Escape From Konoha

Chapter 180: 176: Mangekyou and Confirmed Target

Happy New Year!!! Hoo... Exams coming. 😔

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Upon hearing Obito's words, Rin didn't comply with his wishes. Instead, she sat on the cold ground, panting slightly. Returning to Konoha was now impossible for her. If she were to return, the tailed beast within her would go on a rampage, resulting in significant casualties for Konoha. She was determined to avoid such a catastrophe at all costs. But how could she resolve this predicament?

Rin gazed at Obito's back, and an extremely crazy idea took shape in her mind.

The approach had its merits. That was to let Obito end her life, effectively killing the tailed beast within her as well. In doing so, Konoha's coming crisis would be averted, and the conspiracy of those creatures called White zetsu would will end in utter failure.

However, even if she were to reveal the truth to Obito, could he truly muster the resolve to prevent the tragedy about to happen? No, given Obito's temperament, such a decision was unlikely. Perhaps, to even protect her, he would disregard the will of the village.

Moreover, there were those mysterious people watching from the sidelines, and the actual threat lay not with these ninjas before them but with the puppeteers pulling the strings behind the scene.

The enemy's plot to harm Konoha needed to be crushed. But as long as she as the vessel dies, no matter what schemes the enemy had, they would become useless.

"Obito, I'm sorry..." Rin quietly murmured.

As a Konoha ninja, once you set foot on the battlefield, you were bound to fight for the village. This was an unspoken pact that both fighters and medical ninjas had to uphold.

Protecting her village and family had no nothing to do with justice or evil. As a ninja, she could not compromise or make concessions.

With this resolve, Rin stood up from the ground, her gaze locked onto Obito's back, an unprecedented determination shining in her eyes.

Obito, using the kunai in his hand, pushed back the ninja in front of him. He was visibly short of breath due to the intense battle.

The chakra in his body was running low. The consumption of chakra during their journey had been excessive.

Even with ration pills, the chakra recovery was extremely limited.

In the next battle, hee needed a jutsu that conserved chakra and was highly efficient. Genjutsu.

Although these ninjas did their best to avoid Obito's Sharingan, controlling their eyes was a challenge. They were unfamiliar with facing a Sharingan user, and their attempts to avert their eyes were clumsy.

Obito steadied himself and focused on the enemy's movements, despite not being a genjutsu expert. The awakening of his Sharingan was relatively recent, and he had not yet thoroughly mastered the use of Sharingan for genjutsu. But now, he had to use Sharingan's genjutsu to remove his disadvantage.

If these Taki ninjas adapted to Sharingan's rhythm, Obito and Rin would be in grave danger.

Obito faintly recalled the clan's senior members, who had one taught the intricacies of Sharingan.

Sharingan's genjutsu worked by seizing the brief moment when an enemy's eyes connected with yours and then releasing disruptive chakra through Sharingan to control the enemy's body.

Vividly recalling the process of Sharingan releasing genjutsu, Obito wildly attacked the Taki jin with his kunai, while the other ninjas resorted to long-range shuriken throws.

Most of them avoided direct eye contact with Obito's Sharingan.

Disregarding the minor injuries caused by the shuriken on his body, Obito with his Sharingan, anticipated the trajectory of these projectiles, minimizing the injuries.

"Is this kid suicidal?" The Taki nin fighting Obito was surprised by Obito's relentless approach, causing a slight hesitation in his movements.

Obito stared directly at him with Sharingan, causing the ninja to hastily avert his gaze. He sensed a power in Obito's eyes that sent shivers down his spine.

But it was too late.

The eyes of the two locked.

What Obito had been waiting for was this precise moment. He swiftly infused chakra into his Sharingan and activated the genjutsu.

He transmitted the genjutsu he had conjured directly into the mind of the Taki nin before him, subjecting him to a tormenting genjutsu.

Obito felt nervous. It was his first time using genjutsu, and there were no guarantees of success. However, when he saw the Taki nin freeze in place, stiff and disoriented, he knew he had made the right call.

'Now is the time!' Obito resolved in his heart that this was the perfect moment to strike.

He wasn't certain how long this basic genjutsu would hold the opponent, so he needed to act swiftly. He gripped his kunai tightly, directing all his strength towards ensuring a killing blow.

Pfft!

The sound of the kunai piercing flesh.

Blood spurted, splattering Obito's palm and staining his clothes.

Rin stood facing Obito, using her own body as a shield to ensure that Obito's kunai struck her accurately, all in a bid to eliminate the impending disaster and save the village.

Rin looked down at the kunai embedded in her, then looked up at Obito, who had a blank expression. She managed to muster a weak smile, the same gentle smile as always, despite coughing up blood and her vision growing dim.

With trembling steps, she moved closer, resting her chin on Obito's shoulder to steady herself.

"Thank you... Obito..... for allowing me to see you again... last.... time..."

There was no Kakashi.

There was no Minato-sensei.

No other Konoha ninjas followed Obito.

Rin correctly guessed that Obito's actions this time were of his own choosing, and not a mission from the village.

In the end, there was someone willing to violet the ninja code for her. For a girl, this was a deeply touching feeling worth remembering in their hearts for a lifetime.

The person in front of her may not be a dashing hero, but rather a single-minded idiot who acted stupid at times. But the happiness and warmth filled every fiber of Rin's being.

"...in the future... don't do.... stupid.. things..."

As a ninja, one must adhere to the village's rules. Excessive pursuit of personal goals can lead to alienation and slander from others.

Rin didn't want Obito to endure the kind of pain that Kakashi had suffered.

However, there was a high probability that this 'idiot' wouldn't listen, but continue to do things his own way.

Her body could no longer gather strength, Rin continued to cough, spitting out blood, which flowed wantonly on Obito's clothes, She finally lay down at Obito's feet, her eyes forever closed.

Obito's eyes remained open, but he couldn't see anything in front of him. His mind was a chaotic maelstrom, unable to recall Rin's figure, her smiles, or her gentle words. He couldn't feel anything. His body had grown numb.

As he looked down at his blood-smeared palm.. '...whose blood is this?..'

The girl laying at his feet. She was smiling at him before her death, who was she? Who had killed her? Why were these memories absent from his mind? Why was he here?

Obito was consumed by doubt. His pupils lost their focus and life, and everything in the world appeared to crumble and cease to exist in his eyes.

Standing in the rain, his hands hanging by his side, his body felt as heavy as lead. His wounded heart bled, and he forgot how to think.

His eyes gazed into the darkness, directionless, unsure of his whereabouts.

It was as though nothing mattered anymore.

He walked alone on the icy terrain, searching for a fire to warm him.

In the distance, he spotted two fireballs, each reflected in one of his eyes. His eyes began bleeding, and the blood carried a searing heat.

Hot tears mixed with blood streamed from his eyes, and something threatened to burst forth from them.

Within the eyes, veiled in blood and tears, a scarlet light blazed brightly.

"The Jinchuriki is dead! Damn it, how could the Jinchuriki—"

The Taki nins began shouting and crying out in panic.

They had never anticipated that the girl would take her own life.

Once a Jinchuriki died, the Tailed Beast within them would meet the same fate.

The Taki nins were filled with anger, much unlike Obito's grief. Had it not been for that damned Uchiha brat, they would have returned to their village with the Jinchuriki and proceeded with the Tailed Beast transfer.

After all, it was the Konoha Ninja who had stolen their Tailed Beast.

After this incident, Konoha would have to provide them with an explanation, or they didn't mind aligning with other ninja villages to launch an attack on the Land of Fire.

But to Obito, the voices of these Taki nins seemed like an annoying noise. What a noisy world.

For some inexplicable reason, his heart was filled with a dark desire to destroy everything.

Just as he was entertaining this thought, a strange chakra drew Obito's attention. His body stiffened, and even his chakra no longer responded, but this strange chakra was moving.

"Heh.."

Then, a voice sent shivers down Obito's spine.

A head emerged from his shoulder, a head with a white swirled face.

Next came the upper body and two arms.

Without hesitation, the creature swiftly extended a palm toward one of Obito's eyes, pressing his index finger, middle finger, and thumb against one of his eyes.

Obito felt an agonizing pain. He let out a piercing scream.

"Ahhhhhh!!!!!!"

The sticky, glistening, red Sharingan was exposed from Obito's eyelids and was ruthlessly extracted from the eye socket by the white hand.

The Sharingan's temperature remained in the palm. His Sharingan was no longer the basic tomoe pattern; it had transformed into a more complex and mysterious black pattern.

"As Madara-sama said, this kid has the high potential to unlock the eyes. Then, I will accept the Mangekyou Sharingan from the left eye without hesitation, and the right eye will follow shortly!"

The creature had fully separated from Obito's body and, with a smile, swiftly extended his other hand, ready to remove Obito's other Sharingan.

A white figure with a peculiar swirly face, this was the special white Zetsu known as Guruguru.

"You... who are you..."

Obito gasped for breath, struggling to utter these words.

He was certain he had never seen this strange creature with a swirly face. Why had it emerged from his body?

Guruguru didn't respond; he simply smiled and extended his hand to extract Obito's other eye.

Suddenly, a sound pierced through the skies.

Something dangerous had broken through the air barriers and was hurtling straight toward Guruguru's figure.

Guruguru was startled and leaped back before he could take Obito's other Sharingan.

It was a light sphere about 20 centimeters in diameter. Its core was white, and it emitted red flames from its periphery.

As Guruguru retreated, the red light sphere soared into the depths of the forest on the other side.

A deafening explosion followed.

The dark evening was instantly illuminated, and a scorching shockwave swept through, incinerating trees and evaporating the surrounding rainwater. The flames could not be extinguished, only intensifying.

Guruguru's face was covered in cold sweat.

He was fortunate to have evaded it. If that red sphere had hit him, the consequences would have been dire.

As he breathed a sigh of relief, the red light sphere reappeared from a distance.

And it wasn't just one; there was a series of red light spheres.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions resounded one after the other, and the hot storm sent all the Taki nins flying, screaming in terror.

Obito hugged Rin's lifeless body and, despite the bloodied eye sockets without eyeball, he hurriedly fled the battlefield. His one remaining eye had returned to its natural black color, and the chakra within his body had been nearly drained by the creature earlier. He couldn't maintain even the basic tomoe form of his Sharingan.

As he made his escape, the scorching storm approached once more, and weakened from the previous explosion, he couldn't use chakra to enhance the grip of his feet on the ground. Like the Taki nins, he was blown into the sky while holding Rin's lifeless body.

Exhausted, he lost consciousness before landing.

There eas a sound of rope being pulled from a long distance, and it was accurately wrapped around the bodies of Obito and Rin.

The rope wound its way back towards the dense forest path it had come from, propelling Obito and Rin through the air, swiftly vanishing into the shadowy woods.

Afterwards, more than a dozen red projectiles descended from the distant heavens.

The earth was reduced to scorched earth, the forest set on fire, transforming into a sea of flames

"Damn it! I'm angry!"

Guruguru screamed angrily.

His hands came together, emitting a surge of powerful chakra.

"Wood Release - Wooden Man!"

A colossal wooden figure materialized, towering even above the surrounding trees. It absorbed all the red projectiles with its robust frame, taking a slight step backward under the impact.

Guruguru stood on top the wooden giant's head, bearing scars from the fiery assault.

The dark sky illuminated once more as a red sphere streaked through the heavens, headed toward the wooden figure with an incomparably precise accuracy.

Guruguru's eyes widened upon realizing the spot from which the red projectile had been launched.

The origin of the red projectile was at least three kilometers away, a precision strike from such a distance was nothing short of terrifying.

Even more frightening was that Guruguru couldn't discern the true identity of the enemy.

The white Zetsu that had lurked previously had vanished without a trace, consumed by the explosive onslaught.

"Really?.. Its okay to bring back one Mangekyou Sharingan."

The enemy's strength might not surpass his, but their ability to carry out precise long-range attacks from five kilometers away implied an extraordinary level of sensory.

Guruguru couldn't retaliate against such a distant enemy.

Even if the wooden man ran at its best speed, it would take time, and the enemy would not remain idle.

Plus, Guruguru had no idea how many people were lying in ambush.

This sort of ultra-long-range precision attack ability left Guruguru feeling somewhat helpless.

So, he directed the wooden giant to shield against the red projectiles falling from the sky while he leaped to the ground, submerging himself in the earth and vanishing.

...

The Land of Rain had already succumbed to the shroud of night.

Shiraishi stood in the freezing rain, gazing out at the water channels formed by the incessant downpour on the expansive landscape.

Under the moon's bright, clear glow, the scent of gunpowder and blood hung in the air.

Suddenly, Shiraishi frowned, as if he had sensed something amiss.

"Have we received any updates from over there?"

Ruri and Ayane, who stood beside Shiraishi, turned their heads to observe him.

A sharp glint flashed in Shiraishi's eyes. "Madara gave up on Obito, taking only one of his Mangekyou Sharingan."

Hearing Shiraishi's words, Ruri and Ayane understood the situation.

"In other words, he chose the Rinnegan?"

Ruri's hand tightened around the Gunbai's handle, and the red three-tomoe Sharingan appeared in her eyes.

Shiraishi nodded in agreement, affirming Ruri's deduction.

"The more paths you set, the bigger the loopholes there will be. Moreover, I deliberately created the wrong message by pretending I never noticed the Rinnegan. Just to be safe, I placed bets on both Nagato and Obito. Now that the target is confirmed, let's move."

In unison, the three of them vanished, leaving nothing behind but the cold wind and rain, as if they had never been there.

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