Smack. Smack. Smack.
Uchiha Obito walked step by step toward Uchiha Shisui, who was hanging from a tree.
There wasn't a single injury on his body—not even his clothes were damaged.
Shisui was strong. He had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, and his strength surpassed that of most Kage-level shinobi.
But Obito… was stronger.
The combination of his Mangekyō Sharingan and Wood Release Kekkei Genkai made him superior to Shisui in raw power.
And more importantly, Shisui's dōjutsu, Kotoamatsukami, was completely countered by Obito's Kamui intangibility.
In the end—he won.
"These eyes are mine now."
As he reached Shisui's body, Obito found that his heart had stopped. He was truly dead.
A faint smirk curved Obito's lips. He extended his right hand, index and middle fingers together, and reached for Shisui's eyes.
A pair of Mangekyō Sharingan—this was the greatest prize of the battle.
But suddenly—something unexpected happened.
Shisui's corpse, still hanging on the tree just a moment ago, vanished without a trace.
"Impossible!"
Obito's heart trembled.
As a Mangekyō Sharingan user himself, there was no way he could've been mistaken. That had definitely been the real Shisui—not a shadow clone.
A powerful sense of danger surged within him. Without hesitation, he attempted to activate Kamui's intangibility.
But before it could take effect—
Shhk—!
A short blade, imbued with chakra and honed to an incredible sharpness, pierced through his back.
The blade ran straight through his torso. More than the puncture itself, it was the chakra laced within—it ravaged his body on a cellular level.
It was just a single stab, yet the damage was as if he'd been stabbed dozens of times. He was severely wounded.
Thankfully, his Kamui intangibility finally activated, and his body began phasing.
Blood trickled from both his back and chest. He had taken a heavy hit.
He turned his head, face pale, and saw—
Standing behind him was the man who should have been dead—Uchiha Shisui.
The gaping wound from when he'd been impaled by the thorned tree had completely vanished. Only his right eye... had changed.
The Mangekyō pattern was gone—replaced with a ghostly white void.
A pupil-less white... just like a transplanted Byakugan from the Hyūga clan.
"Izanagi."
As someone who had inherited Uchiha Madara's knowledge, Obito recognized it instantly.
The forbidden technique of the Uchiha clan—Izanagi. A dōjutsu that could overturn reality, allowing the user to rewrite death and any injury, at the cost of permanent blindness in the eye used.
He never expected Shisui to have mastered such a jutsu—and even more shocking, that he would sacrifice a Mangekyō Sharingan to activate it.
"I failed."
A hint of regret appeared on Shisui's face.
After infiltrating the clan head's secret chamber and acquiring the scroll of Sharingan techniques, he had sealed Izanagi into his right eye—with a condition trigger upon his death.
When he was killed just now, Izanagi auto-activated and brought him back to life.
He knew Obito would never resist the temptation of his Mangekyō. Obito would have to deactivate Kamui to extract his eyes—that would be his moment to strike.
It had been his best chance at turning the tables.
Originally, he'd hoped to kill Obito in a surprise counterattack. But… he failed.
He had inflicted a serious injury—but not a fatal one.
Swish, swish, swish!
Shisui lunged toward Obito, slashing repeatedly with his short blade. He abandoned all defense.
With Izanagi still active, he could nullify any and all harm—including death—so he fought recklessly, without fear.
"I underestimated you… You actually gave up one of your eyes."
Obito backed away, putting distance between them. Clutching his chest, his voice turned cold.
Buzz—
A swirling vortex appeared beside him. Obito stepped into it and vanished.
Once Izanagi is activated, the user becomes impervious to all harm for a set duration.
Given that Shisui had sacrificed a Mangekyō Sharingan, that duration could very well exceed ten minutes.
Wounded and in no condition for a drawn-out battle, Obito had chosen to retreat for now.
"He's gone. Or maybe he's just hiding, waiting for Izanagi to wear off…"
Shisui scanned the surroundings with his remaining eye, alert and wary.
He took out a sealing scroll and quickly sealed away the corpses of the eleven fallen elite jōnin.
Then he swiftly departed.
The mission had failed. The assassination attempt had ended in failure.
If not for Izanagi, he too would've perished here.
"First Gate—Gate of Opening: Open!"
Uchiha Fugaku released the chakra limiter located on the left side of his brain.
The mental restraints were lifted. His body's energy consumption surged. Physical capabilities were fully unlocked—his strength and speed both increased.
"Second Gate—Gate of Healing: Open!"
The chakra limiter on the right side of his brain was released.
Fatigue was erased. His stamina replenished as his energy burned even faster.
His body began recovering through sheer force, offsetting fatigue through raw energy consumption.
"Third Gate—Gate of Life: Open!"
The gate along the centerline between both hands was unlocked.
Energy consumption spiked further. Blood surged through his body, and his skin emitted a faint green aura. His power and speed increased again.
"Fourth Gate—Gate of Pain: Open!"
The next gate, directly below the Life Gate, was released.
Fugaku's energy consumption intensified once more. Power and speed reached yet another level—
—at the cost of bodily damage.
"Fifth Gate—Gate of Limit: Open!"
The second gate below the Life Gate was opened.
Energy burn escalated. His strength and speed increased even further.
The green aura surrounding him thickened, and internal damage worsened.
"Sixth Gate—Gate of View: Open!"
The third gate down the line was unleashed.
Energy consumption hit a critical point. Strength and speed peaked once more.
The green aura blazed like fire, blood vessels bulged across his skin, and damage reached dangerous levels.
In one breath, Fugaku opened six of the Eight Inner Gates. His entire body seemed wrapped in green flames, exuding an overwhelming presence.
"Huff... Huff... Huff..."
He savored the sensation for a moment, then deactivated all six gates, gasping for breath.
Pain surged from various parts of his body—damage inflicted from opening the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Gates.
But inside him, a cool current flowed to the damaged areas.
That was the regenerative effect of Hashirama cells—acquired by refining the body of White Zetsu.
"Under normal circumstances, I won't be able to progress this fast anymore."
In just a few days, Fugaku had trained up to the Sixth Gate.
His rapid progress was possible only because he was already Kage-level; his physical body far surpassed that of ordinary shinobi.
In a way, he'd been laying the foundation for the Eight Gates technique for over thirty years.
But now—at the Sixth Gate—that natural advantage had been pushed to its limits.
"But that's only under normal circumstances."
Fugaku narrowed his eyes.
From here on out, further progress would normally require long, grueling effort to refine and toughen the body.
But he had an unconventional method to accelerate his training.
That was why he chose to pursue the Eight Gates technique in the first place.
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