Chapter 188: Obito’s Escape Route

"Hah… hah… hah…"

Half-kneeling on the frozen courtyard, Obito clutched his cheek through the remnants of his mask, panting heavily.

Although Izanagi had restored his body, it couldn't erase the agonizing memory of being engulfed by magma. The burning pain still haunted him, making his limbs tremble involuntarily.

"Haha… You may have struck me down, but I won in the end," Obito muttered, a twisted smirk forming under the mask. "That white-eyed brat is trapped in Kamui space with no way out. He can only sit there and wait to die."

He sighed in relief, but his reprieve was short-lived.

Whoosh!

Darui suddenly appeared behind him, his massive sword crackling with Lightning Release chakra as it descended toward Obito's back.

Boom!

Obito barely dodged by throwing himself into the air, but the blade gouged a deep scar into the ground.

"Hiramekarei: Liberation!"

Before Obito could regain his balance, Chojuro leapt into action, swinging his chakra-charged Hiramekarei like a giant hammer.

Bang!

The attack landed squarely, sending Obito's body crashing into the courtyard wall like a rag doll. He slid to the ground, coughing and gasping for breath.

"Damn it… Without Kamui, they're impossible to deal with…"

Obito gritted his teeth, regret creeping into his mind. He had underestimated the Five Kage and their guards, thinking his Kamui would guarantee his safety. Now, without that trump card, he was trapped and vulnerable.

"The strength I have now is far too weak…" he thought bitterly. I need more power, or the Eye of the Moon plan will be shattered before it begins.

Nagato's Rinnegan came to mind—Madara's true power. Nagato's health was deteriorating; soon he would no longer be fit to wield it. Obito knew he would have to claim the Rinnegan for himself to fulfill the plan.

Creak…

From the wall behind Obito, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu emerged.

"Looks like you got beaten pretty badly," White Zetsu teased with a snicker. "Hehe, you're no match for that white-eyed brat after all!"

"Now's not the time for sarcasm," Black Zetsu snapped. "Focus on covering his retreat! Use the plan we prepared earlier."

Obito steadied himself and nodded. "I'll leave it to you…"

Before Zetsu could act, Tsunade charged through Darui and Chojuro's defensive line, her ankle smashing down with terrifying force toward Obito.

"Hand over Kirito!"

"Tch!" Obito barely avoided the blow, using his Sharingan to predict her movement. As the ground shattered beneath Tsunade's strike, Obito placed a hand on her shoulder.

"If that's what you want," he said coldly, "then go join him!"

The space around Tsunade twisted into a swirling vortex. Along with the debris and rubble from her attack, she was sucked into Kamui's dimension.

"Now!"

Seeing Obito's momentary vulnerability, Darui and Chojuro lunged at him simultaneously. With a wall behind him and no time to escape, they were sure this attack would finish him off.

But Obito smirked beneath his mask.

"Too naive."

To their shock, his body phased through the wall behind him, vanishing entirely.

Boom!

Darui's sword and Chojuro's Hiramekarei smashed into empty ground, leaving nothing but dust and shattered stone.

"Damn it!" Darui growled, leaping over the wall to pursue. He froze in frustration as he watched multiple masked figures—clones of Obito—scatter in every direction.

"Which one is the real one?!"

"Cee!" Darui shouted, calling out to the sensory ninja.

Cee, eyes closed and hands clasped, focused intensely but shook his head. "No good. They all have identical chakra signatures. I can't tell them apart."

Ao, who had activated his Byakugan, sighed. "The same here. His transformation jutsu is too perfect. Even the Byakugan can't distinguish between the real body and the clones."

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a pitch-black space gate twisted open in mid-air. A foot emerged and kicked one of the fleeing clones back toward the wall.

Kirito stepped out of the gate with Tsunade slung over his shoulder, his expression calm and cold.

"Looks like I came back just in time," Kirito said, setting Tsunade gently on her feet.

Tsunade blinked in confusion, glancing around at the scattered clones. "He's back? What happened? And what are these?"

"Clones," Kirito replied. "He's using transformation techniques to escape."

As he spoke, wooden figures sprouted from Kirito's back, quickly shifting into identical copies of himself. The clones darted off in all directions, pursuing Obito's scattered doubles.

"Wood clones…" Tsunade muttered, understanding his intent. "You're not letting him escape."

Kirito nodded and walked toward the clone that had been kicked back. Taking out a black rod, he stabbed it through the figure's chest. To everyone's surprise, instead of dispersing like a shadow clone, the "body" reacted to the chakra and began transforming.

The pale skin darkened, roots sprouted from its body, and within moments, it turned into a small, lush tree.

"What is this?" Tsunade asked, frowning.

"These are artificial humans created by Akatsuki," Kirito explained. "They can mimic appearances and chakra so perfectly that even the Byakugan can't tell them apart. But when infused with specific chakra, they react like this."

Everyone stared in disbelief at the tree that had once been a human-like figure.

Kirito continued, "They're far more realistic than shadow clones. Even after death, they maintain their form unless triggered by specific chakra. It's no wonder we couldn't find the real Masked Man."

As his clones spread out across the battlefield, Kirito remained still, Byakugan active, waiting for the real Obito to reveal himself.

This ends here.

(End of this chapter)

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