Chapter 534: Obito: I Have to Fight Nagato?
Obito and Shisui unleashed one Fire Release technique after another.
Explosions constantly shook the arena, and flashes of fire lit up the field from time to time.
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 Armament Haki could not give him much of an advantage either.
"Should I summon Charmeleon?" Obito wondered, thinking about introducing a new factor to break the deadlock.
But then he quickly shook his head.
If Charmeleon 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 Charmeleon dispel the illusion. That would be far too troublesome.
"...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 Flame Ring: Flame Emperor!"
Obito condensed a massive amount of chakra. With the boost from Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, he instantly completed the nature transformation of all that chakra.
The moment he raised both hands, terrifying flames surged upward, and a giant fireball more than eight meters across formed above them.
Strictly speaking, this was only a smaller Flame 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 Flame Emperor to crush his enemy head on.
This time, however, its real purpose was to create an opening.
Of course, part of that was because even if he used all his strength, Flame Emperor still would not be enough to defeat Shisui in one blow, so he needed a different approach.
"Great Flame Ring: Flame 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 seemed 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 flames blocked his vision completely. For the moment, he could no longer tell what Obito was doing and could not launch an attack.
After a moment 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 flames.
When the blazing light of Flame Emperor finally subsided, Obito and Charmeleon 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 Charmeleon.
At the very moment he released the kunai, Shisui also cast a Genjutsu on Charmeleon, 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 Charmeleon 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 consumed 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 came again.
Faced with a rare opportunity, Shisui pressed forward relentlessly, and Obito, burdened with protecting Charmeleon, 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 Charmeleon break free of the Genjutsu.
Under that pressure, Obito exposed an opening and was struck by Shisui's fist coated in Armament Haki.
Even though Flame Breathing Chakra Mode had cloaked Obito's body in flames, Shisui's Armament Haki nullified the damage.
Just as Shisui was about to follow up and end the exchange, Charmeleon, 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 Charmeleon was simply too close. Shisui had no time to evade and could only hastily summon a thin layer of Armament Haki.
"Fire Release: Blazing Impact!"
At the same moment, Obito's real body also attacked, condensing a huge amount of chakra, converting it into flames, 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 assumed that he had really used the Summoning Jutsu to bring out Charmeleon.
He had never expected Obito to create a Shadow Clone, have it transform into Charmeleon, 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 time 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 same 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 moment he remembered 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 means 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 Tournament as an Uchiha ninja.
Although some villages did not take the tournament 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 tournament, 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 came 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 me for making the finals? Honestly, it's nothing. I'm just two rounds above the semifinals."
The moment Obito arrived, he immediately started showing off.
After all, if he didn't brag when he achieved something, was he supposed to wait until he came 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 punishment he was under, he was certain Obito would understand exactly what that meant.
"What I meant 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 remembering something.
Kakashi and Obito both nodded.
The group then headed together for the Shinobi Sect hospital and went to Guy's room.
At that moment, 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 encouragement.
Obito froze for a moment.
He had not expected Guy to still remember the casual words he had said before the tournament began.
Then, thinking back to how Guy had forced open the Sixth Gate during the match, Obito suddenly felt a surge of emotion, and memories of all the training they had done together came 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 something like that after seeing Nagato's full power, was that bravery... or just madness?
But the hot blooded impulse passed as quickly as it came. 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 mean... 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.
.....
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