After extracting the dusky chakra, Chiya glanced around the empty hall, then moved on a thought.
"System, begin today's sign-in."
DING! "Sign-in successful. Reward: Indra's chakra."
A new orb of light spun into his mind.
"Indra: elder son of the Sage of Six Paths, brother to Ashura, born with the Eye of the Sage and overwhelming power. Indra's chakra is the key to awakening the Rinnegan."
"Indra's chakra?"
Excitement edged his face. Whether it boosted his raw strength or not, the real prize was the door it opened. With this, he lacked only Ashura's chakra to complete the set.
He had Wood Release and the Eternal Mangekyo already.
Seeing no one around, Chiya simply activated the orb on the spot. Indra's chakra surged into his eyes.
He closed them, feeling the changes. His chakra rose a little in both volume and purity. The most obvious shift was the way his ocular power thickened, and how quickly it now recovered.
One look at the cavern's low ceiling told him to shelve any idea of calling forth Susanoo. Still, he was certain he could now cast techniques while maintaining the complete form.
With the palace mostly wrecked by his passage, Chiya flickered, rising toward the surface. He had done what he came to do. The war should be nearly over, and Madara would not dare move on Obito again in the short term.
Time to go home. This hole had nothing worth staying for. Konoha had food when you were hungry and hot springs when you were tired.
He broke into the light and swept his senses across the land. Obito and his two teammates were alive and kicking, but a tight cluster of signatures pressed around them. His brows drew together.
Iwa-nin.
At this point Minato should have arrived to break the encirclement. Had the team's hasty exit from the cave made them miss the rendezvous?
He watched the crisis harden around the three and knew he would not stand aside. A big brother guarded his little brothers. Besides, Obito no longer had any protective scroll on him.
"Fine. One move will do."
He fixed Obito's position, set a white mask over his face, and vanished.
The three, fresh from the cave-in, had planned to hide first. Instead, they ran headlong into a large Iwa squad. The patrol marked the stragglers and did not rush, signaling for reinforcements until a full ring formed.
As captain, Suma-shi wanted them taken alive for interrogation. Hands blurred.
"Earth Release: Fissure Hand."
VMMM!
The ground convulsed. Earthen palms heaved up and folded in toward the trio.
Even Kakashi saw no path out. As the earthen hands closed, a thread of despair slid into him. He had nothing left.
Obito clenched his fists, jaw set. The taste of helplessness pressed on his lungs, heavy and cruel.
Then the air rippled.
A white-masked figure dropped between them and the enemy in a flash of light.
Chiya's palms touched earth.
"Wood Release: World of Trees."
A flood of sage chakra poured downward. Towering trunks punched through the dirt and rock, rearing skyward in heartbeats.
Trees have roots, and roots anchor the land.
The rising forest drank in the shock of the Fissure Hand and broke it like a wave on a cliff, enclosing both the three Konoha ninja and every Iwa-nin within a living wall.
Branches budded and lengthened under the push of sage chakra.
SHLCK!
In moments, wooden spears punched cleanly through most of the Iwa soldiers, feeding their lives back into the growing grove.
"Wood Release?!"
"I thought no one could use that anymore."
Suma-shi's voice cracked. He had never seen Hashirama, but he knew the god of shinobi in story and song. This was the power that toyed with tailed beasts.
More branches pressed in. His strength ebbed. New roots coiled around him, pinning him tight.
Across the trees, a blurred figure strode into view. Suma-shi's breath came thin and ragged under the choking bind. All he could make out was the pale mask.
"Who are you... how can you... use Wood Release?"
Chiya did not answer. He plucked the man's pouch free instead. There would be something useful inside. The faster the war ended, the sooner Obito went home. His grandmother worried.
He had what he needed. The branches surged.
SHLCK!
Suma-shi joined the others as nourishment for the grove.
"Good harvest here come spring."
Chiya returned to the three, handed the pouch to Kakashi, then held Obito's gaze for a long heartbeat. Space cracked. He was gone.
The three were left staring, utterly stunned.