The chakra-sensing ability was truly handy, and bined with the Sharingan, it became even more effective.

  Through his enhanced perception, Masashi could traot just movement, but ihe subtle shifts in chakra that preceded every attack.

  Chakra rarely lied.

  The first wave of explosive tags had just gone off when he immediately realized they had achieved nothing. He swiftly halted the jutsu and used the Flying Thunder God to ge his position.

  Despite his quick aore than half a block was still reduced to rubble. crete and wood splintered outward in a wave, leaving a crater where a street had been moments before.

  Fighting within the vilge was inve; many teiques couldn't be fully utilized. Even though he had modified the tags, redug its area of effed eling the bst upward, it still required careful handling.

  The main was the potential cost of pensation if the explosiooo far. The vilge atants were more terrifying than any enemy shinobi.

  He couldn't help but think about the First Great Ninja War.

  Back then, while there were many dowhe freedom to unleash massive explosions without was undeniably satisfying. The earth would shake, the sky would light up, aire battlefields would transform in an instant.

  The immersive thrill of a grand-scale explosion was something you couldn't uand unless you had tried it. The way it rippled through your bohe fsh that burself into your vision—there was nothing quite like it.

  The only downside was the expense. If you were poor, you couldn't afford it. This joy was exclusive to the wealthy.

  While he wasly a ty, he did have a generous reimbursement budget courtesy of one.

  Through the thick explosion smoke, Obito's figure emerged, ued. His body seemed to phase through the debris as he escaped the bst zone and grabbed Masashi in one swift motion.

  Space began to immediately, but Masashi's body exploded into a bright fsh once more. The light was blinding, intense enough to make even a Sharingan user flinch.

  Kamui was indeed an excellent teique, but Obito's single eye was defensive in nature, leaving him with limited offeions.

  Masashi had been waiting for this moment.

  However, Kamui's activation, much like the Flying Thunder God, was instantaneous and required no hand seals. Thus, this explosive tag still didn't injure Obito, who phased through the bst like a ghost.

  But the sudden fsh of light did catch him off guard, making his eyes water from the iy. The brightness overwhelmed even his Sharingan's enhanced vision.

  Where is he even pulling all these explosive tags from? Obito couldn't figure it out. He hadn't seen Masashi reach for anything. Each attack came without warning, tags appearing as if from thin air.

  One hand held a bde, the other formed seals. Was he using a third limb to grab them?

  It didn't seem like Flying Thunder God, as Minato's teique didn't work like this.

  "What kind of jutsu is this?" Obito asked.

  Masashi's answer was a ssh aimed directly at his head, the bde whistling through the air where his neck had been a split sed before. Aag detonated where he reappeared, f him to phase again.

  Masashi didn't bother replying.

  On a dark, windy night perfeurder and arson, why waste time talking? This wasn't a training session for Q&A.

  Obito felt frustrated.

  With both batants adept at space-time ninjutsu, he couldn't do much relying solely on Kamui. Each time he tried to materialize and attack, Masashi was already gone, leaving only explosions.

  Most importantly, fighting wasn't even his objective.

  However, summoning the ails required a medium to support the ritual, and Masashi wasn't giving him any opportunity.

  As the two exged blows, eaning their move in silence, more and more Konoha shinobi began to gather.

  There were members of the Police Force, their uniforms marking them clearly in the darkness.

  The ANBU moved like shadows at the edges of perception.

  The regur army positiohemselves strategically around the battle zone, while unaffiliated ninja s watched from their respective territories.

  Hiding popution numbers was a basic strategy among ninja s; even when unnecessary, it was doo maintain appearances. Each group kept their full strength cealed, revealing only what was needed.

  Among the rgest groups were Hiruzen and Danzo's loyalists. The Sarutobi 's ninja were among them, their chakra signatures distind powerful.

  The Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi s formed another fa, bound by their longstanding alliah the Sarutobi , though they operated as a separate entity.

  The Hyuga observed from afar using their Byakugan, direg others toward the a.

  The battle between Obito and Masashi covered too wide aheir movements too fast to track as they stantly shifted locations.

  The shinobi verging from all dires weren't trying to show off or create a sense of drama—they genuinely couldn't keep up otherwise.

  Previously, whehey ran toward one dire, a mid-way notice would e, telling them to ge course. The Hyuga's dires were stant, urgent updates as the battle shifted across the vilge.

  It was exasperating.

  What was most shog, however, was what everyone saw clearly tonight: Masashi khe Flying Thunder God.

  The jutsu was no longer exclusively held by the Hokage's fa.

  For Hiruzen and Danzo, the revetion was deeply uling. Although they had suspected it, they had hoped it wasn't true.

  "The Uchiha hid it well..." Hiruzen said gravely as he finally arrived he two battling figures. "But who is the other person?"

  "Fet the masked one for now. Do you think you bring Masashi under trol?"

  Though they often appeared tue publicly, Hiruzen and Danzo had always colborated closely to maintain their shared is. Their public disagreements were just that—public.

  Danzo's apparent disregard for public opinion wasn't because he didn't care but because he didn't care about those who criticized him.

  This was the path he had chosen. As long as Hiruzen uood him, that was enough.

  Uhe day came when he no longer did.

  "I don't know." Hiruzen gripped his adamaaff tightly. "But as long as we're both here, Konoha won't fall into chaos."

  Danzo nodded. "However, there may be no o in the vilge capable of restraining him. Not even your apprentice."

  "Everyone has their strengths, and it hasn't e to that yet. We have Minato, and... Shisui."

  At the mention of Shisui, both elders felt a bit more reassured. The young Uchiha's potential was undeniable.

  "From now on, assign him more tasks outside the Police Force," Danzo suggested, already pnning ahead. "Over time, he transition away. After all, public-sector ninja 't usually take missions, and this could also fill the gap left by Minato."

  Hiruzen nodded, agreeing, though his thoughts remairoubled.

  The chakra enveloping Konoha was unmistakably that of the ails. What about Minato's side? Had he succeeded or failed? The ck of any news left him with an ominous feeling.

  In the world of shinobi, there was no saying equivalent to "Speak of the devil," but perhaps it would ter be repced by "Speak of Minato."

  "Sandaime-sama!" Minato appeared beside Hiruzen suddenly, his face grim.

  "Minato, how is Kushina?" Hiruzen asked urgently.

  "The ails has been unleashed, and Biwako-sama has been killed. The culprit is the masked man. He cimed to be Madara!"

  He then turned his gaze toward Masashi, watg as another explosion lit up the night.

  "As expected, Masashi also knows the Flying Thunder God. If he had been there, perhaps things would have turned out differently."

  Minato wasn't naive. An atta Konoha using a Mangekyō Sharingan to release the ails would iably draw suspi to the Uchiha .

  But his first instinct was that the Uchiha must not be dragged into this mess.

  If the tensioween the Hokage's administration and the Uchiha escated, Konoha's political stability would colpse, leaving no room for peace.

  "It's too te for that now," Hiruzen said, appearing calm but inwardly grieving. Having shared decades of life with his wife, he hadn't expected this parting to be final.

  "Capture that man, and everything will be made clear!"

  As the number of surrounding ninjas increased, Masashi frowhese fools are turning this into a circus. One wrong move and I'll end up doing their job for them.

  The crowding roving to be a hindrance.

  Due to his abundant chakra reserves and strong recovery ability, his fighting style leaowards rge-scale teiques. This was why the more people involved in a battle, the less effort he put in—not because he didn't want to try, but because he feared overexerting himself and iently hurting his allies.

  The chakra gathering at his fiips could level half the battlefield, but with so many 'friendlies' around, he might as well be fighting with one hand tied.

  He wasn't like Minato, who utilized the Flying Thunder God to execute high-mobility strategies. Masashi, by nature, was more ined towards overwhelming assaults.

  "Uchiha! Why aren't you pressing the attack?" an ANBU captain called out.

  Masashi paused, eyes narrowing slightly. "If you're so eager to die, by all means, charge in first. I'll keep your pension safe for you!"

  If not for Obito's Kamui, he would have long sinleashed his powerful moves.

  In trast, Obito found the increasing numbers advantageous. Masashi's relentless focus on him left no openings, but the involvement of others created opportunities for him.

  After all, he wasn't Madara.

  The summoning teique he was using had beeo him by Madara as a tingency. The only one who could directly summon the ails was Madara himself—Obito was just a proxy.

  Otherwise, why would he need a medium?

  Instead of avoiding the approag ANBU squad, he deliberately ehem. This move forced Masashi to further restrain his as, much to the irritation of the ANBU, who interpreted it as a direct provocation.

  The Sarutobi members in the ANBU, in particur, were insed.

  "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" the ANBU captain yelled as they uheir attacks.

  Fire and wind jutsu verged on Obito's position, while earth users tried to limit his movement options.

  "ANBU? Is that what they're calling on fodder these days?" Genjutsu and elemental jutsu rained down on him, who casually let the attacks phase through him with Kamui.

  Log eyes with one of his oppos, he unleashed a genjutsu that easily overpowered theirs. The ANBU dropped like a puppet with cut strings, his scream dying in his throat.

  "It really is the Sharingan!" The ANBU, seeing the enemy up close, were now certain of his identity and grew even more armed.

  As for their rades who were being picked off like meatballs in a grinder, no one could spare the attention to help. The battlefield had bee a graveyard of ANBU bodies and broken masks.

  "Don't look into his eyes!" someone shouted.

  Obito rushed towards the ANBU.

  Trained by the so-called Ghost of the Uchiha, his bat prowess was unmatched by these ninjas, who weren't even jonin.

  With a sweep of Kamui and precise strikes, his attacks bypassed defenses, severing limbs and decapitating foes. Within moments, a dozen were dead or incapacitated, their bodies falling with dull thuds on the blood-soaked ground.

  Masashi halted his own movements, watg coldly as Obito cshed with the ANBU captain. Shame about your pension going to waste, he thought, the age.

  These were the same ANBU who had just been cautious of him. Sihey were so vigint, he saw o assist them now.

  The Uchiha injas, having arrived on the se, gathered behind him. The divide between them and the Hokage's fa was evident, with both sides eyeing each other warily.

  Most of the Uchiha ow supported Masashi's approach.

  Improviions with the Hokage's fa was no longer possible. Instead, they focused on uniting with other fas within Konoha.

  As long as they avoided direct frontation with the Hokage's office, that was enough—mirr the political strategy of the Third Hokage: flict without breaking ties.

  If non-ANBU ninjas had been the ones in peril, the Uchiha wouldn't have stood by idly. But this se displeased Minato greatly.

  Kushina was barely hanging oo the vitality of the Uzumaki . As someone deeply protective of his wife, his restraint proved how gentle he was at heart.

  But gentleness dide to weakness or passivity. His dissatisfa with the Sarutobi skyrocketed.

  He had clearly seen horopriate as by the Sarutobi ANBU had exacerbated the situation.

  However, someone else acted before he could.

  Hiruzen, who had already lost his wife, appeared outwardly posed but was seething ihe loss of young Sarutobi members right before his eyes ignited his fury.

  "You're shedding blood in our own vilge?"

  Wielding the adamaaff transformed from his summoni Enma, he swung with such force that the air itself seemed to explode.

  Though he said nothing more, his i was clear: Die!

  The 'Professor' finally shows his true colors, Masashi observed.

  He seemed to have fotten that moments ago, he had instructed them to capture, not kill.

  Even at fifty years old, the force of his blow was something few in the shinobi world could withstand.

  However, Obito didn't rely on direct defense.

  The staff passed harmlessly through his intangible form. Using the chaos caused by Hiruzen's outburst, he nded on the ground, aiming to press his hand down and summon his target.

  Just then, a specially crafted kunai aimed for his palm.

  You're such a nuisance, sensei! Obito cursed internally, retrag his hand and using Kamui to teleport elsewhere—straight into the Hyūga 's area.

  Several pairs of Byakugan immediately locked onto him, veins bulging around their eyes as they tracked his chakra work.

  In the instant, a fierce wied, peeling a yer off the ground. The Hyūga moved in perfect synization, their Gentle Fist strikes c every possible angle of approach.

  They simultaneously attacked him and 'swept' the battlefield.

  The Hyūga, having observed Obito's attempts to make tact with the ground during previous skirmishes, had noticed a pattern.

  The Byakugan never missed details.

  Though they didn't know what he was trying to achieve, they were determio stop him.

  "Hokage-sama, Sandaime-sama, this mao require physical tact with the ground to execute something," a Hyūga ninja decred loudly.

  "I see it," Minato responded sharply. "Everyone, prevent ground tact!"

  Obito's mood worsened instantly.

  Masashi, oher hand, ughed. Konoha's s might fight among themselves, but they're not stupid.

  He kly what Obito was attempting, and he found it amusing.

  Running to other Konoha ninjas for cover? Sure, he wouldn't interfere. But did Obito really think the other Konoha ninjas would be clueless enough to aimlessly attack the air and sacrifice themselves?

  After all, Konoha's ninja forces had achieved their victories not by ce but by their keen observational skills and teamwork.

  Obito finally mao find another opening and nearly touched the ground when a swarm of is rushed towards him, their buzzing filling the air like a thousand angry s.

  The is obliterated the barely-formed summoning array, turning it into a feast for themselves.

  In Kamui's intangible state, Obito, expressionless beh his mask, watched as his summoning array became fodder for is.

  He realized the truth.

  Thanks to Masashi, his window for surprise attacks had closed. Against Konoha's united forces, while his own safety remained intact, it was impossible to summon the ails uheir watchful eyes.

  This was absurd!

  Since summoning was out of the question, he decided on another approach: all-out attack.