Facing Uchiha Kai's swift strike, Uchiha Obito remained eerily calm—likely because he had already anticipated the move.
The blade passed through him harmlessly, phasing through his body due to Kamui's intangibility, leaving no damage.
In an instant, Obito reappeared just behind Kai, launching a swift counter. But Uchiha Kai, not one to be caught off guard, responded immediately.
Close-quarters combat was well within Kai's forte. In fact, he welcomed it.
Obito, on the other hand, had made a miscalculation.
Without relying on Kamui's phasing or teleportation, his taijutsu skills were merely average—nothing that could pressure someone of Kai's caliber.
After exchanging blows for several moments, Obito chose to withdraw, creating distance between them.
He panted lightly, brushing dust from his cloak. The man before him,Kai—was skilled, dangerously so. If not for Obito's fast recovery and stamina from Hashirama cells, he would've been worn out already.
'He's holding back,' Obito thought grimly. 'Just like I am… but still… without Kamui, I can't even scratch him.'
Kai's reactions were too fast. His Sharingan's insight too precise.
Despite Obito's improved understanding of the Sharingan and his training in ninjutsu, his fundamentals—taijutsu and battlefield intuition—lagged behind.
Even with a new Sharingan implanted in place of his lost eye, his vision no longer tunneled—but that hadn't helped him match Kai's fighting ability.
Worse still, Kai's mastery of his own Mangekyō techniques and raw talent left Obito uneasy.
'Fine,' Obito thought, hiding his frustration behind his mask. 'If you won't use your Mangekyō… then I'll show you what else I've got.'
With a swift hand seal, Obito gathered chakra into his lungs.
"Fire Style: Explosive Wind Dance!" he declared, releasing a swirling vortex of flame and wind.
The technique—a hybrid of Fire Release and spatial distortion via Kamui—whirled into a fiery maelstrom.
Though he wasn't using the Mangekyō directly here, the concept of warping space subtly enhanced the flames' intensity.
Kai responded instantly. Using Body Flicker, he retreated to a nearby treetop, already weaving hand seals.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
A roaring flame burst forth from Kai's mouth like a writhing dragon, crashing into Obito's wind-fueled inferno.
The resulting explosion engulfed the surrounding forest in a sea of fire.
Their battle had now fully shifted from pure taijutsu to large-scale ninjutsu.
Yet it was nothing like Obito's earlier fight with Minato Namikaze, who had defeated him with surgical precision.
Minato's brilliance lay not in overwhelming power, but in efficiency and analysis. He had identified Kamui's time lag and exploited it mercilessly. That swift, clean execution had left Obito humiliated.
Now, with Kai, things were different. Kai didn't rush—he tested, prodded, learned.
It was eerily similar to Minato's style, but more visceral, more personal.
Kai was baiting him. Drawing him in, forcing him to reveal weaknesses.
As the flames burned around them, Obito used his phasing to walk directly through the blaze, ignoring the searing heat.
Kai, however, had to keep his distance. Or so Obito assumed.
He re-materialized behind Kai amidst the flames, swinging a chakra chain toward him.
But Kai merely twisted his body, narrowly dodging the strike.
Obito's eyes gleamed.
'He hesitated. He didn't expect that. My chain will catch him now!'
But then—
A dark, heavy chakra surged from Kai's body, rippling through the air like a tidal wave.
"…What is this?" Obito muttered. He recognized it.
Susanoo.
Ribs of chakra materialized around Kai, instantly forming a partial skeletal frame.
A giant skeletal arm punched forward, aimed not at Obito—but at the space between them, forcing him to react.
Kai's ninja blade stabbed into Obito's chain, anchoring him in place.
Then came the Chidori—the chirping of a thousand birds filled the battlefield.
'Damn it!' Obito cursed, letting his body phase out just in time.
But the damage was done—his sneak attack had failed.
A resounding boom echoed as Susanoo's arm shattered the treetop, sending both shinobi crashing down.
Even while falling, Kai kept an eye on Obito—he knew Kamui could turn a single opening into a fatal mistake.
But it seemed Obito had backed off—for now.
"Tch… what a venomous snake," Obito muttered after landing.
He stared at the growing form of Susanoo cloaking Kai.
He had read about it, heard tales from Black Zetsu. To manifest even a ribcage-level Susanoo meant the user possessed Mangekyō in both eyes.
He, on the other hand, only had one Mangekyō—the other was in Kakashi's eye socket.
Thus, Susanoo was unattainable for him.
He felt a twinge of jealousy.
But at the same time—he sneered.
Susanoo was powerful. But Kamui's intangibility and teleportation rendered it meaningless if the attacks never landed.
"Didn't expect you to have that," Obito said in a low voice. "But I know what you're capable of now."
"Oh? A gutter rat like you really thinks he understands me?" Kai mocked.
"Space-time ninjutsu, some fancy dodges… is that all you've got?"
Obito's mask seemed to stiffen.
"I haven't even started."
"And neither have I."
Kai smiled under his mask. "Tell me, are you even worthy of the Uchiha name?"
That jab hit a nerve.
Obito snarled. "You're the one hiding your strength, cloaked in shadows. A hypocrite and a coward."
Their voices clashed as violently as their chakra.
Then—Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan began spinning rapidly, and in response, Kai's eyes morphed as well, revealing his Mangekyō form.
The two vanished in an instant. When they reappeared—they were already clashing at high speed.
—
Far away, Hinata Aya watched from a safe distance, flanked by Imai Kenta.
"These two… they're beyond Kage-level," she whispered.
She had watched Uchiha Kai trade blows with someone using Kamui—a technique that made almost every attack useless. And yet, Kai had pressed the attack with strategy and precision.
Kenta looked at her. "What's wrong? You look rattled."
She shook her head. "This fight… it's beyond what we can comprehend. Even a Kage could die instantly against either of them."
Kai's Susanoo had grown. Now in its third stage, it resembled a dark-armored war god—each swing of his blade ripped apart the landscape.
Obito phased between strikes flawlessly. But he had no way to hurt Kai through the Susanoo armor.
It was a stalemate—neither could touch the other.
Until…
Obito said coldly: "How long can your eyes sustain this?"
Kai didn't respond. He simply allowed the Susanoo to fade, as if conceding the point.
But his chakra didn't weaken. If anything, it sharpened.
"I don't rely on Susanoo," Kai replied. "My strongest state… is something else."
And then—he drew his blade. The Kiritama, pulsing with vibrant azure chakra.
Kai charged.
Obito swung his chain—
But Kai's speed suddenly tripled.
It was no longer speed enhanced by flicker movement—it was pure body acceleration, beyond what Obito had seen.
Even Black Zetsu, buried deep beneath the earth, was stunned.
'What is this guy…?'
Kai's sword slashed straight toward Obito's chest.
Obito phased at the last second, but not before a shallow cut formed, blood splattering mid-air.
The delay in activation… Kai had exploited it.
Obito leapt back, body entering the Kamui space for safety.
He gritted his teeth. 'He's faster than before… How long can he keep that up? His eyes… his body… they'll burn out eventually!'
But even he wasn't certain anymore.
And that doubt… was dangerous.