The two opposing torrents of fire slammed into one another, before erupting into a violent and destructive explosion.
The force of the collision expelled turbulent gusts of smoke and wind, cracking through the sculpted mountains with a huge bang.
Kagero was sent flying from the blast, before painfully crashing down onto the roof of a nearby building.
"Owwww."
Wiping the blood from his earlier cut, Kagero held his waist gently, whilst crouching on the ground.
However, his expression of agony was soon replaced by one of strange joy, as the red haired child currently had a shrewd smirk stretching through his face.
'This has got to be a joke right?' Kagero's eyes gleamed in elation. 'I can use freaking Jutsus!'
'[I already told you that earlier.]' The system added, flashing a blue screen at Kagero's eyes.
{Ninjutsu Specialist}
He got up to his feet, itching his head at his forgetfulness. "Ohh yeah, you did."
"[Huff.]"
The System let out a disappointed sigh before continuing.
"[Switching gears, to think that YOU, would be so proficient at weaving handsigns.]"
The petty System adopted a somewhat mocking tone. "[I guess all those years of being a dweeb really paid off didn't they?]"
"Dweeb?" Kagero's eyes twitched, a bulging vein visibly swelling on the side of his head as he bit his lip in annoyance.
"I'll have you know that I'm an Otaku, not a darn dweeb!"
Kagero protested, but his bickers were quickly interrupted by an unsettling shift in the air.
"Have you finally gone mad?"
A cold voice resounded from a dark rift that cut the air in two, like talons ripping through its prey.
"Or is talking to yourself a hobby of yours?"
A bulge of saliva painstakingly made its way down Kagero's throat. He then cast a forced smirk across his face.
"Are you really into masks?" Kagero's eyes glimmered in defiance, a derisive grin growing from ear to ear.
"Or do you just love playing dress up?"
For a split second, Obito's calm persona shattered once more, before he collected himself, scowling at the child from the innards of his ghostly mask.
"Quite a sharp tongue from such a powerless brat." Obito spewed venom like words, a tone of slight irritation dripping from his lips.
"Kid?"
Kagero made a slight chuckle, pointing towards his right eye.
"The Mangekyo's a pretty powerful doujutsu to take on just some brat, don't you think?"
Like a bodacious hero who was facing the boss with maxed level skills, Kagero's words were as smooth as ice, his demeanor remaining as steadfast as stone.
However, there were two distinguishing features between Kagero, and the hero from the earlier comparison.
He was far from being the strongest.
And within his mind…
He was currently freaking out like a chicken, just minutes away from the butcher's grasp.
'He's not hurt in the slightest! And after all that?!' Kagero cursed his situation.
Regret for his decision to fight momentarily drifted through his mind.
Kagero narrowed his eyes, observing the masked man's clothes with pure disappointment.
They were completely spotless, meaning neither his paper bomb, nor his fire style jutsu had damaged Obito in the slightest.
And that was for one principal reason.
Kamui!
Meaning, if he wanted to lay any damage on the masked Uchiha, he would have to maneuver through his nigh invincible jutsu.
"So it's just like fighting a ghost huh?" Kagero threw a rhetorical question at a slightly enraged Obito. A bold message that clearly told the enemy—
I know exactly what your Doujutsu does!
He knew of his Mangekyo Sharingan, and even more than that, the unsuspecting child standing a few meters before him knew exactly what his doujutsu's ability entailed.
'He's too informed.'
Obito's mind raced with several thoughts that probed his situation, as he watched the red haired boy continually stare at him with a ridiculous scowl pasted through his face.
'What the hell is wrong with this Kid?' Obito's analysis only led him to one dark conclusion.
He'd have to prioritize capturing Kagero. And if that proved to be too difficult?
Then he would kill him!
"So you do—"
BOOM!
A ball of flames catapulted in the air, crashing into Obito with a grandiose eruption.
The wooden roof bursted open from the infernal explosion, reducing the wooden slates to splinters and ash.
"Sorry, but I'll pass on another one of your evil monologues." Kagero declared, charging up another fiery disaster.
"Katon: Karyu Endan!"
Like a consecutive outpour of cannons, Kagero transformed himself into a human musket, shooting devastating balls of fire towards the masked man.
"Are you that desperate for an advantage?" In a flash, Obito leaped through the smoke, rushing towards Kagero, and paying his attacks no mind.
'Darn, he's just slipping through them!'
Kagero gritted his teeth in annoyance, before crossing his fingers into a symbol, that every anime kid would definitely have weaved at least once in their life.
"Shadow clone jutsu!"
Two clouds of smoke suddenly emanated beside Kagero, the three knuckle heads each showcasing their own iconic poses.
But they weren't summoned just for show, as currently— Kagero perked himself into the palms of both his clones.
He gathered chakra into his feet, complementing the chakra gathered in their arms.
And like a trebuchet, his clones shot him forward with torpedo-like force, causing a metallic clash to ring into the depressing night.
'He's fast!' Obito admitted, blocking both of Kagero's clutched Kunais.
Stealing the strength of Obito's push, Kagero twisted his body into the air, flipping above Obito and releasing one of Kunais consecutively, before rushing towards Obito once more.
Obito read his attack like a book, dematerializing himself and watching the first metallic killer to slip right through his head.
But just when he and Kagero were about to clash blades once more, a flash of blue chakra swirled around Kagero's Kunai.
Then it burst towards Obito like an infernal arrow.
'What?!'
Obito tried to dematerialize, but the Kunai wrapped in a blanket of blue fury was right before his face, his eyes already reflecting its fiercely pointed edge.
It was thrown at point blank range after all. So Kamui wouldn't be fast enough to evade it. Not at his current mastery of it at least.
Obito swayed his head in a bid for desperate survival, causing the weapon to graze past the side of his mask, and steal a chip right off that said mask.
'Darn him!' Obito cursed inwardly, just slightly evading death.
But right before he could even get back his foot hold.
He felt two individuals tightly grab into him with incredible strength.
"Now!" Emerging from the smoke, Kagero's clones held onto Obito, yelling into the air, and signalling Kagero to bring their plan into fruition.
He had to move like the wind, a bolt of lightning even, if he wanted his plan to be successful in the slightest.
Meaning, he had to weave his hand signs in the fastest way he ever had.
Right now, all his years of practicing hand signs in the mirror seemed as though they were orchestrated just for this very moment.
His record was a second for the dragon flame jutsu, and right now he had to weave it in half of that time.
Tightening the muscles within his arms with brute force, Kagero's arms blurred even to the eyes of the Sharingan.
His body swelled, like a dragon just about to spew wrathful flames.
But right before he could release even a single ember from his lips— a nightmarish scene unfolded before his very sight.
"You fool!" Obito's words rang through the moonlit night, as his Sharingan radiated a scarlet gleam.
It spun uncontrollably to unleash a devilish attack, one that even an otaku like Kagero had never before seen in the entirety of his life.