Chapter 88: Ch 88
This is a "tent," a barrier technique with its origins in the world of curses and sorcery. It does more than simply enclose a space; it enforces a specific, absolute rule within its domain. Kagami, through his unique power, had created a tent with a single, terrifying constraint: within its dark curtain, all forms of spatial manipulation were nullified.
This meant that Obito's Kamui and the Sage of Six Paths' own dimensional ninjutsu were now completely useless. This was the advantage of superior intelligence. Kagami's clones had gathered information on the Sage's abilities, allowing him to prepare this countermeasure in advance. He had sent them to the outskirts of the Hidden Rain Village to set up the tent, sealing the one escape route his enemies relied upon. With the space sealed, the Sage and Obito had lost their greatest advantage and any chance of retreat.
As the black sky descended, an inexplicable panic gripped the hearts of the thousands of ninja on the battlefield. They drew their weapons, a futile gesture against the oppressive darkness that seemed to compress the very air around them, threatening to swallow their souls. In the midst of this chaos, Kagami stood, his eyes flashing with a dark light, a cold, confident smile on his face.
"This is my power" his voice echoed, laced with a playful malice. "I hope you like it."
The Sage of Six Paths, who had always carried himself with an air of absolute superiority, looked at the descending curtain, his face darkening into a mask of pure frustration. He could feel the space around him being sealed, his plans for a sneak attack from his personal dimension now in ruins. Without his spatial ninjutsu, his chances of killing Kagami had plummeted.
Obito was even more panicked. He tried to become intangible, to slip into his Kamui dimension, but it was impossible. His greatest ability, the one that made him seemingly invincible, was gone. He had planned to lazily avoid the brunt of the battle, but now, stripped of his ultimate defense, he couldn't even be sure he would survive the fallout.
Uchiha Madara, however, was completely unfazed. He didn't rely on space-time ninjutsu. Whether the space was sealed or not was irrelevant to him.
"You, brat, are a loose end that cannot be allowed to exist anymore," the Sage said, his voice low and dripping with a new, venomous intensity. Kagami's endless ingenuity had pushed the Sage's murderous intent to its absolute peak.
At that moment, the Sage's pupils contracted. A powerful sense of crisis washed over him, and without a moment's hesitation, he dodged, moving like a ghost. He had to. The instant the Sage had decided to kill him, Kagami had already attacked. The slash was an unseen blade of absolute destruction. If the Sage had not reacted in time, he would have been decapitated.
Seeing the Sage so easily dodge his attack, Kagami's eyebrows raised in disbelief. He had launched that attack with the full power of his Mangekyō, a slash that appeared just a millimeter from the Sage's body. It was a blow that the Rinnegan could not absorb, a guaranteed killing strike. And yet, the Sage had dodged it perfectly, as if he had known it was coming.
"Interesting," Kagami mused. "Could it be the ability to predict the future?"
Without hesitating, Kagami launched a volley of identical slashes, attacking from all angles, hoping to overwhelm any precognitive ability with sheer volume and speed. But the Sage moved like a phantom, weaving between the invisible blades with impossible accuracy. Now, Kagami was certain. The Sage of Six Paths could see the future. As he continued his relentless assault, he began to strategize, to find a way to defeat an enemy who knew his every move before he made it.
Madara watched the Sage flee with a playful, contemptuous smile, making no move to help. Obito, on the other hand, was frozen with terror. After one indifferent glance from Kagami, he dared not move a muscle. Without his Kamui, he knew Kagami could kill him with a thought. Even if he tried to teleport away Obito felt that kagami could kill him before that.
"This brat is terrifying," the Sage thought, his own estimation of Kagami's threat level increasing exponentially. "If it weren't for the future vision granted by my awakened Rinnegan, I wouldn't last a second against him."
His Rinnegan was indeed special. His left eye allowed him to see ten years into the future, an ability he could use once a year. His right eye, however, allowed him to see ten seconds into the future, and he could use it continuously, without any cooldown. In a battle between gods, ten seconds was an eternity. It was this ability that made him nearly invincible, and it was this ability that had just saved his life.