Hiruzen persuaded me to die

The towering Wooden Golem seemed to move slowly, but every step spanned dozens of meters!

"Not good!"

Uchiha Obito finally snapped out of his daze.

By now, the Wooden Golem was already in front of him!

A fully charged punch slammed straight toward Susanoo's head!

Obito had no time to dodge. He could only raise Susanoo's arms to block the brutal strike!

BOOM!

A deep, thunderous impact!

A violent shockwave rippled out!

Uchiha Obito felt the world spin around him in an instant!

He—and his nearly 100-meter-tall Susanoo—was sent flying!

"How is this possible?!"

Obito's eyes nearly burst from rage!

He had activated his full Mangekyō Sharingan, conjuring a Susanoo far beyond the third form!

So why?

Why is it still so fragile?!

BOOM!

Susanoo crashed into the ground, toppling several large buildings!

The Fourth Kazekage and the Sand shinobi looked on, utterly stunned!

"What kind of battle is this…?"

The Kazekage's expression was bitter.

Even he had to exert effort just to remain standing in the shockwaves produced by these giants' clash.

That glowing blue Susanoo and the massive Wooden Golem—

Both of them towered over even the One-Tail, Shukaku!

Sand's proudest weapon, Shukaku, looked like a harmless house cat in comparison!

"Thank goodness we already evacuated the villagers…"

A nearby Sand ninja exhaled in relief.

In this kind of battle, even if you weren't the target, the aftermath alone could kill you!

"Lord Kazekage, what should we do now?"

A Sand ANBU asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Lord Kazekage," another voice added.

"Are we just going to stand here and watch them wreck the entire village?"

"If this keeps going, Sunagakure will be reduced to rubble!"

The Fourth Kazekage—Rasa—opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.

After a long pause, he sighed deeply.

"All Sand ninja—stand by."

His voice was calm, but his expression was heavy.

To the surprise of his subordinates, the Kazekage had chosen not to intervene.

But what else could they do?

Even as Kazekage, he had no qualifications to interfere in this battle!

Back when Susanoo was only as big as a tailed beast, it had already been hard to deal with.

Now—

The mysterious blue giant had grown to nearly 100 meters tall!

If not for the sudden appearance of Konoha's Fifth Hokage…

Sunagakure might've truly been helpless before this masked man.

On Obito's side…

Controlling Susanoo, he struggled to his feet.

His eyes ached, but he forced himself to maintain Susanoo's form.

The fourth form Susanoo had fully grown legs, and Obito's body was encased in the crystal atop its head.

Visually, it didn't seem much smaller than Hyuga Naraku's Wooden Golem.

But—

That short exchange earlier…

Obito had fully realized:

The power gap between them was enormous.

Even with a clumsy defense, he had been sent flying like a ragdoll.

"Your eyes are truly powerful…"

Naraku said, slowly advancing with his Wooden Golem, his tone somewhat appreciative.

"But compared to the legendary Uchiha Madara… still far from it."

Ordinary Mangekyō Sharingan users could only manage a third-form Susanoo.

Like Shisui—that had been his limit.

But Obito's Susanoo, with legs and a mounted control crystal, was bordering on the complete-body form.

This level of Susanoo could only be achieved by wielders of Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan—but not quite perfected.

Like Uchiha Sasuke, who once reached this form in the original timeline.

True full-body Susanoo had complete defense, massive wings, and stable chakra.

Only Uchiha whose Yin chakra reached near-Six Paths levels could manifest it.

And Uchiha blood had thinned considerably since Indra's time.

It took transplanting eyes between close blood relatives to awaken the Eternal Mangekyō.

In the original series, even Kakashi managed full-body Susanoo after receiving Obito's chakra—but that was due to Six Paths amplification.

Obito had once been the Ten Tails' Jinchūriki.

He had experienced the yin-yang balance of Six Paths power.

That residual influence gave him pupil strength far above the Eternal Mangekyō tier.

But now…

The Obito before him merely had two regular Mangekyō Sharingan, paired with Hashirama cells.

He wasn't capable of unleashing true full-body Susanoo.

"Still… with just Mangekyō Sharingan, reaching this Susanoo form... your talent ranks among the best in Uchiha history."

Naraku offered genuine praise.

Even if he couldn't understand Obito's motives—

He had to admit: this man's resolve and eyes were incredibly strong.

In canon, Obito had even suppressed the Ten Tails by will alone!

"You bastard!!"

Obito snarled, gritting his teeth!

The words may have sounded like praise…

But that condescending tone—he couldn't stand it!

His Mangekyō spun furiously, and his pupil power surged again!

Susanoo stabilized once more!

"Go to hell! Yasaka Magatama!"

Nine glowing magatama spun at high speed, radiating intense light as they flew at the Wooden Golem!

"Nice try."

Naraku nodded in approval.

The Wooden Golem raised its hand—calmly catching all nine magatama!

"…What?!"

Obito gasped.

That was his full-power Yasaka Magatama—

And it was caught like a baseball?!

Without hesitation, the Wooden Golem flung them away—outside the village!

BOOM!!

A thunderous explosion rocked the outer rock walls of Sunagakure!

A massive gap was blasted open in the stone wall.

After briefly holding firm, the wall crumbled completely!

The explosion's light lit up the entire sky!

"Was that a Tailed Beast Bomb?"

The Fourth Kazekage's eyes widened.

But then he shook his head.

He had seen plenty of Shukaku's Tailed Beast Bombs—

And they couldn't even come close to this level of devastation!

"Are these guys even human?!"

One Sand ninja murmured with lingering fear.

If that blast had landed inside the village—

Sunagakure would've been wiped off the map.

"I won't lose to you!!"

Obito growled, furious!

Back in Konoha, he had wanted to be Hokage—but couldn't even beat Kakashi.

Now, in Akatsuki, planning the Eye of the Moon Project—

And still couldn't defeat Hyuga Naraku!

How is that fair?!

If he couldn't surpass Naraku, his entire dream of Infinite Tsukuyomi would be in vain!

"DIE!!"

Obito roared, channeling all his fury into one strike!

Susanoo unsheathed the massive chakra katana from its waist and slashed down with explosive power!

But—

The Wooden Golem calmly put its hands together, catching the blade mid-swing!

No matter how Obito pushed, the chakra sword felt like it had sunk into molasses—it wouldn't budge an inch!

In Obito's horrified eyes, the Wooden Golem reached out and grabbed Susanoo's body with one hand.

Then—

It punched Susanoo's head with its free hand!

BOOM!!!

The pentagonal crystal atop Susanoo's head—dense and hardened—shattered under the Golem's fist!

"AHHHHH!!"

Obito's scream echoed in agony!

Even though the blow had been softened, the impact still rocked his body!

The special mask on his face cracked slowly under the overwhelming force…

Until—

It shattered completely.

And the face of Uchiha Obito—

Once thought dead—

Was finally exposed to the world again.

To be continued...