The sea of trees trembled violently.
The massive golden coffin of Rasa's Edo Tensei had been forcibly shattered open—its structure destroyed not by any special jutsu, but through raw, overwhelming power.
Standing atop a broken tree branch, Edo Rasa observed the impossible sight before him. His eyes narrowed with unease.
A monstrous blue figure loomed on the opposite end—its height exceeding twenty meters. Its eyes, like twin beams of focused light, glared through the sea of trees with an oppressive radiance. What had once been a skeletal form was now rapidly morphing. Layer after layer of ethereal muscle formed from pure chakra clung to the giant's frame, building a monstrous upper body out of sheer power.
Within moments, the full upper half of the Susanoo stood tall, complete in form, dominating the battlefield with godlike presence.
"Susanoo…" Orochimaru whispered from his hiding place in the shadows, seeing everything through the vision of the Edo Rasa. His voice trembled, not from fear, but pure, unrestrained excitement.
This wasn't just any Susanoo. It was the Susanoo—Uchiha Madara's legacy, the divine manifestation of the Uchiha clan's ultimate power. A power that once rivaled the First Hokage's mighty Wood Style. To Orochimaru, who had long yearned for forbidden knowledge and superior bodies, this was a dream made real.
"It actually broke the Gold Burial technique just by force alone…" he muttered with a gleam in his eye. "Is this the power of the true Susanoo? So magnificent… So enviable…"
In the heart of the forest, Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan gleamed. He looked calmly at the motionless Rasa, who still stood silently on his elevated perch.
"What's the matter?" Obito called out, smirking. "Surely the great Kazekage has more to offer than this. Aren't you one of the five Kage? This can't be your full strength."
Obito's Susanoo was still only in its second form. And yet, it was already overwhelming. He hadn't even begun to show his true hand.
Edo Rasa stayed silent for a beat, then waved his hand, summoning several scrolls that unraveled mid-air and dropped to the ground.
"You've misjudged me," Rasa said flatly. "I was only surprised. I didn't expect to see the divine power of the Uchiha revived in the ninja world."
With a boom, golden sand surged from the opened scrolls. It fluttered into the air like a shimmering storm, filling the sea of trees with radiant particles. It wrapped itself protectively and threateningly around Rasa's body.
"This battle has only just begun," Edo Rasa declared, extending his arms wide as the gold sand answered his call.
In the shadows, Orochimaru's excitement soared to new heights.
He didn't even spare a thought for Uchiha Sasuke anymore. Compared to this unknown Uchiha, Sasuke was merely a stepping stone. If he could get this body—this Susanoo—he could confront even Uchiha Itachi head-on.
"Magnet Style!" Rasa shouted. The sand around him quickly compressed into a massive, sharpened form. "Golden Sand Spear!"
The condensed spear of dense golden sand, glowing under the chakra he pumped into it, tore through the forest toward Obito like a missile.
Obito watched it come with a calm expression, then sneered.
"This usage of Magnet Style…" he murmured. "So crude."
He'd seen true mastery of Magnet Style. This was little more than brute-force molding. Rasa was relying on raw material strength rather than technique or creativity.
As the deadly spear came closer, Obito shouted, and Susanoo raised its massive hand to intercept it.
BOOM!
The golden spear slammed into the blue giant's palm. Susanoo staggered slightly, its feet digging into the earth, tearing up the forest floor—but that was it. It didn't fall. It didn't break.
"Godlike power indeed," Rasa murmured, admiration unwillingly slipping into his voice. "But… what about this?"
"Magnet Style: Golden Sand Cube!"
The remaining sand around Rasa surged forward, forming a massive cube, nearly ten meters on each side. Under his control, it compressed with terrifying weight. Then, it fell—fast and furious—toward Susanoo.
CRASH!
The moment it hit, Obito's Susanoo staggered backward, skidding along the forest floor. Dozens of trees were crushed beneath its retreat. Even the air trembled from the impact.
Inside Susanoo, Obito's eyes narrowed.
"Hmm," he muttered. "That was… actually impressive."
He tried to hold Susanoo steady, but even his chakra trembled slightly from the blow. The sheer weight of the cube had forced him to reconsider.
"This would be dangerous… even for a tailed beast," he admitted, eyes glowing.
Watching from the shadows, Orochimaru's lips curled into a wide smile.
This was the power of the Fourth Kazekage in his prime—a force capable of suppressing even a rampaging One-Tail. He had fused gold and chakra into a tool of absolute destruction.
But Obito… he hadn't even been serious yet.
"It seems," Obito said slowly, raising his eyes toward Rasa, "I was underestimating you."
His gaze sharpened. "Trying to defeat a Kage with just my second stage of power… That was arrogant."
Orochimaru's heart clenched. A chill ran down his spine.
Second stage?
Did that mean Obito still had more to show?
The air itself began to ripple.
Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan flared, and with it, a torrent of chakra erupted from his body. Like a tsunami of power, it surged outward, drowning the battlefield.
Susanoo began to grow again.
Twenty meters. Forty meters. Sixty meters.
And then—it stood. Towering above the canopy of the sea of trees, its legs now fully formed. No longer just an upper body, this Susanoo had become complete.
A towering, terrifying figure over one hundred meters tall now stood in the middle of the ancient ruins of Loulan, cloaked in blazing blue chakra. Wings extended from its back. Two colossal chakra swords hung at its waist. Its face—a demonic tengu mask—glared down with celestial fury.
"The real Susanoo," Obito said calmly. "Let me show you why it is called the power of God."
In that moment, Orochimaru forgot to breathe.
Even seeing it from afar—through Edo Rasa's eyes—he could feel his soul trembling. No. This wasn't a power humans should wield.
Obito slowly reached for one of the long chakra swords, pulling it free with a slow, deliberate motion. The weapon gleamed under the sunlight, humming with destructive force.
"Come now, Kazekage," Obito called. "Don't stop fighting."
Rasa said nothing. Even as an immortal puppet of Edo Tensei, his instincts screamed in horror.
If he were alive right now, his body would be drenched in cold sweat. What was he supposed to do? Throw himself at that sword?
Even Orochimaru, hiding far away, understood the horror. The golden cube just now had been Rasa's strongest move. And yet now, Obito's power had evolved into something far beyond that.
"I advise you to prepare your defenses," Obito said, leveling the sword down toward the silent Kazekage. "It's hard to strike with such force without stepping on ants."
It was a line His Majesty once spoke during the great war. A message to the old Kage—one that now, Obito found himself repeating.
But down below, neither Rasa nor Orochimaru thought he was showing off.
Because they knew—if Obito really swung that blade—there wouldn't be a single tree left standing in Loulan.
Rasa instinctively tried to summon a defensive barrier. Orochimaru clenched his fist from the shadows. For once, he wasn't thinking about stealing Obito's body.
He was wondering… how the hell do you stop a god?
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