Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

Obito Uchiha could freely 'intangible' parts of his body, sending any part of his body into another dimension, easily avoiding enemy attacks. As long as the attack speed was even slightly slower, it would be unable to cause any effective damage.

The only way to counter Obito Uchiha's attack is to seize the moment he strikes.

That might have been the only way to hit the target.

Therefore,

When Obito Uchiha decided to retreat and abandoned his mission to continue fighting Shisui, no one could stop him from leaving.

After saying goodbye, he decisively used Kamui to escape into the alternate dimension he controlled, shaking off Uchiha Shisui and his partner Deidara. Without a word, he chose to slip away alone.

This is the power of Obito Uchiha's space-time technique.

When the caster is determined to escape, it is difficult to stop them. Even Shisui, who also possessed space-time techniques, was helpless. The Flying Thunder God Technique requires coordinates to be located before it can be used for teleportation. He did not know where Obito Uchiha had escaped to, nor could he leave any coordinates on Obito Uchiha's body.

Naturally, there was no way to pursue them.

but,

That's not so bad.

Obito Uchiha's departure signified his own liberation.

His confrontation with Obito Uchiha was like dancing on the edge of a knife. To be honest, the consumption of chakra was a minor issue; the main problem was the mental strain. After a long period of intense tension, he was now deeply experiencing what it meant to be mentally and physically exhausted.

Standing on the ruins of Shisui, he let out a soft breath, and his spirits immediately lifted. He saw Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. Putting aside Sogen's unclear ulterior motives, rescuing Naruto and Sasuke meant that the mission's stated objective had been achieved.

"Lord Shisui,"

Shan Zhongfeng was also extremely tired at this moment.

Only through willpower and the stinging pain in his right ear did he manage to stay conscious, and he asked, "Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha have been rescued. What's next? Should we send them back to the village first? Or should we go and support the Hokage?"

With the arrival of Fugaku Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha, and the others...

The intense battle unsurprisingly came to an end, with Haku being the first to flee, followed by Obito Uchiha.

Although Deidara, who fought against Shiro Aburame, was a madman willing to sacrifice his life for art, he was not afraid of death, which did not mean that he would actively seek death. He still wanted to study the true meaning of art. Seeing that Obito Uchiha had disappeared, he did not dare to linger and quickly escaped on his big bird.

Aburame Shiro did not stop it.

Or rather, he couldn't stop it even if he wanted to.

The swarm's flight altitude is limited, and the rain greatly hinders their movement speed and agility. More importantly, they cannot stray too far from their host. The farther away they are, the weaker their control over the swarm becomes. To chase Deidara flying high in the sky, one would need a ninja who is proficient in flight techniques.

Alternatively, if the top Uchiha ninjas activated their Susanoo and unleashed a Yasaka Magatama, they might have been able to defeat Deidara. However, none of the three Uchiha ninjas present who had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan made a move.

After Deidara rode the giant bird and disappeared into the rain...

All that remained was the sound of wind and rain echoing in my ears.

not far away,

Tianzang collapsed from exhaustion, and the giant wooden figure disappeared with him.

Aburame Torune and Hyuga Himon captured Jirobo alive and dragged the unconscious fat man to Shisui. After three days of fruitless tracking in the mountains, they did not idly sit around and brought over Inuzuka Hana, who was still alive but frozen in ice.

correct,

Hana Inuzuka did not die.

It's not just that I'm showing mercy, but also that Inuzuka Hana's vitality is so strong that she still has a breath left.

"I won't waste any more time on small talk. Naruto, Sasuke, you two come here. I'll take you back first." Shisui beckoned, and Naruto helped Sasuke closer. The boy's lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but Shisui didn't have the time to chat with him.

He reached out his left hand and grabbed Naruto's shoulder.

The right hand forms a mudra.

next second,

In the blink of an eye, three figures, one large and two small, vanished into thin air. After about three minutes, Shisui returned and reappeared. This time, he reached out and took Inuzuka Hana and Yamanaka Fu away. The former urgently needed emergency treatment, and the latter was also seriously injured.

Then there were Hyuga Hinata and Tenzo, who were exhausted but otherwise unharmed.

Finally, Jirobo, the prisoner, was temporarily imprisoned in the Anbu prison.

After four round trips

Originally, only Shisui and Aburame Torune remained of their group of six. In contrast, Fugaku Uchiha and his group of six were all alive and kicking, without even a scratch. It just goes to show that luck can't be generalized from person to person.

"Is everything settled in?"

"Uchiha Fugaku asked."

"Yes, everything is arranged. Naruto and Sasuke will not be allowed to go home for the time being. They will be protected for now. Once things here are completely settled, they will regain their freedom. Don't worry about Sasuke's injuries; there are professional medical ninjas to treat him."

Zhi Shui answered in a deep voice, his expression much more relaxed than before.

"It's good that you're alright. I've checked Sasuke's injuries; they're not serious. I am..."

Fugaku Uchiha wanted to explain that he wasn't asking because he felt sorry for his son, but after thinking about it, he swallowed his words and instead asked, "What... what are you going to do next? Did Muneaki give you any instructions?"

Every plan has a beginning and an end.

Different plans have different beginnings, but there are only two possible endings: one is that the rescue operation succeeds and Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha are rescued, and the other is that the rescue operation fails and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is not rescued... The latter is now meaningless.

The rescue operation was a great success.

The ensuing problem was that the plan was also coming to an end. The plans made did not specify what to do after the rescue was successful. At least, Fugaku Uchiha did not know, so he had to ask Shisui what to do. Compared to himself, Shisui was Sogen's true confidant.

"I do not know either."

Zhi Shui shook his head.

"However... these kinds of questions will become clear once we meet Zongxian." He turned his gaze in one direction, where he could see the flames of the explosion shooting into the sky even through the heavy rain.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Obito, that piece of trash."

Black Zetsu cursed angrily.

With the help of White Zetsu hidden throughout Amegakure as his eyes and ears, Black Zetsu kept track of every movement in the village. Apart from Orochimaru and Sasori, who had mysteriously disappeared, everyone else's actions were under his surveillance. He learned of Obito Uchiha's retreat immediately.

correct,

He was unaware that the one fighting Pain was Zongxian's Heavenly Path clone.

Nagato wouldn't tell Zetsu everything, especially since he was currently engaged in a fierce battle with Sogen's Heavenly Path clone and had no energy to go looking for Zetsu, who was hiding somewhere, to specifically tell him that the Uchiha Sogen who was fighting his clone was also a Six Paths clone.

As for the mask worn on the face of Zongxian's Heavenly Dao clone...

A mask doesn't prove anything. Even if it has the character "天" (heaven) engraved on it, frankly, it's not that surprising. Masks are actually standard equipment for ninjas. It's not just the ANBU who wear masks; ordinary ninjas can also bring their own masks to wear if they feel the need.

Perhaps the Sixth Hokage had this habit of wearing a mask?

Wasn't Obito always wearing that swirling mask?

Most importantly, Sogen's Deva Path clone had been surgically altered by Hiruko, giving it an appearance almost identical to the real Sogen. This was completely different from the Six Paths of Pain, whose clones retained their original appearances. As a result, Black Zetsu didn't make much of a connection at first and subconsciously regarded Sogen's Deva Path clone as the real Sogen.

After all,

The appearance of the second pair of Rinnegan brought him immense stimulation and pressure. He was preoccupied with figuring out how to break this out-of-control situation. When he heard the news that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki had been rescued and that Obito Uchiha had retreated, his mood worsened to the extreme.

"…Bring him over here!"

Qi is Qi,

Black Zetsu is still quite rational.

At this point, Obito Uchiha was still useful. If Nagato were to fail, Obito Uchiha could not be easily discarded. White Zetsu was ordered to leave and soon appeared before Black Zetsu with Obito Uchiha, who was wearing a white Zetsu robe and concealing his aura.

Although Obito Uchiha now has most of his body transplanted from White Zetsu.

however,

He still couldn't master the White Zetsu's Mayfly Technique, and couldn't completely conceal his aura. He still needed to wear a White Zetsu to block the Konoha ninjas' spying.

"Jue, what's going on? What are you doing?"

as soon as we meet,

Obito Uchiha immediately asked.

Beneath the orange-red swirling mask, the single, scarlet eye was filled with bewilderment and confusion, mixed with a hint of panic.

However, it's understandable that he's making a fuss about this. The lack of good news had already led him to suspect something had gone wrong, but... a second pair of Rinnegan? What kind of hellish joke is this? How the hell is this possible?

"This is the situation you see. You ask me what I'm doing? What do you think I can do?"

Black Zetsu was in a bad mood as well, and became increasingly annoyed by Obito Uchiha's questioning, so he retorted rather rudely.

Fortunately,

At this moment, Obito Uchiha was not in the mood to argue with anyone.

"Uchiha Sogen... why does he have the Rinnegan...?" His mind was racing with thoughts like a bursting dam, and his mouth couldn't keep up with his brain's pace. For a moment, he was stuck, stammering and unable to utter a coherent sentence.

"I don't understand why Uchiha Mugen has the Rinnegan either, but that's not important. The problem now is that I'm worried Pain will lose!"

Black Zetsu understood what Obito Uchiha said and pointed out incisively that now was not the time to think about those issues. The most urgent matter was the outcome of the battle between Pain and Mugen Uchiha. If Pain won, they could then slowly investigate what the second pair of Rinnegan was all about.

But the problem is,

What if Payne loses?

Previously, relying on Pain's Rinnegan power, unless Nagato himself wanted to die, Black Zetsu and Obito Uchiha didn't believe Pain would lose. At most, they thought he might not be able to capture Uchiha Sogen and the others...

"...Time is on Payne's side."

Obito Uchiha hid in this concealed observation point, stared at the fierce battle in the distance for a minute, and then drew a conclusion.

"How to say?"

He raised his eyelids, earnestly seeking guidance.

Although he has lived for thousands of years and witnessed countless trials and tribulations, the problem is that he has always been hiding in the shadows, stirring up trouble, and has never stood up openly to fight anyone. Therefore, even though he has witnessed the passionate battles between countless powerful people over the past thousand years, he still cannot clearly judge the outcome of such a stalemate.

In this regard,

Obito Uchiha had far more experience.

"Chakra".

Obito Uchiha uttered a single word.

Black Zetsu suddenly understood, as if struck by a thunderbolt. Nagato was a pure descendant of the Uzumaki clan, and his chakra was so vast that it could rival that of the tailed beasts. While the Uchiha clan was considered to have abundant chakra compared to ordinary ninjas, they were nothing compared to the Senju and Uzumaki clans.