HTP: Ch. 54

In the Kamui space, countless cube-shaped stones floated in mid-air. Kakashi and Obito stood on opposite sides, as if in a dueling arena.

"Why?"

"Shut up."

"Sorry… I failed to protect Rin, but…"

"I know. I saw it."

"So it really was you at that time?"

"If I hadn't intervened, you would've died."

"Then why didn't you come back?"

"This world is fake, and so are you, Kakashi! Once I realize my plan, everything can be redone."

Their voices echoed among the floating cubes, their words rapid, like they were fighting for the last breath of oxygen.

"The Eye of the Moon Plan, huh?"

"You even know about that?!" Obito's pupils shrank sharply, this time he seriously began to suspect Black Zetsu. He couldn't help but exchange a few more words with that Kakashi.

But the next line stabbed him straight in the heart like a blade.

"It's the dream that's false."

His Mangekyō spun wildly, and his voice rose sharply. "Bullshit! Come on! Try and stop me if you can!"

He no longer wished to continue talking. If the Eye of the Moon was false, then what did all his actions mean? He absolutely could not accept that reality.

"Obito." Kakashi stared at that face, and finally declared, "Then the only thing I can do now… is send you to your death."

Obito sneered coldly, "I'll do the same."

Blazing flames spewed from his mouth. A giant fireball surged toward Kakashi, searing with deadly heat.

Kakashi quickly formed hand seals.

Boom!

A stone wall, carved with a dog's head, rose from the ground and blocked the roaring flames. The clash of fire and stone exploded with deafening force in the silent space. Before the smoke cleared, dozens of kunai shot toward Obito, who flicked out chains from his sleeve, deflecting them with ease. He scoffed, "Kakashi, I've long since surpassed you."

Kakashi's figure burst from the explosion's smoke, blue lightning refracting through the cubes. At high speed, it pierced straight through Obito's chest.

Poof.

It was a clone.

The real Obito leapt down from a cube above, his chains binding Kakashi's limbs. With a sudden pull, the chains tightened into blades to slice him apart, but Kakashi burst into lightning and exploded.

The real Kakashi burst from underground, delivering an uppercut followed by a flying kick under Obito's chin. Obito grunted in pain, but before he could counter, Kakashi formed lightning in his hand and launched his true finishing move. This Chidori pierced through Obito's chest.

But that was part of Obito's plan. His body, reinforced by Wood Release, no longer had the heart as a weakness. Instead, it was a shackle.

Using his body to restrain Kakashi's movements, he allowed the Chidori to sever the curse mark left by Madara on him.

"Kakashi, this time it's really your true body, huh?!" Obito coughed up blood and laughed out loud.

Kakashi was abruptly snapped out of the sorrow of having to kill his best friend.

Not good. The battle wasn't over yet.

Suddenly, even though Obito had been pierced through the heart, the chains in his hand hadn't lost strength. Like living creatures, they wrapped tightly around Kakashi's arm. More chains shot out from Obito's sleeves, binding Kakashi tightly.

"Then, I'll be taking that gift back for now!"

He lunged forward, hand reaching to reclaim his Mangekyō Sharingan.

Just as the Hokage said, I'm no longer a match for Obito… Kakashi thought helplessly.

With no other choice, he activated Kamui.

A vortex spread through the space, swallowing both of them together. In the next instant, the two fell from mid-air, crashing back into the real world.

Flowers near the Memorial Stone were swept into the air by a gust of wind, as if someone unseen had been watching the fight.

Obito looked around, this place was already surrounded by Konoha's ANBU.

"Damn it, an ambush," Obito cursed, immediately attempting to phase out and escape to fight another day. But he found that the space around the memorial had been sealed off by Konoha's barrier squad.

Now this was trouble.

Leading the ANBU team was Yamato, and from another direction came a familiar spiky watermelon-shaped head.

Obito spat on the ground and got into a fighting stance. So you brought backup, huh, Kakashi? You call this settling the score? What the hell are you playing at?

He wanted to maintain his cool, but after a few seconds, he couldn't hold back and started cursing:

"Damn you, Kakashi! You're a real bastard now! You're definitely a fake!"

Kakashi, who had fallen to the ground, dusted himself off, stood up, and said, "You're surrounded. Surrender."

From a short distance away, Yamato shouted, "Kakashi-senpai, is this the 'Konoha hero' you always talk about?"

That made Kakashi a bit embarrassed. He scratched his head and replied, "He used to be. Now… probably just a criminal of Konoha."

Guy walked up beside Kakashi, stared at Obito, and rubbed his chin, puzzled. "Isn't that the loser from our school days?"

"Bullshit! You're the loser!" Obito snapped instantly, furious.

He prepared to go all out and take on the ninjas with everything he had. But this place was already a dead end. With just one eye, how could he possibly face off against Konoha's three powerhouses?

Even he began to feel a creeping sense of despair… Was the Eye of the Moon Plan coming to an end?

"Obito, run!" Dozens of White Zetsu, like zombies resurrected from the earth, burst forth and launched suicide attacks on Konoha's sealing team.

The scene turned chaotic.

Black Zetsu seized the opportunity to stick his head out from the ground and shouted urgently to Obito, "Leave this to the White Zetsu! This was Konoha's trap!"

With heartfelt loyalty, he clung to Obito like venom, urging him again, "Don't give up! Run, Obito! You still have your dream of world peace! Move! That's it, this direction has the weakest part of the barrier!"

Now, the only being in the entire world still standing by Obito was Black Zetsu, truly loyal to the bitter end.

---

Kumo was in flames.

The Raikage Building collapsed in the middle of deafening explosions, rubble and smoke cascading down. The Six Paths of Pain stepped over the corpses of ANBU strewn across the ground, the Rinnegan reflecting the final standing figure.

The last remaining fighting force of Kumo was only the leader.

Darui knelt on one knee in the center of the ruins, his broken ninja blade stabbed deep into the ground, barely supporting his tottering body. Blood trickled down the hilt, drop by drop onto the scorched earth.

"Where is the Eight-Tails?" Tendō's voice echoed coldly.

"Cough cough... Akatsuki... will never succeed..."

Darui coughed violently, spitting out blood mixed with fragments of his organs. Gathering the last of his chakra, he formed seals to unleash a final wave of lightning.

"Foolish." Tendō extended his hand. "To resist a god is nothing but folly."

Darui's body was suddenly yanked into the air, and three chakra black rods pierced through his chest in an instant. His lungs ruptured, blood gushing out.

He opened his mouth slightly, trying to utter some final words, but could no longer speak.

Ningendō slowly approached, his pale hand resting on Darui's forehead.

Darui's memories flashed by like a revolving lantern.

Found it.

He withdrew his hand. "So, they're in Konoha as well."

Darui's pupils began to dilate.

Tendō gazed coldly at the dying Raikage, slowly withdrawing the black rods.

"Your sacrifice was meaningless. Our next target is Konoha."

Darui's body collapsed heavily onto the ruins.

---

In the northern battlefield of Kumo, amid the burning wreckage, a pale white paper crane drifted through the smoke and landed lightly on Kakuzu's bloodstained hand.

[Mission complete. Evacuate within 5 minutes.]

He narrowed his green eyes, paused his calculating movements with clear displeasure. "Give me ten more minutes. Otherwise, this was all for nothing."

Hidan, however, was delighted, the slaughter was over, and he'd long since grown bored. He immediately urged Kakuzu to get going.

"Delaying even the Pain's orders? Come on, let's move!"

Kakuzu ignored him, waiting for the paper crane's reply. The crane formed text: Consequences at your own risk.

"So urgent, huh?" He snorted, black threads uncoiling from his back to gather the selected loot and toss it at Hidan.

---

In the southern battlefield of Kumo, a red-cloaked puppet pierced through the chest of a Kumo ninja with its blade.

Sasori gazed at the newly arrived paper crane, the puppet's joints clacking. "Konan, I need to replenish my puppet army."

The crane turned to ash in his palm, revealing the same warning: Consequences at your own risk.

Sasori fell silent for a moment, then scanned the field of bodies.

Next time in Konoha, I'll find even better ones.

Above the burning village, a giant clay bird spread its wings. Deidara stood atop it, overlooking the blazing village below.

This kind of grand spectacle thrilled him to no end, joining Akatsuki, he thought, was the best decision he ever made.

"Mm! As I thought, explosions truly are the ultimate art!" He spread his arms wide, as if to embrace the hellscape of fire he had created with his own hands. "One more C3, let's sublimate the entire village!"

Suddenly, a pure white paper crane sliced through the thick smoke and landed precisely in his palm.

[Mission complete. Evacuate within 5 minutes.]

His smile instantly froze. "Huh? Now? Just give me three more minutes!"

Frantically, he pulled out more clay. "I haven't even tested out a few new moves yet!"

The paper crane flashed a warning.

He clicked his tongue and scratched his head in frustration. "When will it be my turn to be the leader?"

He glanced back at Kumo, a bit regretful. "Next time, I'll show you an even bigger piece of art."

As the Akatsuki members gradually retreated, the burning Kumo was left with nothing but the howling wind. Tendō floated above the village, his black cloak billowing in the raging wind.

His Rinnegan, rippled with the Six Paths' rings, looked down indifferently at the burning village below, like a god judging a swarm of insignificant ants.

"Feel pain."

His voice wasn't loud, but it rolled across the battlefield like distant thunder.

The surviving Kumo ninjas looked up, seeing that godlike figure slowly open his arms.

"Contemplate pain."

Chakra surged wildly. The air trembled and twisted under the immense force. Rubble rose into the air, flames reversed, even light itself bent toward that figure.

"Accept pain."

As the final syllable dropped, the world fell silent.

Then, a cataclysmic wave exploded from Tendō at the center. Invisible repulsive force shredded space itself, buildings were turned to ash, and the earth collapsed in layers.

When the dust settled, the once-prosperous village had become nothing but a massive, radial crater.

His mission was finally complete.

"To make the world understand pain is the only path to true peace."

In the distance, Deidara sat on his clay bird, golden hair whipped wildly by the shockwave. He clung tightly to its back, pupils shrinking with shock.

He was stunned. Was Pain... an artist too?

Then, not caring whether he could be heard or not, he yelled excitedly in that direction, "Let me go first in Konoha next time! I've got something big too!"

At that moment, he fully accepted Pain as a fellow artist.

Kakuzu paused his money-counting. The sheer scale of destruction reminded him of a battle he had fought years ago with the First Hokage.

"This level of destructive power… maybe he really is a bit stronger than the First Hokage."

Hidan laughed loudly. "There you go bullshitting again!"

Kakuzu's face darkened. He instantly launched a blast of wind pressure at Hidan.

Hidan crashed into a rock wall, still laughing. "If the First Hokage was half as strong as Pain, you'd be dead already!"

Sasori silently watched the distant ruins, saying nothing. He too had once considered turning the Rinnegan-wielding leader into a human puppet someday. But he hadn't expected this kind of power.

Moreover, during the battle, he had clearly noticed that the Six Paths of Pain were all puppets, not controlled with traditional chakra threads, but through some new technique.

Curiosity and a thirst for research surged within him. Just then, paper fragments began fluttering down like snow.

Tendō and Konan descended from the sky.

Tendō's cold voice declared:

"Mission complete. Three days of rest. Next target: Konoha."