Pushing Through the Limit Chapter 80: Occasion of War

Sitting in one of Ay’s meeting rooms in the Kumo, Tsunade considered the news they’d all just been told by one of Jiraiya’s summons concerning a potential uprising from the minor villages spread across the nations.

It was mildly concerning to say the least. It seemed that she’d somewhat underestimated Obito. She hadn’t even considered the possibility of him infiltrating the minor villages, but, in hindsight, she should have. She’d just been so distracted looking at the bigger picture that she didn’t notice the finer details... They all had.

Announcing his presence and stating his intentions to the gathered Kage... The random attack on the Tsuchikage’s granddaughter... It’d all been orchestrated in order to distract them. To keep them from seeing what he was doing to the minor nations. All so that he could buy himself enough time to gather the Jinchuriki.

“Iwa, Kumo and Konoha,” Onoki said, running his hand through his beard. “If he’s going to attack, those will be his primary targets. Kiri is simply too far away to attack at a moment’s notice and the terrain in Suna is difficult to navigate by oneself... Let alone an entire army.”

“Assuming that their attack even gets off the ground,” Ay grunted. “If anything, Madara should be too busy dealing with the invasion on his base.”

Tsunade wasn’t too sure about that. Sure, Obito would be kept busy, but he wasn’t the only one calling the shots. Black Zetsu was still around after all. With Obito possessing the Rinnegan and Nagato’s body unaccounted for, there was a good chance that he would try to bring Madara back.

If that happened, then their best efforts would be spent managing their own villages in order to minimize damages.

Coming to a decision, Tsunade bit her thumb. Cycling through several hand seals, she placed her hand on the desk, summoning a small portion of Katsuyu’s body.

“Tsunade-sama,” Katsuyu hummed. “What do you need?”

“Katsuyu... I know this is short notice, but I need you to divide into five and leave a portion of yourself with the other Kage,” Tsunade replied, before turning to address her fellow Kage. “I’m heading back to Konoha. If anything should happen, Katsuyu here will relay it to all of you.”

Preparations needed to be made in case the worst were to happen.

...PTL...

Passing through one of the numerous forests that littered the Land of Fire, Kakuzu slowed his pace, before coming to a stop. There was a team of Konoha Shinobi ahead of him... Chunin from the looks of it.

Holding his arm out, he gestured towards the group, signaling for their death. Within an instant, a mixed team of Taki and Oto Shinobi descended upon the Konoha Shinobi, overwhelming them with numbers and skill, uncaring of if they died in the process.

If they fell, well, hundreds of other Shinobi would take their place.

All in all, the forces he was commanding today were a little under a thousand... Whether that actually counted for something remained to be seen. Sure the ones from Taki were fairly well trained, but the dregs from Orochimaru’s failed village... Calling them Shinobi was an insult to the name. Bandits suited them better.

They’d make a mess of things, there was no doubt about that, but the chances of them actually putting up a decent fight against trained Shinobi from Konoha were incredibly slim.

Looking back on his life, Kakuzu cursed the day that he joined the Akatsuki. If he could, he’d abandon the organization, but doing so would likely mean being hunted down by the fake who had taken up Madara’s name. If he’d been the real Madara... The one that was Senju Hashirama’s rival, he wouldn’t have needed him.

Seeing that they were done, Kakuzu decided that it would be best if he began to prepare for the fight ahead of him. The main goal was the girl... Fu. If he could secure her, he’d be able to leave.

Unsealing a vial of poison that, while nowhere near as potent as Sasori’s, might give him a better chance in dealing with the Nanabi Jinchuriki. Preparing to coat his weapons with the poison, Kakuzu was forced to abandon it when a long blade shot out of the forest, shattering the vial.

“Damn. And here I was hoping to kill you as well,” A feminine voice commented as the blade retracted. “Guess I’ll have to try harder next time.”

“Who... Are you?” Kakuzu asked cautiously.

“Mitarashi Anko at your service,” Anko greeted cheerfully. “And you’re Kakuzu... We would have met in Taki a few years back if it hadn’t been for your partner's little ritual thing. I think Naruto called him Hidan.”

“I see. You’ve made a mistake coming here alone.”

“Who said I was alone?” Anko smirked.

Before he could react, he was interrupted by a massive, flying Akimichi that was flung through the air, crashing into dozens upon dozens of Shinobi, before being tugged back by an inky black Shadow that was attached to him.

Following where the Akimichi was pulled, Kakuzu watched as the Akimichi landed next to several teams with dozens more arriving by the second. Some Shinobi he recognized, like the Third Hokage’s son and the Green Beast of Konoha and even the Nanabi Jinchuriki, others he did not.

Even with the combined armies of Taki and Oto at his back, this wasn’t going to go well for him. That much he could see. This was no longer about abducting the Jinchuriki, but rather surviving long enough to make his escape.

“Yeah, next time you try to lead an army into another nation... Try and space them out a bit,” Anko commented. “It’d make it harder to sense you that way.”

“You may think that you’ve already won, but that doesn’t mean that I will make this easy on you,” Kakuzu grunted.

“Right back at you, big guy,” Anko smirked, leaning on her sword.

Come to think of it, there was a way that he would be able to escape. All he needed to do was stall until the fake sent in the Zetsu reinforcements. Originally, they were meant to wait for them and attack together, but seeing as they’d been caught, that plan was completely pointless.

Yes, tens of thousands of clones under his command would, at the very least, give him a chance to fall back. Until then, however, he’d need to stall... And maybe kill a few Shinobi, starting with the confident Jonin standing in front of him. The more he killed, the greater his chances of coming out of this alive.

He missed the days when he was just a simple bounty hunter.

“So, are we doing this or what?” Anko asked. “What, you need a minute to get ready, old timer? It’s nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, it’s fairly common in men of such advanced age.”

...PTL...

Flying high above Iwa, Deidara observed how his old home had changed since he’d left. They’d done well to clean up the mess he’d left behind, but the buildings lacked creativity... It was a shame that he had to waste his art on such an uninspired landscape.

If he was allowed to choose, he would have preferred to go after someone worth killing, like Konoha’s last Uchiha. That way he could prove once and for all that his art was superior to those damn eyes.

Sadly, since he was familiar with the landscape, he would be attacking Iwa instead. It wasn’t all bad though. He got to lead an army of Kusa Shinobi that would be reinforced by the Zetsu clones later on. That could be interesting.

Swerving to the side, Deidara was just barely able to avoid a white beam of light that nearly struck him.

“Tch, still screwing with my art, old man?”

“Only as much as is necessary,” Onoki replied, floating in front of him. “You’re done here, Deidara. I won’t allow you to harm my village again.”

“Yeah and who’s going to stop me?” Deidara asked. “You?”

“If I must,” Onoki grunted. Clapping his hands together, he formed a cylinder of condensed white light and aimed it towards him. “This is as close as you’ll get to my village. That, Deidara, is a promise”

...PTL...

Emerging from a lake in the Land of Lightning, Kisame watched the Hachibi Jinchuriki patiently. Unlike Deidara and Kakuzu, Kisame opted for a different method of attack, one that would see him waiting for the invasion so that Kumo would be preoccupied, before ambushing Killer Bee.

It would be an easy fight. The more Chakra his opponent had, the stronger Kisame would become. All he needed to do was wear him down and the fight would be as good as over. Now, if the invasion could start, he’d–

Feeling a massive burst of Chakra come from behind him, Kisame shifted out of the way, only for the lake to explode, the currents shifting back and forth in a chaotic maelstrom. Spotting a spark of lightning, he lifted Samehada, just barely blocking a pencil coated in lightning Chakra.

Climbing to the water's surface in order to keep from being swept away by the tides, Kisame was thrown off balance. Looking to the side, he noticed that he was missing an arm.

“So, this is who the Akatsuki sent for us?” Yugito Nii commented, taking in Kisame’s wounded form. “Hoshigaki Kisame... The tailless tailed beast. Capable of absorbing Chakra and using Water Style techniques.”

“You know so much about me, I’m honored,” Kisame noted, gripping Samehada tightly with his remaining hand. Its Chakra flowed through his veins, healing his wounds. His missing arm however was beyond its capabilities. “And yet I only know a little about you.”

“And I’m going to keep it that way,” Yugito muttered, her eyes glinting maliciously.

Lifting Samehada, Kisame blocked several blades. Grunting as they began to overwhelm him, he began to look for anything that could help him here. Without the use of his other arm, he wouldn’t be able to use his Water Style techniques as efficiently... At least not without dropping Samehada and seeing as his opponents were both Jinchuriki, that wasn’t an option.

For the first time in a long while, the predator had become the prey.

...PTL...

Calmly walking down the corridor as battles were being fought all throughout the Mountains’ Graveyard, Naruto’s clone paid it no mind.

Sure, he could easily intervene and help the other teams navigate the underground complex and battle the Zetsu clones that’d sprung up, but that would only be treating the symptoms, not the underlying condition.

No, it would be for the best of everyone here if he completed his self given mission... Besides, it wasn’t like any of the teams actually needed help. The only thing the Zetsu clones had in their advantage was sheer numbers, something which did very little to stop the invading Shinobi... Except maybe stall them.

Coming to a fork in the path, the clone stopped to observe his options. If nothing had changed since that other timeline... And he was pretty sure nothing had... Then the path on the right would take him where he needed to be. The other path, however, would take him deeper into the complex... Right where this timelines version of Madara’s Gunbai was.

Tapping his finger to his chin, the clone shrugged and simply made another copy to handle taking it as well. There really was no sense in letting a good weapon go to waste. Who knows when the original might need it.

Deciding to pick up the pace a little, the clone finally found himself exactly where he needed to be.

“Tsk, tsk. You really should find a better place to hide your toys, Obito,” The clone hummed, shaking his head at the sight of the Gedo Mazo sitting on top of a giant lotus flower. “You never know when someone might barge in and accidentally step on them... Like... Right now.” Reaching into his pouch, he stopped when he heard a deep grumble.

“You might want to hold off on that,” Kurama commented. “Look down.”

Following Kurama’s instruction, the clone peered down towards the spot where the lotus flower stem met the water and blinked.

“I see Hashirama’s clone and... Wait, who the hell’s that?”

“You will recall that some time ago, a young monk containing a portion of my Chakra was abducted from the Fire Temple.”

“Oh... Right. Somewhere between uniting the Five Nations and travelling to the past, I might have forgotten,” The clone murmured. “Is he still alive?”

“He still retains a portion of my Chakra, minuscule as it may be, so I’m going to say yes.”

Well... Since he was already here, he may as well make a quick detour.

Jumping down, the clone landed on the staircase beside the young monk. Forming a wooden platform that stretched towards the massive stem, the clone tapped it with his knuckles, before nodding. He’d have proffered to have a Truth Seeking Orb to help him cut through the organic material, but seeing as he didn’t, he’d just need to make do.

Grabbing the monk's robes with one hand, a Chidori sparked to life in the clone's other, before extending several feet in length. Pressing his hand into the stem, the Chidori made short work of it, cutting a person sized outline, allowing him to pull the monk free.

“That was easy.”

“You might want to hurry,” Kurama muttered. “This thing is still attached to tens of thousands of Zetsu clones down below, all of whom likely felt you carving a chunk out of this lotus flower.”

Nodding, the clone quickly made another copy to transport the monk he’d just freed back to Konoha while he stayed behind and took care of things on his end.

Kneeling down, the clone opened the scroll he’d been handed earlier and unsealed it, revealing a large syringe filled with a yellowish liquid.

Hearing the sound of water splashing below, he glanced down to see hundreds of Zetsu’s emerging from the water, each rushing towards his position.

Smirking, he grabbed the syringe and stabbed it into the lotus flower's stem, injecting the liquid just as the Zetsu army reached him.

As one, the Zetsu’s rushed him, attempting to take him down through sheer numbers and while that might have worked on a Chunin level Shinobi, he’d long since surpassed that rank. Even as a clone, the Zetsu’s didn’t really pose a threat to him.

Exhaling a small stream of extremely sharp wind, the gust calmly washed over the approaching Zetsu's, cutting down dozens, only for them to immediately be replaced by others that suffered a similar fate. It was a short battle between quality and quantity, one that he wouldn’t be winning due to being a clone with only a fraction of the originals Chakra.

Not that winning was the point to all of this.

Hearing a deep groan from behind him, the clone jumped up several flights of stairs, barely avoiding a black tendril of pulsating flesh that shot out of the lotus flower's stem, impaling a handful of Zetsu’s.

Resembling a blackened thorn, the tendril pulled the Zetsu’s into it, adding more to its biomass through absorbing their bodies.

“You know, it’s oddly poetic,” Kurama mused. “Although they technically come from the Gedo Mazo, those Zetsu’s did pass through the lotus flower... And now they’re being pulled back in. Almost like it’s unbirthing them.”

“Kurama,” The clone said, shivering at the image that was just implanted in his brain. “Please, for the sake of all our sanity, never say anything like that ever again.”

“I make no promises.”

Watching as the Zetsu army was slowly consumed by the rapidly mutating lotus flower, the clone could only shake his head. Orochimaru truly didn’t realize what he had when he stumbled across Jugo all those years ago... But Tsunade had and she’d utilized his cells with monstrous efficiency.

Quickly, the blackened flesh began to spread across the stem, before finally reaching the flower at the top where the Gedo Mazo sat. Withering under the effects of Jugo’s cells, the flower began to transform into something with a lot more teeth, before clamping down on the statue.

Feeling the ground begin to tremble as the lotus abomination grew in size, the clone finally dispelled in order to let the original know just what was happening. At the rate of its expansion, everyone would need to evacuate the Mountains’ Graveyard... Or risk being crushed and added to the mutating plant.

With his last thoughts, the clone hoped that Tsunade made sure that the thing couldn’t get too large or else they might just have another problem on their hands... Outside of Obito and Zetsu that is.

...PTL...

Something that was easily observed with Obito was his overuse and overreliance on his Mangekyou Sharingan’s ability, Kamui. It allowed him to weather all attacks and he was able to keep it up for five minutes, rendering him invincible. That, however, was under the condition that no one but him could access his dimension.

If someone could, it became a massive weakness that left him completely vulnerable should he try and phase through an attack. Something he’d learnt when he tried to phase through a Kunai, only to have a small portion of his body warped into the massive Bijuudama that my clone was sustaining on the other side.

In theory, that should have made him much easier to deal with and in some ways it did. Without the use of his Kamui, Obito was no longer able to phase through any attack, leaving him to rely on the few skills that he had.

Unfortunately, he’d made some upgrades since I’d last fought him. Having his own Chakra mixed with that of Spiral Zetsu’s and the Gobi’s and then boiled to its absolute limit had increased his physical strength and speed to a level far beyond what he should be capable of.

The underground chamber trembled as Obito’s and my fist collided in a loud crack. Steam and Sage Chakra fought against one another, each in an attempt to gain the upper hand. A single instant passed and the room exploded in a shockwave that sent the both of us flying backwards.

Flipping in the air, I planted my feet on the ground and skidded to a stop, my fingers clicking as the damaged bone realigned.

Obito’s form stood on the opposite end of the cavern with his swollen arm held behind him, a massive amount of steam pouring off it as it deflated.

So that was his upper limit... I was willing to bet that if I pushed him any further, his body wouldn’t be able to sustain the sheer pressure of the steam, leaving him just weak enough to rip the Gobi from its seal.

It just struck me how ironic it was to think that about Obito of all people when he’d likely had that exact same thought.

“So this is what it’s come to, eh, Kakashi,” Obito taunted. “You... Hiding behind your student while he fights your battle. I never took you for a coward.”

“I wouldn’t say that I was a coward,” Kakashi replied. “I just know my limits. If I try and jump in right now, all I’ll be doing is getting in the way. Instead, I need to wait for the right opportunity to strike.”

“You’ll be waiting for the rest of your life, all five minu–“ A pair of hands burst from the ground, Interrupting Obito by pulling him under.

Catching sight of a white tuft of hair, Obito crouched down. Materializing a black Chakra rod, he stabbed it into what he assumed was the clone's head, halting his descent, only for the clone to dissolve into a burst of electricity that arced through his body.

Seeing him freeze up, I gripped my Shakujō and launched myself towards him, intending on disabling him further, only to find him fully recovering upon absorbing Kakashi’s technique.

Standing, he stretched his hand outward and... “Banshō Ten'in!”

Kakashi’s body was ripped from his spot and forcefully dragged in front of Obito, shielding him from me as he took a hostage.

Not deterred, I continued forward and stabbed the shaft end of my Shakujō through the duo, dispersing the clone that Kakashi had made while impaling Obito through his gut. The real Kakashi climbing out of the ground a few feet to the side.

Launching himself backwards, Obito successfully managed to put some distance between us while also making the hole in his stomach larger.

Intending on finishing this, I continued forward, only to stop when a fleshy root burst from the ground, absorbing the Zetsu corpses that Obito had used as his paths.

Taking a moment to process the memories of the clone I’d made earlier, I suddenly lashed out with my Shakujō, cutting through several of the fleshy tendrils before they had the chance to get close to me.

“What is... No, I remember this,” Obito snapped, his tone turning harsh. “What have you done?!”

“I just set up a parting gift from the Godaime Hokage,” I hummed. “A little something to help with your Zetsu infestation... Oh, by the way, good luck in retrieving the Gedo Mazo. It’s pretty... Tethered to the land, so you probably won’t have much luck in summoning it.”

I probably shouldn’t stand around taunting Obito while the Mountains’ Graveyard was being consumed by an abomination made from Hashirama and Jugo’s cells, but I just couldn’t help myself. I wasn’t ever going to have another chance like this.

“I’m not finished,” Obito grunted softly. “Not yet... There’s still a chance.”

Clenching his stomach with his hand, steam exploded from Obito’s body as he took off down one of the many hallways that were scattered throughout the base.

Following him alongside Kakashi, a massive root broke through the wall, cutting us off. Expanding one of my Truth Seeking Orbs into something resembling an umbrella, I forced my way through, obliterating it.

Taking a sharp turn down one of the hallways, I blinked when I realized that he was heading for the fissure that Kitsuchi made earlier. Why he was heading there, I wasn’t entirely sure. It’s not like he thought he could actually outrun us, unless...

Oh.

He wanted to gain access to his Kamui again and could only do so if he travelled some distance in this dimension in order to avoid the Bijuudama in his.

I wasn’t too worried though. The moment he showed up in that dimension, my clone would detonate the Bijuudama. He’d need to put a substantial amount of distance between himself and this place in order to avoid being in the blast radius.

Making our way to the surface, the ground rumbled as a mass of tangled roots, vines, thorns and teeth exploded from the ground in the distance, latching onto whatever they could before slowing to a halt.

Seeing a few of the other teams begin to arrive, a few of them eyed Obito’s form warily while others actively began to mould their Chakra in preparation for a fight.

Watching the destruction of his base, Obito sighed tiredly. “Decades of planning... All lost within a single moment. And for what?” He asked, turning his gaze towards me. “Just to continue living in this hellscape? This cruel world that is filled with nothing but pain and grief?”

“Only because you and those like you have made it that way,” I retorted. “How much suffering have you caused in these past few decades? The civil war in Kiri... The Kyuubi’s attack... The Uchiha massacre. All in the name of a dream that no one but you wants to be a part of. The Infinite Tsukuyomi will never be a reality.”

“Sacrifices need to be made in order to bring about the end... To sever the nexus of this world,” Obito muttered. “Yes, I’m starting to see it now. You and those like you are incapable of understanding such a dream because of your attachments. You’re unworthy of it.”

Sighing, I scratched the back of my head. It seemed that Obito couldn’t accept the reality that he’d lost.

“He never could,” Kurama hummed. “When Rin died, he was unable to accept the reality of her death and simply wrote it and the rest of this world off as a fake. It was the only way he was able to continue to function... And now, he’s unable to accept that he’s lost once more.”

Losing someone that you loved was never easy, but it was something that you had to ultimately come to terms with. Instead of choosing to live a life that Rin could be proud of, Obito had gone off the deep end and sought to replace this reality with one of his own.

I could somewhat understand why he’d want to do that, but there were far better ways he could have gone about it other than trying to force everyone into a never ending dream.

“Let’s put an end to this... Once and for all.”

“Yeah,” I said.

Tightening my grip on my Shakujō, I raised it, ready to end this all, only to find Obito rushing towards me, impaling himself on it.

Gripping my arms tightly as steam poured off his form, Obito looked up and locked eyes with me. “It looks like I’ll need to take you with me in order for this to work.”

Seeing his Mangekyou activate, I suddenly realized what he was planning. It was a gamble, simple as that.

Either I use the Hiraishin, in which case, I might accidentally bring him along with me, thus moving him far enough away from the Bijuudama in his dimension, or I don’t and my clone chooses to not detonate it in order to keep from killing me.

Two could play that game.

Lashing out, my fingers pierced through the Zetsu outer shell that was wrapped around his body. Connecting my Chakra with his, I grabbed a hold of Kokuō’s Chakra and began to forcefully tear it from his seal.

Feeling my body begin to be pulled into his Kamui dimension, I willed my Shakujō to slip under my clothes along with the rest of my Truth Seeking Orbs.

One thing Obito didn’t realize was just how durable these things were. It’d take something on the same scale as the Juubi to actually damage a Truth Seeking Orb and even then, it’d need to be channeled properly.

Appearing in the Kamui dimension, I wrapped the majority of my body in my Truth Seeking Orbs, reabsorbing my Shakujō in the process. Reaching up, I pressed my fingers to Obito’s face in an attempt to rip out his Rinnegan before it was destroyed by the Bijuudama.

The dimension began to vibrate and flashed white as the Bijuudama finally detonated before a massive, secondary force smashed into my body, threatening to push me away.

“SHINRA TENSEI!”