obito said, turning his gaze toward Kurogane Ren's original body.
"That's right. You're not the only one who can use space-time ninjutsu," Kurogane Ren replied with a shrug. Though not particularly useful in combat, it still counted as such.
"Seems you've outplayed me," Obito said, suppressing his anger.
"Is that so? I originally wanted the entire Demonic Statue, but thanks to you, I could only take a small part of it," Kurogane Ren replied with a hint of dissatisfaction.
Of course, he was lying. From the start, he knew he couldn't obtain the full statue, so he had never expected it. Naturally, there was nothing to regret.
That said, if Obito hadn't shown up and he had a real chance to claim the entire statue, he definitely wouldn't have held back.
Hearing this, Obito's expression finally eased slightly. At least he had managed to stop him.
He glanced at the statue, now missing one arm. It could regenerate, and the main body remained intact. What the other party took was only a small portion.
It wasn't a big problem.
At least, that's how Obito reassured himself.
Kurogane Ren then looked toward Nagato and Konan. "Our agreement is fulfilled. I didn't get the entire statue, but that's not your fault."
Nagato and Konan both glanced at him.
Even though he had attacked them earlier, it was strangely difficult to hate him now.
Nagato recalled the shock he felt when Kurogane Ren's shadow clone had approached him from underground. At the time, he thought the man was blaming them for Obito's interference.
But that wasn't the case.
He had only asked Nagato to use the Rinnegan to separate the statue's arm at the shoulder joint. With Obito present, obtaining the entire statue was impossible, so he settled for a piece instead.
The statue's durability had proven troublesome, which was why he had sought Nagato's help.
As for the Vacuum Waves, they had merely been for show—to deceive Obito. The actual severing of the arm had been done by Nagato.
After all, Nagato had already agreed to give him the entire statue. Helping with this was nothing more than a small favor.
Konan replayed everything in her mind. Even the one who used space-time ninjutsu had been deceived, so it made sense that she had fallen for the Water Release shadow clone earlier.
"Well then, farewell."
With a light laugh, Kurogane Ren's body turned into white smoke and vanished.
There had been no Body Flicker movement, meaning this too was the Summoning Technique.
Obito watched silently, his gaze cold. If the man had left by normal means, the White Zetsu scattered nearby could have tracked him and uncovered his identity.
But now, finding this mysterious figure again would be far more difficult.
He reviewed the techniques Kurogane Ren had used. The Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique belonged to Konoha, but the Water Prison Technique was from the Hidden Mist.
Combined with his apparent habit of collecting techniques, it was impossible to determine his origin based on ninjutsu alone.
He would just have to keep a closer watch on both Konoha and the Hidden Mist.
With that thought, Obito turned his gaze toward Nagato and Konan. Seeing the wariness in their eyes, he silently cursed Kurogane Ren again.
But it didn't matter. Even if they distrusted him now, he still had to form an alliance with them.