Chapter 109: 109. Obito vs Kakashi
Black Zetsu was about to push Obito, but he didn't expect Kakashi, who had been wandering on the battlefield moments ago, to suddenly vanish and reappear in front of Obito.
Kakashi held a short sword in his hand, which pierced through Obito's neck without any resistance.
"You again!"
Kakashi was startled. Although he had fought with Obito before, he had only sensed hostility from behind just moments ago and hadn't figured out who the enemy was.
Obito grabbed Kakashi's sword-wielding hand. His exposed Sharingan glowed with indifference.
"Kakashi, this eye is wasted in your hands. You don't deserve it!"
Kakashi's eyes widened. This person was after his Sharingan!
But why? Didn't Obito already possess a Sharingan? And if he wanted another, wouldn't he target the Uchiha? Or was it because Kakashi was alone?
Before Kakashi could sort his thoughts, Obito activated a space-time vortex with his eye, dragging them both into it.
Black Zetsu, observing from the sidelines, let out a sigh of relief. Now, he no longer had to worry about Konoha shinobi or Uchiha Yagami causing trouble.
Although he wasn't entirely sure why Yagami's ocular technique seemed to bypass spatial boundaries, it appeared that if Yagami couldn't see the target, his ability couldn't directly influence the Kamui space.
Within the Kamui dimension, Kakashi felt disoriented from the spatial shift. Without the use of his left eye, the side effects of travelling through the vortex were more pronounced.
"Waste!"
Obito's voice was filled with disdain as he materialized a black rod using Yin-Yang Release, intending to subdue Kakashi and reclaim his eye.
In an instant, Kakashi assessed the situation, drew a kunai, and charged at Obito.
The kunai clashed against the black rod, and the force of the impact sent Kakashi stumbling backwards.
Obito's moves were precise and relentless, designed to overwhelm Kakashi. However, whether Obito genuinely intended to kill him remained unclear.
Despite sealing his Sharingan, which rendered techniques like Raikiri unusable, Kakashi's mastery of his father's White Fang swordsmanship meant his strength hadn't waned. On the contrary, his skill had sharpened.
Even so, in this space, Obito possessed numerous ways to defeat or even kill Kakashi.
But Obito refrained. Though his attacks were dangerous, he didn't employ his most lethal techniques. Instead, he used Taijutsu and conventional Ninjutsu, reminiscent of their time as teammates.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Water Style: Water Barrier!"
The clash of Fire Style and Water Style created a dense mist within the Kamui space. The fog obscured both shinobi, shrouding them from each other's vision.
Though Water Style and Fire Style were elemental opposites, Kakashi had created this scenario intentionally.
With his understanding of Sharingan, Kakashi was acutely aware of the advantages such eyes conferred in combat. Now, forced to seal his Sharingan due to its increasing burden, he was at a disadvantage.
Obito, however, had no such limitations. From their previous exchanges, it was clear that Obito outmatched him in speed and strength. Coupled with the gap created by Sharingan, the outcome of this battle seemed inevitable: Kakashi would lose.
Therefore, Kakashi deliberately used Obito's Fire Style to collide with his own Water Style, creating a thick mist to obstruct the Sharingan's vision.
But even as he executed his plan, Kakashi couldn't shake the familiar sensation emanating from the masked man—it was as if they had fought long ago.
"Caught you!"
"Wood Style: Cutting Technique!"
As Kakashi pondered, a shadow loomed behind him, and a branch shot out, piercing through his body.
Kamui space was Obito's domain. Blocking the Sharingan's sight was feasible, but it was impossible to obstruct Obito's sensory perception.
Boom!
Obito attempted to pin Kakashi with the black rod, only for the figure before him to burst into smoke—a Shadow Clone. At the same time, a sharp screech pierced the air, and a brilliant flash of lightning erupted from Kakashi, aiming for Obito's head.
"Thunder God! Not bad combat instincts," Obito remarked, unfazed. After all, he was fighting Kakashi, who had consistently proven himself capable in battle.
The use of Chidori signalled that Kakashi had lifted the seal on his Sharingan. However, Obito found it perplexing—despite seeing the Sharingan in Kakashi's eye, he couldn't sense its presence.
Even so, Kakashi's Chidori passed harmlessly through Obito's head.
The secret lay in Kamui's ability to shift parts of the body between dimensions. When in the main world, placing a body part in Kamui space rendered it immune to attacks from the main world. Similarly, in Kamui space, projecting a body part to the main world provided immunity to Kamui space attacks.
However, using the intangibility technique in Kamui space was risky. If anyone near the Monument of Heroes in the main world happened to notice a masked head appearing, a shuriken or kunai could be thrown in response.
Although Kakashi's attack was missed, he remained composed. As his arm passed through the masked man's head, the blade in his other hand slashed across Obito's waist.
This time, the strike met resistance. The sensation of the blade slicing flesh confirmed the attack's success.
Sure enough, Obito's intangibility had limitations.
As a skilled ninja, Kakashi demonstrated remarkable adaptability. While he hadn't neutralized Kamui's intangibility on their first encounter like Namikaze Minato, he succeeded now.
"Hatake swordsmanship... I underestimated you," Obito admitted. "But how long can you keep this up?"
Obito was genuinely surprised to be injured. Since mastering Kamui, only Uchiha Yagami's unconventional ocular powers and Namikaze Minato's techniques had managed to harm him. Kakashi had become the second to do so using standard methods.
Kakashi's expression darkened. Observing the masked man's wounds rapidly heal, he realized his attack hadn't inflicted lasting damage.
Having broken the seal on his Sharingan, his Chakra reserves were draining quickly. Releasing Chidori had worsened the situation.
Meanwhile, Obito's mastery of wood style and physical resilience, which is akin to the First Hokage's, placed Kakashi at a distinct disadvantage.
"Forget it. I don't have time to play with you here," Obito said dispassionately. Although reminiscing about the past moments ago brought fleeting satisfaction, his focus remained on his ultimate goal—a world with only Rin. Kakashi was irrelevant.
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