A Sage's Pursuit of Power

In the sky, Deidara was the first to sense something was wrong. A chakra presence so overwhelming it made his skin crawl was rapidly approaching.

The next second, a deep crimson energy orb streaked past him, heading straight for Obito on the ground.

Obito, locked in combat with Itachi Uchiha, was forced to dodge at the last moment. But the bombardment wasn't over; more chakra projectiles rained down.

The relentless attack from above left the massive summoned beasts with no way to escape. By the end of the onslaught, 80% of them were obliterated, leaving only the Multi-Headed Hellhound and the flying bird alive.

This sudden shift "freed" the remaining Akatsuki members, leaving them with no excuse to hold back any longer.

"The Rinnegan isn't just something we want," Itachi stated coldly. "Konoha and Madara Uchiha both desire it as well. You can continue stalling, but once either side arrives, we'll all pay a heavy price."

Though he didn't spell it out, Itachi's words gave the impression that the attacks from above had been summoned by him.

This added an extra layer of pressure on the Akatsuki members. Itachi's logic was sound, once Konoha or Madara intervened, the Rinnegan would undoubtedly slip out of their grasp.

Realizing the stakes, the Akatsuki members finally began taking the fight seriously.

The flying summoned beast was quickly pinned down by Mui and eliminated.

Deidara took control of the airspace, cutting off Obito's escape route, while the remaining five Akatsuki members launched an all-out ground assault.

Sasori refrained from using Performance of a Hundred Puppets, as it was a technique meant for group battles. Against someone like Obito, the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu were far more effective.

Shin used Wood Release to seal off the underground, preventing Obito from using the Mayfly Technique to escape. Kakuzu, Hiruko, and Uchiha Itachi led the frontal assault.

Under such intense pressure, Obito was pushed to his limits. Each opponent was a renowned Kage-level shinobi. While Shinra Tensei remained a versatile tool, its effectiveness was diminished when the opponents were prepared for it.

Kisame's large-scale water-style jutsu and Itachi's fire-style jutsu came in relentless waves, forcing Obito to continuously use the Rinnegan's absorption ability to counter them.

Meanwhile, Hiruko's Swift Release allowed him to dart around the battlefield at high speeds, exploiting the cooldown between Obito's Shinra Tensei attacks.

The dense barrage of attacks left Obito wary of using Shinra Tensei recklessly. Any misstep during the ability's cooldown could lead to devastating consequences, especially with Hiruko and Itachi waiting to capitalize.

Hiruko, who had been a jonin during his time in Konoha, had turned to the dark side due to his lack of natural talent. Now, with four bloodlines: Swift Release, Storm Release, Steel Release, and Dark Release his combat prowess had reached a peak.

His balanced offensive and defensive abilities made him incredibly difficult to deal with. On the conventional shinobi scale, Hiruko had no glaring weaknesses, making him a nightmare opponent unless overwhelmed by vastly superior power.

While Obito possessed such power, he couldn't afford to use it freely. There were still five more opponents to deal with, including the extremely dangerous Itachi and the mysterious Shin, who was blocking the underground.

Among the six, Shin was the one Obito understood the least. Recruited by Konan, Shin was said to have escaped from Konoha's labs. His Wood Release and Sharingan supported this claim.

What concerned Obito most was how much stronger Shin's Wood Release appeared now compared to earlier encounters, suggesting he had been hiding his true power all along. This likely meant Shin had other trump cards as well.

No matter how Obito analyzed the situation, things looked grim.

"Damn it. I just wanted to relax in a hot spring, and now I'm in this mess. Looks like if I want to leave here alive, I'll have to pay a price."

For a moment, Obito longed for his Kamui Mangekyō Sharingan. In a situation like this, Kamui would have been far more useful than the Rinnegan.

Without a sufficiently strong body and a deep understanding of the Rinnegan, its potential was impossible to fully unleash.

After another encounter where Itachi's Amaterasu forced him to mutilate his own body, Obito finally snapped.

"You bastards… all of you, DIE!" he roared, forming hand seals in a fit of rage.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

This time, half the Land of Hot Springs bore witness to an unprecedented scene. With Obito's summoning, an enormous creature materialized before everyone's eyes.

Compared to it, the oppressive Multi-Headed Hellhound now seemed as harmless as a rabbit.

"...What is that thing?"

The Konoha team, watching from afar, was stunned. Among them, only Hanzō of the Salamander, now deceased, might have recognized it.

Even the Akatsuki members, who knew of its existence, had never seen it in its full combat form.

Though the Ten-Tails had yet to fully awaken, it was worth remembering that Akatsuki had successfully extracted nearly all of the Eight-Tails' chakra and fed it to the Ten-Tails.

While it was far from its true resurrection, it now possessed considerable mobility and power, far more than when Nagato had briefly summoned it in the past.

Moreover, the Ten-Tails' power isn't just immense, it is fundamentally at the level of the Sage of Six Paths. In the storyline, both Obito and Madara only reached the Six Paths level after becoming the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki.

In essence, the Ten-Tails itself is a symbol of ultimate power.

What's more, the Ten-Tails possesses a range of unique offensive abilities. While this is only its first form, the chakra it absorbed from the Eight-Tails allows it to perform some of its signature attacks.

As the protrusions on its back began to glow, countless bolts of Heavenly Lightning filled the sky. Deidara, airborne and vulnerable to lightning-style techniques, was the first to suffer. Lightning was his natural weakness.

The key issue was that the Ten-Tails' techniques were far beyond ordinary jutsu. Its attacks altered the very fabric of the battlefield, covering several kilometers in radius.

Facing this level of power for the first time, the Akatsuki members had no preparation or awareness of the danger. They were immediately engulfed by the lightning.

Even Uchiha Itachi had to activate his Susanoo at the very first moment. Without it, his body wouldn't have been able to endure the onslaught.

Sasori's Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu were completely annihilated. However, his true body, hidden within the Hiruko puppet, survived due to its strong defensive capabilities.

Shin failed to dodge in time and was electrocuted badly. However, thanks to his pseudo-immortal body, he recovered quickly.

Kisame, ever resourceful, erected an enormous Water Wall to shield himself. The water significantly weakened the lightning's power, allowing him to barely survive.

Hiruko fared the worst. He attempted to escape using Swift Release but was overtaken by the lightning halfway through. He tried to use Steel Release to withstand the attack but quickly realized it wasn't enough. Finally, he resorted to Dark Release in an attempt to absorb the lightning.

The result? His entire right arm exploded. While Dark Release could absorb chakra, the Ten-Tails' chakra was of an entirely higher dimension and overwhelmingly vast in quantity, far beyond his capacity to handle.

And this was only the first form of the Ten-Tails, fueled by the chakra of the Eight-Tails. If it were the fully revived Ten-Tails, even attempting to absorb a fraction of its chakra would have caused him to explode on the spot.

At this moment, the Rinnegan's terrifying capabilities were fully revealed. With a single attack, the Ten-Tails had effectively neutralized much of the Akatsuki's combat strength.

However, Obito himself was left feeling dizzy, nearly fainting from the effort. He knew this was the moment to retreat.

Though he wanted to take this opportunity to finish off the Akatsuki members, he had already delayed for too long. If Aoba Kamikawa or Madara Uchiha were to arrive, he might not make it out alive.

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Currently on Chapter 298 - Something Feels Off