"I'm very interested in your strength. How about you come and work under me?"
"Hah! You think you're worthy of my allegiance?!" Kaito sneered at Obito, his eyes cold and mocking.
Obito shrugged nonchalantly, his fingers forming seals. In an instant, a pair of sickles linked by chains materialized in his grasp, their edges gleaming ominously.
"I have to remind you," Obito said, his voice carrying a chilling arrogance, "I was the one who released the Nine Tails eight years ago. I was the one who killed the Fourth Hokage and his wife. Don't underestimate me... or you'll die."
As his words fell, Obito crossed the sickles into an 'X' and lunged at Kaito with terrifying speed.
Kaito's lips curled into a vicious grin. Instead of retreating, he charged forward. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled a kunai straight at Obito's head while his left hand blurred through seals, forming a small, ominous black sphere.
Obito, unfazed, activated Kamui—allowing the kunai to pass through his head harmlessly. In the same breath, he closed the distance, his sickle whistling through the air as it slashed toward Kaito's waist.
The moment steel met flesh, Obito's grin widened. Deep gashes tore into Kaito's torso.
"It's over," Obito declared, his voice laced with triumph. "That's the price of underestimating me!"
But then—
Kaito vanished.
Obito's eyes widened in alarm. His instincts screamed, but it was already too late.
A voice rang out from above.
"No, you're wrong. I've won!"
"Rasengan!"
Kaito appeared in midair, his palm driving the black sphere into Obito's skull with devastating force. Obito's lone Mangekyo Sharingan spun violently in response—just as Kaito flickered away.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted. A blinding light engulfed the battlefield, swallowing everything within a hundred-meter radius. The earth trembled, and when the dust settled, only a massive crater remained.
Kaito landed near a cave entrance, his gaze sharp as he surveyed the destruction.
Then—
A low, chilling laugh echoed through the wreckage.
"Hahaha… you bloody bastard…"
Obito emerged from the smoke, battered but alive, his Sharingan burning with fury. "You almost got me!"
Kaito narrowed his eyes, his body tensed. The battle wasn't over. Not yet.