Another space-time.
The era of the Fourth Shinobi World War.
At this moment, the Allied Shinobi Forces stared in horror at the mastermind behind the Akatsuki who had become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki.
Obito!
Inside the Four Red Yang Formation, Chakra arms extended from the appendages protruding from Six Paths Obito's back.
They seized the barrier and tore at it with tremendous force.
The Four Red Yang Formation, which even a Tailed Beast Ball could not break through, was ripped apart with ease.
Everyone on the battlefield was stunned.
Even Hashirama admitted that Obito's current strength had surpassed his own!
Tension, vigilance, fear.
Countless emotions spread through the Allied Shinobi Forces as everyone's attention remained fixed on Six Paths Obito.
They were overwhelmed by the power he displayed.
'Buzz.'
At that very moment, another abnormality appeared.
High above the battlefield, space suddenly distorted.
Then came a sharp cracking sound, like glass shattering.
The twisted space split apart, revealing a pitch-black rift stretching across the sky.
'Boom! Boom!'
Just as the rift was about to close, two dark figures shot out from within.
They crashed into the ground like meteors, creating two enormous craters.
No one understood what had happened.
Why had such a strange phenomenon suddenly appeared?
Was this another effect caused by Obito becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki?
Countless shinobi made the same guess, their expressions becoming even more solemn.
If becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki alone could produce such an extraordinary phenomenon, just how terrifying had Obito become?
"So that's what happened."
Inside one of the craters, Seiryū stood up while cursing under his breath.
"Now I understand why Sasuke appeared like that before. That instantaneous space-time distortion was so violent that even I couldn't resist it."
His perception swept across the battlefield.
Then he frowned.
"Where the hell did I end up?"
"Hmm?"
"So many familiar Chakra signatures?"
There were far too many.
So many that Seiryū failed to understand the situation immediately.
Once he finally saw everything clearly, he froze for a moment.
"You've got to be kidding me."
"I landed right in the Fourth Shinobi World War?"
Obito had already become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki.
The four Hokage had been resurrected through Edo Tensei.
Madara was here as well.
Seiryū could also sense Tsunade, Naruto, Sasuke, Guy, Kakashi, and many other familiar Chakra signatures.
This really was the Fourth Shinobi World War from the original timeline!
"This is."
Inside the other crater, Isshiki slowly floated into the air.
His gaze landed on Obito, who had become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Kaguya's God Tree?"
Then he looked toward Seiryū, and his expression immediately darkened.
"You actually followed me here."
"What a troublesome bastard."
"To think you managed to place a Flying Raijin formula on me without my noticing."
Isshiki had been careless.
Seiryū had secretly marked his body with a Flying Raijin formula, allowing him to follow Isshiki into this space-time.
That left Isshiki extremely irritated.
With Seiryū here, accomplishing his objective would no longer be simple.
Seiryū also floated into the air and curled his lips.
"I originally planned to save that for a chance to kill you outright."
"Didn't expect I'd have to use it this early."
"You really are difficult to deal with."
The Izanagi stored in his left eye through the Transcription Seal and the hidden Flying Raijin formula placed on Isshiki had both been intended for a decisive surprise attack.
Instead, Seiryū had been forced to use them merely to follow Isshiki into another space-time.
A Kekkei Mōra-level existence could erase a Flying Raijin formula.
Now that Isshiki was on guard, marking him again would be extremely difficult.
Isshiki's expression darkened further.
However, a trace of relief appeared in his eyes.
If Seiryū had used that hidden mark at the right moment during their previous battle, Isshiki really might have been killed before he even had the chance to activate Time Reversal.
This was at least one piece of good fortune amid the disaster.
"Hey."
The confrontation between the two figures hovering high above naturally drew everyone's attention.
Tobirama swallowed hard.
"Who are those two?"
"Why are their Chakra signatures even more terrifying than the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki?"
Through his sensory abilities, Tobirama could clearly tell that the Chakra emanating from the two mysterious newcomers was even more frightening than Obito's.
"That is."
Guy stared upward in astonishment.
"The Eight Inner Gates Formation?!"
He had already prepared himself to open the final gate and sacrifice his life if the situation demanded it.
Yet now, he could clearly see crimson Chakra surging around one of the newcomers.
There was no mistaking it.
That was the Eight Inner Gates Formation!
Someone else had mastered it?
Who was that young man?
"What terrifying Chakra."
Hashirama frowned as well.
His sensory abilities were equally powerful.
"It surpasses even the Ten-Tails."
Could beings this powerful actually exist in the shinobi world?
Beside Naruto, Sasuke stared into the sky with his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
His attention was fixed on Isshiki's three unusual eyes.
His pupils contracted.
"Rinnegan?"
"And one of them has tomoe."
Isshiki's right eye was a scarlet Rinnegan.
His left eye was golden with a strange wheel-like pattern.
And a blue nine-tomoe Rinnegan rested in the center of his forehead.
Were all of those eyes related to the Rinnegan?
Then why were they so different from Madara's?
Hearing Sasuke speak, Naruto finally reacted.
His eyes widened violently.
"Huh?"
"Wait, Rinnegan?!"
"Sasuke, do you know those two?"
Sasuke glanced at Naruto and said nothing.
His expression made it clear that he had no intention of answering such a stupid question.
'Rumble!'
High above, Isshiki suddenly attacked.
A vast repulsive force erupted in a wide arc and blasted toward Seiryū with overwhelming power.
Seiryū reacted instantly.
He threw a punch.
Dragon-shaped fist force roared forward.
The two attacks collided head-on!
'Boom!'
The resulting shockwave exploded across the battlefield.
Although the clash had occurred high in the air, the aftermath blasted an enormous crater into the ground below.
Nearby shinobi were forced backward by the pressure alone.
The sheer destruction caused by a single exchange left countless people stunned.
Shock and fear spread uncontrollably through the Allied Shinobi Forces.
"Hand over the Chakra inside you!"
Isshiki had never expected that attack to seriously injure Seiryū.
He only needed to delay him for an instant.
His true target was Obito.
More precisely.
The Ten-Tails inside Obito.
Or rather, the nearly mature God Tree itself!
Members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan possessed the ability to absorb Chakra.
The Ten-Tails, already approaching its mature God Tree state, could be absorbed by Isshiki.
It would not be as effective as consuming a fully ripened Chakra Fruit.
But it would still increase his strength considerably.
Only by becoming even stronger could Isshiki gain absolute confidence in eliminating Seiryū, the greatest threat standing in his way.
(To be continued.)