Naruto: Eating Kaido's Azure Dragon Devil Fruit-Chapter 296: The Battle of Kannabi Bridge

By the small river behind the orphanage.

Sora slowly withdrew the boiling chakra around his body and the azure dragon scales that had appeared.

He walked to the riverbank and washed his face, reviewing the tumultuous changes that had occurred in the shinobi world over the past year.

First, regarding Iwagakure, the severity of the war situation had exceeded many people’s expectations.

That old man Ōnoki, he stubbornly withstood the pressure of nearly eighty percent of Kumogakure’s main force, while simultaneously fighting back and forth with Konoha at the border of the Land of Grass.

"The Will of Stone... it really is tough enough." Sora praised.

Under the enormous pressure of being attacked from two fronts, Iwagakure Village had not yet collapsed. Ōnoki’s leadership ability and Iwagakure’s resilience were clearly evident.

On the other hand, there was news concerning Kirigakure Village.

Yagura successfully ascended, becoming the Fourth Mizukage. For a time, people thought the policies of the "Village of the Bloody Mist" might change.

However, not long ago, news came from Kirigakure Village that the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura... had disappeared.

Kirigakure Village was extremely secretive about this, publicly claiming he was in seclusion for training.

But Sora knew clearly in his heart, this was no mere disappearance.

"Uchiha Madara, you’ve finally made your move."

Sora’s gaze sharpened slightly.

Having lost the Three-Tails, Yagura, this newly appointed Mizukage whose ambitions had yet to be realized, his fate was already sealed.

"Meow!"

A crisp cat call interrupted Sora’s thoughts.

He turned to look and saw Chinchilla had appeared on a rock by the river, elegantly licking her paw.

"Boss Sora, there’s movement regarding the frontline news you asked me to keep an eye on, meow."

Chinchilla looked up at Sora, "Namikaze Minato led his team and left the camp early this morning, heading towards the direction of Kannabi Bridge in the Land of Grass, meow."

Hearing this, Sora’s eyes suddenly sharpened.

Finally... has it come?

The critical juncture affecting the future course of the entire shinobi world, the turning point in Uchiha Obito’s destiny, the place where Nohara Rin would meet her end, the beginning of Kakashi’s Sharingan evolution...

The Battle of Kannabi Bridge!

"I know. Thank you for your hard work, Chinchilla."

Sora nodded. He took out a thousand-ryō banknote from his ninja tool pouch and handed it over.

Chinchilla’s eyes lit up. She stuffed the banknote into the small pouch around her neck, then her figure flashed and disappeared.

Sora stood still for a moment in silence.

He turned and returned to the empty orphanage.

He left a new shadow clone in his room, and then, Sora’s main body quietly left Konoha.

...

Somewhere in the shinobi world, a deep, dark underground space.

Swish.

White Zetsu, Tobi, emerged from the ground, his flippant voice ringing out,

"Lord Madara, that kid Obito has already arrived near Kannabi Bridge with Namikaze Minato."

Uchiha Madara, seated on a stone chair, slightly raised his eyelids,

"Hmm... begin executing the plan." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Let the stage... raise its curtain."

...

Land of Grass, above Kannabi Bridge.

High in the sky, air currents flowed, clouds and mist swirled.

Sora’s figure hovered quietly within the cloud layer, looking down at the massive bridge spanning the canyon below.

His powerful sensory perception spread out, clearly capturing the intense battle unfolding below.

Namikaze Minato’s figure, like a golden flash, weaved among the Iwa-nin. The Flying Thunder God Technique appeared unpredictably, each appearance accompanied by an Iwa-nin falling, efficient and lethal.

On another side, Kakashi wielded the White Fang Chakra Blade, the sharp cry of the Chidori resounding through the mountain forest as he fiercely fought against elite Iwa-nin.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin were entangled with other Iwa-nin.

The progression of the battle was almost exactly as Sora remembered from the "original work".

He saw Kakashi get his left eye slashed by an Iwa-nin while trying to save Obito, leaving a scar.

He also saw, near a cave under the bridge, Obito angrily awaken his Two Tomoe Sharingan to save Nohara Rin, who was being held hostage by an Iwa-nin.

Then... came the decisive moment.

A massive rock crumbled amidst the aftermath of the battle, crashing down towards Obito, who had just awakened his Sharingan!

"Obito!"

The panicked shouts of Kakashi and Nohara Rin faintly reached him.

Sora hovered quietly in the clouds, watching as Obito desperately pushed Kakashi aside, only to be completely buried by the heavy boulder himself.

Only an arm and half his face remained exposed. In that Two Tomoe Sharingan eye he had just awakened, there lingered concern for his comrades and a hint of unspoken affection.

A slight ripple stirred in Sora’s heart.

He remembered back at the ninja academy, that always-late, boisterous kid who would sincerely help an old lady cross the street, loudly proclaiming his dream to become Hokage and change this world, the enthusiastic dead-last.

That figure gradually overlapped with the young boy below, crushed beneath the boulder, his life force rapidly fading.

"..."

Sora remained silent, his gaze complex.

But...

His eyes soon returned to a state of profound calm, like still water.

Sentiment was sentiment, but he had no intention of intervening.

This was the coldness of being an "informed observer," and the detachment he had to maintain for his own goals.

"Sorry, Obito..."

Sora silently said in his heart.

Everyone walks their own path, or rather, is forced to walk it by this cruel world.

Just as his thoughts shifted, his senses suddenly detected several exceptionally subtle, yet rich with natural energy, chakra reactions.

White Zetsu!

He saw several white figures seep out from the rocks and soil like liquid, swiftly approaching the trapped Obito.

They efficiently began digging, quickly extracting the barely alive Obito from under the boulder, then slowly sinking into the ground with him and disappearing.

The entire process was swift as lightning. Had Sora not been constantly monitoring with his senses, he would have likely missed their presence.

"Just as expected... they took him away."

Sora understood clearly in his heart.

Obito’s "death" and "rebirth" were now half complete.

He took one last look at Kakashi and Nohara Rin below, plunged into immense grief, and thought of the Fourth Mizukage Yagura, who had mysteriously disappeared not long ago.

These two individuals, whose destinies were completely altered, were, in a way, both pawns manipulated by Uchiha Madara to realize the "Eye of the Moon Plan."

"Yagura was definitely killed by Madara. Forcibly extracting a tailed beast means the jinchūriki will certainly die... what skillful methods."

Sora sighed softly.

The clouds and mist around him churned slightly. His figure transformed into a faint stream of light, quietly departing from the sky above Kannabi Bridge, merging into the distant horizon.

The clouds and mist continued to swirl, as if no one had ever been there.

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