"Aargh...!" A white, severed hand flew into the sky.
Obito cried out in pain. At the critical moment, instinct had made him throw up his arm to block, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow.
Uchiha Nagi's eyes narrowed. He pressed his advantage. The instant his feet hit the ground, he pushed off powerfully, intending to cut Obito down before his vision could recover.
BOOM! The exploding tag Nagi had concealed on himself detonated.
Obito used the force of the blast to propel himself backward in a powerful leap.
Having his Kamui interrupted at close range, being momentarily blinded by Nagi's Solar Flare the instant he solidified, and then losing a hand—it all seemed to take a while, but in reality, it had transpired in less than a second.
Such was the speed of shinobi. The Fourth Hokage could snatch the clothes off a young Naruto and teleport away in the very instant an exploding tag detonated. Obito wasn't as fast as the Fourth, but his reactions were by no means slow.
Swish—
Uchiha Nagi's short sword swept across Obito's neck, but it was too late. Obito had already phased, and the blade passed through his neck without any sensation of contact.
Though his eyes were temporarily blinded, it didn't mean he couldn't use Kamui.
"I underestimated you. Where did you get your information on me?" After a few seconds, Obito slowly removed his remaining hand from his eyes, his vision clearing.
Uchiha Nagi didn't answer. Obito having one less hand didn't mean Nagi could defeat him. Kamui's ridiculously overpowered ability essentially rendered Obito invincible in most confrontations, while Nagi, for all his skill, was merely a Jonin.
This was where the profound importance of intelligence in the shinobi world truly showed. By formulating a plan targeting an opponent's weaknesses, even a Jonin had a chance to defeat a Kage-level powerhouse.
"I'll remember you, Uchiha Nagi, was it? Make sure you don't die. I look forward to our next meeting..." Obito said ominously, then activated Kamui, his form twisting into a vortex before vanishing completely.
"Phew... he's finally gone." Uchiha Nagi wiped the sweat from his forehead. The slightest misstep, and he would have been dead. He quickly ran over, picked up Obito's severed white arm, and sealed it into a storage scroll. This thing would be very useful...
Uchiha Nagi successfully exited the Uchiha compound. Since the Uchiha clan had been forcibly relocated outside Konoha's main walls, escaping Root's encircling barrier meant he was halfway to safety...
[Face-Erasing Appearance Technique]
————
Three days later, a caravan of merchants from the Land of Wind was slowly making its way through the lush forests surrounding Konoha. Konoha's geographical location was unique, with ancient trees, tens of meters tall, growing everywhere.
They were on their way back to their own village, their carts laden with grain and various trade goods.
Swish, swish-swish—
Two squads of masked Konoha shinobi swiftly surrounded the caravan.
"Kill them. Leave no one alive," the masked captain leading them ordered coldly.
"Wait, you must have made a mistake! We're merchants from the Land of Wind, not spies! Our identities have already been verified with the authorities—Argh!" Before the merchant leader could finish speaking, a kunai, thrown with deadly precision, pierced his throat.
As a volley of kunai rained down on the terrified merchants, a dark figure suddenly leaped out from their midst and bolted into the dense foliage.
"That's the target! One squad, clean up this refuse. The rest, with me!" the captain with the dog-like Anbu mask commanded, immediately leading his team in pursuit.
Deep in the forest, Uchiha Nagi was fuming with frustration. He shouldn't have been in such a hurry to leave Konoha's immediate vicinity. He still couldn't figure out how he'd been exposed. The Face-Erasing Appearance Technique should have been flawless; he hadn't overlooked even the minute details of altering his scent and fabricating plausible memories.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Several massive fireballs erupted from the trees, flying towards Nagi and brutally cutting off his path of escape.
"It's you!" Nagi's eyes widened in disbelief. Uchiha Obito stood nonchalantly on a large tree branch, a sinister smile playing on his lips, his severed arm still conspicuously missing.
"Hehe, enjoy the little gift I've prepared for you. And remember, Nagi, don't die," Obito said with a chuckle, then activated Kamui and slowly vanished as if he were never there.
Delayed by Obito's malicious intervention, the Root pursuit squad had already caught up.
Nagi understood now. Obito had leaked his whereabouts. He was using White Zetsu to monitor him.
"Son of a bitch! Damn you to hell, Obito! I'll get you for this!" Nagi's lungs practically vibrated with rage.
There was no time. Nagi immediately created several shadow clones, sending them scattering in different directions. Any delay he could buy, however small, was crucial.
Faced with multiple targets, the pursuit squad had no choice but to split up again and give chase.
There's still a chance, Nagi thought, his mind racing. My stealth skills are also top-notch. If I can just put some distance between us, they won't be able to track me.
Just then, a dozen shuriken came flying at Nagi from behind. He managed to dodge most of them, but a few were unavoidable. With a series of sharp clangs, he expertly deflected them with his short sword.
Swish—
After deflecting them, however, Nagi heard a few faint but distinct clinks from behind him. He glanced back and, sure enough, the shuriken that had initially flown past him had collided with each other in mid-air and were now ricocheting back towards him with deadly accuracy.
"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!" Nagi formed hand seals with a single hand. A defensive wall of earth instantly rose to block the incoming shuriken—because he'd spotted them just in time: small, sinister exploding tags hidden among the blades...
Uchiha Itachi. That traitor. He stood on a tree branch above, his three-tomoe Sharingan fixed squarely, and coldly, on Nagi.
Nagi narrowed his eyes, consciously trying to keep his gaze focused below Itachi's neck. Even without activating his Mangekyo Sharingan, Itachi was a genjutsu master who had brought the art to a level of consummate perfection. One careless glance, one moment of direct eye contact, and Nagi could fall prey to his illusions.
"I didn't expect one to be missed," Itachi said slowly, his voice devoid of emotion.
All factors within the clan had been considered, Itachi was likely thinking, his mind a fortress of cold logic. The only oversight was an unknown Jonin who, for all these years, had been listed in the official records as a mere Chunin.
"And I didn't expect you to be capable of laying hands on your own kin," Nagi retorted, his voice tight with contempt.
Further words were useless. Both of them knew the grim reality: only one could walk away from this encounter alive.
Itachi's presence here was undoubtedly at Danzo's behest – to cut the grass and dig up the roots, to eliminate any escaped Uchiha and leave no loose ends.
As a transmigrator, Nagi had been confident in his meticulous planning, in his foresight. Yet, he hadn't anticipated that Itachi, that damn turncoat, would still be helping Danzo hunt him down even after defecting and bearing the weight of his clan's blood.
However—
The corners of Uchiha Nagi's mouth curved upwards into a cryptic, almost desperate smile. "Don't move, Uchiha Itachi. If you make a single move, I'll destroy Konoha. You wouldn't want to see the village you preserved by slaughtering your own clan obliterated, now would you?"
As he spoke, he held up a scroll covered in intricate jutsu formulas – the remote detonator for the network of exploding tags he had prepared.
"Destroy Konoha?" Itachi's expression remained impassive, yet his eyes, now swirling with the distinct pattern of the Mangekyo Sharingan which he had activated at some unseen point, betrayed a flicker of doubt. Even so, he didn't make a move. It was in his nature to carefully consider, to analyze, before acting.
"The entire village of Konoha is rigged with exploding tags, every last sector, including the Hokage Monument itself. If I detonate them, the whole place will go up in smoke, reduced to rubble in an instant. Everyone will die, including your precious little brother. Believe it or not, that's up to you," Nagi stated, his voice surprisingly steady, not a trace of panic to be found.
"How can you prove it?" Itachi asked, his Mangekyo gaze unwavering.
"I can't prove it. You can take your chances. But don't even think about trying to control me with genjutsu..." As Nagi finished speaking, he decisively plunged a kunai into his own shoulder, deliberately avoiding vital points but ensuring a jolt of agonizing pain shot through his system.
He doesn't look like he's lying, Itachi thought, his Mangekyo eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly.