Sarutobi Hiruzen and Uchiha Obito were locked in a stalemate.
But Uchiha Obito was very clear that he had already fallen into an absolute disadvantage.
The only reason he hadn't been pulled out by the Shinigami's soul extraction was because, in his intangible state, his soul was also within the Kamui space.
But once the intangibility ended, his soul would be pulled out of his body by Sarutobi Hiruzen and sealed together with him inside the Shinigami's stomach.
It was clearly a mutual destruction outcome, but he didn't think Sarutobi Hiruzen's life could be compared to his own.
"What? Not going to try it? Between this invincible eye technique and your life, which one is more important?", Seeing Uchiha Obito remain silent, Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke again, his tone carrying a sense of temptation.
The expression under Uchiha Obito's mask became extremely ugly.
He used to think Namikaze Minato was already invincible in the world, but after this battle, he realized, "The Strongest Hokage" was not an empty title.
The opponent's endless techniques and calculations had completely driven him into a desperate situation.
Although Izanagi had a miraculous effect, being able to make any unfavorable event that occurred within a certain time frame disappear as if it had never happened and only retain the favorable ones as reality, 'But if I truly use this eye, can I really escape from Uchiha Fugaku with my vision lost?'
Moreover, unless it was absolutely necessary, unless it was the moment before death, he would never want to use this eye.
Because Kamui was his only trump card, the key to breaking free from Uchiha Madara, to escape the fate of being a pawn.
He was Uchiha Obito, and although he had always claimed to be Uchiha Madara, he had never truly been Madara.
He didn't want to be Madara's pawn either, but aside from this eye, everything else he had came from Uchiha Madara.
This eye was his most important trump card.
When the Moon's Eye Plan was completed, he would let Uchiha Madara die completely, and then he himself would become the savior of this world, creating a world where Rin existed.
So, he absolutely could not lose this eye.
But now, he no longer had the ability to break the deadlock.
Because to undo the Reaper Death Seal, aside from external interference, the only way was to kill Sarutobi Hiruzen, the caster.
But Uchiha Obito himself had to maintain his intangible state and couldn't actively attack.
Uchiha Fugaku, standing nearby, might also dislike Sarutobi Hiruzen, but right now it was obvious he hated Obito even more.
The mutual destruction of both would be the most favorable outcome for him.
As for Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Obito clearly understood why that guy had chosen to cooperate with him.
A guy who put Konoha first would never truly help him.
And over at the Akatsuki…
His actions this time were a secret mission, and he hadn't informed Nagato or Konan of the details at all.
Besides, even if they knew, they'd probably wish for his death here.
'That's right!'
Uchiha Obito had a sudden flash of inspiration.
'There was still one more person who acted with me tonight!'
Also the only one in the whole ninja world who might save him.
'—Black Zetsu!'
He was the incarnation of Uchiha Madara's will. If he still wanted to carry out the Moon's Eye Plan, then he would definitely step in to help him.
'But…'
'Does that guy really have the ability?'
Uchiha Obito's mood sank again.
As he pondered, four minutes had already passed.
Only one minute left until the end of the intangible state…
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! You damned old bastard!", Under the gaze of Sarutobi Hiruzen, like a cat playing with a mouse, Uchiha Obito couldn't help but curse out loud, completely losing his composure.
The final moment had arrived, and with his once-clever mind, he couldn't think of any way to break the deadlock.
His hands slowly lifted with difficulty. After Kamui ended, he was going to seize the moment to cast Izanagi.
"Heh heh, finally made up your mind?", Seeing Uchiha Obito prepare to form hand seals, Sarutobi Hiruzen already knew that the other party had decided to give up that eye.
As long as the opponent lost that Mangekyo, lost that troublesome space-time ability, even with Wood Release, he wouldn't pose too much threat to Konoha.
Even Wood Release had levels of strength.
Hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's words, Uchiha Obito became even more furious.
Even many within the Uchiha clan didn't understand Izanagi, yet this outsider, Sarutobi Hiruzen, knew it inside and out.
'All because of that inherently evil old Senju bastard, Tobirama!'
The intangible state ended, and Uchiha Obito returned to physical form.
That giant Shinigami hand also seemed to finally grasp its target, beginning to pull the soul from Uchiha Obito's body.
"AHHHH!"
Feeling that pulling force, Uchiha Obito let out a roar of helpless rage.
He couldn't complete the final hand seal of Izanagi no matter what.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was fully focused on pulling out Uchiha Obito's soul.
Uchiha Fugaku still watched from the side, just as Obito had thought, the death of both parties was the most favorable situation for the current Uchiha.
Splurt!
Suddenly, the sound of tearing flesh rang out.
Everyone's eyes froze, staring blankly at the black hand that pierced through Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart.
———
Time rewinds to a few minutes earlier.
"Truly useless trash!"
"Uchiha Obito, you're just trash!"
"Even an old geezer about to die can push you to this point!"
Always following beside Uchiha Obito, Black Zetsu had been hiding underground with the Mayfly Technique, witnessing the entire process of Obito getting thoroughly beaten.
Black Zetsu only felt like the sky was collapsing.
He had painstakingly nurtured this maxed-out account for years, fully geared, originally thinking it would be a breeze. But as soon as it stepped onto the field, it got demolished.
Not only were all his trump cards exposed, but now the guy was about to die.
The Fourth Great Ninja War wasn't even ready yet, and he already had to prepare for the Fifth?
He was on the verge of completely breaking down.
Not even when Kaguya Ōtsutsuki was sealed had he lost composure like this.
It wasn't that he hadn't thought of jumping out to merge with Obito's will and fight side by side.
But his power was what it was, even Uchiha Fugaku could beat the crap out of him.
What if there was another Mangekyo Sharingan around?
If Uchiha Obito died, he could wait, after all, he'd waited a thousand years, but if he died, then there really would be no hope.
But someone like Uchiha Obito, high specs but no brain, it was hard to find another tool like him. He couldn't give up so easily.
Besides, the current situation wasn't without opportunities,.Black Zetsu's specialty was playing from behind.
Battles among ninjas were information wars.
To be fair, Black Zetsu's direct combat power was nearly zero, even an elite jonin could wipe the floor with him.
But when it came to stabbing people in the back, he was the best in the ninja world.
At a time like this, charging in headfirst would be a dead end.
He had to use strategy.
He was already secretly closing in on Sarutobi Hiruzen.
But this way, his ninja-world-famous backstab technique was going to be revealed.
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