Rainbow!

The Rasengan crashed into a figure that suddenly leapt from the boar's belly.

A heartbeat later, the figure burst apart, spraying sand everywhere—yet another sand clone.

But not an ordinary one.

Ishiki's Sharingan couldn't detect it as a clone—which meant it wasn't a simple substitution, but an actual Shadow Clone. A technique that split chakra. If someone used that much chakra just to bait him… then it meant one thing:

They were preparing a killing blow.

Ishiki released another wave of Ripple-infused bubbles. As his body dropped, he used one as a platform to launch upward again, flipping and landing gracefully on another bubble nearby.

Flawless movement.

Whoever was attacking him knew where to aim—always targeting weak points. That meant if Ishiki couldn't see the attacker, they could definitely see him.

So where's his weak point?

His own body was coated in Yang Release chakra—unless it was a killing blow, nothing could truly harm him. Which left one other option—

His eyes snapped toward [Magician's Red].

Yes. If the enemy was also a Stand user, would they know Stand vulnerabilities? Ishiki couldn't be sure. After all, Iggy's Stand in the manga—[The Fool]—was made of sand. It didn't feed damage back to the user.

But what if this Stand wasn't [The Fool], just something similar? If it were a humanoid Stand with sand-controlling powers, and it obeyed conventional Stand rules, then…

The Stand could be targeted to kill the user.

Ishiki's defense was superior to any Stand. If he were the enemy, he'd attack the Stand instead.

Ripple confirmed the presence of one chakra signature underground. But he was convinced—it was another decoy. The real enemy was inside the boar.

Just as he realized it, a brown Saint's Eye peeked through the crack in the boar's skull—glaring directly at [Magician's Red].

And in that moment, the sand on [Magician's Red]'s fist exploded—two sand spikes lashed toward its eyes!

From within the beast's corpse, the real ninja launched forward—propelled by sand—his blade aimed straight for the Stand's heart.

But what followed left him stunned.

At point-blank range—[Magician's Red] dodged.

It tilted its head ever so slightly. Just enough.

And then—

A chakra scalpel pierced through [Magician's Red]'s torso and drove straight through the ninja's forehead.

He didn't understand. He had chosen the perfect angle, one Ishiki couldn't react to—directly in line with his Stand. But Ishiki hadn't hesitated.

He'd stabbed his own Stand to land a killing blow.

Didn't he know Stands share damage with their user!?

The pain blossomed in Ishiki's chest—a deep wound from blade to lung. But he clenched his jaw.

This was the fastest, cleanest way to end it.

[Magician's Red] had dodged on reflex. Ishiki had struck on instinct.

After all… [Magician's Red] had once dodged Silver Chariot's rapier in close quarters—why would some sandy toothpick matter?

As the enemy's head lolled back, the Stand's hand reached forward—plucking the Saint's Right Eye from the collapsing corpse.

But just then—Ishiki's Sharingan caught something.

Obito… vanished.

Panic surged. Ishiki flashed to [Magician's Red]'s side, hand grasping the Eye, as flames erupted around them.

But a black-gloved arm pierced the fire, aiming straight for Ishiki's face.

Too late.

Or so Obito thought.

In the blink of an eye, both the fire and [Magician's Red] vanished.

And in its place—

a new Stand, white like drifting clouds, emerged at Ishiki's side.

Rainbows—pure, vivid arcs—burst outward from Ishiki's body, painting the air with brilliance.

And in that moment, a sudden gust of wind launched Ishiki backward, dragging him far out of Obito's reach.

Obito's hand swiped nothing. Flames licked around him, seemingly burning through his body, but his form phased—untouchable.

Kamui. The intangible body technique.

Ishiki knew it well. Obito could only stay untouchable for about five minutes at most.

The sky roared with rising fire. Ishiki's fingers grasped the scroll at his waist and tore it free.

Obito was trying to kill him. Why?

Simple: he'd seen Ishiki's Sharingan.

So what if he had?

Ishiki had no respect for Obito. If anything, he wouldn't mind killing him here and now.

But Obito hadn't expected this.

That Stand—that rainbow wind—that speed—

Ishiki had countered Kamui.

Obito's body descended through the air, landing on the battlefield—but the fire was still there, circling, spiraling.

He sneered from within the flames.

"You dare covet the Uchiha's eyes? You deserve to die."

Through his mask, he'd already seen it—under Ishiki's shades: a fully awakened three-tomoe Sharingan.

But as he moved to strike—

His knees buckled.

Obito collapsed.

He looked down in horror.

His legs… had become giant snails.

No—slugs.

What the hell!?

How was this possible?!