"You serve me now, Zagred. Your power... your existence... it all belongs to me." Tobi
Without missing a beat, Tobi's Sharingan spun faster, attempting to bind Zagred to his will. Zagred's fury surged like a tidal wave, and with a sneer curling on his lips, he coldly muttered, "Nullify."
In an instant, the nightmarish landscape of the genjutsu shattered, breaking apart like fragile glass as the two returned to the real world. The weight of Zagred's demonic energy filled the air, oppressive and suffocating, and Tobi was forced to retreat. Phasing through the ground, Tobi reappeared a safe distance away, his body materializing from the ground as Zagred's aura flared violently.
Zagred's eyes glinted with cold amusement, but his patience had run thin. His aura seemed to darken the skies above them, a suffocating presence that made even the air feel like poison. "I'm done playing your little games," he spat with venom, his voice booming through the estate.
Raising his voice, he muttered a single word that sent chills down Tobi's spine, "Reform."
Kaito's body transformed into Zagred's true demonic form. To Tobi's shock, three additional mouths appeared on his chest and arms, each snarling and dripping with malice. The aura of raw demonic power amplified, and the earth trembled beneath them.
Zagred's smirk widened, each of his mouths twisted in a grotesque smile. He now had the ability to unleash four abilities at once, a terrifying thought that sent a bead of sweat trailing down Tobi's face, hidden beneath his mask.
Tobi's body tensed, ready to phase through the ground again if needed-but the chilling truth of Zagred's words echoed in his mind: "Nullify Intangibility". It wasn't just words; it was a command that made Tobi's intangibility useless. His signature technique, the one that had kept him invulnerable for so long, was now useless.
Tobi's lips tightened under his mask. This would be no ordinary fight.
"Impressive," Tobi said, his voice deceptively calm, betraying none of the storm swirling inside his thoughts. "But you've underestimated me, Zagred."
With his Mangekyo Sharingan spinning, Tobi summoned several giant shuriken from his Kamui dimension, firing them forward with deadly precision. The weapons sliced through the air, spinning with such force that the wind howled in their wake.
But Zagred merely chuckled, one of his mouths muttering the word "Repel." A shockwave erupted from him, and the shuriken were instantly deflected, sent spiraling harmlessly away. His demonic laughter echoed in the clearing as he raised his voice, dark tendrils surging out from the ground at his command, each one snapping towards Tobi like the fangs of a hungry beast.
Without hesitation, Tobi flickered into motion, disappearing in a blur of speed. The tendrils smashed into the ground where he once stood, leaving deep craters in the earth, but the Uchiha had already reappeared behind Zagred, his hand glowing with the destructive power of a Rasengan.
With a sharp movement, Tobi drove the Rasengan forward, aiming directly for one of Zagred's grotesque mouths. The energy sphere whirred with destructive power, ready to tear through the demon's body.
But just as the Rasengan connected, Zagred's central mouth spoke again: "Nullify."
The Rasengan dissipated in an instant, the powerful chakra scattering harmlessly into the air as if it had never existed. Tobi's eyes widened beneath his mask, his mind quickly recalculating his next move, but Zagred was already one step ahead.
"Pathetic," Zagred sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. "You rely too much on your tricks."
Zagred summoned a massive iron spear from the underworld, the weapon materializing in his hand in the blink of an eye. He thrust the spear forward with monstrous strength, aiming to impale Tobi before he could react.
Tobi barely managed to dodge, as the spear stabbed into the ground, splitting the earth open like a cracked skull. The force of the strike sent shockwaves through the air, knocking down trees and sending rubble flying in every direction.
Before Tobi could regain his footing, Zagred's three additional mouths roared in unison, unleashing a barrage of elemental attacks. A wave of flames, a lance of lightning, and a torrent of razor-sharp earth shards hurtled toward Tobi all at once, each attack aimed with deadly precision.
Tobi's Sharingan spun wildly, calculating the best escape route, but the onslaught was relentless. He teleported in and out of the Kamui dimension rapidly, barely avoiding the barrage, but it was clear, Zagred was pushing him to his limits. No sooner had Tobi dodged one attack than another followed, faster, more deadly.
Suddenly, Tobi felt something seize his ankle. One of Zagred's tendrils had wrapped around his leg with unnerving speed, lifting him into the air and slamming him into the ground with bone-crushing force. Tobi grunted as the impact cracked the earth beneath him, but before Zagred could finish him off, Tobi teleported out of the grip, reappearing high in the air.
"Not so fast," Tobi muttered, forming a series of hand seals. "Wood Release: Cutting Technique!"
The ground erupted beneath Zagred as sharp, spear-like wooden branches shot out, aiming for the devil's body. Zagred was unfazed.
"Nullify," one of the mouths growled again, and the wooden spears shattered into harmless splinters.
Zagred's face twisted into a malicious grin as he raised his hand. "You think you can keep running, little Uchiha?"
With a single command, "Devour," the ground beneath Tobi's feet turned black, a swirling void opening up beneath him, ready to consume him whole. Tobi's eyes widened as the darkness threatened to pull him in, the gravitational force nearly overwhelming.
In a desperate move, Tobi activated his Kamui, teleporting just in time to avoid the abyss, reappearing a safe distance away. But the strain of constantly using Kamui was beginning to show. His chakra reserves were being drained rapidly. Worse still, Zagred's constant use of Nullify made it impossible for Tobi to rely on his usual hit-and-run tactics.
Zagred was relentless. "Storm of Blades!" he bellowed, and hundreds of swords materialized in the air, all aimed at Tobi. They descended like a deadly rain, each blade gleaming with murderous intent.
Tobi dashed through the rain of steel, weaving between the swords with the precision of a master, but even he couldn't avoid them all. One sword grazed his arm, another slashed across his leg, drawing blood with each cut. Yet, despite the injuries, Tobi kept moving, kept thinking. There had to be a way.
Zagred laughed, his voice booming. "You can't win, Uchiha! I control everything here!"
But Tobi wasn't finished yet. He gritted his teeth and formed the necessary hand signs. "Fire Release: Blast Wave Wild Dance!"
A massive spiral of fire erupted from Tobi's mouth, roaring toward Zagred with the force of a hurricane, the flames forming a deadly vortex aimed at incinerating the demon.
Zagred's central mouth opened wide, sneering. "Nullify."
The flames vanished as if they had never existed, but Tobi was already moving. The fire was a distraction, a decoy for his real attack.
"Kamui!" Tobi whispered, reaching into his dimensional pocket and pulling out a weapon, one of the many that he had stored away. It was a giant shuriken, larger than any he had used before,
With a calculated throw, Tobi hurled the shuriken toward Zagred, his Sharingan locking onto the devil's vital spot.
For a moment, everything slowed. The shuriken spun through the air, its deadly arc aimed straight for Zagred's heart.
But as the weapon neared its target, Zagred grinned, his mouths ready to say the words.
Tobi's shuriken spun through the air, a whirlwind of lethal precision, aimed straight for Zagred's heart. But the moment before it made contact, Zagred's central mouth twisted into a grotesque grin, the word forming on his lips: "Nullify."
Tobi had anticipated this.
The second before the shuriken connected, Tobi whispered, "Kamui."
In an instant, the shuriken vanished, sucked into his dimension. Zagred's grin faltered as he realized his counter had been rendered useless. The demon snarled, his multiple mouths twisting in frustration. "You can't escape me forever, Uchiha!" His voice boomed, each syllable dripping with fury.
Tobi wasn't done yet.
Before Zagred could react, the shuriken reappeared, directly behind him, spinning with impossible speed. Zagred's instincts kicked in, and his body twisted unnaturally to avoid the attack, but the razor-sharp edge caught him across one of his grotesque mouths, slicing through flesh with a sickening tear. Blood splattered across the battlefield.
"Got you," Tobi muttered, his Sharingan gleaming with cold satisfaction.
But Zagred's laughter echoed across the battlefield, deep and menacing. "Did you really think that was enough?" The devil's body healed almost instantly, his mutilated mouth reforming, the wound sealing with the same dark energy that coursed through his veins. His grin returned, wider and more menacing than before. "You're nothing but an insect, Uchiha."
With a roar, Zagred summoned an unholy force, the ground beneath him shattering as a tidal wave of dark magic surged toward Tobi. The raw, destructive power of the spell was enough to tear the very fabric of reality apart. Tobi barely had time to use the body flicker technique, avoiding the brunt of the attack by the thinnest of margins.
Tobi was breathing hard.
The air around them crackled with tension as the two combatants faced off. Tobi's mind raced, calculating his next move, but Zagred wasn't giving him any time to think.
"Dark Chain!" Zagred bellowed, and from the ground, shadowy chains erupted, wrapping around Tobi's body, binding him in place. The more he struggled, the tighter they became, sapping his strength. Tobi gritted his teeth, his Sharingan whirling desperately as he tried to find a way out.
Zagred advanced, his massive form casting a dark shadow over Tobi, his eyes gleaming with sadistic glee. "I'll crush you, Uchiha. You should have stayed hidden in the shadows where you belong."
Zagred summoned another iron spear, this one even larger than before, its jagged edges glinting ominously in the dim light. Without a word, he raised it high above his head, ready to impale Tobi and end the fight once and for all.
For a split second, Tobi considered his options, his Sharingan frantically analyzing every possibility. But as the spear descended, he knew he had only one choice left.
The spear pierced through Tobi's chest, the sound of metal meeting flesh echoing across the battlefield. Blood splattered the ground as Zagred drove the weapon deeper, a triumphant grin spreading across his face. "This is the end for you, Uchiha," he sneered.
Tobi's vision blurred, the pain searing through his body. His hand twitched, and for a moment, it looked as if he had finally been defeated.
In a desperate attempt Tobi sacrificed one of his eyes. "Izanagi," he whispered.
In an instant, the world around him warped, reality itself bending to his will. The wound in his chest vanished, the chains binding him disappeared, and the moment Zagred had impaled him was erased from existence. Tobi stood unharmed, his eye glowing with the power of the Izanagi, but at a terrible cost.
Zagred's grin faltered "What...?"
Tobi didn't waste a second. With his intangibility still nullified and his chakra running dangerously low, he made his escape. Using the body flicker technique, he teleported far from the battlefield, leaving Zagred behind.
Zagred's roar of frustration echoed through the forest, shaking the very earth beneath him. "You can run, Uchiha!" he bellowed, his voice filled with rage. "But I will find you! And next time, you won't escape!"
But Tobi was already gone, leaving only the faintest trace of his chakra behind.
Zagred's demonic form trembled with fury, the mouths on his body snarling and growling in unison. He had underestimated his opponent, but the next time they met, Tobi wouldn't be so lucky.
Far away, Tobi reappeared in the shadows of a distant forest, his breath ragged, his body exhausted. The price of using Izanagi had been steep, his Sharingan in his left eye had gone dark, forever lost. But he had survived, and for now, that was enough.
Tobi leaned against a tree, his thoughts racing as he contemplated his next move. Zagred was more powerful than he had anticipated, but the fight wasn't over. He would find a way to defeat the devil, even if it meant pushing himself to the brink.
As the wind rustled through the trees, Tobi's lone Sharingan gleamed with cold determination.
"This isn't over, Zagred. Not by a long shot."
Without turning his head, he already knew who it was.
Zetsu materialized beside him, their ever-watchful eyes having witnessed the entirety of the clash. White Zetsu was the first to speak, a mocking grin plastered across his face. "Well, that was something else," he chuckled, his voice carrying a hint of amusement. "Nagato and Konan are going to love hearing about this. They warned you? Told you not to mess with Zagred, not to underestimate him. But you just had to do things your way."
Tobi remained silent, his Sharingan fixated on the ground.
Black Zetsu, ever more serious, spoke in a low, calm voice. "Zagred is powerful. But he's also arrogant. You managed to survive this time. Next time, we'll need a different approach."
White Zetsu snickered. "Different approach? I'm more curious how you plan to explain this one. 'Hey, Nagato, Konan, guess what? I almost got killed by a demon, but hey, at least I still have one eye left!'"
Tobi's eye narrowed slightly, though he said nothing. He was already formulating his next move, knowing full well that his plans couldn't afford another setback. Zagred had been a dangerous opponent, but Tobi wasn't one to give up so easily. He would regroup, re-strategize, and come back stronger.
"Let's go," Tobi finally muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. Without another word, the three of them vanished.