Kaito stood still, his sharp eyes locked onto the masked man before him. The very air around Obito seemed to distort, a suffocating pressure radiating from his presence. This man was dangerous—no, he was death itself, wrapped in a cloak of shadow and steel.
This man… his presence alone warps the air around him. He's dangerous. But I refuse to kneel before him.
Obito's lone eye gleamed through his mask, his voice dripping with condescension. "You're not the first to challenge me. But you'll end up like the rest—buried and forgotten."
Kaito's lips curled into a smirk. "Big words for someone hiding behind a mask."
Obito chuckled, the sound low and taunting. "Hiding? No. I simply don't see the need to show my face to the dead."
The tension cracked like thunder in the storm-heavy air. Then, without warning, Obito's fingers wove through rapid 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 laced with dark amusement, "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, he lunged, his sickles slashing through the air with terrifying speed.
Kaito reacted instantly. Instead of retreating, he charged forward, flicking a kunai straight at Obito's head while his left hand blurred through seals, forming a small, ominous black sphere. The kunai sliced through the air—only to phase harmlessly through Obito's head as he activated Kamui.
Intangibility. Annoying.
Before Kaito could adjust, the cold whisper of steel cut through the wind. One of Obito's sickles arced toward his waist with lethal precision.
Kuso! Kaito twisted, but the blade carved deep gashes into his torso, blood spraying into the night air.
"It's over," Obito declared, his voice laced with triumph. "That's the price of underestimating me!"
But then—
Kaito vanished.
Obito's eye 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 materialized midair, his palm driving the black sphere into Obito's skull with devastating force. The very air twisted violently around the point of impact, a deafening shockwave ripping through the battlefield.
Obito's lone Mangekyo Sharingan spun wildly in response—just as Kaito flickered away.
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted, swallowing everything within a hundred-meter radius. Jagged cracks raced across the battlefield, and a column of blinding light shot into the sky. Trees splintered, the earth trembled, and an oppressive silence followed as the dust settled.
Kaito landed near a cave entrance, panting, his gaze sharp as he surveyed the destruction. The crater still smoldered, the air thick with ash and heat. He wiped the blood from his mouth, his muscles taut with exhaustion.
Then—
A low, chilling laugh echoed through the wreckage.
"Hahaha… you bloody bastard…"
Smoke coiled around Obito's silhouette as he emerged, battered but alive. His cloak was tattered, blood dripping from his forehead, but his Sharingan burned with renewed fury.
"You almost got me," Obito muttered, wiping the blood from his chin. "Impressive."
Kaito narrowed his eyes, his body tensed. The battle wasn't over. Not yet.
But before either could make another move, the temperature in the air shifted. A slow, mocking clap echoed through the night, sending an eerie chill down Kaito's spine.
"Hmph. I expected more from you, Obito."
From the shadows, another figure stepped forward, their presence even more suffocating than the last.
The fight had only just begun.
{Word limit 600}