Facing this sudden and deadly ambush, Obito did not even turn his head. A cold ripple of Ti Ze Nv Ming Power flowed within his scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Buzz.
The moment Mei Terumi's palm touched Obito's body, it passed straight through without resistance. As Mei Terumi moved from behind to the front, Obito's illusory body instantly became solid, and he grabbed for Mei Terumi's ankle without hesitation.
Boom!
Cold light flashed in Mei Terumi's eyes as Tailed Beasts Chakra surged from her body. In an instant, boiling crimson Chakra wrapped her like a cloak, and three massive tails formed behind her, whipping like giant serpents.
With piercing shrieks that tore the air apart and terrifying force, the tails smashed down toward the now solid Obito. The ground trembled under the pressure of the strike.
Obito frowned slightly as the patterns of Mangekyō Sharingan Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun wildly in his eyes. A powerful and chilling aura erupted from Obito's body.
kacha! kacha! kacha!
Blue Chakra condensed into skeletal form, manifesting around him and rapidly constructing ribs and arms. Susanoo in its initial form took shape in an instant.
The blue skeletal arm shot upward to meet the descending crimson tail. The collision exploded with a deafening crash.
The crimson Tailed Beasts Chakra slammed into the Susanoo bones, sending visible shockwaves outward. Gravel and dust blasted in all directions as the ground cracked.
At the center of the clash, Obito did not move an inch. The skeletal arm of Susanoo held firm, showing only faint Sui Lie marks. Mei Terumi let out a muffled groan and was hurled backward.
She traced an awkward arc through the air before slamming into the ground dozens of meters away. The impact left her sprawled and momentarily stunned.
When everyone saw the Susanoo used by Obito, their expressions changed at once. A familiar name surfaced in their minds.
"Obito?"
Floating in midair, Onoki narrowed his eyes and sneered. "No, you should be called Obito. Just a brat from the Uchiha Clan pretending to be Obito."
"This power is nothing compared to that Guai monster."
"Naruto Uzumaki!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared fixedly at the two figures, then turned sharply toward Naruto Uzumaki and demanded, "Why are you here, and why are you acting together with Obito?!"
Since Naruto Uzumaki defected from Konoha years ago, he had never seen his former student again. Even Root had not expected Naruto Uzumaki to appear so suddenly, much less attack Ryoma without hesitation.
"Ke ke, old man, it really has been a long time."
Naruto Uzumaki slowly stood up as a hoarse, chilling laugh escaped from beneath his mask. "Let me give you all a little greeting gift first."
Before anyone could react, a painful groan echoed across the field. Sharp cracking sounds followed as kacha rang out.
Ryoma's left arm, the one that had struck Naruto Uzumaki, began to twist and deform without warning. Muscles writhed and collapsed beneath the skin, bones cracking as the arm warped into a grotesque shape.
It looked as though an invisible hand was twisting it into a knot. Even worse, the mutation spread rapidly up toward his shoulder and torso, visible to the naked eye.
Agony tore through both body and soul, veins bulging at Chakra's temples as his face turned the color of Ryoma. Yet his eyes burned even more fiercely.
"Argh!"
He forced down the pain and raised his intact right arm without hesitation. Lightning gathered along the edge of his hand as he shaped it into a blade.
A blinding flash erupted as he brought it down on his own left shoulder joint. The cut was clean and merciless.
With a heavy slicing sound, blood sprayed from the severed limb. Ryoma cut off his own left arm along with the spreading mutation, and the severed limb fell onto the scorched ground, still twitching in a disturbing way.
"Lord Ryoma!"
"Boss!"
Two-Tails Jinchuriki and Darui rushed over at once. Ryoma's body trembled from pain, but he clenched his teeth and made no sound as he drove his violent Chakra into motion.
Blue lightning wrapped around the bleeding stump. Intense light and heat burst forth, and the smell of burned flesh filled the air as the wound was cauterized.
The blood flow was forcibly stopped within moments. A sharp, deliberate round of applause followed.
Naruto Uzumaki clapped his hands and laughed. "As expected of Ryoma. Decisive and ruthless."
His ability completely restrained most Taijutsu Ninja, but Ryoma's physical strength resisted it well. Against an ordinary Taijutsu Ninja, Naruto Uzumaki could coil around the body like a snake and leave them far worse than losing an arm.
But facing a brute Guai like Ryoma, he might be torn apart before the mutation finished spreading.
Ryoma's face was pale from blood loss and pain, sweat pouring down his forehead. His bloodshot eyes stayed locked on Naruto Uzumaki.
"Naruto Uzumaki!" His voice carried compressed fury and cold intent. "You are courting death."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened as he looked at the twitching severed arm and the charred wound on Ryoma's shoulder. This was a power he had never seen before.
A single touch caused such horrific mutation of flesh. Was it an unknown poison, or some forbidden Ninjutsu?
"Naruto Uzumaki…"
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned toward him, pain clear in his voice. "In all these years away from Konoha, what exactly have you been doing?"
"Ke ke ke…"
Naruto Uzumaki let out a low, mocking laugh filled with cold amusement. "Thanks to you, old man, my life after leaving Konoha has been quite exciting."
His gaze slid over everyone present like a venomous snake. A flicker of concealed Zetsu and malice flashed through his golden slit pupils.
"Ryoma is not here?" His tone grew colder, more vicious. "What a shame."
"I really wanted to give this 'gift' to him instead."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face twitched with anger. "What you did to Ryoma back then was not enough? You still want to wipe him out completely?!"
"Ke ke ke… hahahaha!"
Instead of anger, Naruto Uzumaki burst into wild laughter filled with sarcasm and bleakness. The sound cut off abruptly as his voice rose sharply.
"Old man!" he sneered with near madness. "You really are blind!!"
October Fengshen
"So many years have passed."
Naruto Uzumaki spoke in a low, slow voice. "And even now, you are still being fooled by that treacherous little brat. How pitiful."
He stared hard at Hiruzen Sarutobi, and in those golden slit pupils were emotions too tangled to name. There was hatred, there was Wrath, there was disdain, and even a trace of pity that was hard to notice.
The words made the anger on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face freeze, and he asked without thinking, "What do you mean?"
"Hmph, that guy…" Naruto Uzumaki snorted and was about to continue, but a furious roar cut him off.
"Enough!" Ryoma endured the agony of his severed arm, his face twisted with rage as he glared at Hiruzen Sarutobi and Naruto Uzumaki. "Are you two reminiscing here?!"
"Hiruzen Sarutobi! Why are you wasting words on a traitor? If you cannot do it, then get out of the way and stop being an obstacle!"
"Lord Ryoma is right," said Onoki, floating in midair with an unhurried tone. "Do not waste time on these two."
"Kurotsuchi, Ryoma, the kid Ryoma, and that little cat, the four of you staying here is enough. As for the rest…"
"No!" Mei Terumi suddenly raised her head, hatred carved deep into her eyes, her voice hoarse. "I am staying too. I will kill that man with my own hands."