GSiN: Ch. 195

Kumo plaza.

Several members of the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki guard were busily hauling and packing up the concert equipment.

B let out a strange yell, vaulted off the stage, and bounded over to where Obito and Kura were standing.

♪Yo, yo, Killer B up on the stage,
concert hype about to blaze,
but Ryo ain't in the place,
got me feelin' that empty space,
oh yeah~♪

Already fed up with B's flailing dance moves, Obito forced down the urge to complain.

"Ryouma just got some urgent intel and flew off to deal with it."

"Oh, no~"

B clutched his forehead and bent forward dramatically.

♪We got a banquet later tonight,
but Ryo's gone clean outta sight,
don't know when he'll be back in the light,
without him here my heart ain't right,
yeah~♪

Does he have to answer every single line with rap? What a pain...

Obito complained inwardly, then answered after thinking a moment.

"I don't know exactly where he flew off to. But he said he'd be back soon, shouldn't take long."

"B!"

A rough, booming voice came from the distance. A charged forward with long strides.

"You idiot! If you ever hold another one of these pointless events, pack your things and roll yourself into the Valley of Clouds and Lightning, and don't come out!"

Facing his furious brother, B didn't talk back. He just rubbed his ears, which were still ringing painfully from A's thunderous voice.

Seeing B's meek expression, A felt quite satisfied with himself, as though his discipline had been perfectly delivered.

He glanced around the area, noticed the most important person wasn't there, then set his eyes on Obito.

"Hey, where's Ryouma? I just saw him here."

"First, my name isn't 'hey.' Second, I've got no obligation to answer questions from the likes of you."

Obito glared back at A, full of displeasure.

Ever since arriving in Kumo, this guy, whenever he couldn't find Ryouma, would call him "hey." No manners whatsoever. Combined with the bad memories from the battlefields of the Land of Hot Water years ago, he had long found this damn Raikage completely unbearable.

Sensing the atmosphere turning dangerous, Kura sneaked a glance at A's expression, which was dark enough to drip water, and immediately broke into a cold sweat.

He hurried to Obito's side, whispering nervously, "He's the Raikage. Please don't be impulsive."

"Kura, can't you toughen up for once?"

"Uh..."

Kura scratched his head awkwardly, misery written all over his face. He was just a former captured chunin. How could he possibly act tough toward the Raikage?

The tension continued to rise.

B quickly shot a pleading look at Mabui, who stood nearby watching without any intention of stepping in.

Normally, whenever A's temper flared, Mabui would intervene to defuse things. But today she seemed like a different person, simply standing there calmly, making no move to help.

Helpless, B tugged lightly at Mabui's sleeve and whispered, "Ryouma's comin' back real soon. Could you go calm down A?"

"It's alright. The Raikage knows what he's doing," Mabui said, serene and confident.

As if to confirm her words, A's angry expression vanished instantly. The corners of his mouth lifted as he nodded approvingly.

"Not bad. Good eyes."

"Hmph!"

Obito snorted, not even bothering to respond to A.

Although the man was rude to him. He didn't really want to make things too hostile.

But A clearly had no intention of letting it end there. Since Ryouma wasn't here at the moment, now was the perfect opportunity for Kumo to snatch, ah no, to recruit talent.

He stepped forward.

"In Kumo we only recognize the strong. Respect is only for those who've proven themselves. As for you, heh, you're not even close yet."

He said nothing of substance, yet somehow said everything.

Obito absolutely couldn't swallow this. In an instant, irritation surged through him, and the tomoe in his Sharingan flared into three.

"Oh, I get it now. You're clearly doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

Seeing how effective his provocation was, A immediately pressed the advantage. He pointed at the half-dismantled stage in the distance.

"Perfect. I haven't done my taijutsu warm-up today. And you've got a bit of spirit. So how about we fight right here? Let me see what you're really made of."

"Bring it on."

Obito shot back without a hint of weakness, cold smile curling on his lips. Since this Raikage was picking the fight himself, Ryouma couldn't blame him later.

Besides, he'd long wanted to give this guy a beating.

Both of them were quick-tempered. After locking eyes for a moment, they moved toward the stage with mutual, unspoken agreement.

Just as the battle was about to erupt, Mabui's eyes suddenly lit up.

According to the plan, this was her cue.

"Raikage-sama, please wait a moment."

Hearing his secretary's voice, A didn't even look back.

"I'm busy right now. Whatever it is, save it."

Mabui didn't panic. Her expression was serious.

"The village prohibits private combat. You know that. As Raikage, are you planning to break the rules yourself?"

The moment she finished her scripted line, A clicked his tongue loudly and raised his voice in anger.

"Tch! If I can't fight him privately, then I'll invoke Kumo's rules and challenge him to a Summit Duel. If you try to stop me again, deal with the consequences yourself!"

Seeing his over-the-top performance, Mabui felt speechless.

And to think she'd even rehearsed this with him beforehand. The Raikage's acting was a bit too theatrical. But thankfully, their target wasn't exactly a seasoned schemer.

She glanced at Obito discreetly. Seeing he still looked furious, she sighed with relief and continued, "Since you plan to hold a Summit Duel, then naturally I cannot stop it. However, the duel requires a wager from both sides. Otherwise it cannot be established."

"I know that."

To play his part in this act, A summoned the greatest acting skill of his entire life.

He turned to Obito with a look that was one-third mocking, one-third cool, and one-third careless.

"You heard what she said. Given the terms, you still want to challenge me?"

---

When Ryouma returned to Kumo with Shiori, the moment he entered, he saw A attacking Obito.

The stage he had built before leaving, once looking quite proper, had now completely turned into ruins.

A mass of dazzling blue lightning darted back and forth across the field. Each time it leapt, it stirred a groan from the ground.

"Guillotine Drop!"

"Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop!"

"Elbow!"

A unleashed one advanced Lightning Release body technique after another. Every strike carried terrifying force, but the outcome never changed.

Any attack that should have struck Obito passed straight through him as though cutting through air, without the slightest resistance, causing absolutely no damage.

A's battle sense couldn't compare to Minato's, but after such repeated probing, he had more or less analyzed several characteristics of Obito's ability.

It was nothing more than allowing his body to enter a state of intangibility, making all attacks ineffective. But knowing was one thing, responding was another. Faced with this situation, he had no better tactic at the moment.

He guessed that perhaps sealing techniques might work, but he was completely clueless when it came to fuinjutsu. That path was sealed off for him.

The only choice left was to launch relentless attacks, forcing Obito to continuously maintain that technique.

No ninjutsu could be without flaws. A technique that altered one's bodily state would inevitably consume an enormous amount of chakra and as a result, absolutely could not last long.

Feeling the waves of pain coming from his left arm, he thought silently. This rapid-fire strategy also keeps me from being hit again by that bizarre long-range space-time ninjutsu of his.

When the battle first began, if not for his battle-honed instincts, his body moving faster than his mind and using the Body Flicker Technique just in time, he wouldn't have merely lost a chunk of muscle from his arm. He would've lost the whole thing.

Unlike A, whose mind was a storm of battle calculations, Obito at this moment wore a proud expression as he stood tall at the center of the field, giving off the air of a lone warrior holding the pass.

But in truth, it was all an act.

This A really had some skill. His Body Flicker was absurdly fast. Even though Obito could track his blurry movements with the Sharingan, his own nerves simply couldn't react in time.

Often, by the time A finished a full round of attacks and was even preparing the next, Obito only realized it afterward.

In this passive situation, he had no choice but to maintain intangibility at all times. Otherwise, if he slipped up even slightly and got hit by A's attacks, with his small frame, he'd probably pass out instantly.

His scarlet eyes flickered nonstop as he tried hard to lock onto A's elusive silhouette.

Earlier, when A hadn't yet noticed the effect of his ocular jutsu, Obito had managed to ambush him once. But now that A was on guard, he gave Obito no chance to line up his gaze.

The two sides had yet to begin another round of offense and defense, and the battlefield entered a brief stalemate.

---

Meanwhile, in the spectators' area not far from the ruined stage.

"Heh, you finally came back."

Kurama was the first to sense Ryouma's return and immediately shot him an unhappy glare.

Just moments ago, the brat had stuffed him into Obito's hands and then flew off with that stupid tanuki.

It was very displeased.

Shukaku looked smugly at Kurama sitting on the ground and spoke in a mockingly smug tone.

"What's with that look? We are always busy, saving the shinobi world isn't something we do just once or twice. We don't have time to bring you along."

"When it really comes time to save the shinobi world, the power that he uses will definitely be mine. Your little bit of chakra isn't even close."

"What did you say?!"

When it came to trash-talking, Shukaku was a dozen levels below Kurama.

Hearing Kurama's barbed and mocking words, Shukaku was instantly provoked into a rage. It leapt off Ryouma's shoulder and hopped right in front of Kurama, ready to start a full-on brawl.

Ryouma didn't bother stopping the two tailed beasts from "bonding." What he really wanted to know was what kind of ridiculous mess had happened while he was gone, something big enough to make Obito and A fight this fiercely.

He was just about to ask Kura about the situation when Mabui hurried toward him and spoke first.

"The Raikage and Obito encountered a conflict, and the two sides are currently resolving it through our Kumo traditional duel, the Summit Duel."

"Summit Duel?" Ryouma's expression was puzzled.

"Yes." Mabui nodded and explained. "Before the duel begins, both sides must agree on the stakes. After the duel ends, the wager must be honored."

After listening, Ryouma immediately understood. Obito must've walked right into someone's setup again.

Of course, calling it a setup might not be entirely accurate. In the shinobi world, where strength ruled, it was perfectly normal to place bets while sparring.

Besides, out of respect for him, neither side would go for the kill. As long as no one died, a few shots of the Revita-Inject would have them back to full health instantly.

Thinking of this, Ryouma couldn't help feeling curious and asked, "Then what are Obito and A wagering?"

Mabui's expression remained calm as she replied in an orderly tone. "Obito requested one of our Kumo's chakra cannons, while the Raikage requested that Obito take a wife from our village."

"Uh... what?"

Ryouma was stunned.

He had thought A was up to his usual tricks, trying to rope Obito into joining Kumo or something, but he never expected the man to already be planning this far ahead.

Shiori stood silently beside Ryouma, listening clearly to their conversation.

She turned to look at Obito, still locked in battle with the Raikage, and began to doubt whether this guy had actually awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.

He'd been suppressed for so long, yet he still hadn't used Susanoo. Could this idiot be planning to lose on purpose?

Though she didn't have any strong obsession with defending the clan's reputation, she did not want their bloodline limit to be casually taken advantage of by outsiders.

After thinking for a moment, she asked Ryouma, "Do you need me to stop them?"

Ryouma waved his hand and said calmly, "No need. I trust Obito. Besides, even if he can't win, with his ocular abilities, he definitely won't lose."

Unlike the relaxed atmosphere on Ryouma's side, the duel on the battlefield was extremely intense.

As every second passed, the upper limit of Obito's intangibility ability was rapidly approaching.

He had no choice. He couldn't find a good opening, so he had to go all-out on the spot.

The sharp triangular pinwheel pattern in his eyes spun wildly as the third power of his Mangekyō Sharingan was fully unleashed.

"Susanoo!"

High in the air, a massive blue skeletal torso slowly materialized.

Next, muscles and tendons formed from chakra rapidly grew over the bones, spreading like something alive.

In the blink of an eye, a majestic, armor-clad, half-bodied blue giant took shape.