Chapter 437: The Masked Man with a Dark Will
"It's over… yes, it's almost over."
At this moment, the masked man no longer showed any of the panic from before. Having found a way to break the deadlock, he felt as if the clouds had parted and the sky had cleared.
But at this point, no one had noticed a crucial issue.
Wasn't this completely backwards?
Shouldn't it be the protagonist facing an overwhelmingly powerful villain, racking their brain, fighting desperately, using every resource available, and finally finding a way to turn the situation around?
So why had it turned into the masked man being pressured for so long, only to grow stronger under that pressure?
This was completely upside down.
"Ten, nine, eight…"
The masked man suddenly began counting down.
On Shiromo's side, they had just spent quite a while explaining Izanami, classic "villains die from talking too much."
Now the masked man refused to be outdone.
Worried that Shiromo and the others might steal his role as the villain, and afraid they wouldn't time the end of his intangibility correctly, he actually started counting down himself.
"Seven, six, five?"
Halfway through, the masked man suddenly noticed that Shiromo had, at some point, taken out a recorder and started recording.
But he ignored it and continued counting.
"What are you doing?"
Senju Hashirama asked curiously, effectively voicing the question the masked man couldn't ask.
"Recording an audio clip for Kakashi. I'll give it to him as a birthday present."
As soon as Shiromo said this, the masked man's newly regained confidence wavered again.
The way he said it… it sounded like he already knew his true identity?
Panic began creeping back into the masked man's heart, to the point that he completely ignored the logical flaw in Shiromo's statement.
Why would a countdown recording make a good birthday present for Kakashi?
Wait… could it be…
As expected, Shiromo, as a true veteran, was on a completely different level from the newer generation.
Konan glanced at Shiromo but said nothing.
For one, if she spoke, it would reveal that she understood the implication.
And secondly… there wasn't enough time.
"Three, two, one!"
The masked man finished his countdown, and his body became tangible.
Konan immediately withdrew the surrounding explosive tags, clearing space for Uchiha Naori to move in.
Even if she hadn't withdrawn them, it wouldn't have mattered. As an Impure World Reincarnation body, Uchiha Naori could coordinate with Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags.
But the shockwaves from the explosions would still interfere with her movements.
As for attacking the masked man with explosive tags?
By the moment he became tangible, he had already silently activated Izanagi.
No matter how much damage they dealt now, it would all be reset afterward.
Konan wasn't trying to rack up damage or compete for MVP, so she simply pulled the tags back.
So, what was the masked man's plan to break the deadlock?
First, he had indeed activated Izanagi immediately.
Even though Konan had withdrawn the explosive tags, he didn't think his judgment had been wrong.
He wasn't going to gamble on whether Konan might secretly set a trap somewhere.
Or whether the Second Hokage might suddenly strike with Flying Thunder God Slash.
So activating Izanagi was a given.
The real key was how to avoid being caught in Izanami.
That was everything.
"Hahahahaha!"
Thinking this, the masked man suddenly burst into manic laughter.
One of the Four Great Uchiha Maniacal Laughers had arrived!
"To make me the second Sage of Six Paths, this is the Will of Fire of Konoha, hahaha! Thank you, Kakashi!"
Facing Uchiha Naori rushing toward him, the masked man showed no panic. He calmly activated Kamui.
Previously, in order to get revenge on Kakashi, the masked man had used Kamui to absorb a large amount of foul sludge, bringing disaster upon Konoha.
In the end, it had only been barely contained through the combined efforts of the village, Kakashi using Kamui to absorb it, Might Guy's team sacrificing themselves to block it in a spiral formation, and Yamato sealing it.
Although at the end, Yamato had gotten the hang of it and triggered a sudden detonation.
After that incident, the masked man naturally had to clean out the Kamui dimension.
Otherwise, not only would he be unable to return, but every time he used intangibility, he'd end up covered in filth.
So, under the name of Uchiha Madara, he had descended upon a bandit camp and released the sludge from the Kamui dimension, flooding the entire place.
Before leaving, he even wrote on the walls using the filth: "The killer was Uchiha Madara."
But that still wasn't the end.
Because releasing it was like opening a floodgate, it cleared most of it, but the residue still had to be cleaned manually.
Just like when Kakashi had once transferred an exploding septic tank during the Chunin Exams.
The masked man had to personally mop it up with a bucket and cloth.
But this time, after cleaning, he didn't throw it away.
Perhaps inspired by his earlier "Imitation Toad Oil Flame Bullet" attack on Kakashi, the masked man deliberately kept several buckets of the sludge inside the Kamui dimension.
He left them there to dry, ferment, and "refine."
Later, he even went out of his way to steal more from toilets, on a level comparable to White Zetsu during the Hidan operation.
The purpose of storing this "imitation toad oil" in the Kamui dimension was to enhance his Fire Release attacks, something the Uchiha specialized in.
But he had never imagined that today, it would actually save his life.
"Come on!"
A large bucket appeared in the masked man's hand through Kamui, and he threw it above his own head.
What was this?
Was he doing the Ice Bucket Challenge?
No, the truth was…
Splash.
The contents of the bucket poured down, drenching his entire body.
The masked man was now literally covered in filth.
Uchiha Naori, who had been charging toward him, saw this and her Sharingan pupils shrank. She immediately activated Susanoo and came to an abrupt stop midair.
Even without any sensory enhancement to detect smell, just relying on her Sharingan vision alone, she could already tell that what covered the masked man was something beyond foul, a masterpiece of filth.
"Haha, cough!"
Seeing Uchiha Naori hesitate to approach, the masked man tried to laugh, but accidentally swallowed some of it and choked.
Without hesitation, he immediately activated Kamui and began teleporting away.
As he transferred, he couldn't help but admire his own brilliance.
He had known it, Uchiha Naori's personality and attire clearly marked her as a classic noblewoman of the Uchiha clan.
There was no way she would willingly touch something so filthy.
But he, Uchiha Obito, was different!
He was a lotus blooming from the mud, someone willing to do anything to achieve Infinite Tsukuyomi and become the second Sage of Six Paths!
"…What exactly are you even laughing about?"
Even Shiromo looked disgusted.
In truth, the masked man still hadn't won.
With a simple time-stop, Shiromo could have easily stopped him.
But the problem was…
Back when Joseph Joestar fought Dio, there had been no need to coat his body in Hamon.
If he had just jumped into a pile of filth and soaked himself in it, even if Dio could stop time, he probably wouldn't have wanted to touch him.
(End of this chapter)