Naruto: Promotion is my Ninja Way

"Bang!"

At the critical moment, a powerful hand seized Uchiha Obito's wrist with crushing force, completely preventing his movement.

The tremendous pressure erupted through his arm, causing Uchiha Obito to cry out in agony as his bones creaked under the strain.

Everything happened with lightning speed. Before Obito could even process what was occurring, his attacker delivered a devastating kick that sent him flying through the air. He tumbled helplessly before crashing heavily onto the ground several meters away.

Shihouin Naraku appeared as if materializing from thin air, slowly lowering his extended leg while observing the figure sprawled in the distance.

The attack sequence had appeared deceptively slow to onlookers, but in reality, it had occurred within a single instant. Obito simply had no opportunity to activate his intangibility technique to avoid the devastating assault.

"Who are you?" came the first shocked voice from the assembled Mist ninja.

"A shinobi from Konohagakure? Wait—that's Shihouin Naraku!" another exclaimed in recognition.

"The Phoenix of Konoha—Shihouin Naraku!"

"The legendary warrior himself!"

"Why would Shihouin Naraku be here, of all places?"

By this point in time, Naraku's reputation had spread throughout the entire shinobi world. Even Kirigakure, despite its isolation across the seas, had received detailed reports of his extraordinary accomplishments.

Photographs of Naraku circulated widely among intelligence networks. After all, if you encountered him during a mission and recognized him immediately, you might actually survive the encounter by retreating without engaging.

A gentle breeze swept across the battlefield, ruffling the slightly disheveled hair that framed Naraku's forehead. His eyes, bright as stars in the night sky, sparkled with inner light as a faint smile graced his features.

Could this really be the legendary Shihouin Naraku?

Looking at the remarkably handsome young man who had appeared before them, everyone present wore expressions of profound doubt and disbelief.

There was no overwhelming killing intent emanating from his person—only a gentle, almost scholarly temperament and strikingly attractive features.

This calm demeanor seemed completely inconsistent with the rumors of his amazing strength, the tales that described how he had single-handedly defeated Kumogakure's forces and crushed Iwagakure's military might.

Terumi Mei, standing nearby in her battered condition, found herself staring at Shihouin Naraku with undisguised fascination. As she gazed upon the man who had just saved her life, her heart raced with excitement:

"I've finally encountered the perfect man!" she thought desperately.

Naraku glanced at Terumi Mei with mild confusion. Why was she staring at him so intently? Couldn't she see that Uchiha Obito had already recovered and was getting back to his feet?

"Shi! Ho! U! In! Na! Ra! Ku!" Uchiha Obito's voice carried pure, undiluted hatred as he slowly rose from the ground.

The masked man had completely lost his composure, his visible eye radiating such vicious intent that it seemed capable of killing Naraku through sheer malice alone.

Throughout the previous battles against the Kirigakure forces, Obito had maintained complete dominance. Even when surrounded and attacked from multiple angles, there hadn't been a single wrinkle on his pristine black robes.

But now, the moment Naraku appeared on the battlefield, he had immediately taught Obito a harsh lesson in humility.

Upon hearing Uchiha Obito's frigid voice filled with murderous rage, Naraku's Observation Haki detected the obscure yet unmistakably insane aura radiating from his opponent. The moment Naraku raised his gaze to meet Obito's stare, his eyes became like ancient ice that had never melted, falling coldly upon the masked man.

"It seems you haven't suffered enough during our last encounter," Naraku observed with calm detachment.

His right hand moved to rest on the hilt of Kurikara at his waist, while his left foot stepped forward into a combat stance. His entire body tensed like a drawn bowstring, ready to unleash devastating force at a moment's notice.

The terrifying aura that emanated from Naraku resembled an endless mountain range, pressing down upon everyone present with such intensity that they didn't dare move. They feared that even the slightest motion might provoke a fierce attack comparable to a volcanic eruption.

Witnessing this overwhelming display of power, Uchiha Obito seemed to recall the crushing defeat he had suffered in their previous battle. Despite his rage, he involuntarily took a step backward.

"Crack!"

The sound of a branch snapping under his retreating foot echoed across the silent battlefield, drawing several pairs of eyes toward Uchiha Obito's position.

The contrast was almost comedic—he had been so arrogant and dominating just moments before, yet now he cowered the instant he faced a truly formidable opponent.

Could this be the legendary spirit of Shihouin Naraku, the number one shinobi in the world? Even before the actual battle commenced, his powerful presence alone had intimidated his enemy into retreat.

The assembled Mist ninja observed the scene with bitter understanding. The desperate battle they had just fought formed a sharp contrast with the current situation, where their seemingly invincible enemy was reduced to backing away in fear.

Naraku couldn't determine Obito's exact emotional state due to the mask concealing his facial expressions, but the man's body language made his feelings abundantly clear.

Surely Obito wasn't actually embarrassed about being frightened by such a simple display of power?

"Damn it!" Obito screamed in fury, his voice cracking with rage. "This fear is nothing but an illusion! I will never be afraid of you!"

"If I kill you here and now, I can finally build my new world!"

"Really? How interesting," Naraku replied in a light, almost amused tone. "But before you can accomplish that goal, you'll need to survive this encounter."

"Swish!"

The moment Naraku activated his Body Flicker Technique, he burst forward at a speed nearly impossible for others to perceive. He became a white streak cutting through the air, aimed directly at Uchiha Obito's position.

Obito's pupils contracted rapidly in shock. Even his Sharingan, which was specifically designed to track and predict physical movements, couldn't keep pace with Naraku's incredible velocity.

In the span of a single heartbeat, Naraku had closed the distance and drawn his black blade from its sheath.

His masterful swordsmanship erupted in brilliant light as the air itself seemed to tear apart from the blade's passage. The weapon pierced directly toward Obito's body with lethal precision.

"Puff!"

Blood sprayed across the battlefield as Obito managed only to turn slightly to one side. In just one exchange, he had sustained a serious injury that left him staggering.

What terrifying speed! The attack had been so swift that even his intangibility technique couldn't activate in time to protect him.

However, such conventional methods could no longer guarantee his death.

The black robe tore away, revealing Obito's wounded torso beneath. His pale flesh began healing at a rate visible to the naked eye, returning to perfect condition within a single breath.

Naraku, having completed his sword draw, didn't immediately continue his assault. Instead, he observed with interest as Obito's injuries regenerated completely.

As expected, Uchiha Obito was experiencing some form of enhanced recovery ability now.

"Hahaha... do you see? This is my true power!" Obito shouted with manic glee, displaying the characteristic unhinged laughter of the Uchiha clan.

Naraku's expression remained completely unmoved as he regarded the other man as if he were looking at a complete fool.

Physical injuries might heal easily enough, but what about damage to the soul? How would you handle that particular problem?

"Ahhh—" Obito, who had been laughing wildly just moments before, suddenly clutched his head in agony.

Zanpakutō's soul-cutting ability had activated, striking directly at his spiritual essence.

At the edge of the battlefield, Black Zetsu remained hidden while observing the confrontation. Suddenly, he felt intense pain emerging from deep within his own soul, nearly causing him to cry out involuntarily.

"What's happening to me?" Black Zetsu's hoarse voice carried genuine confusion and alarm.

This marked the first time since his creation that Black Zetsu had experienced anything resembling human pain and suffering.

In order to prevent any interference with his long-term plan to rescue his mother, Black Zetsu had employed his unique mind-fusion ability to revive and control the previously unconscious Obito.

While this method proved effective and provided excellent results, it also created a special connection where Black Zetsu maintained absolute control over Obito's actions and decisions.

Unfortunately, this same connection meant that when Obito suffered trauma to his soul, Black Zetsu would experience similar effects.

"Hiss..." Black Zetsu hissed through clenched teeth. "You absolute fool! Since you've already suffered a crushing defeat at Shihouin Naraku's hands once before, why didn't you simply retreat when you had the chance?"

Black Zetsu couldn't comprehend why Obito remained so stubbornly determined to fight. The masked man had been cut down so brutally during their previous encounter—why hadn't he learned anything from that painful lesson?

This situation only reinforced Black Zetsu's belief that the only person you could truly trust in this world was yourself.

Wait...

Naraku watched with growing surprise as Obito, who had been clutching his head in apparent agony, quickly recovered as if nothing had happened. It appeared that the trauma to his soul had produced minimal lasting effect.

What Naraku didn't realize was that Black Zetsu had absorbed most of Obito's soul damage through their connection, which explained his opponent's rapid recovery.

As a creation of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, Black Zetsu possessed virtually no combat capabilities, but he had been granted various strange and useful abilities to ensure his survival.

To put it in perspective, if Black Zetsu's combat power rated only a five, then his survivability and sensory perception abilities would easily rate over one thousand.

Combined with his other mysterious techniques, these capabilities explained how Black Zetsu had managed to remain hidden within the shinobi world for so many centuries.

At the moment, Naraku remained unaware of the true reason behind Obito's remarkable recovery, but that knowledge gap didn't prevent him from understanding that a single sword strike wouldn't be sufficient to defeat his opponent.

That was perfectly acceptable—he would simply need to deliver another attack.

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