Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself, though the corner of his gaze remained fixed on Black Zetsu. He was only waiting for Tōshirō to create an opening before launching his own attack on Black Zetsu.
At this moment, the most shocked person was undoubtedly Black Zetsu.
Impossible!Uchiha Tōshirō!How did this guy suddenly show up here? What is his purpose!?
Tōshirō rapidly formed hand seals again, releasing an enormous surge of chakra in one breath.
Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!
A gigantic blaze surged forth like a tsunami, dyeing the dim environment a blazing red. The air temperature soared sharply, and the torrent of fire swept through like an avalanche of molten rock.
Even for the Akatsuki members, such a massive Fire Release was a first. They couldn't help but be taken aback.
Fortunately, among them was someone perfectly suited to counter such an attack—the one possessing tailed-beast–level chakra, Kisame Hoshigaki.
"It looks like it's my turn to make a move," Kisame said lazily.
He swiftly formed seals, then spewed a massive column of water onto the ground, raising a tsunami that surged forward to clash against the sea of flames.
Boom!
Water and fire collided violently, releasing clouds of scalding steam that filled the air, obscuring all vision.
"Be careful, everyone. This guy is Uchiha Tōshirō…"
As Akatsuki's chief intelligence agent, Black Zetsu swiftly summarized the essentials of their opponent in one line.
"What!? This guy is Uchiha Tōshirō!?"
Sasori of the Red Sand chuckled fearlessly. "Then he should make an excellent puppet material, shouldn't he?"
Countless ice spikes shot out through the mist, piercing forward at terrifying speed.
The Akatsuki members all deployed their respective defenses.
Black Zetsu narrowly dodged the incoming barrage of ice.
At that moment, Orochimaru—who had been waiting for his chance—flashed a sinister glint in his eyes. He predicted where Black Zetsu would land, and his neck stretched out like a white blur. In an instant, his fangs sank into Black Zetsu's neck.
"Damn you, Orochimaru—!"
Black Zetsu's neck stiffened like rusted gears. Black markings spread from the bite, immobilizing him.
In that instant, he understood what had happened.That bastard Orochimaru had leaked information—Tōshirō had been able to disguise himself as Raitō only because of him.
"Hehehe, I'm working with him, after all…" Orochimaru laughed triumphantly.
But just as he was about to take further action, the nearby Akatsuki members noticed his betrayal.
Sasori, who had long disliked Orochimaru, was the first to strike, ready to crush his treacherous head.
Seeing the danger, Orochimaru quickly withdrew his neck, retreating just in time.
Kisame swung his Samehada sword toward him. Orochimaru barely managed to dodge backward.
That blade could absorb chakra—if even grazed, he would lose a massive amount.
He couldn't afford to get caught now; restraining Zetsu was his only job. The rest he would leave to Tōshirō.
Sasori glanced at the dark curse marks spreading across Black Zetsu's body. "Looks like he can't move anymore."
"This kind of seal? I can undo it easily," Black Zetsu said confidently. The curse marks began to fade; in a moment, he would be able to move again.
Compared to the others, Black Zetsu was not particularly skilled in combat.
Just in case, he decided to dive underground and observe quietly.
But before he could move, a shadow streaked past above him and charged straight down.
Sasori opened his puppet's mouth, firing a volley of iron needles coated in deadly poison—strong enough to kill an elephant with a single scratch.
Konan also reacted in time. With a flap of her wings, she released a storm of white feathers. Though they were made of paper, each was infused with chakra, giving them the power of shuriken—and even greater speed due to their lightness.
Midair, faced with these two simultaneous attacks, Tōshirō didn't dodge.
Instead, curved black ribs materialized around his body—Susanoo's first form. Though it was only the initial stage, it was more than enough to block the incoming attacks.
But that wasn't all. Behind Tōshirō appeared a blue spectral figure. The phantom solidified, its left hand lifting Tōshirō into its palm, and its right fist drew back and then slammed forward with explosive force.
Boom!
The ground caved in at the point of impact, rocks flying, dust erupting everywhere.
From within the smoke, the blue spirit hand seized a white-skinned body—its eyes unfocused, lifeless. It had died instantly from that punch.
Tōshirō frowned slightly. Black Zetsu wasn't there. But that was fine—he had already obtained what he came for. There was no need to stay any longer.
As the smoke cleared, the crater revealed Sasori, whose puppet body had been shattered into brown fragments. His puppet head rolled aside pitifully—but that was only one of his shells.
Now exposed, Sasori's true form emerged—a pink-haired, youthful-looking boy with a delicate face and small frame.
He looked up at the towering blue giant. Out of the corner of his eye lay the shattered remains of his prized puppet. His young features hardened in shock—the blue giant's destructive power was terrifying.
It had destroyed his most defensive puppet, Hiruko, with a single punch.
Meanwhile, Kisame, still swinging Samehada wildly at Orochimaru, suddenly felt a shadow fall over him. Looking up, he saw a massive fist descending.
He leapt backward just in time to avoid the blow.
"Orochimaru…"
Tōshirō called out to him, signaling to retreat.
Orochimaru understood immediately, flipping through the air to land on the giant's shoulder.
The blue spectral warrior—Soulfire—swung its massive fist, splitting the cave open. Sunlight streamed in, brightening the surroundings.
Sasori saw that the two intended to escape. Snarling, furious that his precious puppet had been destroyed, he pulled out a scroll and unfurled it.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
Countless dark shadows poured out—hundreds of crimson-cloaked puppets armed with weapons, surrounding the blue giant.
Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets!
Orochimaru, perched on Soulfire's shoulder, was astonished to see Sasori control so many puppets at once.
"My, my… this could be troublesome," he muttered, glancing toward Tōshirō.
But Tōshirō remained fearless. He clapped his hands together, forming the Tiger seal.
A strange sound filled the air—whooosh, whooosh, whooosh…
Sasori's eyes widened as his puppets ignited one after another, bursting into blue flames without any apparent source of fire.
The sight left him utterly speechless.
As if displaying his masterpiece, Soulfire spread its arms. The hundred burning puppets hovered in the air around it, wreathed in azure flame—magnificent and terrifying.
"Let's go."
Soulfire extended its hand skyward and ascended into the air, soaring away.
It can fly!?
The Akatsuki members stared, wide-eyed, powerless to stop Tōshirō and Orochimaru as they vanished into the sky.
From the ground emerged a black head—Black Zetsu. Seeing that Tōshirō had caused such chaos, captured White Zetsu, and flown off, realization struck him like lightning.
Could it be… that man knows White Zetsu's secret!?
It was through White Zetsu's cells that Obito could recklessly use the Mangekyō Sharingan's power.
If Tōshirō gained access to White Zetsu… if he enhanced his own Mangekyō even further—the consequences would be unimaginable.
He didn't understand how Tōshirō knew such classified information, but now was no time to ponder it.
"No—we can't let him get away!"
Black Zetsu shouted urgently. At this point, there was only one person who could stop Tōshirō.
Deva Path Pain raised his arm, his Rinnegan eyes locking onto Tōshirō atop Soulfire. His voice was calm, yet cold and absolute:
"I won't let you escape…"
Tōshirō suddenly felt a powerful force tugging at his back. Before he could react, his body was yanked violently downward.
"Universal Pull!"
Pain's eyes gleamed with killing intent.
End of Chapter)
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