Chapter 198: The Power to Destroy All Creation, The Reincarnation Technique

"It's almost there. Just one more thing, and I'll reach the pinnacle of the Six Paths level, fully entering the complete stage."

Looking at the nine Truth-Seeking Balls floating around him, Yagyu's lips curled into a faint smile as he muttered to himself.

His voice caught the attention of Uchiha Obito, who was at the bottom of the crater.

Currently in an unconscious state, Uchiha Obito, whose instincts regarded all living beings as enemies, acted like a frightened animal. Instead of fleeing, he launched an attack at the source of his fear.

In an instant, Uchiha Obito vanished from the bottom of the crater and reappeared behind Yagyu, swinging his Six Paths staff toward him.

The seemingly heavy staff carried a force capable of annihilating everything—provided the target wasn't on the same level or in the same dimension.

Clang—

Yagyu seemed either unaware or unresponsive to Uchiha Obito's sudden appearance behind him.

However, the Truth-Seeking Balls around him acted as if they had their own defense system. One of the black orbs transformed into a beam of black light, colliding with the incoming Six Paths staff.

The collision produced a loud clang.

The force of the impact sent Uchiha Obito's staff flying to the side, and the sheer power of the collision even caused his body to tilt slightly.

At that moment, Yagyu turned around and delivered a punch to Uchiha Obito's abdomen.

The expressionless Uchiha Obito, devoid of human emotions or consciousness, finally showed signs of pain and contortion on his face.

Boom—

A terrifying shockwave erupted from Uchiha Obito's body.

To be precise, a massive vortex of chakra burst from his abdomen, spreading out like a storm and engulfing the surroundings.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that Uchiha Obito's abdomen had caved in, and the terrifying force had penetrated his body, wreaking havoc within.

If it weren't for the fact that Uchiha Obito had become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, a direct hit from Yagyu's punch would have left him either dead or severely crippled, even with half of his body composed of Hashirama's cells.

But that wasn't the end. With a grin, Yagyu declared, "Second Release!"

Boom———

An even louder sound and shockwave erupted.

In the next second, Uchiha Obito was sent flying backward.

From his back, an astonishing stream of air erupted, instantly forming a massive, cylindrical, transparent air cannon. It resembled a super laser, cutting through the night sky like a white line before crashing into the red, transparent barrier.

The Four Red Yang Formation, which even the Ten-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb couldn't shake, trembled under the impact of the air cannon. Like a stone dropped into a mirror-like lake, ripples spread across the barrier.

"Such... such incredible power. What kind of jutsu is this?"

"That's not a jutsu. It's the same kind of super strength punch we use."

"Are you kidding? A super strength punch can reach this level?!"

"Maybe we can't, but Yagyu is a different story. After all, he's on a completely different level now."

"Yeah... I feel like just releasing his chakra would be enough to immobilize me. Those nine floating black orbs contain an unimaginable amount of chakra. My Byakugan can see the volcanic power within them. If that chakra were to explode, I can't even imagine the destruction it would cause."

"That person also has similar orbs. It seems like they appeared on him first. Could these terrifying black orbs be a standard feature of that level?"

"Most likely..."

Since the Four Red Yang Formation was maintained by four people, Hinata and the others could feel the tremendous power of the air cannon through the vibrations of the barrier.

With her Byakugan and Mind's Eye of the Kagura, Hinata and Karin immediately recognized the source of the attack.

It was the super strength punch, a technique the Senju clan excelled at, corresponding to the Uchiha clan's Fire Release. It was a chakra burst technique.

However, unlike their method of spreading chakra to destroy the ground, Yagyu compressed his chakra into an air cannon capable of piercing through anything.

In reality, Hinata and the others only guessed half of it.

Yagyu's punch was a double strike. First, it was a straightforward super strength punch, followed by the piercing air cannon.

Uchiha Obito had essentially been hit twice.

The "Second Release" was inspired by Naruto's Frog Kumite from Mount Myōboku, where Yagyu used natural energy to deliver a two-stage attack.

The power of this punch was no weaker than Might Guy's Evening Elephant from the original series when he opened the Eight Gates.

Clearly, after stepping into the Six Paths level, Yagyu's Five Elements Techniques had evolved from Sage Art to Six Paths Sage Art, and his physical abilities had skyrocketed from Kage and Super Kage level to Six Paths Sage Art level.

Both Six Paths Sage Art and physical techniques were among the few abilities capable of injuring a Ten-Tails Jinchūriki.

Thus, after taking Yagyu's punch head-on, Uchiha Obito's body, ravaged internally and externally by Sage chakra and physical force, was visibly deformed.

However, his body was recovering at a visible rate.

Simultaneously, the lifelessness in Uchiha Obito's eyes gradually faded, replaced by a glimmer of consciousness.

Yagyu's punch had inadvertently given Uchiha Obito the upper hand in regaining control of his body.

When Uchiha Obito landed, his deformed body had fully recovered, and his eyes had completely regained their brightness.

"So powerful... Is this the power of the Six Paths Sage?"

After regaining control of his body, Uchiha Obito, like Yagyu earlier, began to sense the changes within.

The vast chakra within him, the seven chakra natures he hadn't mastered over the years, were now fully realized. His proficiency in nature transformation and shape transformation had reached their peak, allowing him to create the miraculous Truth-Seeking Balls and unlock the various abilities of the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki.

Previously, his overall strength was at the level of an elite Jonin—capable of threatening the Five Kage. However, without Kamui, he would have been easily defeated by Ōnoki and the Fourth Raikage.

It was no wonder he reacted this way. Above the elite Jonin level were the Kage level, the Five Kage, the pinnacle of the Five Kage, the threshold of the Super Kage level, and the apex of the Super Kage level—an invisible hierarchy.

Uchiha Obito had merely become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki. In the original series, even with Kamui's intangibility, he was almost killed by Konan. His strength had now leaped across multiple levels, barely entering an otherworldly realm.

If he were in the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki state and could still use Kamui's intangibility, Yagyu would never have let him live this long, nor would he have allowed him to become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki.

After all, the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki's physique was already incredibly overpowered. Only Sage techniques, physical techniques, or special attacks could penetrate its defenses.

Space-Time Ninjutsu was one such special method.

If Uchiha Obito could still use Kamui's intangibility, only Space-Time Ninjutsu or attacks capable of distorting space, like Night Guy from the Eight Gates, could harm him.

But there was no "if."

This was the drawback of not being the true owner of the Rinnegan while becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki. Not only did one have to endure the Ten-Tails' will, but they also couldn't use the Rinnegan's exclusive techniques or their own unique abilities. Only the innate powers of the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki were available.

Still, even with just the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki's powers, Uchiha Obito was already formidable.

Swish, swish, swish...

After his brief reflection, Uchiha Obito's Six Paths staff was suddenly engulfed in red flames.

These flames didn't emit intense heat but carried a rule-like power similar to the Truth-Seeking Balls, capable of disintegrating everything.

This was one of the unique abilities of the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki—Cross Fire.

Boom—

With the red flames covering his Six Paths staff, Uchiha Obito merely swung it lightly. The annihilating and disintegrating force reduced the tree branches that had suddenly shot up from the ground to bind him into dust, as if they had been hit by Particle Style, disintegrating into atoms and vanishing into the air.

In the next moment, Uchiha Obito floated into the air, staring down at Yagyu, who was also dressed in a white robe with nine Truth-Seeking Balls floating around him. His pupils contracted in shock as he exclaimed, "What's going on? Why does he have this power too? Has he also become a Ten-Tails Jinchūriki?"

But he quickly realized something was off and muttered, "No, his eyes aren't the Rinnegan, and his chakra reserves aren't as vast as mine. Could these Truth-Seeking Balls be imitations of mine?"

Unable to figure it out, Uchiha Obito decided to test Yagyu.

He raised his hand, and one of the Truth-Seeking Balls beside him transformed into a black beam, shooting downward.

In the blink of an eye, the black beam reached its maximum range, reverting to a black orb before emitting a blinding white light.

Boom———

In an instant, an explosion comparable to a Ten-Tails Tailed Beast Bomb erupted, nearly deafening Naruto, Sasuke, and the four women maintaining the Four Red Yang Formation. Even the elite forces of the Five Great Nations, who had just finished eliminating their enemies and were considering whether to assist, decided against it and chose to retreat from the battlefield—and even the Land of Rain—to await the outcome of Yagyu's battle.

That level of combat was beyond their participation. Even the Five Kage were nothing more than larger ants in the face of such otherworldly power.

After the white light dissipated, a massive crater, no less impressive than the one created by the Sage Art Particle Style: Rasenshuriken, appeared within the Four Red Yang Formation's barrier.

Like the Sage Art Particle Style: Rasenshuriken, the walls of the super crater were smooth, with no debris left from the explosion—as if the area had been erased by a rule-like force.

And that was indeed the case.

This was why the Truth-Seeking Balls were considered an SSS-rank jutsu, on par with the Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands.

Over the centuries, there had been no shortage of large-scale explosion techniques in the ninja world.

For example, the Tsuchigumo clan's forbidden technique, Deidara's self-destruction, and even the Tailed Beast Bombs were all capable of destroying several small mountains.

The Ten-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb was the pinnacle of such power, second only to the chakra cannon from the Cloud Village in the movies. It was a force capable of easily annihilating a country and redrawing the map.

However, none of these forbidden techniques or Tailed Beast Bombs reached the SSS-rank. Even Uchiha Madara's Armored Susanoo and the combined attack of Susanoo's sword with a Tailed Beast Bomb were, at best, on par with the Almighty Push.

Such techniques couldn't destroy the incredibly resilient Truth-Seeking Balls or the Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands.

In fact, when Tailed Beast Bombs were fired at the Truth-Seeking Balls or the True Several Thousand Hands, they would instantly vanish or be caught and thrown back by the wooden hands.

The reason the Truth-Seeking Balls were on par with the True Several Thousand Hands and could rival them was due to their self-destruct power.

The rule-like annihilation was an otherworldly force superior to Particle Style. Even the Rinnegan's Preta Path couldn't absorb it—one had to escape from the explosion that annihilated everything.

No matter how resilient the Wood Release was, no matter how much chakra and natural energy it contained, once caught in the white light of the explosion, it would instantly turn to dust.

Thus, the Truth-Seeking Balls were known as the technique capable of destroying all creation.

Just as only a Six Paths-level being could combat another Six Paths-level being, the only ways to defend against the Truth-Seeking Balls' explosion were to possess Space-Time Ninjutsu or to have Truth-Seeking Balls of one's own.

Yagyu was one who possessed both.

Inside the super crater, a black orb floated, completely unharmed by the explosion.

Once the white light dissipated and calm returned, the black orb rose into the air, liquefying back into nine Truth-Seeking Balls.

Seeing Yagyu unharmed, Uchiha Obito's heart sank.

"So, he has Truth-Seeking Balls too! What exactly happened while I was unconscious?"

"It seems you've regained consciousness," Yagyu said with a smile, looking at Uchiha Obito. "You're not the true owner of the Rinnegan, yet you managed to overcome the Ten-Tails' will. I didn't expect there to be another Uchiha like you in this era, aside from Shisui, Itachi, and Sasuke."

"I owe it to you. Without you, I wouldn't have succeeded."

Uchiha Obito glanced toward the distance, where Uchiha Madara, in his Complete Body Susanoo, was crushing Naruto and Sasuke, who were using their Armored Susanoo. Seeing the overwhelming power of the being he had once feared, and noticing that the curse mark on his heart had dissipated, Uchiha Obito couldn't help but show the Uchiha clan's characteristic pride and smugness as he smiled.

However, in the next moment, he was proven wrong, much to Yagyu's surprise.

Swish—

From the direction of Uchiha Madara and Naruto-Sasuke's battlefield, a blinding white light suddenly flashed.

In a certain part of the Land of Rain, a voice shouted:

"Rinne Rebirth!"