Time flowed on, and half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
In the small town beside the capital of the Land of Fire, bustling crowds moved ceaselessly through the streets.
Shouts from vendors rose one after another, but if one looked closely, they would notice that each of these people was extremely sharp.
Even with smiles on their faces, their gazes would still sweep warily around them from time to time.
Clearly, these fellows were not as simple as they appeared.
Inside a tall building, the defenses here were even more stringent, and every now and then members of the Anbu patrolled past.
Yet even in such a heavily guarded environment, inside a room in the high-rise, Deidara was looking at Kitagawa Gen and Terumi Mei with excitement written all over his face.
"How rare, huh. We finally get to meet again, hmm!"
"It's not that rare. I remember I saw you just a month ago."
Kitagawa Gen sat casually at the table with a slight smile, then curiously asked a question.
"And why don't I see the Third Tsuchikage? He trusts you to come?"
"Tch, this time I'm the full representative, you know!"
Deidara puffed out his chest and spoke with a cheeky grin.
"Besides, the Third Hokage didn't come, the Fourth Mizukage didn't come—this is our era now, hmm!"
"All right, let's talk business."
Terumi Mei also gave a small smile, but then she grew serious.
"About Akatsuki, I think we need to have a proper discussion. They've gone too far."
"That's right. Not just Konohagakure—we've suffered too, hmm."
Speaking of Akatsuki, Deidara also looked extremely annoyed.
"And I heard things happened to you as well, and Sunagakure isn't doing any better."
"You almost joined them once, too."
Kitagawa Gen blinked and spoke from the side with a mischievous grin.
"If we hadn't arrived in time, you'd be a member of Akatsuki right now."
"Hmph, I only lost to them, that's all."
Hearing his own embarrassing story, Deidara's face darkened a bit.
"Anyway, don't let me run into them. Sooner or later, I'm going to take care of them all!"
"If you really could, you wouldn't have lost."
Terumi Mei heard this and couldn't help teasing them, and the three "Kage" immediately began bickering noisily.
The three of them were young, and three years ago they had even gone to Kumogakure together to fight once; their relationship with one another was very good.
"Tch, you haven't even been confirmed yet, and you're already calling yourself 'Kage'."
Watching the three of them from behind, Naruto felt an overwhelming sense of envy.
"And clearly they're supposed to be discussing proper business—so why does it sound like they're chatting about everyday life?"
"That's right."
Off to the side, Kurotsuchi couldn't help nodding, while Chōjūrō gave a somewhat shy smile.
"Actually… this isn't so bad. People only act like this when they get along."
"It's just kind of boring."
Sasuke muttered quietly from the side, which Shikamaru fully agreed with.
"Exactly. Boring and troublesome. When everyone knows each other this well, the follow-up will either go very smoothly or be incredibly difficult."
"What are you thinking so much for? When are we eating?"
Chōji didn't care about any of that; right now he just felt starving. After all, since he had to watch his image, he didn't dare eat anything.
"So hungry…"
"You—could you rein it in a little?"
Ino spoke with some dissatisfaction, lowering her voice.
"Don't embarrass us—especially don't embarrass Gen."
"…"
Chōji looked at Ino speechlessly, while Kakashi didn't pay much attention to them. He was standing beside Nohara Rin, quietly asking: "How is it? Feeling okay?"
"Mm…"
Nohara Rin nodded, then let out a small sigh.
"Much better, Kakashi. I've more or less adapted by now…"
Nohara Rin had already been awake for a while and had properly absorbed the information from this period.
To her, this era was truly unfamiliar. Fortunately, Kakashi and the Fourth Hokage couple were around—otherwise, it really would have been difficult for her to accept.
But she had also learned about Obito, which she truly struggled to handle.
She couldn't understand how the Obito who had been so full of passion back then had turned into what he was now.
"That's good."
Kakashi nodded and smiled.
"Compared to before, this era is a lot more peaceful. There are still some troubles, but at least it's a bit better than the past."
"Mm."
Nohara Rin nodded, but after a brief silence she suddenly asked in a low voice: "I heard… when you carry out missions, you often run into Obito?"
"Mm…"
Kakashi nodded awkwardly. Although it made him look a bit unlucky, it was the truth.
"Then…"
Nohara Rin took a deep breath, then couldn't help asking softly: "This time… will we run into Obito?"
But just as her voice fell, the alarms throughout the entire high-rise suddenly blared.
…
"Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation is already in place, so…"
Outside the small town in the Land of Fire, Obito fixed his gaze on the distance, then turned to look at the two people beside him.
"Are you ready?"
"No problem for me."
Nagato replied indifferently, while Kimimaro simply nodded calmly.
After preparing for several days, they had finally waited for the day of the "Kage Summit," and they had naturally arrived as planned.
Looking at the small town not far away, they knew that was their destination, and they also knew this time would not be easy.
"In that case, get ready to move."
Obito nodded, but after glancing at the two of them he continued: "I'll repeat it once more—this time is extremely dangerous. Kitagawa Gen is there too. If you're even slightly careless, I may not be able to save you."
"No need for you to say that."
Kimimaro spoke now. His strength had been rising rapidly during this period, and he wanted to see his own limits.
Nagato also let out a soft snort, his gaze even more resolute.
"Kitagawa Gen, huh. This is what I'm looking forward to."
Kimimaro didn't concern him at all, but he had seen Obito's growth.
And then there was Uchiha Madara—this guy gave him an oppressive feeling.
This man's presence stirred a vague sense of crisis in his heart.
He had once focused his sights solely on Kitagawa Gen, and even on Ōtsutsuki Genshiki!
He needed to keep moving forward, keep fighting, because…
"I am the representative of the Sage of Six Paths in the human world. I will walk the Six Paths again—I absolutely cannot lose!"
Nagato had his own pride; there was no way he would accept such a situation.
"That's good. But I need to make one thing clear first."
Obito nodded, and his Sharingan had already taken the shape of the Mangekyō, slowly rotating.
"I can't determine exactly where they're holding the meeting. We can only confirm it after going inside, so—"
Before his voice even finished, a signal flare shot into the sky, and the space around them distorted.
In an instant, they had already entered the high-rise!
"There are enemies! Be careful!"
"Enemy attack! Hurry, call for reinforcements!"
The moment they appeared, the ninjas around them immediately noticed their presence.
Obito's cold voice echoed at this moment.
"We'll cut our way in, then confirm things slowly."
...
"Has the operation started?"
Outside the town, Kakuzu looked at the signal flare rising into the sky and cracked his neck.
"Completely insane—attacking a place like this. It's even harder to handle than a village."
"But that's what makes it exciting, isn't it."
Hidan's face was full of excitement as he muttered: "Don't know if that kappa is here or not. I've waited seven years for him, yet he still hasn't told me who that damn dead-last is!"
"Nutjob."
Biwa Jūzō couldn't help saying under his breath, and Kurosuki Raiga also couldn't resist complaining.
"Kisame didn't come—should've let him die too, then he'd cooperate better with our operation."
"All right, enough of that."
Kakuzu shook his head. He glanced at Sasori, whose expression had been dark and silent ever since returning from Sunagakure—
And at Uchiha Itachi, who seemed to have fallen completely into withdrawal and hardly spoke anymore—then issued his command.
"Begin the operation. Our mission is just to hold off the people outside and keep them from reinforcing."
"The rest… will depend on their own performance!"
...
"Seriously? We haven't even started and someone is already causing trouble?"
Deidara stared at the blaring alarms and couldn't help tightening his lips.
"At least the Chūnin Exams lasted a few rounds. Is this progress or regression, hmm?"
"And there are quite a lot of them."
Terumi Mei glanced at Ao behind her, and after confirming a few things, she immediately warned: "Many Impure World Reincarnation shinobi have arrived outside. And inside the building, three people are attacking—those three don't look simple."
"Three people? Interesting."
Kitagawa Gen leaned back in his chair. After thinking for a moment, he spoke: "But this is fine. Let's deal with them first, then talk slowly afterward. It's better than the Chūnin Exams—otherwise we'd have to take them again."
Kitagawa Gen truly didn't find anything surprising about this attack from Akatsuki.
In his memory, Obito had done similar things, and although he didn't know the exact reason now—
Perhaps under the influence of "Ōtsutsuki Rin," he needed to keep fighting to release the "Kāma," or maybe he had some other idea.
All in all, nothing this guy did was ever surprising.
'And those guys will be coming too—this is almost too good.'
Kitagawa Gen let out a faintly mischievous smile in his heart. He couldn't help looking forward to these Ōtsutsuki's performance.
"What do we do now?"
Deidara stood up, cracking his neck with an excited look—he wished for nothing more than for Akatsuki to die!
"That's right. This is the Land of Fire—we'll follow your lead."
Terumi Mei stood up as well, a faint smile appearing on her face.
"Even if they're just a bunch of undead, I haven't forgotten what happened to the Land of Water."
"Since everyone is so eager—"
Kitagawa Gen stood up. He swept his gaze across everyone present before finally speaking.
"Then let's go give them a proper lesson!"
...
Inside the building hosting the Three Kage Summit, Nagato and Kimimaro flickered continuously among the many shinobi.
The ninjas stationed here were either elite or Anbu, yet they could barely withstand a few exchanges against the two of them!
After all, Nagato was now in an almost "complete" state, while Kimimaro could feel an endless surge of power coursing through his body.
The more he fought, the more he felt his own power continuously amplifying.
"Looks like your Kāma is performing well."
Within the consciousness space built through the chakra link, Isshiki looked at everything happening outside and couldn't help speaking.
"Your physical traits are excellent, and you even have the Byakugan. Your luck is quite good."
"It is indeed good."
Urashiki nodded, but he still maintained his distance, even sneaking a glance at Isshiki.
'As expected, nothing but lies. Saying you endured a thousand years in the shinobi world—yet you failed to notice such a good vessel. Who are you trying to fool?'
Isshiki had no idea what Urashiki was thinking. Watching Obito strolling through the battle, he couldn't help cursing inwardly: 'What a loss—ending up possessing such an idiot. How are you supposed to speed up the Kāma's release and get stronger if you don't fight seriously?!'
When it came to Obito, Isshiki was already somewhat despairing. He even regretted not choosing that guy called Nagato back then.
Of course, even if he got another chance, he might not actually choose Nagato either.
After all, that guy was thinking about going after Genshiki, that lunatic.
"Right—how long until Momoshiki and Kinshiki arrive?"
Although he was displeased, Isshiki still couldn't help asking a question.
"It's been too quiet lately—something feels off."
"I don't know either. They'll probably be here soon."
Urashiki shook his head. He was actually confused as well, and in his heart, he was the one who hoped the two of them would arrive the most.
'Once you're here, I'll really be safe.'
These two Ōtsutsuki were spectating, and likewise in a half-observing state was Obito.
After taking so many hits of "divine punishment," he now habitually kept himself in Kamui at all times—
Afraid some attack would suddenly appear from who knows where and blow him to pieces.
"Not bad—these two."
Obito watched Nagato and Kimimaro continuously launching attacks, and his brows furrowed.
"Especially this Kimimaro. Why do I feel something isn't quite right—and something strangely familiar?"
Obito felt something odd, but he didn't have time to think about it, because he suddenly realized his Kamui was being affected!
"Mm?"
His brow twitched, and as though suddenly realizing something, he instantly turned to the side.
[Zzzzz—]
The sound of Chidori echoed beside his ear, and he immediately understood who had arrived.
"Kakashi!"
Obito let out a low shout. In an instant he spun around, Susanoo manifesting around his body.
"You're still using my power? But do you really think I'm the same as before?!"
[Clang—]
Chidori struck his Susanoo in an instant, but this time, Chidori could not penetrate even the slightest bit into his body!
Looking at the figure that had suddenly appeared before him, Obito's lips curled into a cold smile.
"Didn't expect you to be here too—this is perfect."
In his current state, he no longer placed Kakashi in his eyes, even though Kakashi had once beaten him so badly he wished he were dead.
But now, under "Rin's" encouragement, he had achieved a qualitative leap. He was no longer the same person he had been!
Except—
As Obito's peripheral vision swept over the ninjas rushing toward him, his entire body suddenly froze.
The exposed Sharingan in his socket flushed with blood, and in disbelief he stared at the distant figure gazing back at him.
His body began to tremble, and his mouth couldn't help murmuring in a low whisper: "Impossible—how could this be!"
And at that moment, a gentle voice—one that felt like a dream calling him home—echoed out: "Are you… Obito?"
"…"
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