Inoiki wasn’t that surprised after the tips of his psychokinetically controlled knives broke, because the psychokinesis energy covering them was very thin, and it could be destroyed by the all-ninjutsu-breaking characteristics of the Truth-Seeking Orbs. Although Inoiki already knew what to do to prevent his knives from corroding, for now, he was going to keep that as a surprise and use it later on.

As for the tips that were damaged due to the collision, that did not matter to Inoiki as much. With his psychokinesis control, those knives immediately started morphing. The shattered tips reformed, the warped metal straightened, and within moments, they were once again sharp, deadly knives. The faint sound of metal grinding against itself echoed in the air as the blades repaired themselves.

But this time, Inoiki did not let them collide with the shield created by Obito using the Truth-Seeking Orb and instead pulled them back.

Sparks burst into the air as both Inoiki and Obito continued clashing with each other—Inoiki using his sword and Obito using his staff. Every collision sent violent shockwaves across the battlefield. The ground beneath them cracked again and again, chunks of stone rising and shattering from the sheer force of their attacks.

This clash continued for the next few minutes. Multiple craters had already been formed due to their battle, the battlefield turning into a ruined landscape of broken earth and scattered debris. Dust hung in the air, and the distant sound of rumbling could still be heard after every exchange.

The ninjas from different divisions were starting to gather around the area. Although Inoiki had instructed them earlier to avoid gathering in large numbers around Obito, because he knew that if Obito succeeded in becoming the Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails, then he would become a walking calamity. These ninjas would be nothing more than cannon fodder—or they did not even deserve to be called cannon fodder—and would be killed in an instant with just a few attacks from Obito.

But even then, Tsunade and the Raikage had their own ideas.

The Raikage had also appeared on the battlefield using the Heavenly Transfer Technique. Tsunade had arrived as well. A loud boom echoed across the battlefield from the force of their landing, dust rising around them as both of them immediately took in the situation before them.

Like in the original story, they did not go to fight Madara because, on the other side, Naruto was already fighting Madara on equal footing—or rather, saying "equal footing" would be wrong, because Naruto was actually dominating the entire battlefield with his overwhelming strength and Kurama Chakra Mode.

Madara had already used the Planetary Devastation technique by now, massive spheres of stone floating high in the sky like small moons. But Naruto, who could create multiple Tailed Beast Bombs with ease, had destroyed those giant masses of rock one after another. Explosions had lit up the battlefield, chunks of stone raining down from the sky before turning into dust.

The Fourth Division was completely unharmed, and from the sides, Gaara and Onoki were also supporting Naruto, so there was no issue with them being unable to handle Madara. Not to mention, Kurama—already angry at Madara and sensing that the Ten-Tails had been revived—had started cooperating more proactively with Naruto. Because of that, perhaps soon enough, the full Kurama Chakra Mode, KCM 2, would appear.

Even though many ninjas were appearing around the location where Inoiki and Obito were fighting, none of them dared to go near the battle between the two because this fight was on a completely different level. The air itself trembled with every collision between sword and staff, and the ground would crack apart beneath them each time they exchanged blows.

They knew very well that most of the ninjas present here would die immediately if they even went into the vicinity of their clash. Some might not even survive the shockwaves created from the force of their attacks alone.

Obito, not being able to do much damage to Inoiki, restructured the Six Paths Sakujo Staff. The black staff twisted and stretched in his hand, its shape changing like liquid darkness, before transforming into the Sword of Nunoboko.

As soon as he formed the weapon, Obito said, "This is the Sword of Nunoboko, and with this weapon, the Sage of Six Paths created this world."

After hearing this, Inoiki did not care much about the sword. His expression did not change in the slightest. It’s not like this weapon was now imbued with some new functionality or anything; it was just that the toughness of this sword would be far greater than the staff Obito had been holding before. That was all.

The rest of the properties of all weapons made from the Truth-Seeking Orbs were basically the same as the Truth-Seeking Orbs themselves—that is, the nullification of any elemental ninjutsu that came into contact with them.

Again, both Inoiki and Obito collided with each other, this time with Obito’s DNA-shaped Sword of Nunoboko and Inoiki’s normal sword made from chakra-conducting metal. Sparks erupted with every clash, and the sharp metallic sound echoed across the battlefield again and again. Violent gusts of wind spread outward from the force of their blows, kicking up dirt and shattered stone.

As for Inoiki’s psychokinetically controlled knives, they were floating around Obito, constantly shifting positions and ready to strike at any moment. Their sharp edges gleamed faintly as they hovered in the air like predators waiting for the right chance to pounce.

Inoiki was searching for an opening to control those knives and directly attack Obito, but with the almost 360-degree defense created by the Truth-Seeking Orbs floating around him, this was very difficult. Every time the knives moved slightly closer, one of the black spheres would shift as well, blocking the path instantly.

And it’s not like Inoiki could not use space-time teleportation, but he knew that even if he used it, it would be useless here. He might appear right behind Obito to attack him, but all those Truth-Seeking Orbs would immediately create a defense, and Inoiki would not be able to harm Obito much.

And even if he managed to injure Obito, Obito could instantly heal, being the Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails.

Finally, after nearly five minutes of constant collisions, both Inoiki and Obito understood that continuing these normal physical clashes, trading attacks, and trying to find openings in each other’s defenses would be pointless. Neither of them could gain any real advantage like this. If they wanted to end this battle, then they would have to move on to far more powerful moves—the kind of moves that could truly decide the outcome of the fight.

Both of them separated and stood at a distance from each other. Dust drifted between them, and the ruined battlefield around them had already become unrecognizable from the sheer intensity of their clash. Craters, shattered rocks, and deep cracks spread in every direction.

Inoiki’s sword floated beside him, while his psychokinetically controlled knives spread out behind him in the air. He was already preparing to use Space Severance once again.

As for Obito, the moment he created some distance between them, he immediately manifested a part of the Ten-Tails behind him. The monstrous mass of chakra appeared like a shadow rising from the ground itself. Its size was definitely not comparable to the real Ten-Tails, nor was it here to attack using sheer size alone.

Instead, the Ten-Tails immediately started transforming.

Its body twisted and expanded, bark-like textures spreading across its surface as enormous branches stretched toward the sky. Roots burst from the ground, tearing apart the battlefield as the Ten-Tails transformed into the God Tree.

Seeing the God Tree growing, Inoiki’s expression immediately changed slightly. He instantly sent a warning into the minds of all the ninjas from the different divisions who were arriving in the area.

"Do not let the roots growing from this tree touch you. Retreat as far away as possible, because if these roots touch you, they will suck out your chakra completely and you will die."

The moment they heard Inoiki’s warning in their minds, many ninjas immediately started retreating. Panic spread through the battlefield as shinobi quickly jumped backward, some of them not even daring to look back at the rapidly growing roots tearing through the earth.