A faint smile curled at the corner of Kurogane Ren's lips. He didn't doubt that Nagato would still cooperate with Uchiha Obito in the future, but the thought of how difficult it would be for them to reconcile made him want to laugh.
Weighing the kunai in his hand, he spoke casually, "That technique you used to evade my attack just now… it's a space-time ninjutsu, right? Quite a rare ability. If possible, how about teaching it to me? In return, I might consider collecting one less 'special creature.'"
"Impossible."
Uchiha Obito rejected him outright. "This isn't a technique you can learn."
Kurogane Ren knew that already. He was only saying it to flesh out the persona he had improvised.
"What a shame. So you're here to stop me from obtaining that peculiar creature called the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path?" he asked.
"That's not something you're allowed to covet," Obito replied coldly.
"Tch. That's not for you to decide. Don't think that just because you have a space-time ninjutsu, you can stop me." Kurogane Ren narrowed his eyes. Though he spoke confidently, inwardly, he was extremely wary.
Kamui was not an ability that could be easily countered. Even his Water Release: Water Blade Circulation couldn't be maintained indefinitely.
He felt a tinge of regret. He hadn't yet reached the level where he could enhance his reaction speed with Lightning Release. If he had, dealing with Obito would be far easier, even without additional trump cards.
On the other side, Nagato listened to their exchange and glanced at Obito.
The moment he heard "space-time ninjutsu," everything clicked. No wonder his Rinnegan had failed to detect the man twice, only sensing him when he appeared.
So he had been hiding in another dimension all along.
Nagato's expression turned strange.
Why did it feel like this man's goal was also the Demonic Statue?
Before all of this, he had never even thought of summoning it. So how did these two know about it?
If Kurogane Ren had discovered it through observation, that was one thing. But Obito had approached them long before any of this happened…
Could this entire situation have been planned in advance?
With that thought, Nagato's wariness toward Obito deepened. Meanwhile, he took advantage of the standoff between the two masked men, as Konan fed him several soldier pills to help him recover his chakra.
Kurogane Ren looked at Obito, then pulled a shuriken from his pouch and hurled it forward while forming a seal with one hand.
"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
In an instant, the few shuriken multiplied into countless copies, filling the sky like a shower of stars as they shot toward Obito.
"Useless," Obito said calmly. He didn't even bother dodging. The shuriken passed straight through his body and embedded themselves into the Demonic Statue behind him.
"Tch. What a troublesome space-time ninjutsu," Kurogane Ren clicked his tongue. He knew Kamui couldn't be maintained forever, but the problem was that he couldn't sustain a continuous, gapless assault like Konan's future ten billion paper bombs.
Even with techniques like the Shuriken Shadow Clone, there would always be intervals. Obito could simply materialize during those gaps, but Kurogane Ren had no way of distinguishing when he was tangible.
That meant he couldn't exploit Kamui's weakness at all.
"My attacks are ineffective against you, yet you still refuse to give up?" Obito tried to pressure him into retreat.
Just as Kurogane Ren had no good way to deal with him, Obito also found Kurogane Ren troublesome.
Kamui required physical contact to activate, but that swirling water blade technique prevented him from getting close. As for other offensive ninjutsu, he simply didn't have many options.
After all, not long ago, he had only been a mediocre Chunin. Even if he had been patching up his weaknesses recently, it wasn't something that could be accomplished overnight.
At this moment, he even regretted parting ways with White Zetsu after his body had recovered. If they were still together, his Wood Release might have given him a better chance. Even if he couldn't kill his opponent, he wouldn't be this passive.
As for now, he had no intention of summoning White Zetsu. He himself had already been exposed. It was best for White Zetsu and Black Zetsu to remain hidden and avoid revealing their connection to him in front of Nagato.
"Can your space-time ninjutsu really be maintained indefinitely? Your chakra shouldn't be enough for that," Kurogane Ren said.
"Who knows?" Obito replied casually, sitting down atop the Demonic Statue and looking down at him from above.
"Tch. I don't believe a space-time ninjutsu can be that cheap." Kurogane Ren formed hand seals again. Since physical attacks didn't work, he would switch to ninjutsu.
"Water Release: Water Surge!"
"Earth Release: Rock Collapse!"
"Lightning Release: Ground Flow!"
…
A barrage of ninjutsu erupted from Kurogane Ren, yet every single one passed harmlessly through Obito's body, producing no effect whatsoever.
It was the kind of fight that bred despair.
Occasionally, Obito would counter with Fire Release techniques, almost like a cat toying with a mouse, but Kurogane Ren easily evaded them.
Still, the difference was clear. Kurogane Ren had to dodge Obito's attacks, while Obito didn't even need to move against Kurogane Ren's. Who held the upper hand was obvious.
At least, that's how it appeared.
Nearby, Konan watched in shock. The masked man who had easily captured her couldn't even touch the other masked man.
Even if it was due to space-time ninjutsu, the sheer helplessness of the situation was suffocating.
He would give up soon, wouldn't he?
If this continued, his chakra would run dry. And when that happened, Obito would seize the opportunity to kill him.
Obito thought the same. He was deliberately draining Kurogane Ren's chakra, occasionally taunting him to provoke more attacks.
And the "provoked" Kurogane Ren said nothing, continuing to unleash ninjutsu relentlessly.
"What an idiot," Obito thought. In that case, his earlier decision to release Konan suddenly made sense.
At that moment, Kurogane Ren's body erupted with another surge of powerful chakra.
"So he still has this much chakra left? But this should be his last reserves," Obito thought. Without knowing about Kurogane Ren's Uzumaki bloodline, he judged based on experience. Even a Jonin should be nearing exhaustion after such a barrage.
His eyes narrowed. His body tensed within the Kamui dimension. The moment Kurogane Ren's chakra ran out, he would strike and end him.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"