Hiruzen persuaded me to die

"Hyuga Naraku?!"

Uchiha Obito's pupils shrank suddenly!

For a moment, he thought he was hallucinating!

Why did Naraku appear in front of him the moment he had just finished speaking?!

On Hyuga Naraku's side, he was calmly staring at the raging One-Tail, Shukaku. His hands slowly formed seals:

"Wood Style: Wood Dragon Technique!"

Rumble—!

A massive wooden dragon erupted from the earth beneath Shukaku's feet!

The colossal, bloated tailed beast was instantly coiled tightly by the wooden dragon's body!

Then—

Naraku raised his hand slightly, and a giant black Yin-Yang Rod shot forth!

Boom!!

With the earth trembling underfoot, the rod pierced Shukaku's thick tail and nailed it to the ground!

The rampaging One-Tail was instantly pinned—immobile for several long breaths!

"Wh-What?!"

The Fourth Kazekage was dumbfounded!

Shukaku was subdued that easily?!

And it couldn't move at all!

His own Magnet Release could only temporarily suppress Shukaku's movement. Sealing it completely required time and cooperation.

But this Hyuga... just a few hand signs and a flick of the wrist—

Shukaku was nailed down like it was child's play!

"Konoha's Fifth Hokage… why is he here?!"

The Fourth Kazekage frowned deeply.

Uchiha Obito had also recovered by this time.

Suppressing a tailed beast so effortlessly…

No ordinary person could do that!

This man had to be the Hyuga Naraku! There was no way this was a Sand ninja using Transformation Jutsu!

"The situation's changed. Grab Shukaku and retreat—now!"

White Zetsu emerged beside Obito and whispered.

Black Zetsu, however, looked utterly exasperated.

Obito—this guy—just because he gained a little power, he started acting like a big shot!

Ever since he got the Summoning Scroll for the Nine-Tails from Uchiha Madara, he had rushed straight to Konoha...

Only to get absolutely wrecked by Namikaze Minato!

He barely escaped with one arm!

And now?

Having awakened both Mangekyō, Obito was again drowning in his own confidence.

He was intoxicated by the power of Susanoo—as if even Hyuga Naraku didn't matter!

To Black Zetsu, Obito's head was full of holes!

They came to capture a tailed beast—not to show off!

Now look—Naraku is here. Are you happy, genius?

The expression under Obito's mask changed drastically, but then his gaze sharpened:

"Kamui!"

His three-pointed Mangekyō spun rapidly!

His aim: Naraku's lower half!

Obito wasn't planning to retreat!

He had both Mangekyō now—he wanted to test himself against Hyuga Naraku!

But—

He dared not use Kamui directly on Naraku.

What if he accidentally sucked Naraku into his Kamui dimension?

That would be the end of him!

Even Izanagi couldn't save him then!

"Trying to hit me? That takes guts."

Hyuga Naraku smirked, casually dodging the spatial tear.

At the same time, he threw a kunai.

"That's—?!"

Obito's eyes narrowed.

There was a strange technique formula etched onto the kunai!

Flying Thunder God Kunai!

Obito's body trembled.

He immediately looked away—

Whoosh—!!

A massive section of the land nearby was torn into nothingness!

"Quick reaction."

Naraku commented casually, his mouth curling in amusement.

Hah—

Obito exhaled sharply in relief.

Thank god that kunai wasn't sucked into his Kamui space!

If it had been, Naraku could've warped directly into his dimension using the Flying Thunder God technique!

"What kind of ninjutsu is this?!"

The Fourth Kazekage stared at the chunk of vanished land, stunned.

He couldn't even begin to comprehend the exchange between Naraku and the masked man.

All he could sense was that... Naraku had the upper hand.

"Stop fighting him! Just retreat with the One-Tail!"

Black Zetsu was close to losing it!

Could they focus for once?!

They were here for a tailed beast, not a sparring match!

But—

Before Obito could react, Hyuga Naraku had already finished forming seals:

"Hokage-Style Elder Jutsu: Deep Forest Emergence!"

A massive wooden arm erupted from the earth—stamped with the character "座"—and pressed firmly against Shukaku's skull!

In Shukaku's giant eyes, the Sharingan faded away—

Reverting to its original brass hue.

Naraku descended slowly, controlled by his own gravity technique, landing directly atop Shukaku's head.

He raised his hand and marked a pupil-shaped Flying Thunder God seal on the beast's crown.

Uchiha Obito: "..."

He had just been thinking about using Kamui to extract Shukaku…

Meanwhile, Shukaku, now freed from genjutsu, regained consciousness.

And immediately noticed—

"DAMNED HUMAN, GET OFF ME!!"

Shukaku's voice pierced the air in fury.

But—

It couldn't move!

Its entire body was still bound by the Wood Dragon!

Its tail was nailed into the ground by that terrifying black rod!

"Such a rude little tanuki."

Naraku said nonchalantly, tightening the wood dragon's grip!

"Why the hell do YOU have Wood Style?!?"

Shukaku screeched in indignation.

The Wood Dragon was draining its chakra! The more it resisted, the tighter it squeezed!

Shukaku's bloated body even began to deform under the pressure!

"No good... We're no match for him."

Black Zetsu said, his expression dark.

Now that Naraku had marked Shukaku with his teleportation technique, it was impossible for them to escape with it!

"There's no other way—retreat."

Black Zetsu sighed.

There were other ways to harvest tailed beast chakra.

Like using Impure World Reincarnation to summon a past Jinchūriki with leftover tailed beast chakra.

Luckily, White Zetsu had once spied on Hiruzen practicing the technique…

"No!"

But to Black Zetsu's dismay—

Obito refused!

"How can I not be his equal?!"

"I have both eyes now!"

Obito roared in frustration.

He and Hyuga Naraku had attended the academy together.

Now, with his full Mangekyō, how could he still not be a match?!

Susanoo's arms raised high, its chakra blades gleaming—

It slashed down toward Hyuga Naraku!

"Bold. I'll give you that."

Naraku said with a nod, then formed hand seals again:

"Wood Style: Wood Dragon Technique!"

Two new wooden dragons erupted from the ground, barreling toward Susanoo!

"You bastard! Don't underestimate me!!"

Susanoo's dual blades slashed wildly, resisting the dragons' crushing force.

But—

Even so, it was slowly being bound again!

"I… won't… accept this!!"

Obito's eyes flared, and chakra exploded around him once more!

BOOM!

The wooden dragons were blown away by Susanoo's raw power!

Its body surged with energy—

Then transformed again!

Obito rose into a crystalline pentagon above Susanoo's head—

Susanoo's fourth form!!

Towering nearly 100 meters tall!

It lacked only wings—otherwise, it was nearly a complete form!

"Hyuga Naraku—come on! Let's finish this!"

Obito's eyes bled, yet were filled with unshakable confidence.

This overwhelming strength—

It felt like godhood!

"This height…"

Hyuga Naraku looked up, slightly impressed.

Even without Six Paths' power, Obito's Mangekyō was powerful enough to rival Kage-tier threats!

"But… that's as far as it goes."

Naraku formed another set of seals:

"Wood Style: Wooden Golem Jutsu!"

BOOM!!!

A towering wooden golem over 100 meters tall erupted from the ground!

Its massive figure loomed over the battlefield.

Even in height—it surpassed Susanoo!

"Wha—"

Obito's face went stiff.

------------------------------

To be continued...