Chapter 93 (Patreon)

“What a fast blade…”

The body that had been severed in two fell through the air toward the bottom of the cliff.

Uchiha Obito stared at Nerona Mihawk, who stood atop the cliff, and voiced the same amazement nearly everyone showed upon witnessing Mihawk’s swordsmanship for the first time.

A moment later, the two halves of Obito’s falling body gradually faded into nothingness.

Whoosh!

The instant Mihawk saw this, he leaped backward without hesitation.

Obito reappeared in his original position, while a trace of disappointment crossed Mihawk’s face.

Boom!

The massive boulder struck the ground below the cliff with a thunderous crash.

In the distance, the four women preparing the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier instinctively turned toward the sound.

When they saw the familiar figure standing atop the cliff—and the black cloak patterned with red clouds worn by the person facing him—their eyes narrowed.

“That’s Mihawk! And those clothes…”

Ino Yamanaka’s expression changed.

“He’s from the Akatsuki!”

Hinata also stared toward the cliff with worry in her eyes.

“Stay focused.”

Shizune’s firm voice pulled their attention back.

“Mihawk is handling that man. Our mission is to seal the Three-Tails. Don’t allow yourselves to become distracted.”

“Yes!”

Hinata and the others hurriedly responded before returning their full attention to the preparations for the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier.

Team Guy, stationed nearby, had also noticed the two figures atop the cliff.

However, none of them spoke.

They continued scanning their surroundings, remaining alert for anyone who might attempt to interfere with the sealing team.

The pillar of light that had previously risen from the distant lake had already disappeared.

The Three-Tails might have already surfaced.

An increasingly dense white mist spread across the lake and gradually drifted toward the surrounding forest.

At first, the women below could still see Mihawk and Obito standing atop the cliff.

However, as the mist thickened, both figures gradually vanished from sight.

The fog did not affect the two men facing each other.

Mihawk watched Obito reappear and felt a trace of regret, but he was not particularly surprised.

As expected, assassinating Obito would not be so easy.

However, the way Obito had reappeared, combined with the unmistakable sensation Mihawk’s blade had transmitted when it passed through his body, revealed what had happened.

Obito had not avoided the attack with Kamui.

Mihawk had truly cut him in half.

Obito must have used Izanagi, the forbidden technique capable of rewriting reality and altering the user’s fate.

That meant one of the Sharingan in his possession had already gone blind.

“Hey! Do we have some kind of grudge?”

Obito shouted indignantly.

He continued speaking in Tobi’s exaggerated voice, sounding as though he were the one who had been wronged.

“Why would you suddenly try to kill me without even saying hello?! Do you know I would’ve died just now if I hadn’t prepared a trump card?”

On the surface, he continued playing the fool.

However, beneath the spiral mask, Obito’s expression had become completely solemn.

A young man with long hair similar to Kakashi’s, wielding swordsmanship capable of killing an opponent with every strike…

There was no mistaking him.

This was Nerona Mihawk, the man Zetsu and Kisame had mentioned.

The same man who had killed Sasori of the Red Sand and Kakuzu.

Damn it!

He had caught Obito completely off guard and forced the Izanagi he had activated beforehand to take effect.

The reason Obito could usually behave so carelessly was that he habitually prepared Izanagi before entering a potentially dangerous situation.

Even if someone managed to kill him unexpectedly, Izanagi would automatically overwrite that outcome and allow him to return.

Even so…

What a dangerous brat.

Mihawk ignored Obito’s complaints.

He calmly returned his sword to its sheath and lowered his body into a sword-drawing stance.

The dense fog gave Mihawk an additional advantage.

With the mist obscuring their vision, he did not need to close his eyes to avoid making direct eye contact and becoming trapped in a Sharingan genjutsu.

“Whoa! Wait, wait, wait!”

The moment Mihawk’s attention locked onto him, an intense sense of danger surged through Obito.

He immediately pretended to panic, waving both hands frantically in front of himself.

“I didn’t mean anything by what I said! We aren’t enemies! We’re definitely not enemies!”

Clang!

Mihawk drew his sword.

A silver-white Ranged Slash three or four meters long tore through the dense mist and roared toward Obito.

“Ahhh! Tobi’s going to die!”

Obito covered his face with both hands.

“Deidara-senpai, farewell!”

The Ranged Slash engulfed him before continuing into the forest behind him.

Several towering trees were sliced apart, crashing to the ground and sending a thick cloud of dust and shattered wood into the air.

Obito, however, remained standing in the same place.

He looked down at his unharmed body with exaggerated disbelief.

“Huh?”

He patted himself before jumping excitedly.

“I’m alive! That’s wonderful! The heavens must be protecting Tobi!”

Mihawk’s mouth twitched slightly as he watched Obito bounce around.

What an absurd performance.

Someone who knew nothing about Obito’s abilities would undoubtedly feel tremendous pressure after witnessing such a scene.

An attack had clearly struck him, yet it had passed through his body without causing the slightest injury.

However, Mihawk had already anticipated this result.

That was why the Ranged Slash he had released had only been three or four meters long.

Unless Obito was forced into a desperate battle, he would never give Mihawk another opportunity to kill him.

If Obito could not find a chance to eliminate Mihawk, he would most likely retreat after exchanging a few attacks.

“All right!”

After jumping around for a while, Obito turned toward Mihawk with exaggerated confidence.

“Now it’s Tobi’s turn to attack!”

He bent his body slightly and assumed a running stance.

A moment later, he charged directly toward Mihawk, leaving countless openings in his movements.

Combined with the intangibility he had displayed moments earlier, such reckless behavior would place enormous psychological pressure on an opponent who did not understand Kamui.

Mihawk, however, did not move.

He held his sword in front of himself, its tip aimed directly at the approaching Obito.

Obito continued running as though he had not noticed the blade.

Mihawk stared intently at his body without blinking, deliberately avoiding the eyehole on the right side of Obito’s spiral mask.

Obito ran directly into the sword.

His body passed through the blade before continuing through Mihawk as though neither of them possessed a physical form.

The two stopped with their backs facing each other.

Mihawk maintained his sword stance, while Obito remained frozen in an exaggerated running posture.

Several seconds later, Obito slowly straightened his body.

He glanced at Mihawk from the corner of his eye.

This time, his voice no longer carried Tobi’s foolish, exaggerated tone.

It had become deep and cold.

“You…”

Obito stared at Mihawk.

“How do you know about my ability?”

Mihawk turned around to face him.

“The eye behind that opening in your mask is a Sharingan.”

His tone carried complete certainty.

“Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Sasuke, and Kakashi all possess a chakra presence similar to yours. It is a unique presence belonging to the Sharingan and the Uchiha Clan.”

Mihawk pointed his sword toward Obito.

“A Sharingan with such a unique ability can only be a Mangekyō Sharingan.”

Pretending that he was merely making an educated guess, Mihawk continued in a low voice.

“The ability that allowed you to return after being killed just now was one of your ocular techniques, wasn’t it?”

His eyes narrowed.

“And the ability that allows your body to merge with another dimension is also a power of your Mangekyō Sharingan.”

Mihawk’s words caused Obito’s heart to sink.

Even Zetsu’s presence could not escape this man’s senses.

Was this the special sensory ability they had warned him about?