"This is... Kamui?!"
Uchiha Obito's eyes widened beneath his mask, filled with disbelief.
Since when had Kamui become so common?
First, the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan's main branch awakened a special Byakugan technique—also Kamui, identical to his own.
Now, even Uchiha Itachi's younger brother had awakened Kamui? Uchiha Obito found this unacceptable.
But soon, a change came over his expression. He seemed to sense something and muttered, "No... this isn't Kamui!"
A terrifying gravitational force surged from the black hole, forcing Obito to phase into his hollow state with Kamui and rapidly distance himself.
Uchiha Madara leaned forward slightly, then leapt back. Gazing at the rapidly expanding black hole, he muttered, "Such intense gravitational pull... and it can auto-lock onto enemies. What a terrifying eye."
Despite the black hole's destructive force, the ground didn't tear, and even Uchiha Itachi, who stood closest, remained unaffected.
Madara immediately recognized the uniqueness of this eye technique.
Unable to eliminate Obito and Madara instantly, the black hole suddenly shrank, split into two, and returned to Uchiha Sasuke.
Staring at the small black holes beside him, Sasuke composed himself quickly and grasped their function.
In an instant, he mastered the eye technique. With a fierce glare at Uchiha Obito, he clenched his teeth and said, "Izayoi, hold off Uchiha Madara for me. I'm going to kill that guy."
"Alright. Let me know if you need help," Izayoi nodded, gazing at the two black holes floating near Sasuke, his voice filled with awe.
Not only did the black hole possess terrifying, auto-targeting gravity, but it also held spatial and temporal power. In the unscientific world of shinobi, it was surprisingly scientific.
Gravity was a result of space-time curvature, and yet neither Obito's nor Hinata's Kamui could generate gravitational effects.
But Sasuke's black hole was the true embodiment of warped space-time.
It could exert immense gravitational force while remaining fully controllable. Kamui's status as the strongest Mangekyō Sharingan technique was now threatened.
Without another word, Sasuke hurled one of the black holes at Uchiha Obito like a shuriken, its immense speed distorting the air and space around it.
Even while phased, Obito sensed danger approaching.
Though in his untouchable Kamui state, the black hole radiated a chilling aura that alarmed him.
Trusting his instincts, Obito immediately used Kamui to enter the dimension entirely.
The moment the black hole reached the spot he had just occupied, it encountered residual space-time ripples.
Sasuke sneered, "Anchored. You're dead."
The black hole rapidly expanded into a Rinnegan-like portal.
Sasuke appeared in front of it and, just like Obito once did, warped into the crushing black hole.
Anyone not marked by Sasuke would be drawn in by the black hole's gravity and torn apart by warped space-time.
But those recognized by him could teleport using it.
Soon, the black hole vanished.
Only Izayoi, Uchiha Madara, and Uchiha Itachi remained.
Itachi, shaken from his daze, instinctively worried for his younger brother.
Madara, unconcerned with the juniors, turned to Izayoi. "Izayoi, interested in a little chat?"
"What do you want to talk about?" Izayoi asked, curious.
Madara smiled and activated Six Paths Sage Mode. The Rinnegan's power pierced Izayoi's body, attempting to draw him into an illusionary world.
Izayoi could easily resist.
Two people with Six Paths Sage Mode could perceive the real world even while in illusion, making sneak attacks ineffective.
Curious, Izayoi cooperated and entered.
If Izayoi hadn't possessed Six Paths Sage Mode, Madara would've used chakra-link to enter his chakra space and convert him.
But unfortunately, Madara's perception couldn't penetrate Izayoi—and vice versa.
"Izayoi, do you know about Ōtsutsuki Isshiki?"
Izayoi, catching Madara's habit of dragging people into long conversations, smirked.
But it was exactly what he wanted.
He raised a brow and, instead of playing dumb, responded knowingly: "Besides Toneri Ōtsutsuki, are there others still alive?"
Madara smiled. "So you already know about the Moon."
"Isn't that obvious?" Izayoi replied. "With Six Paths perception, it's hard not to know."
"When you awakened the Six Paths Sage Mode, did you sense another powerful chakra besides Toneri and me?" Madara asked.
Izayoi feigned seriousness. "There was a moment… brief, but I did notice a powerful presence. Then it vanished."
"That was Ōtsutsuki Isshiki," Madara explained. He began showing edited images as he narrated. "He came to Earth with the Rabbit Goddess. His status is even higher than Kaguya's."
"For some reason, Kaguya betrayed and nearly killed him using the Ten-Tails."
"To survive, Isshiki had to parasitize another being."
"Maybe because of that, the puppets he controls—no matter how strong—can't hide from the perception of Six Paths Sage Mode."
"So ever since Kaguya and the Sage of Six Paths era, he's been hiding somewhere."
Izayoi immediately realized Madara was deliberately concealing the truth—that the Ten-Tails, after consuming an Ōtsutsuki, becomes a Divine Tree and produces chakra fruit.
He didn't call Madara out, instead asking bluntly, "So you want me to help you find Isshiki?"
"To be exact, I want us to find him together," Madara said seriously. "My gut tells me he's the real threat. With a higher status than Kaguya, no one knows what cards he's holding. We must not let him recover his full power."
"My power is effective, but if you and I join forces, no matter where he hides, he won't escape."
Izayoi pretended to hesitate.
Then he slowly said, "Your story's a bit suspicious... but if I've got nothing better to do, I don't mind verifying it."
"That's enough," Madara said with a smile. "If you ever need help, just ask."
"Forget it. With guys like you..."
Izayoi was about to scoff when his expression suddenly shifted.
The illusion world shattered.
Back in reality, a fist-sized black hole appeared next to Madara.
A bloodied Uchiha Obito, missing his left arm and with a shattered mask, emerged and shouted, "Madara, heal me!"
Seeing Obito's left eye blinded from using Izanagi, Madara frowned.
"Obito... you've regressed. I taught you every technique, even Yin-Yang Release, the Six Paths powers, and the Coffin Seal of the Ten-Tails."
"Yet after all these years, not only can't you defeat the Five Kage, now you lose to a brat who just awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Perhaps the Kamui was just luck. Obito's talent was mediocre after all.
"He can even use the black hole in the Kamui dimension. It absorbs ninjutsu like the Hungry Ghost Path... even Wood Release!" Obito cried miserably. "He uses the gravity to fly. I couldn't touch him."
He regretted entering Kamui now.
He couldn't phase inside it, and Sasuke's powers restrained him there.
If not for Izanagi, he'd have been crushed.
He escaped only during the final seconds of its effect.
"Even absorbs Wood Release?" Madara was slightly surprised. Glancing at the hovering black hole, he murmured, "Combining offense, defense, flight, and space-time... these eyes approach the Ultimate Dojutsu."
If it could attack via dimensional reduction, even Madara would be envious.
But his Rinnegan Shadow hadn't been harmed by it—so it wasn't invincible.
Still, considering that neither Izayoi nor Toneri could be touched by his Rinnegan Shadow, Madara felt worse again.
Fighting those two was like cutting off his own arms.
"Hm?"
Madara suddenly looked down.
A branch had silently wrapped around his right foot.
Turning to Izayoi in confusion, Madara frowned.
"Let's not disturb them over personal grudges," Izayoi grinned.
Then, Uchiha Madara vanished without a trace.
He had let down his guard, and Izayoi had ambushed him using weak chakra and branches from behind.
Seeing this, Obito paled.
"Die! Sage Art—White Geki Jutsu!"
Uchiha Sasuke, now in Sage Mode, flew from the black hole and spat a glowing red dragon from his mouth.
Its claws clutched a black orb, burrowed into it, and exploded.
A white flash like a Super Shinra Tensei engulfed the land.
The blinding light and sound stunned Obito and even Itachi.
Their eyes and ears were overwhelmed.
The vibrations disrupted Obito's organs and nearly prevented him from using Kamui.
But his willpower allowed him to endure the Senpo: White Geki Jutsu.
Summoning the Yin-Tsuku chakra in his brain, he triggered Kamui and phased his body.
But in the Kamui dimension, a streak of blue light flew silently behind him.
He failed to sense it.
Only a soul-sensitive perception could detect it.
The light entered Obito's body—his expression froze.
"This... this is a spirit..."
Before he could finish, the battle shifted to the spiritual plane.
And it ended instantly.
A black hole opened, and Sasuke emerged.
He activated Storm Release, transforming into a lightsaber and piercing Obito's heart.
He cleaved downward, severing his body.
"How... How is this possible...?"
Obito stared at Sasuke in disbelief.
But his limp body and fading consciousness proved it wasn't an illusion.
"Wait and see," Sasuke said coldly. "Death is just the beginning."
"I'll use the Impure World Reincarnation to summon you... and destroy your soul too. Only by reducing you to ashes can I avenge my clan!"
Obito's eyes widened.
Horrified, he pleaded, "No... don't kill my soul. I still—"
Before he could finish, Sasuke's Light Sword split his head in half.
The once-feared mastermind of the Nine-Tails Attack and the Blood Mist era—Uchiha Obito, the manipulator behind the scenes—had fallen.
Having awakened the Great Sun Spirit to counter Kamui, and guided by Izayoi in assassination strategy—combining Spirit Transformation and Wood Clone independence—Sasuke overwhelmed him completely.
It was as easy as Temari beating Tenten.