"A frontal assault, is it?"
"A bit hasty..."
His Sharingan locked onto the girl's movements, Obito's eyes remained confident.
Confidence born from strength, and strength proven by his record.
After all, he had nearly destroyed the entire village of Konoha...
Clang!
Long sword clashed against long sword.
The resulting impact made Obito's brow furrow slightly.
"Decent strength, but your intentions are too obvious."
With a disdainful snort, Obito put force into his movements, sending Itachi flying back with a swift kick.
Qingchuan, however, used the sudden burst of force from Obito to leap up, her figure flickering as she landed beside Itachi.
"Are you okay, Itachi-kun?"
She stole a glance at Itachi's eyes.
He hadn't activated those damned tomoe... Qingchuan's heart settled.
Good, not a total loss.
Itachi didn't answer, staring blankly at the girl before him.
He... didn't know what to say anymore.
If he hadn't notified Anko-senpai, Haruko, who didn't know the situation, probably wouldn't have rushed over.
Dammit!
To be seen in such a pathetic state.
I promised I would protect Haruko!
Itachi's heart was filled with nothing but self-reproach.
"I didn't expect to run into this kind of thing while out with Teacher Orochimaru for a couple of days."
"Luckily... it seems I'm not too late, Itachi-kun."
Qingchuan seemed to be comforting Itachi, but her words were mostly directed at Obito.
After that brief exchange, she had to admit, this Obito guy was pretty fierce...
A direct confrontation was likely impossible.
She could only... use her wits.
"Teacher Orochimaru will be here any minute. We just need to hold on for a little while," Qingchuan said, intentionally lowering her voice.
Of course, against a Sharingan, even if Obito were deaf, he could read her lips to know exactly what she said...
A wave of relief washed over Itachi!
Thank goodness! Haruko's teacher, Lord Orochimaru, is here too!
But...
So Haruko didn't chase after me for my sake?
He shook his head sharply.
Itachi's gaze gradually regained its firmness.
Dammit!
Why am I thinking about such things at a time like this!
"Be careful, Haruko. The enemy is a mystery; we have no intel on him yet."
"Let me test him with shuriken first."
Back online, Itachi quickly regained his composure.
But Qingchuan, beside him, felt her heart grow heavier.
Obito was strong.
Even without Kamui, Obito's current power was formidable.
Ninjutsu, taijutsu, and that half-body of his made from White Zetsu's Wood Release cells.
In the original story, the young Itachi had been completely powerless during Obito's massacre. He could only watch as his comrades fell one by one, forcing his eyes to awaken.
It was a matter of age.
And, of course, the "three times stronger when evil" buff.
This battle was destined to be anything but simple.
"When we start fighting in a moment, please stand behind me," Qingchuan said to those behind her without turning her head. She switched to a one-handed grip on her sword, pointing her free hand towards Obito.
Spiritual Power began to condense rapidly!
Beside her, Itachi flicked his wrist, sending several shuriken flying from the most difficult of angles, straight for Obito.
At the same time, Qingchuan's attack was ready.
"Hadō #33: Sōkatsui!"
A white explosion, like lightning, erupted violently from Qingchuan's fingertips!
It was another incantation-less version of the Kidō.
Qingchuan's spiritual power had grown considerably recently. Even without the amplifying chant, the reduction in power was becoming negligible.
At this moment, two tomoe appeared in Qingchuan's eyes, guiding the white flames to coordinate with Itachi's shuriken as best as possible.
As the shuriken and the sky full of flames approached from the front, Obito's initially contemptuous expression suddenly hardened!
"A hand-seal-less jutsu?!"
With a disbelieving cry, Obito's left eye instantly transitioned from three tomoe to the Mangekyō.
He activated his phasing, and all the attacks passed straight through his body.
"A Sharingan?!"
That strange eye immediately caught Itachi's attention.
Beside him, Qingchuan had already begun gathering spiritual power for a new attack.
"That's the Mangekyō Sharingan, from the books."
"Be careful, Itachi-kun," Qingchuan's voice was grave.
She crouched down, gripping Senbonzakura tightly with both hands.
Hadō was clearly useless against Obito's phasing.
That only left Bakudō...
Shunpo!
To Itachi's utter shock, Qingchuan charged forward!
Obito's ability was a headache. It was an absolute cheat, allowing him to shift any part of his body into the Kamui dimension just before an attack hit, completely avoiding all damage.
What Qingchuan had to do was test... whether a Shinigami's powers could affect this space-time dōjutsu.
Among the many Shinigami abilities, high-level Kidō and Bakudō capable of spatial suppression did exist. There was also the possibility that a high-level spiritual pressure, which could affect the physical world, might have some effect. But as a half-baked Shinigami, she was clearly not capable of that yet.
In a single dash, Senbonzakura flew towards Obito's head!
Unsurprisingly, the blade only cut through empty air.
Obito's expression returned to one of arrogant disdain.
As Qingchuan passed through his body, carried forward by her own momentum, Obito's hand expertly moved to intercept the back of her neck.
"If it weren't for the fact that you're still useful..."
"...do you really think you could get close to me with just those eyes of yours?"
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