Pfftt!
Yusuke's blade pierced right through Akira's chest.
Perhaps it was because Akira had never expected Yusuke to attack him, he was completely unprepared!
"Akira!" Hinata screamed in shock, her eyes widening as she saw the sword lodged in Akira's chest.
"Yusuke, what are you doing?!" Naruto and the others were also stunned, shouting as they saw the unexpected attack.
Yes, Akira was in the middle of a fierce battle with his dark counterpart, and suddenly, Yusuke attacked? It was something no one had anticipated.
Naruto, quick to react, rushed towards Yusuke, unleashing a giant Rasengan to force Yusuke back.
However, almost simultaneously, a swirling vortex of space-time appeared, and Uchiha Obito emerged, arriving right in front of Akira!
"Stop!" Seeing Obito appear, both Roshi and Han shouted and charged at him.
But Obito didn't even acknowledge their attacks. It was as if their strikes were completely invisible to him, their blows passing right through Obito's body without any effect.
"Get out of my way!" Hinata, realizing Obito's intent to attack Akira, shouted as she unleashed the repulsive force of her Tenseigan to push Obito away. But in his intangible state, the repulsion had no effect on Obito.
Obito made an attack motion towards Akira, but in reality, his hand phased right through Akira's body.
Then, with a sudden reverse grip, Obito's hand clamped tightly around Akira's neck.
"Got him!" Feeling the solid grip around Akira's neck, Obito's heart surged with excitement.
However, before Obito could celebrate, intricate sealing patterns suddenly emerged all over Akira's body, as if they had come to life. The seals crawled up Obito's arm, quickly enveloping his body.
As the sealing technique activated, Obito could feel his body becoming increasingly rigid. Even the chakra flowing through him seemed to transform from fluid water into thick, sluggish mud, becoming nearly impossible to control.
"This... is a pre-prepared Transcription Seal? You knew I would come to attack you?" Obito asked, his tone grave.
Indeed, the sealing technique wasn't something Akira had just cast on the spot. It had been prepared long before, set to trigger upon contact with Obito's touch.
In response, Akira simply smiled without answering.
At the same moment, Akira's body transformed into a piece of wood with Yusuke's blade still embedded in it.
"A Wood Clone! So from the beginning, it was only a Wood Clone!?"
Seeing Akira's body revert to a wooden substitute, Obito's heart sank even further.
Wood Clones were much harder to see through compared to Shadow Clones. Unlike Shadow Clones, which disappeared upon sustaining a hit, Wood Clones were much more resilient.
So it made sense that Yusuke's sword had pierced through the Wood Clone without causing it to dissipate.
"Alright, now that I've sealed you, shall we have a proper conversation, Obito?"
The real Akira emerged as the Wood Clone dissipated, directly addressing Obito by name.
"So it was you all along..." Obito sighed internally. Ever since the encounter in the Land of Water, when facing the reanimated Rin, Obito had suspected that Akira knew his true identity.
But why Akira hadn't exposed his identity earlier, that was something Obito couldn't figure out.
Now, hearing Akira call him by name, Obito wasn't particularly surprised—it simply confirmed his previous suspicions.
"Can you really calculate the past and the future with your abilities?" Obito asked, staring at Akira. Considering how prepared Akira had been, Obito could only think of one explanation.
Akira must have predicted it all—the past, his identity, and even the fact that he would come to attack.
"No, his foresight isn't perfect!"
Before Akira could answer, a low, raspy voice suddenly echoed from the side.
A black shadow appeared—it was Black Zetsu. The shadowy figure was featureless, appearing as though it had no physical form.
Upon appearing, Black Zetsu immediately enveloped half of Akira's body.
From an outsider's perspective, Akira's body was now split into halves—one side his normal self, the other side covered entirely by Black Zetsu.
A surge of powerful spiritual energy flooded out of Black Zetsu, trying to dominate Akira's consciousness.
The sealing runes that had held Obito in place were dispelled at that very moment.
With his body free, Obito didn't waste any time. He leapt forward, grabbed Akira, and activated his right eye—Kamui—attempting to drag both Akira and Black Zetsu into the Kamui dimension.
"Wait... something's wrong!" As the space around them began to distort like a vortex, Black Zetsu seemed to notice something and shouted loudly.
"What's wrong?" Obito continued his efforts to warp Akira and Black Zetsu away, his voice filled with urgency.
"This isn't Akira—at least, it isn't the real Akira!" Black Zetsu yelled.
"What!?" Obito's heart sank at Black Zetsu's revelation.
First, Yusuke had stabbed what turned out to be a Wood Clone, and now, even after that clone had dispersed, this Akira wasn't real either?
Almost as if to confirm Black Zetsu's words, the Akira caught in the space-time distortion transformed into yet another large piece of wood.
Clearly, this too had been a Wood Clone!
"Damn it!" Realizing that yet another clone had deceived them, Obito cursed under his breath.
He immediately canceled the Kamui.
It was then that the real Akira finally emerged from hiding.
Having already learned through the Life Simulator that Obito and Black Zetsu would come to attack, Akira made sure that neither of his previous appearances had been his true form.
"Akira, you claim to be the strongest in the shinobi world, yet from beginning to end, you've never dared to show your real self!" Black Zetsu taunted as he saw Akira appear.
On one hand, Black Zetsu was genuinely trying to goad Akira.
On the other hand, Black Zetsu wasn't entirely sure if this Akira was the real one or just another clone.
So, taunting him like this was also a psychological ploy to provoke Akira into revealing his true self.
Those Wood Clones were truly troublesome—even the Mangekyo Sharingan couldn't see through them.
"Pffft…"
Instead of getting angry, Akira simply chuckled, as if he had just heard something utterly amusing.
"What's so funny?!" Black Zetsu demanded, baffled by Akira's reaction.
What could possibly be so amusing?
"I'm laughing because you said I don't dare to show my true self. And what about you? You don't even have a face! Are you really in any position to criticize me?" Akira retorted, looking directly at Black Zetsu.
Hearing Akira's words, the onlookers couldn't help but glance at Black Zetsu, and soon enough, several of them started to laugh.
Indeed, Black Zetsu looked like nothing more than a black shadow, barely even a proper entity. Was he really in any position to say such things?
"You..." Black Zetsu was infuriated but struggled to find the right words to retort.
Because it was true—he was nothing more than a black shadow, without even a physical face. He really wasn't qualified to make that accusation.
"So, you not only knew I was going to attack, but you also anticipated that Black Zetsu would come after you too?" Obito interrupted, not wanting to linger on the topic of Black Zetsu's facelessness. He looked directly at Akira and asked.
Hearing Obito's question, Akira gave a carefree smile but didn't answer directly. Instead, he turned to Obito and asked, "What about you? Why did you suddenly decide to come here and attack me? What is your goal?"
This was indeed something Akira was curious about. Although he had known from the Life Simulator that Obito and Black Zetsu would come after him, he hadn't been sure why.
"I came here for Rin," Obito replied without hesitation.
"Nohara Rin?" Akira's eyes showed a hint of surprise as he looked at Obito.
"Yes, Rin is in your hands, so of course, I need to rescue her," Obito said matter-of-factly, nodding.