Obito and Shisui unleashed one Fire Release technique after another.
Explosions constantly shook the arena, and flashes of fire lit up the field from ti to ti.
Both of them looked at each other with a headache, each feeling that they had no clear way to break the stalemate.
Obito's slight edge in Fire Release was not enough to suppress Shisui, while Shisui's Armant Haki could not give him much of an advantage either.
"Should I summon Charleon?" Obito wondered, thinking about introducing a new factor to break the deadlock.
But then he quickly shook his head.
If Charleon could fall under his Genjutsu, then it could also fall under Shisui's Genjutsu.
At that point, not only would Obito have to deal with Shisui's attacks, he would also have to help Charleon dispel the illusion. That would be far too troubleso.
"...Eh, I can try that."
Obito suddenly recalled Shisui's earlier fight in the semifinals, and a flash of inspiration struck him.
On the other side, Shisui was also weighing whether summoning Zorua might allow him to gain an advantage.
Obito's strength was not inferior to him. Shisui could already feel the pressure of protecting Zorua in a battle like this.
"Great Fla Ring: Fla Emperor!"
Obito condensed a massive amount of chakra. With the boost from Fla Breathing Chakra Mode, he instantly completed the nature transformation of all that chakra.
The mont he raised both hands, terrifying flas surged upward, and a giant fireball more than eight ters across ford above them.
Strictly speaking, this was only a smaller Fla Emperor. Obito was not using every last bit of his chakra the way he normally did when he unleashed it at full power.
Usually, he used Fla Emperor to crush his enemy head on.
This ti, however, its real purpose was to create an opening.
Of course, part of that was because even if he used all his strength, Fla Emperor still would not be enough to defeat Shisui in one blow, so he needed a different approach.
"Great Fla Ring: Fla Emperor!"
Shisui also gathered chakra and raised his hands, forming a giant fireball of his own.
Basically, every Fire Release technique Obito knew, Shisui knew as well.
In terms of quantity, Shisui had mastered even more Ninjutsu than Obito, but many of them were not suitable for use in a fight against Obito.
The two enormous fireballs, each like a multi story building, hurtled toward one another, radiating blinding light and scorching heat.
As they drew closer, the air itself seed to twist under the temperature, hissing as though it were about to collapse.
Boom!!!
The instant the two giant fireballs collided, a deep, thunderous explosion erupted.
An unprecedented blaze burst outward, waves of fire rolling through the air and unleashing heat so intense that the surrounding temperature rose sharply.
Even Shisui had to gather chakra into his feet to keep himself rooted to the ground, or else he would have been shoved backward by the shockwave.
The violent flas blocked his vision completely. For the mont, he could no longer tell what Obito was doing and could not launch an attack.
After a mont of thought, Shisui ultimately decided not to use the Summoning Jutsu to bring out Zorua. Instead, he pulled four kunai from his ninja pouch and infused them with Fire Release chakra, igniting them with flas.
When the blazing light of Fla Emperor finally subsided, Obito and Charleon appeared in Shisui's sight.
Without hesitation, Shisui threw the four flaming kunai.
Three of them flew toward Obito from different angles, while the last one shot straight at Charleon.
At the very mont he released the kunai, Shisui also cast a Genjutsu on Charleon, causing the creature, which had just taken a step forward, to freeze in place.
In a stalemate, introducing a new force into the battle really was a good idea.
But there was one problem.
Neither Charleon nor Zorua possessed the overwhelming strength Milotic had displayed. A single Great Fireball Technique would be enough to take them out of the fight. And summoning a Nin Beast also consud chakra.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Obito had no choice but to unleash another Great Fireball Technique to block the incoming weapons, knocking down all four flaming kunai.
But in the next instant, Shisui's offensive ca again.
Faced with a rare opportunity, Shisui pressed forward relentlessly, and Obito, burdened with protecting Charleon, found it increasingly difficult to keep up.
At this point, he not only had to block Shisui's attacks, but also had to figure out how to help Charleon break free of the Genjutsu.
Under that pressure, Obito exposed an opening and was struck by Shisui's fist coated in Armant Haki.
Even though Fla Breathing Chakra Mode had cloaked Obito's body in flas, Shisui's Armant Haki nullified the damage.
Just as Shisui was about to follow up and end the exchange, Charleon, who had supposedly been trapped in Genjutsu, suddenly moved and launched a fierce spinning kick at him.
"Damn it."
Shisui instantly understood what had happened, but by then it was too late.
The Obito Shadow Clone disguised as Charleon was simply too close. Shisui had no ti to evade and could only hastily summon a thin layer of Armant Haki.
"Fire Release: Blazing Impact!"
At the sa mont, Obito's real body also attacked, condensing a huge amount of chakra, converting it into flas, and crashing into Shisui at high speed.
Bang!!
Shisui was blasted backward, the point of impact on his body glowing red from the heat.
"I underestimated Obito," Shisui admitted inwardly.
Obito rarely used complicated tactics, so Shisui had subconsciously assud that he had really used the Summoning Jutsu to bring out Charleon.
He had never expected Obito to create a Shadow Clone, have it transform into Charleon, and then deliberately fake being caught in Genjutsu.
"This battle is over."
From the stands, Kakashi already knew the result was decided.
The two had been evenly matched to begin with, and now Shisui had made a serious mistake. Even if he had not lost yet, turning the tide was no longer realistic.
After all, this was no longer the opening phase of the fight. Both of them had already spent a great deal of chakra and stamina. At this point, it was simply a matter of who was in better condition.
"This one finally looked a bit more like a real ninja battle."
Kakashi had to admit that Obito had actually used his head this ti instead of charging in on pure emotion.
"You're way too strict about what counts as a proper ninja battle, Kakashi. Obito has been very cautious in his last two fights," Rin said with a smile.
Although she had not seen the process of the semifinal clearly, Obito had personally recounted the whole thing to them afterward, even going into detail about his thought process.
Kakashi remained expressionless and said nothing more.
His standards were simply not the sa for everyone.
Just as Kakashi had predicted, once Shisui fell behind, the situation only worsened. In the end, he was the first to collapse.
"Hmph."
Obito panted heavily, no longer able to maintain his fully concentrated breathing.
When he saw Shisui fall, the exhausted Obito nearly slumped to the ground as well.
But the mont he rembered that Rin was watching from the stands, he clenched his teeth and forced himself to keep standing, making it look as though the victory had cost him nothing.
"Making it into the finals ans the mission is already complete."
Even in defeat, Shisui was in a fairly good mood.
His goal had never been the reward. What he wanted was to secure a strong ranking for Konoha in the Youth Martial Arts Tournant as an Uchiha ninja.
Although so villages did not take the tournant seriously, its popularity was undeniable, at least within Konoha and the Land of Fire.
As a competition watched by the entire ninja world, comparisons between villages were inevitable.
Now, with two Uchiha reaching the semifinals and one of them making the final, whenever Konoha ninja discussed the tournant, the Uchiha would have a major contribution to point to. That alone would strengthen the clan's sense of belonging.
After all, this could be considered bringing glory to both village and country.
"Uchiha Obito wins!" the referee announced.
With that, the semifinals ca to an end, and only the final battle remained.
Since it was the deciding match, there was naturally no way for exhausted contestants to rest only a few hours and continue. Obito and Nagato would each be given more than a full day to recover. The final would take place the day after tomorrow.
With the day's matches over, Obito did not return to the lounge. Instead, he slowly made his way toward the stands, planning to leave together with Kakashi and the others.
Kakashi and Rin had already anticipated that and had remained where they were, waiting for him.
"Hey, Kakashi, are you about to congratulate for making the finals? Honestly, it's nothing. I'm just two rounds above the semifinals."
The mont Obito arrived, he imdiately started showing off.
After all, if he didn't brag when he achieved sothing, was he supposed to wait until he ca dead last in an internal match?
Kakashi, who still had not said a single word, silently pulled out a photograph.
Even though he could not verbally refute Obito because of the punishnt he was under, he was certain Obito would understand exactly what that ant.
"What I ant was, Kakashi, if you hadn't run into Guy, you definitely wouldn't have stopped at the semifinals."
Obito glanced at the packed arena and decided to back down for now.
"Speaking of Guy, I wonder how he's recovering. Let's go visit him first," Rin suggested after rembering sothing.
Kakashi and Obito both nodded.
The group then headed together for the Shinobi Sect hospital and went to Guy's room.
At that mont, Mugetsu had just finished treating him.
"Obito, sorry. I'm still not strong enough. I couldn't beat Nagato, so I couldn't win that Fire Release for you," Guy said as he scratched his head.
"But the next match is yours. If you make it through, then it's all up to you!"
After saying that, Guy gave Obito a thumbs up in encouragent.
Obito froze for a mont.
He had not expected Guy to still rember the casual words he had said before the tournant began.
Then, thinking back to how Guy had forced open the Sixth Gate during the match, Obito suddenly felt a surge of emotion, and mories of all the training they had done together ca flooding back.
"Guy, I'll definitely avenge you tomorrow!" Obito declared, blood surging as he clenched his fists.
Kakashi looked at him in surprise.
To still say sothing like that after seeing Nagato's full power, was that bravery... or just madness?
But the hot blooded impulse passed as quickly as it ca. Without Kakashi even needing to say a word, Obito's mind automatically replayed the scene of Nagato's full power Shinra Tensei clashing head on with Guy's Sixth Gate and Rock Breathing Chakra Mode.
"Uh, I an... I'll do my best, but whether I can actually pull it off is another matter," Obito quickly corrected himself once reason returned.
If he were facing Kakashi at his current level, Obito could have bragged without hesitation, because at least there would still be a chance of winning.
But Nagato's strength was simply on another level. Obito was genuinely worried that bragging too hard now would only make the humiliation worse later.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 10–50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]
[One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Soul Land, NBA, and more — all in one place.]
User Comments
0 comments from readers