Not far from the battlefield, a lone figure silently approached.
He wore a spiral-patterned mask, only a single eye exposed as he watched the fight from the shadows.
Whether it was Aoyama or Hatake Kakashi, the masked man's gaze lingered on them the most.
As for the little Godzilla and Kong, though their ferocity rivaled that of elite shinobi, they barely registered in his eyes. At most, he simply noted their presence.
The masked man muttered under his breath:
"So, this Aoyama guy… couldn't stay in Konoha either, huh?"
With a clinking sound, a black iron chain slipped from his wide sleeve.
Gripping both ends of the chain, a swirling vortex appeared before him — space itself twisting, as if a whirlpool had been stirred into existence on a still lake.
The masked man stepped forward into the vortex, and his body disappeared.
With two small beasts aiding him, Aoyama hardly considered the remaining opponents a threat.
Even with his hands bound, when Nightingale lunged with her blade, Aoyama evaded her slash and still had his legs to use.
After all, taijutsu wasn't limited to fists — legs were weapons too.
"What—!?"
Aoyama snapped up his leg like it was a fist, striking Nightingale's wrist and knocking the sword clean from her grasp. In the same fluid motion, his foot jabbed against her shoulder, sending her flying.
Nightingale hit the ground hard. Empty-handed now, her swordsmanship was useless.
"Spaced out, huh? Then die!"
Aoyama showed no hesitation. In the shinobi world, mercy only led to an early grave.
Frozen in shock, Nightingale's empty hands hovered uselessly.
The Nara clan shinobi clenched his teeth and yanked back on his shadow technique. The black tendrils binding Aoyama's wrists tightened like ropes, dragging his body off balance.
"Damn it! Fine, I'll kill you first!"
Snarling, Aoyama twisted toward the Nara shinobi.
The Nara retreated step by step, pulling on the shadows and dragging Aoyama along, buying Nightingale precious time.
By then, she had retrieved her sword. Her violet hair danced wildly in the wind as she slashed out, conjuring a dazzling arc of steel before darting after Aoyama's exposed back.
Aoyama's fury boiled — if he turned to crush the Nara, his back would be wide open.
"Leaf-Style Sword Technique: Crescent Moon Dance!" Nightingale's voice rang coldly.
Three figures leapt forward — her true self and two shadow clones.
From left, right, and above, three blades descended at once, their angles merciless and difficult to dodge.
Aoyama's hands were still bound. He had only his legs to fight with.
"Behemoth!"
His roar was like thunder.
The ancient giant elephant, silent until now, finally stirred. With a heavy stomp, it split the ground. Cracks spread faster than a body flicker, racing across the battlefield until they split the earth beneath the Nara shinobi.
"Not good—!"
Losing footing, the Nara's jutsu broke.
Aoyama's eyes gleamed with joy as his hands snapped free. Muscles bulged as he twisted and roared:
"Leaf-Style Fist! Rising Dragon Strike!"
His fists shot upward. Two of the clones vanished in smoke.
"Haah! Cut!"
But the third blade — the true Nightingale — remained. Her sword arced down, its crescent reflection gleaming like the sneer of the Shinigami itself.
Aoyama braced himself, gritting his teeth. Fine, I'll take the hit. It won't kill me outright. Then I'll crush her in return.
The blade was about to connect — when suddenly, an iron chain materialized out of nowhere, intercepting the strike with a sharp clang.
"Pleased to meet you. Name's Tobi."
Another figure stood between them, clad in a cloak, face hidden by that spiral-patterned mask. A long chain dangled from his sleeve.
Both Aoyama and Nightingale froze in shock.
For Nightingale, the shock was that this stranger was helping Aoyama — she assumed it was one of his allies and grew tense.
For Aoyama, the shock was recognition. The cloak, the chain, that mask — he instantly knew who it was.
Why… why would Uchiha Obito help me?
Yes. The mysterious figure was none other than his former classmate, Uchiha Obito — someone officially long dead.
Godzilla and Kong growled furiously, bounding to Aoyama's side and swiping at the newcomer. They thought the masked man was here to attack their master.
But then the impossible happened — their claws and fists passed straight through his body as though he were a phantom reflection in a pond. No matter how hard they struck, he couldn't be touched.
"You—what are you!?" Nightingale gasped.
"Eh? Didn't I just introduce myself?" the masked man said with mock innocence. "Ah, guess a little nobody like me isn't worth remembering, huh?"
Aoyama calmed his beasts with a wave. Knowing this was Obito, his sense of danger eased slightly. He muttered under his breath:
"With him here… maybe I can walk away from this."
Indeed.
Even if an entire squad of ANBU arrived, none could defeat Uchiha Obito — not with his true power. Among their classmates, few still lived. Though Obito had become a shadowy figure pulling strings behind the scenes, his strength rivaled that of a Kage, and his eye technique made him virtually untouchable.
The Nara shinobi, supporting a battered and chakra-drained Kakashi, grimaced.
"Withdraw. Against both Aoyama and this masked man, our strength isn't enough."
Nightingale and Kakashi bit their lips in frustration.
"We were so close… just a little more and Aoyama would've been captured. So it wasn't just murder that drove him to defect — there's something much deeper going on here."
"Hey! Hey! You bastards! Remember my name — I'm Tobi!" the masked man called out as the ANBU withdrew.
"Alright, alright, they're gone. No need to yell," Aoyama muttered, dispelling his summons.
You're cold, you know that? The masked man said, tilting his head. I just saved your life. Not even a 'thank you'?