Obito now faced Kaito, another wielder of time and space abilities, and found himself struggling. Every attack, every movement, was met with an equally swift and calculated counter. Confronted by Kaito's relentless sword techniques, Obito would initiate the blur, his form vanishing momentarily in an attempt to reposition. But Kaito was already prepared.
In response, Kaito exploited the "ability lockout for five seconds after blurring" along with his "God's presence" within Obito. He watched keenly, his eyes never wavering. The instant Obito reappeared, Kaito's blade was already in motion—an arc of cold steel slicing through the air toward his target with deadly precision.
A sharp clang echoed as metal met flesh. The moment seemed frozen in time. Obito barely had a chance to react before the blade carved into him, a fatal blow aimed straight for his core!
But as the gash formed, his body flickered and distorted—the wound disappeared as though it had never existed.
Thanks to 'Izanagi,' Obito managed to survive Kaito's lethal attacks repeatedly. Again and again, he endured what should have been certain death, rewriting reality itself in his favor. Yet each use of Izanagi came at a steep cost. His vision wavered, his breaths grew shallow. The inevitable truth loomed over him—his Izanagi was not a permanent solution.
Time passed slowly, the weight of battle pressing down on him. Each second felt stretched, every movement heavier. Kaito, however, was relentless. He did not allow even a moment of respite. His attacks were precise, unyielding, suffocating. The blade in his hand was a harbinger of absolute judgment, cutting through the air with the force of inevitability.
Obito's mind raced. He had to find an opening, a way to escape this endless assault. But Kaito had already mapped out his every move, pressing him to the edge of desperation. The battlefield itself seemed to shrink, his options dwindling. Just as it appeared that Kaito would finally land a decisive, inescapable strike—
A group of individuals quietly approached the battlefield. Hidden within the shadows, their presence was nearly undetectable. Among them, a single pair of eyes gleamed with calculation and malice.
Danzo concealed himself, his gaze cold and analytical. Squinting, he observed Kaito and Obito locked in combat, his mind processing every detail unfolding before him.
"That's the individual who claims to be Madara Uchiha," he murmured to himself, his voice laced with suspicion. "And the other one is... Kaito Uchiha."
His expression darkened, his lips pressing into a thin line. His sharp eyes locked onto Kaito's figure, noting the distinct crimson glow of his Mangekyo Sharingan. The power emanating from Kaito was undeniable.
"He even activated the Mangekyo Sharingan!"
Danzo furrowed his brow deeply. He was well aware of Kaito—an Uchiha prodigy whose name was whispered alongside Itachi's. The threat that Kaito posed to Konoha was undeniable. Every fiber of Danzo's being bristled with unease as he watched him in battle, his mind already crafting contingencies.
"As expected of the Uchiha clan," he muttered under his breath. "Another pair of Mangekyo Sharingan eyes emerging in the silence. Sure enough, this group poses a significant threat... a real menace to Konoha."
A murderous intent flickered through his gaze as he scrutinized Kaito's movements. At this moment, he refrained from questioning Itachi further. The battlefield painted a clear picture—Madara Uchiha stood beside Itachi, actively working to suppress Kaito. If Itachi was allowing this fight to continue, then Kaito must be an even greater danger than Danzo initially anticipated.
The realization settled in his mind like a stone sinking into water.
"It appears those earlier ambushes... were all orchestrated by Kaito."
Danzo swiftly pieced together the crucial details, his mind working at a feverish pace. But before he could further evaluate, something unexpected unfolded before his eyes.
His pupils shrank slightly, his breath hitching.
"That's... time-space ninjutsu?!"
Danzo's body tensed as he witnessed Kaito instantly appear behind Madara. The shift was so seamless, so impossibly fast, that even his trained eyes had difficulty keeping up. And then—
A sword pierced through Madara's chest. A clean, precise strike that should have ended him then and there.
But the moment the blade made contact, Madara's body flickered, his form dissolving as though it had never truly been there. A heartbeat later, he reappeared intact, untouched, as if reality itself had bent in his favor.
Danzo's face twitched. His hands clenched into tight fists within the safety of the shadows. He had connections to all major forces, both in the open and the dark, and he had seen warriors of every caliber. Yet this... this was something else entirely.
"Madara was forced to use 'Izanagi'!"
The implications were staggering. Madara Uchiha, a figure whose power was the stuff of legend, had been driven to use Izanagi against Kaito. The weight of this realization pressed down on him like an iron grip around his throat. If Kaito possessed the strength to push even Madara to such an extent, then the situation was far more dangerous than he had anticipated.
Danzo's eyes darkened with understanding, calculation, and perhaps... a sliver of fear. Even with Shisui's eyes in his possession, he wasn't certain he could stand against the enigma that was Kaito Uchiha. The battlefield was no longer just an observation point—it had become a moment of reckoning.
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