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Chapter 534: Obito: Should I Fight Nagato?
Chapter 534: Obito: Should I Fight Nagato?
Obito and Itachi unleashed a variety of Fire Style jutsu.
Explosions and flashes of fire filled the arena, creating a dazzling and chaotic display.
Both ninjas eyed each other, feeling a sense of dread as they struggled to find an opening.
Obito's slight advantage in Fire Style jutsu was not enough to gain the upper hand, and Itachi's Body Flame Technique also failed to provide a significant advantage.
"Should I summon the Fire Dinosaur?" Obito considered introducing a new element to break the stalemate.
But he quickly dismissed the idea, knowing that the Fire Dinosaur would be susceptible to his genjutsu, which meant it could also fall under Itachi's genjutsu. That would only add to his troubles, as he would have to both defend against Itachi and dispel the genjutsu on the dinosaur.
"Hey, maybe this will work," Obito thought, recalling Itachi's fight in the quarterfinals. A spark of inspiration flashed in his mind.
On the other side, Itachi was also contemplating whether to summon Soroya for an advantage.
Obito's strength was not inferior to Asuma's, and Itachi knew it would be challenging to protect Soroya in the midst of their battle.
"Great Fire Annihilation: Fire Emperor!"
Obito gathered a massive amount of chakra, enhanced by his Fire Breath Chakra Mode, allowing him to instantly convert all his chakra into fire nature.
As he raised his hands, a terrifying blaze rose, and a giant fireball, exceeding eight meters in size, appeared in his palms.
Technically, this was a smaller version of the Fire Emperor jutsu, as Obito did not channel all his chakra into creating the largest possible Fire Emperor, as he usually did.
Normally, he would use the Fire Emperor to annihilate his opponents, but this time, its primary purpose was to create a distraction.
Of course, it was also because he knew that even with his full power, he couldn't take out Itachi directly, so he had to resort to other tactics.
"Great Fire Annihilation: Fire Emperor!"
Itachi also gathered chakra and raised his hands, creating a giant fireball. He was well-versed in most of the fire jutsu that Obito knew.
When it came to the number of jutsu they had mastered, Itachi had the upper hand. However, many of those jutsu were not useful in this particular battle against Obito.
The two colossal fireballs, each as big as a multi-story house, raced towards each other, radiating intense and blinding heat.
As they drew closer, the air seemed to distort and twist under the scorching heat, emitting a hissing sound as if it were about to collapse under the pressure.
BOOM!!!
In the instant the two giant fireballs made contact, a deep and reverberating explosion shook the arena.
An unprecedented flash of fire erupted, sending waves of flames rolling through the air and releasing endless heat that caused the surrounding temperature to soar.
Even Itachi had to concentrate chakra into his feet to anchor himself to the ground, lest he be blown away by the force of the explosion.
The blaze obscured Itachi's vision, preventing him from assessing Obito's condition, and temporarily halting his offensive.
Itachi contemplated his options and ultimately decided against using the Summoning Technique to call forth Soroya. Instead, he reached into his ninja tool pouch and withdrew four kunai knives, infusing them with fire-attribute chakra to enhance them with flames.
As the flames from the Fire Emperor dissipated, Itachi's eyes fell upon Obito and the Fire Dinosaur standing beside him.
Without hesitation, Itachi threw the four kunai, each one trailing flames. Three of them locked onto Obito from different angles, while the fourth flew towards the Fire Dinosaur.
In the same instant that he threw the kunai, Itachi cast a genjutsu on the Fire Dinosaur, causing it to freeze in its tracks just as it was about to take a step forward.
Indeed, introducing new elements into the battle could break the stalemate. However, there was a problem: neither the Fire Dinosaur nor Soroya possessed the same level of strength as Menas, and they might be knocked out by a single Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu. Additionally, summoning them required chakra, which was a limited resource.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Obito had no choice but to defend himself by spitting out a fireball, intercepting and knocking down the incoming flaming kunai. But in the blink of an eye, Itachi launched another attack.
Seizing the rare opportunity, Itachi pressed his advantage and unleashed a relentless barrage, forcing Obito, who had to protect the Fire Dinosaur, to struggle to keep up.
Now, Obito had to not only help defend against the attacks but also find a way to dispel the genjutsu on the Fire Dinosaur.
Under the immense pressure, Obito exposed a vulnerability, and Itachi's punch, enhanced with Body Flame Technique, struck him. Even with the protection of the Fire Breath Chakra Mode, which surrounded him in flames, Obito could not injure Itachi due to the latter's Body Flame Technique.
Just as Itachi was about to press his advantage, the genjutsu-affected Fire Dinosaur suddenly moved, lashing out with a powerful spinning kick aimed at Itachi.
"Damn," Itachi realized what had happened, but it was too late.
Obito's shadow clone, transformed into the Fire Dinosaur, was too close to him, leaving Itachi with no time to dodge. He could only create a small amount of Body Flame Technique chakra as a last-ditch defense.
"Fire Style: Blazing Crash!"
Obito's main body also sprang into action, channeling a large amount of chakra and transforming it into flames. He charged at Itachi with incredible speed.
BOOM!
Itachi was sent flying by Obito's heavy collision, the impacted area of his body turning a bright red from the heat.
"I underestimated Obito," Itachi sighed inwardly.
Obito typically relied on straightforward tactics, so Itachi subconsciously assumed that he had genuinely summoned the Fire Dinosaur using the Summoning Technique. He hadn't anticipated that Obito would use a shadow clone, transform it into the Fire Dinosaur, and then pretend that it was affected by genjutsu.
After all, this wasn't the beginning of the fight, and both ninjas were running low on chakra and stamina; it was a battle of endurance now.
"This match was barely passable for a ninja." Kakashi had to admit that Obito had employed genuine tactics this time, rather than relying solely on his passion.
"It's not that your standards are too high, Kakashi. Obito has been very cautious in the last two matches." Rin Nohara smiled as she spoke.
Although she hadn't witnessed the quarter-final match, Obito had personally recounted every detail of the battle to her, even explaining his thought processes.
Kakashi remained expressionless and didn't continue the conversation. He didn't hold everyone to the same standards.
As Kakashi had expected, Tobirama, at a disadvantage, only fell further behind as time went on, eventually being the first to succumb to exhaustion.
"Phew." Obito panted heavily, no longer able to maintain his highly concentrated breathing.
Seeing Tobirama collapse, the weary Obito almost sat down on the ground as well.
However, the thought of Rin watching the match spurred him on, and he managed to stay standing, projecting an air of composure despite his fatigue.
"Making it to the semi-finals is good enough. I've accomplished my task," Tobirama said, accepting his defeat with a relatively positive attitude.
His goal wasn't the reward; he simply wanted to achieve a better ranking for Konoha in the Youth Ninja Competition as a member of the Uchiha clan.
While some ninja villages didn't take the Youth Ninja Competition seriously, the event was undoubtedly popular, especially in Konoha and the Fire Country.
As a competition among ninja villages, comparisons were inevitable, given the participation of numerous ninja villages.
Now, with two Uchiha ninjas in the semi-finals, whenever Konoha ninjas discussed the competition, the Uchiha clan would receive some recognition and enhance their sense of belonging.
After all, they had brought glory to their village and their country.
"The winner is Uchiha Obito!" the referee announced.
And with that, the semi-final matches concluded, leaving only the grand finale.
As the most important match, the finalists couldn't be expected to fight again after just a few hours of rest. Obito and Nagato had a day to recuperate before the final match, which would take place the day after tomorrow.
Since today's events had come to a close, Obito didn't return to the resting area but instead strolled towards the audience seats to leave with Kakashi and the others.
Rin and Kakashi had anticipated this and waited for Obito instead of leaving immediately after the match.
"Hey, Kakashi, are you congratulating me on making it to the finals? It's not that big of a deal; I've just advanced two levels from the quarter-finals," Obito said, unable to contain his excitement at the sight of Kakashi.
After all, who wouldn't want to boast about their achievements? It would be strange to sulk and pout about it instead.
Kakashi, who hadn't uttered a word so far: ...
Kakashi remained silent, simply taking out a photo.
Although he couldn't refute Obito due to his punishment, Kakashi believed that Obito would understand his meaning.
"What I mean is, Kakashi, if you hadn't come up against Guy, you definitely wouldn't have been eliminated in the quarter-finals," Obito said, glancing at the massive crowd in the venue and deciding to hold off for now.
"Speaking of Guy, I wonder how his recovery is going. Let's go visit him first," Rin suggested.
Kakashi and Obito nodded in agreement.
The three of them then made their way to the Ninja Hospital in the Ninja Kingdom to visit Guy's room.
Coincidentally, Mu Yue had just finished treating Might Guy.
"Obito, I'm sorry. I'm still not strong enough. I couldn't beat Nagato, so I couldn't help you get that Fire Style jutsu," Guy said, scratching his head apologetically to Obito.
"What happened in the second match? If you make it to the next round, it's all up to you then!"
After saying this, Guy gave Obito a thumbs-up as a gesture of encouragement.
Obito was taken aback; he hadn't expected Guy to remember the offhand comment he had made before their departure.
Recalling Guy's forceful entry into the Six Gates during their battle, Obito felt a surge of emotion as memories of their time spent training together flashed through his mind.
"Guy, I will avenge you tomorrow!" Obito declared, his fists clenched tightly.
Kakashi looked at Obito in astonishment. After witnessing Nagato's final Shinra Tensei, he was surprised that Obito could still make such a bold statement. Was he that courageous?
The surge of passion came and went quickly, and even without Kakashi's reminder, Obito's mind automatically replayed the scene of Nagato's full-power Shinra Tensei colliding with Guy's Six Gates, augmented by the Rock Chakra Mode.
"Umm, I mean I'll try my best, but I can't guarantee success," Obito clarified, coming back to his senses.
If Kakashi were at his current level of strength, Obito wouldn't have hesitated to make such a bold claim, as there would still be a chance of victory.
However, Nagato's strength far surpassed his own, and Obito was concerned about the potential fallout if he failed miserably.
PS: Only one chapter today. I have a friend's birthday, and after a few drinks, my head is spinning, and I can't write anymore.
(End of Chapter)
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