This one-sided battle lasted only a few breaths before it ended.
Although the opposing side had sixteen shinobi in total, the only real combat power among them was Captain Maeda himself, along with two Special Jōnin. The rest were merely Chūnin and Genin.
As for the heavily wounded ANBU member, he could barely contribute any meaningful strength at all.
So under the nearly flawless coordination between Obito and Kakashi, Captain Maeda was caught in Obito's genjutsu during the very first exchange and immediately knocked unconscious by Kakashi.
The others fared even worse.
Looking at the Konoha shinobi sprawled unconscious across the ground, Obito and Kakashi exchanged glances before both of them instinctively broke into foolish grins.
The two were breathing slightly heavily now—not because of exhaustion, but because of tension.
They had just fought against their own comrades while desperately trying to avoid causing irreversible casualties.
"…We dragged you into this too. Sorry."
The three tomoe in Obito's Sharingan slowly rotated as he spoke sincerely.
"No matter what your original intentions were, you really did help Rin… thank you."
Kakashi opened his mouth slightly, but in the end, all his complicated emotions condensed into a brief and restrained response.
"You're welcome."
At long last, the frozen relationship between the two boys finally showed the slightest sign of thawing.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
That was Tobi applauding.
"Tsk tsk, just look at this."
His completely untimely voice rang out again, filled with exaggerated emotion.
"What a touching love story."
Rin's ears instantly turned bright red.
"Since they've already made their move, there's no reason for me to stay here any longer."
"Tobi… you're leaving?"
"They'll protect you in my place now."
Tobi looked toward Obito and Kakashi, who were rushing over toward them at full speed.
"And remember—my offer will always stand…"
"Stop right there!"
"Don't run!"
Tobi suddenly leapt off Hokage Rock, disappearing downward as his voice drifted back from afar.
"…You can come find me at the Valley of the End anytime."
"Damn it, he got away!"
Obito's Sharingan stared unwillingly at the rapidly vanishing figure.
"Now's not the time to worry about him."
Kakashi's expression suddenly turned grave as he looked behind them.
"Someone's coming…"
"A lot of people."
Before one crisis could settle, another immediately arrived.
This time—
More than a hundred Konoha ANBU had appeared.
But the shinobi who walked within Konoha's darkness carried another name as well.
"…Root."
Obito tightened his grip around his kunai.
Kakashi also raised the White Light Chakra Sabre in his hand, instantly entering a combat stance.
"You insolent brats. Lower your weapons immediately!"
Danzō Shimura stepped forward, his body wrapped in white bandages as always, his voice cold and oppressive.
"If I may ask, Lord Danzō," Kakashi replied calmly, "instead of supporting our comrades fighting the Two-Tails, why have you come here?"
"You're Hatake Kakashi, correct?"
Danzō's eyes narrowed coldly.
"Even your father, Hatake Sakumo, would show me proper respect. What exactly do you think you're doing?"
"My father is my father. I am me."
Kakashi showed absolutely no fear toward one of Konoha's highest-ranking figures.
"And if Lord Danzō has come for Rin…"
His grip tightened around the short blade.
"Then I'm afraid I'll have to stand against you."
For Danzō to arrive here with so many Root shinobi so quickly, this clearly couldn't have been a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Someone's been feeding him information?
"You understand what you're saying, don't you?"
Danzō no longer maintained his earlier aggressive tone. Instead, his voice became frighteningly cold.
"Disobeying orders. Attacking fellow shinobi of the same village…"
His gaze swept over Obito and Kakashi.
"That is the behavior of missing-nin."
Both boys clenched their teeth tightly, refusing to retreat even one step.
The weight carried by the words "missing-nin" was simply too overwhelming.
"Hmph. So you've made your choice."
Danzō's expression darkened further.
"A monster like the Three-Tails—how dare you treat such a thing like a child's game and casually seal it inside a little girl?"
"And you two actually intend to allow her the freedom to wield that power at will?"
His voice rose sharply.
"Have you ever once considered the lives of everyone in Konoha?!"
Then Danzō waved his hand decisively.
"Men—capture them."
"Yes, sir!"
Meanwhile, atop the roof of Konoha Hospital, Tobi lounged lazily on his side, one hand propping up his head while the other held a bag of sunflower seeds as he leisurely admired the sight of the Two-Tails rampaging through Konoha.
Despite having completely lost its reason and fighting as nothing more than a chakra monster with no tactics whatsoever, the Two-Tails' terrifying physical strength and eerie blue chakra flames were still inflicting catastrophic damage upon the village.
In the short time since its appearance, dozens of buildings had already been destroyed, and more than thirty Konoha shinobi had been killed or injured.
BOOM!
Another crushing attack landed.
The Two-Tails' razor-sharp claws sliced through a five-story residential building as effortlessly as cutting tofu apart. The structure collapsed instantly, sending clouds of dust and debris exploding into the air.
"Tsk tsk… little kitty's got quite the temper."
Tobi cracked open a sunflower seed, clearly enjoying himself.
Then suddenly, a voice sounded behind him.
"Didn't we agree to wait at Hokage Rock?"
"There were too many people over there, so I got chased here instead."
"…Where did you even get sunflower seeds?"
"I borrowed them from one of the nurses inside the hospital."
Madara sat down nearby and silently looked toward the distant battlefield.
"Whoa, Madara, you actually got more handsome."
Tobi generously offered him a sunflower seed.
Madara ignored him entirely.
"Fine, more for me."
Tobi secretly glanced at the now-rejuvenated Madara again.
At the moment, Madara appeared to be in his twenties, dressed in a black combat bodysuit layered beneath traditional red armor plates.
Hmm… barely acceptable, I guess.
Tobi silently concluded:
Still not as handsome as me.
But before Madara could even react, Tobi immediately changed the subject.
"So, everything on your side's handled?"
So far, the plan they had arranged together had gone perfectly.
The Two-Tails had rampaged.
Madara had regained his youth.
The Three-Tails was ready and waiting for the target to fall directly into the trap.
And as for Obito…
Danzō would probably provide the perfect push at exactly the right moment.
Tobi loved incompetent allies on the enemy's side.
It was practically the perfect script.
"…The Third Hokage noticed me earlier," Madara said flatly. "So we fought."
"Ooh~. And? How'd it feel?"
"He's truly powerful."
Madara's gaze remained fixed on the battlefield.
"If I wanted to kill him, it wouldn't be something I could accomplish quickly."
Tobi noticed something immediately.
Madara's left arm hadn't moved even once since he arrived.
So that's why he didn't take the sunflower seeds. I thought he was just acting cool again like before.
At the same time, Tobi's sharp eyes caught sight of a dark red stain beneath the armor near Madara's side.
If even Madara's taijutsu prowess had still left him injured to this extent, then things were clearly far less easy than he claimed.
"So compared to the First Hokage?"
Madara shook his head.
"They're completely different kinds of shinobi. There's no comparison."
And then?
"However…"
Madara's eyes narrowed slightly.
"The feeling of their chakra is the same."
Tobi froze.
Comparable to the chakra of the First Hokage?!
"That old man's chakra is really that strong?"
"He's still in his prime," Madara replied calmly. "At the peak of a shinobi's life."
Then he lowered his gaze briefly toward his own restored youthful body.
"But even that will only last for a few more years."
BOOM!!!
Suddenly, the distant battlefield changed dramatically.
A massive cloud of dust erupted into the sky.
Even from afar, they could vaguely make out the enormous figure of the Three-Tails appearing directly atop Hokage Rock, its gigantic three tails thrashing wildly through the air with overwhelming force.
"Probably for dealing with Danzō," Tobi guessed aloud, though his tone sounded completely certain.
Then he turned toward Madara.
"So when are you making your move?"
There was no need for Tobi to remind him.
Madara had already begun forming hand seals.
Only a single breath later—
ROOOOAR!!!
The Three-Tails suddenly threw back its head and unleashed a furious roar toward the heavens.
At that exact moment, the seal placed earlier upon Rin's heart activated.
Her consciousness vanished instantly.
And thus—
Another rampaging Tailed Beast was born within Konoha Village.
...
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