Chapter 65: Kenzō Vs Obito (part -2)
Kenzo continued dodging relentlessly through the rain soaked forest, his body twisting and shifting at impossible angles while Obito's attacks continuously pressed down on him without giving the slightest room to breathe. Chains ripped apart trees behind him while wooden spikes pierced through the ground one after another, forcing him to constantly alter direction. From the outside, it looked completely one sided, as if Kenzo had already fallen into a hopeless situation where defeat was only a matter of time.
And honestly, that wasn't entirely wrong.
His missing left arm placed him at a severe disadvantage against Obito's fighting style. Kamui itself already forced opponents into close range situations where a single touch could decide everything. However, because of his missing arm, Kenzo's balance during rapid directional shifts naturally wasn't as stable as before. Against ordinary shinobi this weakness wouldn't matter much, but against someone like Obito even the smallest flaw would instantly be targeted repeatedly until it eventually became fatal.
Every dodge strained his body more than it should have, while every sharp movement pulled unevenly across his muscles. Obito noticed all of it almost immediately.
His attacks gradually became sharper toward Kenzo's left side specifically, continuously forcing his blind angle into awkward positions while limiting the routes he could retreat toward. Under such pressure most elite jonin would have already broken apart mentally, yet Kenzo still endured.
Rainwater exploded beneath his feet as he dashed sideways once more, barely avoiding a wooden spear that erupted from the earth itself. The next instant a chain curved toward his throat. However, Kenzo ducked beneath it while simultaneously using the momentum to propel himself deeper into the forest again.
Obito's visible eye narrowed slightly beneath the spiral mask.
Persistent.
Very persistent.
At first he believed Kenzo was merely struggling desperately to survive. However, the longer the chase continued, the stranger things became. Despite constantly appearing cornered, somehow Kenzo always managed to reposition himself just enough to continue retreating deeper ahead.
Even so, Obito still remained calm. From his perspective, the outcome itself had already been decided from the very beginning.
"As a commendable shinobi… you have done your best."
Obito's cold voice echoed through the endless rainfall as his body phased directly through another barrage of kunai before reappearing several meters ahead.
"But this is as far as you go."
Then, in that exact moment, something clicked inside his mind.
His gaze shifted slightly forward beyond the forest line, far into the distance where the rainfall itself had gradually grown heavier and denser compared to before. The atmosphere had changed subtly without him realizing it immediately.
Amagakure.
Obito's eye narrowed sharply beneath the mask.
They had already gotten dangerously close to the inner territory of the Land of Rain.
For the first time since the battle began, Obito fully understood it.
He was being led by the nose.
This entire time Kenzo had never intended to fight him head on. Every dodge, every retreat, every reposition had all been angled carefully toward a single destination from the very beginning.
Obito's killing intent instantly deepened.
Enough.
The space around him distorted violently as Kamui activated at full speed. Unlike before, where he continuously pressured Kenzo little by little, this time Obito directly went for a killing strike. His body blurred through the rain while chains and Wood Style surged together from multiple directions, sealing off nearly every possible escape route simultaneously.
And that was exactly what Kenzo wanted.
Kenzo's Sharingan spun violently.
The moment Obito solidified fully to launch the finishing strike, Kenzo moved instantly. Instead of retreating like before, his body burst directly toward Obito at explosive speed, causing even Obito's eye to narrow slightly from the sudden acceleration.
The distance between them closed almost instantly.
Kenzo abruptly twisted his body at the very last second, allowing Obito's hand to partially phase through his shoulder intentionally. A dangerous gamble, because even the slightest mistake there would have ended everything immediately.
But Kenzo already understood the weakness behind Kamui.
Its strength was absurd, almost unfair even. Intangibility combined with spatial movement created nearly perfect offense and defense simultaneously. However, the very instant Obito wished to physically interact with reality, whether to attack, grab, or strike, he needed to materialize portions of his body temporarily.
And throughout this entire battle, Kenzo had been observing exactly that.
Every failed grab, every chain attack, every transition between phasing and solidifying. He was gathering information the entire time.
The timing itself was incredibly small, far too small for ordinary shinobi to exploit consistently in actual combat. Minato Namikaze himself required direct observation and monstrous reflexes to properly counter Kamui during their battle years ago.
Yet Kenzo was different.
From the very beginning, he already possessed prior knowledge regarding Kamui itself. What he lacked was confirmation regarding activation rhythm, materialization timing, and transition flow between defense and offense, which was why he continuously remained on the defensive throughout the fight despite looking completely cornered.
He was testing Obito.
Calculating him.
And now he finally moved.
The instant Obito materialized fully for the killing strike, Kenzo's remaining hand exploded forward with terrifying force directly toward Obito's exposed side before he could phase again. Chakra surged violently through his muscles as the punch connected cleanly against Obito's ribs.
BOOOOMMMM!!!!!
The impact shattered the surrounding ground while Obito himself was blasted violently through several trees before finally crashing deeper into the forest. Blood spilled slightly beneath the spiral mask.
Obito's visible eye widened faintly.
For the briefest instant, an old memory surfaced inside his mind, yellow hair flickering through the rain alongside a flying kunai and calm blue eyes, Minato Namikaze. Back then even Minato required direct observation and multiple exchanges before properly understanding Kamui, yet this boy had already begun exploiting its weakness from a single prolonged battle alone.
Just from observation and calculation…
Monstrous.
Obito's killing intent toward Kenzo deepened further. This Uchiha absolutely could not be allowed to survive.
Meanwhile, Kenzo himself landed heavily against the soaked ground while breathing roughly. Rainwater mixed together with sweat across his face while the shoulder where Obito partially phased through burned painfully. However, his thoughts immediately shifted toward distance instead of the successful strike itself.
Thirty two kilometers left.
That attack only worked because Obito became impatient after realizing he was being dragged toward Amagakure. Under normal circumstances, landing such a clean hit against Kamui would have been nearly impossible.
Kenzo exhaled slowly while rain continued pouring endlessly around him. Kamui truly was terrifying, its ability itself bordered on absurdity. However, every technique, no matter how powerful, always possessed some form of flaw hidden somewhere beneath the surface. Obito could remain intangible almost indefinitely, but the instant he wished to physically affect the outside world, whether to attack, grab, or strike, he needed to materialize portions of his body again.
That small interval was the only real loophole within Kamui itself, and Kenzo had finally managed to exploit it successfully once. Unfortunately, there wouldn't be a second easy opportunity like before, because now Obito would become far more cautious than earlier.