Two towering giants collided.
The ground was crushed beneath their feet, the air twisted, and the intense tremors made the surroundings feel as though they had been struck by an earthquake.
The battle between two people was comparable to the clash of two armies.
The longer they fought, the more anxious Obito Uchiha became.
The Nine-Tails, on which he had spent so much effort and placed such high hopes, could not even approach Sunagakure.
It had been directly entangled by Rasa's ninjutsu.
And under the circumstances of restraining the Nine-Tails, Rasa still had enough spare strength to contend with him, who possessed dual Mangekyo Sharingan.
In Obito Uchiha's eyes, this was simply inconceivable.
"Why is Rasa so strong?"
Even after he used Susanoo, the other party actually used Susanoo as well.
And it was taller than his.
Larger than his.
Stronger than his.
For a moment, Obito Uchiha could not help doubting who the real Uchiha was.
Before coming here, Obito Uchiha had been overflowing with confidence.
He had thought this revenge battle would certainly end in victory.
But Obito Uchiha had never imagined that Rasa's strength would far exceed the level shown in his intelligence.
He had become far stronger than last time.
Obito Uchiha did not know whether Rasa had hidden his strength last time, or whether he had made such huge progress during this short period.
But either possibility filled Obito Uchiha with a powerful sense of defeat.
And now, this was no longer merely a question of frustration.
Obito Uchiha felt that he might truly lose.
He could not help panicking.
This operation was an operation of the entire Akatsuki.
If every other member of Akatsuki successfully captured their jinchuriki and Tailed Beasts while he alone failed, how was he supposed to face Nagato and Konan?
The mighty Uchiha Madara, unable to defeat a single Rasa?
What kind of Uchiha Madara was that?
Would that not make Konan and Nagato suspect him even more?
Would it affect his Eye of the Moon Plan?
"The Eye of the Moon Plan absolutely cannot fail."
"Rin is still waiting for me."
Obito Uchiha's gaze shifted toward the Nine-Tails.
"Now, I can only try this."
The pattern in Obito Uchiha's eyes rotated once more.
The Nine-Tails, which had already been struggling fiercely as though it had fallen into a berserk state, became even more violent under Obito Uchiha's action.
Gradually, some of the sand began to break away from the Nine-Tails.
At that instant, the chakra volume far greater than the other Tailed Beasts erupted violently.
"Roar!"
Obito Uchiha's eyes lit up.
"It worked!"
"As long as the Nine-Tails can break through, it can attack Sunagakure. In all of Sunagakure, aside from Rasa, no one can restrain the Nine-Tails. Not even Pakura or Chiyo."
"Once Sunagakure is attacked, Rasa will have no choice but to return and stop it."
"Just like Teacher Minato back then."
"This is my chance to reverse the situation."
Obito Uchiha's eyes were filled with expectation as he stared fixedly at the Nine-Tails.
At this moment, a small half of the Nine-Tails' body had already escaped the range of Antlion Hell.
Much of the flowing sand on its body had also been cleared away under the effect of its chakra.
"Inari!"
A pea seed was shot out by Rasa and landed beside the Nine-Tails.
The next moment, that pea seed suddenly split open and grew at a speed visible to the naked eye.
It became extremely long and extremely thick, resembling a python as it coiled toward the Nine-Tails.
It wrapped the Nine-Tails' entire body tightly.
This sudden change startled Obito Uchiha.
But the Nine-Tails was even more startled.
The appearance of this giant pea vine awakened certain unpleasant memories within the Nine-Tails.
Back then, when facing Hashirama Senju, the Nine-Tails had been suppressed and defeated by attacks similar to this.
A Tailed Beast had been crushed like a helpless chick.
It was far too terrifying.
The ability Rasa was using now could not be considered Wood Release, but its displayed effect was not much different from Wood Release.
The Nine-Tails instantly panicked and was once again dragged deep into Antlion Hell by the flowing sand.
Antlion Hell.
Inari.
Toyokumono.
One S-rank ninjutsu and two Mangekyo Sharingan abilities.
They made it impossible for the Nine-Tails to break free.
And in a certain corner, there was also a figure secretly stealing the Nine-Tails' chakra.
It was none other than Samehada.
Obito Uchiha's eyes widened.
"Wood Release?"
"How do you know Wood Release?"
"Could it be that you also possess the bloodline of the Senju clan?"
"Impossible!"
"How could someone possess both Uchiha and Senju bloodlines at the same time, awaken both the Mangekyo Sharingan and Wood Release, and still be someone from Sunagakure? That makes no sense!"
The feeling in Obito Uchiha's heart was no longer panic.
At this moment, what appeared was fear.
By now, Obito Uchiha had already realized that he might be completely unable to defeat Rasa.
Unless he could gather more Tailed Beasts.
In this battle, he was destined to lose.
Obito Uchiha no longer had the energy to worry about how he would face Nagato and Konan if his operation failed.
Right now, Obito Uchiha had only one thought.
He had to run.
Other problems could all be solved later.
But if he died, then there would be no hope left at all.
"It doesn't matter if I die, but I still haven't seen Rin again."
Obito Uchiha gathered chakra and launched an even more violent counterattack.
But in reality, he was trying to create an opportunity to escape.
"Again! Again! Again!"
"Nine-Tails, put in some effort too!"
Finally, Obito Uchiha saw an opportunity.
In an instant, Susanoo disappeared.
Obito Uchiha's figure suddenly retreated.
"Kamui!"
An invisible vortex appeared.
Obito Uchiha's figure was just about to be absorbed into that vortex.
But how could Rasa possibly let Obito Uchiha escape so easily?
Since Obito Uchiha had already begun his operation to capture the Tailed Beasts, and had already attacked Sunagakure—
Then he was Sunagakure's enemy.
The reason Rasa had not targeted Obito Uchiha before was simply because Obito had not threatened Sunagakure.
Not only had he not threatened Sunagakure, he had even acted as a troublemaker in the shinobi world.
Throwing the shinobi world into chaos benefited Rasa.
But after today, Rasa knew that Obito Uchiha would definitely regard Sunagakure—and himself—as his number one enemy.
Even though he had gained the upper hand against Obito Uchiha, Rasa had to admit that Obito Uchiha's strength was indeed very powerful.
He ranked among the very top of the shinobi world.
If such an enemy lurked in the dark and retaliated against Sunagakure, he would be extremely difficult to deal with.
Therefore, Rasa absolutely could not allow Obito Uchiha to leave today.
Obito Uchiha thought this was his chance.
But Rasa had also been waiting for this moment when Obito relaxed his guard.
"Targeted Transformation Technique!"
"Wild Dog!"
A special technique descended and landed on Obito Uchiha.
Obito Uchiha realized something was wrong.
But he did not realize just how wrong things were about to become.