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Chapter 98N
🕑 Added 2025-07-14 15:46:15 +0000 UTCChapter 98N
2-in-1-chapter
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"What... is going on?"
Rēn furrowed his brow, watching Uchiha Obito charging toward him at full speed. He immediately raised his guard, cautious and wary. He couldn’t quite figure out what Obito was trying to do—was he rushing back to recover from his previous setback? Was he about to use some trump card?
But something didn’t seem right.
The six-bladed pinwheel pattern in Rēn’s eyes spun. He wasn’t activating a dōjutsu technique at that moment; he didn’t think Obito would be foolish enough to fall for the same trick twice. He was simply observing, pushing the insight of his Mangekyō Sharingan to the limit, carefully analyzing what exactly was happening with Obito.
After having his dōjutsu power drained so severely, Rēn had assumed Obito would retreat temporarily...
Yet not only did he not leave, he charged straight at him instead.
For a moment, Rēn felt like a tiger trying to strike a hedgehog—he couldn’t find an opening. He sensed that Obito must have some unknown trick up his sleeve. Otherwise, it was impossible he would rush forward recklessly like this.
At that moment, through his maximized vision, Rēn saw the approaching Obito clearly.
He fell silent.
He didn’t even know what to say.
In his field of view, Obito’s chakra was in a state of chaos so shocking it defied belief—especially in his head, where the disordered mental energy swirled like a violent typhoon. Frankly, for Obito to even be able to run and jump in this state, rather than lying on a stretcher in urgent care...
"The pinnacle of Yang Release... a Sage Body?"
Faced with Obito’s irrational vitality and mobility, Rēn could only attribute it to Obito’s left half, which was suffused with astonishing life energy.
That left half of his body was the most stable area, radiating nearly limitless physical energy to regulate the rampant chakra inside him, and at the same time nourishing that depleted Mangekyō Sharingan. His exhausted dōjutsu power, nearly dried up before, was beginning to recover.
"Yang Release!"
Rēn’s gaze burned with intensity.
Seeing Obito like this was like seeing a clear, aspirational goal. Obito only possessed an incomplete Sage Body... what if it were a complete one?
But now wasn’t the time to marvel or admire.
Staring at Obito, who was quickly approaching the front of Susano’o, Rēn, after a brief moment of thought, dispelled Susano’o and leapt alone to the treetops ahead with Samehada in hand, quietly waiting for Obito to come closer.
Against a small and agile enemy, a large body could sometimes become a hindrance.
Especially when facing Uchiha Obito, who possessed Kamui, a space-time technique. No matter how ferocious Susano’o’s attacks were, they meant nothing to Obito. Rather than wasting dōjutsu power, it was better to adopt a more flexible combat style.
Then—
"Uchiha Rēn!"
A violent roar erupted, filled with searing rage.
"This time, I, Uchiha Madara, will definitely kill you!"
Rēn was already tired of hearing threats about killing him; the line of people shouting such things probably stretched from the Hokage’s office all the way to Konoha’s main gate. What caught his attention was Obito’s self-identification: Uchiha Madara? While he had long been pretending to be Madara before...
Now it felt completely different.
Before, it seemed like a claim made for show. But now Obito seemed to genuinely believe he was Madara from the depths of his heart.
"An act? Or has he truly gone insane?"
An act seemed unlikely.
The extreme disorder of Obito’s chakra couldn’t be faked. But madness... could he really have gone that far?
Obito gave Rēn no time for quiet thought. Whether by instinct or lingering intelligence, Obito didn’t just charge in foolishly—he formed hand seals as he ran, activating a jutsu.
Earth Release: Moving Earth Core.
This Earth Release allowed him to manipulate a selected area of land, raising or lowering it at will. At this moment, Obito chose to elevate the ground beneath Rēn’s feet. The square platform of rock and soil rose straight into the sky, carrying Rēn and the trees upward by force.
Then a barrage followed.
Massive kunai and shuriken, as if made for giants, emerged from twisted space and flew toward Rēn.
"Obstructing my vision?"
Rēn looked down at the incoming weapons. His field of view was indeed being hindered. The Sharingan lacked x-ray vision; unlike the Byakugan, it couldn’t see through solid objects. Apart from distance, physical obstruction was another way to block a Sharingan user’s sight.
Sharingan genjutsu was visual-based genjutsu.
Even Mangekyō Sharingan genjutsu required line of sight to activate.
Without seeing the enemy, genjutsu couldn’t be used.
"If you won’t leave, then... let’s enjoy round two!"
Rēn smiled, forming hand seals. His final seal was not the common "Tiger" seal,
But the "Dragon" seal.
Wind Release: Pressure Damage.
A B-rank Wind Release jutsu, considered an advanced technique. While jutsu rank didn’t always correlate perfectly with destructive power, most high-rank offensive jutsu were generally stronger than their lower-rank counterparts—that was common sense.
Pressure Damage was a pure offensive jutsu, its destructive force ranking among the top Wind Release techniques. If judged by wind force alone, it could even be called the strongest conventional Wind Release.
Rēn inhaled deeply, his chest expanding then collapsing as he expelled even the last bit of air from his lungs. He exhaled a fast-moving, semi-transparent, high-pressure wind sphere, within which a tornado seemed to swirl. It hurtled toward the massive kunai and shuriken flying his way.
Calling it a tornado wasn’t just a figure of speech.
Many people knew the "Flame Demon" excelled at Fire Release, but few knew he had also worked hard to master Wind Release to maximize his Fire Release’s killing power.
The high-pressure wind sphere collided midair with the dark, oversized kunai, erupting instantly in a vortex-like storm that shattered the iron weapons. The swirling winds swept up the fragments, creating an even more terrifying destructive vortex.
If anyone entered that storm, even their bones would be ground to dust.
Of course, there were always exceptions.
Like Uchiha Obito, who passed through the vortex completely unharmed. His use of Kamui had become nearly instinctual—despite his clearly impaired mental state, he still used Kamui to phase through the storm, scaling the steep rock wall to reach the shattered stone platform.
All of this seemed to serve as a distraction.
It allowed Obito to get close to Rēn’s side without being caught in genjutsu before he arrived.
Although, from Rēn’s perspective, it was unnecessary. Why not just warp directly with Kamui? This roundabout approach only highlighted Obito’s current instability. His battle instincts and confused mind were wrestling for control, producing this erratic behavior.
"Maybe this is my chance?"
Rēn flexed his wrist, and Samehada bristled with spikes in response.
Like a phantom,
Obito appeared behind Rēn.
The descending Fan of the Uchia was intercepted by Samehada.
"Samehada!"
Rēn twisted his wrist, and Samehada’s body instantly elongated, coiling like a snake around Obito’s fan and lunging at Obito’s left arm. From Samehada’s perspective, Obito’s chakra was irresistibly delicious—truly top-quality. But as it bit down, it snapped at empty air, catching nothing.
In that instant, Obito vanished into thin air again, taking the Gunbai with him.
However,
The expected storm of attacks never came. Obito’s use of Kamui wasn’t so frequent that it pressured Rēn. Frankly, Obito’s attacks were weak to the point of being almost laughable.
Even so,
Rēn had no good counter for Kamui’s irritating space-time properties. Having suffered once at the hands of Rēn’s genjutsu, Obito carefully avoided eye contact.
Rēn also couldn’t catch another Mangekyō Sharingan user in genjutsu without direct eye contact.
Against non-Uchiha shinobi, maybe—but not here.
Apart from genjutsu, his conventional ninjutsu and taijutsu had no way to break through Kamui’s defense. Obito might be utterly deranged, but he remained untouchable.
Rēn held Samehada in his right hand, parrying Obito’s sporadic attacks, while his left hand moved toward his left eye.
"Should I use it now?"
He pondered silently.
Until now,
He had used Konohana-Sakuya three times, but his other eye’s dōjutsu had never been revealed. Not because he was saving it intentionally—there simply hadn’t been the opportunity. Unlike Konohana-Sakuya, which could sustain itself in battle, this other eye’s ability was purely a heavy consumption tool.
In his left eye, the six-bladed pinwheel spun.
A surge of dōjutsu power was gathering.
Now was the time. A golden opportunity was right before him. Even if success wasn’t guaranteed, it would be a shame to let it slip.
But just then,
An unexpected development occurred.
When Obito’s attack was parried and he should have phased away as before, he didn’t. Blood dripped from beneath his mask. Rēn froze briefly, then his mind raced. He noticed Obito’s dōjutsu power weakening again.
Suddenly, he understood.
Even with the nourishing Yang Release from his partial Sage Body, Obito couldn’t recover the massive depletion caused when Rēn used Konohana-Sakuya on him earlier. His chakra deficit was simply too severe—it couldn’t be replenished so quickly. On the contrary, his constant use of Kamui had left him overdrawn.
At this point, he couldn’t return to his personal dimension.
A chance!
This was the real opportunity!
Rēn’s spirits lifted. He used Body Flicker Technique to close the distance instantly. Samehada wrapped around Obito’s Fan of Flames, while his left hand drew the long sword at his waist. The blade’s edge was wrapped in a silent, chilling wind blade that spun like a chainsaw.
This sword could cut steel like rotten wood.
His Mangekyō Sharingan glowed blood-red as he swung the sword down toward Obito’s neck.
Wood Release: Binding Thorn Kill Technique!
Vine-like wood burst from the ground, snaking around Obito like a serpent. This Wood Release was meant to restrain and kill targets, either preventing escape or strangling them on the spot.
Yet at this moment,
It served as protection.
Slender but harder than steel, the wooden tendrils blocked Rēn’s sword strike. Splinters fell like rain, but Obito remained unscathed. No, not completely—his right arm holding the Gunbai hadn’t been protected by the wood, leaving a conspicuous gap.
"You’re not leaving without leaving something behind."
Rēn gritted his teeth.
He rotated his blade, abandoning the tangled wood and driving his wind-wrapped blade down through the exposed opening. Blood spurted like a fountain as Obito’s right hand was severed. The hand and the Gunbai fell together.
Then the ground trembled.
A giant wooden construct appeared beside the stone platform. Its enormous fist came crashing down toward Rēn like thunder. He rotated his gaze, but could not spot the jutsu’s caster—neither White Zetsu nor Black Zetsu seemed ready to reveal themselves.
"Susano’o!"
Rēn’s Mangekyō Sharingan glowed an even deeper crimson.
His deep-scarlet Susano’o instantly evolved into its fourth stage. A massive arm rose to meet the giant wooden fist. But it was a hurried reaction, and Susano’o staggered back under the force of the blow, tumbling off the platform.
"Still escaped, huh?"
Rēn clicked his tongue.
But when he saw Samehada holding the Gunbai in its maw, a smirk finally formed at the corner of his mouth—at least this wasn’t a complete loss.
