Chapter 373: Chapter 373: Third Time’s Not Happening—You’re Not Getting Away Again
"Something’s off, Obito."
On top of the Gedo Statue’s head, White Zetsu shaded his eyes with one hand, pretending to scout ahead as he looked toward Konohagakure in the distance.
Right now, the village was sitting in a small basin. You could basically see everything inside it at a glance. The strange part was—while all the tents and buildings were still there, there wasn’t a single person walking around.
Obito stood with his arms crossed, his mask showing only two eye holes—one revealing a blood-red Three Tomoe Sharingan, and the other a pale Rinnegan.
His tone wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t warm either. "There’s not a single person in the village."
That’s right—not even one.
Obito couldn’t help but feel a chill in his chest. That bad feeling was growing stronger by the second.
Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, and he instinctively turned around. In the forest behind him, Sasuke stood on the ground with a long sword in hand. His Tomoe-patterned Rinnegan and Eternal Mangekyou were glowing as he looked up at Obito with a cold smirk.
"You showed up after all," Sasuke said, twirling his sword.
Obito squinted slightly. "Uchiha Sasuke!"
He had already guessed this guy wouldn’t go to the Five Kage Summit with Tsunade, but actually facing him still made Obito feel a certain pressure.
Sasuke looked up at Obito standing atop the Gedo Statue and gave a cold smile that grew wider. "You shouldn’t have come."
Obito didn’t answer. He just stayed alert, watching Sasuke through the Rinnegan.
Sasuke didn’t care that Obito didn’t respond. He said straight out, "Last time, you got away because Orochimaru interfered. This time, you’re not going anywhere."
Right after speaking, Sasuke’s eyes flashed. A massive wave of purple chakra burst out, quickly forming into a towering giant that stood taller than the Gedo Statue itself.
"I’m not repeating the same mistake. This time, I won’t give you a chance."
Sasuke’s gaze turned ice cold, killing intent bursting like a wave.
Last time, he tried to act cool and let Obito slip away. This time, he learned his lesson—no words, just straight to full power.
Susano’o pulled out its flaming red Totsuka Blade, the fire turning black and wrapping around the sword along with lightning.
Sasuke lifted his chin slightly. "I know you can use Kamui to dodge my teleportation attacks, but the Gedo Statue under your feet can’t. So... take this head-on!"
Susano’o swung its blade, lightning and black flames crackling down the length of the red sword.
The swing tore through the ground, flattening the forest below in an instant. Even far-off Konohagakure shook from the impact.
Faced with such a fierce attack, the brainless Gedo Statue opened its mouth wide and roared as it took the hit head-on. Obito, on the other hand, didn’t hesitate—he immediately jumped off the statue the moment Sasuke’s attack formed.
The strike slammed into the statue, blasting it backward. The ground beneath it collapsed, and the massive body crashed down hard, leaving behind a giant imprint in the shape of its body.
Seeing this, Sasuke frowned. "Damn, that thing’s tough."
Yeah, even with that insane power, it only knocked some chunks off. Not even a crack.
It really was the Ten-Tails’ shell. Even with the added power from the Karma mark, Sasuke couldn’t destroy it in one blow. It looked like it was made of wood, but it was tougher than steel...
No—steel wasn’t even close.
"But that works in my favor." Sasuke smirked, ignoring the escaped Obito. His Tomoe Rinnegan pulsed with power as his hands flew through hand signs.
"Six Paths: Summoning Technique!"
Down on the ground, dodging falling rubble, Obito’s face changed slightly. "He’s trying to take control of the Gedo Statue? No way I’ll let that happen!"
As Sasuke formed his seals, Obito did the same. His Rinnegan glowed, and he pushed out all his chakra. "Ninjutsu: Summoning Technique!"
The Gedo Statue, still lying on the ground, suddenly froze. It looked like it glitched out—completely still, staring blankly. Inside its body, two different eye powers and chakras started clashing. The imprint left by Obito inside it began to weaken.
Actually, "began to weaken" wasn’t even accurate.
The moment Sasuke finished his seals, Obito’s mark started breaking down at a speed visible to the naked eye. The Gedo Statue, once controlled by Obito, stopped moving. Its control was quickly shifting toward Sasuke.
At this rate, in less than ten seconds, it would be his.
Sasuke smirked. "When the time comes, I’ll hit you with a ’Six Paths Chibaku Tensei’ and make sure you never show up again!"
On the ground, Obito dodged more falling rocks. He could feel his chakra being forced out, and his face didn’t look too good. His Three Tomoe Sharingan spun slowly as he canceled one set of hand signs and quickly formed another.
"You’re not—"
"Getting away!" A loud voice rang in Obito’s ears just then. The ground shook, and thick trees burst out from below. "Sage Art: Wood Style — Deep Forest Emergence!"
Obito’s face suddenly darkened. The attack was so strong that he only managed to dodge the first wave before massive trees wrapped around him. His chakra was draining fast.
Even Obito started to panic. With his body trapped and unable to move, he shouted toward the front, "What are you waiting for? Are you seriously going to just sit there and watch me lose?"
"Madara!"
"Hmph..." came Madara’s cold reply from the distance, followed by a wave of powerful chakra. "Storm Release: Light Fang!"
A thin beam of light shot out from far away. And before anyone could react, all the trees had already been cut down.
Hashirama frowned slightly as he watched Obito being rescued. He quietly let out a sigh and released his hand signs, then turned to Madara, who stood not far from him. "Looks like it’s really going to come down to a fight between us."
Madara stared back coldly. His red Sharingan eyes slowly spun, and under Hashirama’s serious gaze, they turned into pale Rinnegan. "The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path can’t be taken from us."
The next moment, a surge of strong eye power rose from the statue, syncing with Obito’s. Their combined chakra kept growing, and together they barely held their ground against Sasuke’s eyes.
Sasuke lowered his hands and looked behind him at Madara. "Your eye power is way stronger than Obito’s."
It still didn’t match Sasuke’s Tomoe Rinnegan, but Madara’s Rinnegan was powerful. With Obito’s other eye helping him, they were just enough to hold off Sasuke’s visual jutsu.
Right now, Sasuke couldn’t erase Obito’s mark from the statue. With Madara helping, their combined eye power was enough to counter his. But they couldn’t push him out either—Madara and Obito weren’t strong enough to crush Sasuke.
But that didn’t matter. Sasuke had already left his mark on the statue. As long as either Madara or Obito used up too much chakra, the statue would immediately fall under Sasuke’s control.
"Then I guess it’s down to close combat now."
His Susano’o raised its sword, the red Blade of Totsuka burning with black flames.
---
You can read 10 Chapters ahead on my
pat