Fleeing from Konoha-Chapter 550 - 74: Land of the Sky (Part 4)

Seeing Hakushi dodge, he knew that a stealth attack of that level couldn’t possibly hit the target. He promptly stopped his advance, rotated his body using it as an axis, and fiercely unleashed a kick with his right leg aimed at Hakushi’s body.

Hakushi raised his arm, easily blocking the opponent’s right leg.

The one who launched a surprise attack was a black-haired youth missing his left eye, who opened his right eye with the red Three-Tomoe Sharingan. The moment his gaze met Hakushi’s, the Illusion Technique was activated.

The speed and force of Taijutsu, including the timing of the Illusion Technique, were all decisively swift.

However, it was all ineffective against Hakushi.

"No matter how intricate the Illusion Technique is, it’s ineffective against me. I should have warned you about this a long time ago, Obito."

For Hakushi, who housed a second person within his body, the moment Obito released the Illusion Technique, it had already lost its effect.

Obito knew he couldn’t proceed, wanting to retreat and distance himself from Hakushi. Hakushi’s raised arm shot out like lightning, grabbing Obito’s leg before he could retract it, and flung him away forcefully.

Obito’s body flew out, adjusting itself in mid-air to avoid rolling on the ground.

But managing to barely stabilize his body on the ground, his shoes scraped against it, producing a grinding sound as his shoulders trembled up and down with rapid breaths.

"Too slow."

Obito’s body stiffened; Hakushi had already vanished from the front.

The voice came from behind him.

"Tsk, you only managed to break my Illusion Technique with someone else’s help."

Obito seemed a bit indignant.

Facing Obito’s disgruntled voice, Hakushi merely smiled and said:

"I didn’t expect a genius of the Uchiha Race to make such unreasonable excuses for their failure. Can’t you just man up and admit defeat?"

"Hmph, just a guy living off the Uchiha’s, you seem to lack the qualification to say so—ouch!"

Obito immediately covered his head with both hands, crying out in pain.

This jerk, always knocking his head.

His heart filled with resentment towards Hakushi, he swung a leg turning around, but only kicked the air as Hakushi had used the Instantaneous Body Jutsu to appear several meters away.

"Alright, Obito, don’t be angry; Hakushi-sensei is just joking with you."

Lin came over to comfort Obito, who nearly charged to continue fighting Hakushi, wearing a gentle smile.

Only then did Obito stop.

Despite Lin losing her memories, she was still as gentle. Obito felt happy and grateful.

Just being beside Lin, inhaling her scent, filled his body and spirit with strength.

"Lin, you’re spoiling him too much. After all this time, he’s barely managed to integrate with Natural Energy, still a long way from mastering Immortal Technique."

Hakushi came over and started lecturing Obito.

"You can’t blame me. I also want to master it quickly."

Obito felt a bit dejected.

He wasn’t lying; he wanted to become stronger quickly to protect Lin well.

Hakushi glanced at Obito but didn’t say more, took out a glass bottle from his embrace, and tossed it toward Obito.

Obito caught the glass bottle, revealing a confused expression.

"This is..."

"A spare Sharingan; fit it into your left eye. Fighting with one eye obstructs the view and affects your performance."

Hakushi said.

Only then did Obito see in the liquid inside the glass bottle, a lively eyeball soaked, exhibiting the shape of a Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

"Lin, please help Obito install this eye."

"Alright, Hakushi-sensei."

Lin had no objections, taking Obito to a small room to perform eye surgery on him.

Hakushi watched Obito’s back, letting out a long sigh, feeling quite regretful.

Originally intending to help Obito swiftly grasp the secrets of Immortal Technique, to quickly cultivate his Mangekyo Sharingan into a combat-ready force, it seemed, for now, that making Obito’s Mangekyo Sharingan effective in battle would require a long nurturing period.

Obviously, the normal step-by-step approach didn’t suit a gifted Uchiha Ninja like Obito.

◎

Land of Forests.

Ahead was a stretch of trees reaching toward the sky; Ruri and Ayane appeared here. Upon seeing the human face-shaped rock platform rising from the soil, they immediately confirmed their target was the immense underground building of their mission.

"Is it here?"

Ruri touched the human face-shaped platform, which seemed like a broken statue with many gaps, heavily worn.

Ayane activated Byakugan, scanned underground, and nodded to confirm.

"Yes, it’s here beneath our feet. It’s quite a big one."

In Ayane’s Byakugan observation, below their feet in the soil, a large stone structure rivaling a small town’s size lay hidden.

Inside this structure, there’s at least ten thousand people living within.

At the center of the structure, Ayane discovered with Byakugan a peculiarly odd Chakra which made her frown.

"What’s wrong?"

"Inside the fortress, I saw a strange Chakra similar to a Tailed Beast."

Ayane turned her head and said.

"A Tailed Beast? Does the Land of the Sky study Tailed Beasts?"

Ruri expressed surprise.

Given the ninja strength of the Land of the Sky, capturing a Tailed Beast shouldn’t be within their capability.

Moreover, the Tailed Beasts of the Five Great Nations are still well-maintained, and the Tailed Beast of Hidden Waterfall Village is sealed within Nohara Rin, located in the Land of Demons.

"It’s just similar, not confirmed as a Tailed Beast. However, this Chakra is indeed strong, different from ordinary Chakra, powering the fortress’s operations."

"Take it back with us; Hakushi might be interested in such peculiar Chakra."

Ayane did not object, sharing the same thought with Ruri.

Then, Ruri leaped aside, distancing herself from the human face-shaped stone platform.

Ayane, wearing white fingerless gloves on her hands, formed a fist and fiercely punched down at the earth.

With the point of impact as the center, a terrifying wave of force spread outward, uprooting trees in the thick forest with a deafening noise, swept away by the gale.

The ground at Ayane’s feet shattered instantly from the fist’s power.

The human face-shaped stone platform crumbled into gray-white sand grains, scattered by the wind.

The massive stone structure stained by soil partially exposed under the sunlight, revealing an incredibly striking large hole in a dramatic manner.

Ayane shook her somewhat numb arm, glancing at the exposed internal passage of the structure, wearing a slightly fearsome smile at her lips.

"Alright, the entrance has been successfully opened; next comes the hunting time."