That sharp short blade cut against the energy armor, releasing an ear-piercing screech that stabbed at the eardrums. Sparks burst and scattered everywhere, yet it could not leave even a single white mark on Susanoo.
Realizing the assassination had failed, that Root shinobi had just thought of leaving when a great hand, carrying a fierce whistle of wind, howled down from above. It smashed straight down like a collapsing mountain; even the air was squeezed into ripples visible to the naked eye.
With a single "puff," it pounded that Root shinobi into a pool of minced flesh. Blood burst apart like fireworks; shattered bone and meat paste embedded deep into the ground, and everything within several meters was smeared with blood, flesh, and bone scraps.
Uchiha Yasuo flipped his wrist. With the short blade he cut off a small piece of flesh from his leg and casually tossed it to the side.
That piece of flesh turned purple in an instant. When it fell to the ground, it released a purple miasma like smoke. Grass and trees withered and carbonized at a speed visible to the naked eye, and even the soil turned a strange purple-black.
The toxicity of these nanotoxic insects was truly too strong; for the moment he could not completely drive the poison out of his body. With a great battle imminent, he could only suppress all the toxin into that piece of flesh and cut it off to settle the matter.
With no interference from the Rinkaichū, a lustrous green light rose at the wound. Muscle fibers writhed and interwove like living things. The flesh he lacked immediately regrew under the nourishment of Yang Release, and in the blink of an eye it returned to its original state. The new skin was even more delicate than a baby's.
Watching a group of Root shinobi rush out from the darkness, Uchiha Yasuo covered his forehead with one hand, blocking the crazed light flashing in his Sharingan. He laughed loudly, and his laughter was laced with endless hatred and rage.
"Haha…"
"I knew Shimura Danzō wouldn't let this opportunity pass. Sure enough, he sent people over to die again!"
"That Aburame Ryoma who died before—looks like he didn't manage to get the intel back!"
"The bugs of your Aburame clan have no effect on me at all!"
"Ah, right, those disgusting insects he keeps couldn't break through my defenses at all, and there was no intelligence for him to reference."
"But this time you should know, Aburame Torune!"
Aburame Torune's face was overcast. He was not angered in the slightest by the provocation. His eyes were icy, and the expression beneath his mask was like a frozen lake, as if there were no emotions at all.
He stared fixedly at that pair of Mangekyō of Uchiha Yasuo's for a while before finally frowning and asking: "You're not Uchiha Itachi. Who are you?"
"Hm?" Uchiha Yasuo tilted his head curiously, a playful curve appearing at the corner of his lips. "Why do you say that?"
"I've seen Uchiha Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan before—its pupil pattern is completely different from yours."
"Ah, so that's how it is!" Uchiha Yasuo seemed to realize something. "Uchiha Itachi wouldn't casually use his Mangekyō Sharingan. Even the Ino–Shika–Chō trio never noticed this flaw. Yet you know it clearly, which means…"
His gaze turned cold, his voice gradually sinking. The killing intent in his eyes solidified into something almost tangible, and even the air around them seemed to grow thicker.
"The one who led people to seal off the Uchiha compound that night—wasn't that you?"
"That's right. You're Shimura Danzō's right-hand man, the one he trusts the most."
"He would never rest easy relying solely on Uchiha Itachi. You must have been tasked with ensuring that everything proceeded according to the established plan. Most likely, you were also ordered to collect intelligence on Uchiha Itachi while you were at it, weren't you?"
"Discarding the donkey after it's done grinding grain—that's Shimura Danzō's specialty!"
Sensing the surging killing intent from Uchiha Yasuo and the seething hatred in his voice, Aburame Torune deliberately fanned the flames by nodding slightly and said coldly, "Evil Uchiha like you should've been cleansed from the village long ago."
That sentence was like a fuse that completely ignited the rage within Uchiha Yasuo's heart.
"Haha… what a fine 'evil Uchiha,' indeed!"
Uchiha Yasuo felt his murderous intent boil over, impossible to suppress any longer. He once again clutched his forehead and burst into manic laughter, his laughter growing ever more deranged and sorrowful.
Aburame Torune simply stood there watching, not taking the initiative to attack.
He knew that Susanoo consumed a vast amount of chakra—the longer it dragged on, the more advantageous it would be for him.
The laughter gradually subsided, but contrary to Aburame Torune's expectations, Uchiha Yasuo did not lose his sanity and charge at him recklessly. Instead, he smiled in an eerie and peculiar manner.
"Hey, Aburame Torune, I almost forgot—you and Yamanaka Fū are good friends, aren't you?"
His smile gradually twisted, the corners of his mouth stretching into an unnatural curve. A sickly gleam flickered in his blood-red eyes, filled with the ecstasy of vengeance.
"Your friend was killed. I wonder how that feels for you right now?"
"Huh?"
He tilted his head exaggeratedly, feigning a puzzled expression, yet his eyes brimmed with cruel amusement.
"I heard that you people in Root must be devoid of affection and emotion—that anyone with normal feelings is considered a failure."
"In that case, you and Yamanaka Fū should've been eliminated long ago!"
"Now that I've helped Danzō clean up his house, shouldn't he be thanking me instead?"
"Haha…"
He laughed wildly, spreading his arms open. The Mangekyō in his eyes had already spun to its limit.
Under this maddening mental stimulation, the chakra fluctuations from his body grew ever more intense. Susanoo had already begun advancing toward its third form; the chakra energy outside his body was becoming denser, faintly showing signs of legs taking shape.
Having had his deepest wound exposed by Uchiha Yasuo's words, this time Aburame Torune could no longer remain indifferent.
His body trembled slightly as he slowly removed his gloves, then took off his outer garment, revealing his bare skin—his body surface rapidly turning purple.
The Root shinobi behind him, seeing his state, immediately retreated far away as if avoiding a plague, terrified of being contaminated by the nanotoxic insects on his body.
Aburame Torune's Rinkaichū spared no one—they distinguished neither friend nor foe. Anyone they touched was as good as dead.
"Well then, whether you're Uchiha Itachi or not, you're still one of the Uchiha remnants all the same."
"Killing you won't go against Danzō-sama's orders."
"In that case, there's no need for any more useless talk. Let's settle it with our hands."
As the final word fell, Aburame Torune's figure had already turned into a flash of purple lightning, charging straight at Uchiha Yasuo for close combat.
"Haha…" Yasuo burst into wild laughter, waving Susanoo's scepter in his hand and smashing it down toward Aburame Torune's head.
"Didn't you like close combat so much?"
"Come on!"
"Come take my attack!"
Aburame Torune kept moving his feet, jumping around and dodging with difficulty, but as the massive scepter slammed into the ground, the flying sand and stones that burst out scattered like buckshot—their speed and power comparable to kunai—and they came in large volleys, impossible to avoid.
In just a short time, his body was already cut open in several places by the flying sand and stones. Blood oozed from the wounds and was instantly devoured by the nano-scale bugs.
Aburame Torune's face was as calm as still water. After circling around Susanoo a few times without finding any opening, he made a hand signal.
The Root shinobi in the distance immediately changed from their earlier attitude of avoiding him like a plague and rushed toward this side.
As they approached, one shinobi rapidly formed hand seals.
When Uchiha Yasuo's eyes caught sight of the pattern of those hand seals, he immediately leapt backward, moving away from his previous position together with Susanoo.
A slight tremor rippled through the ground, and several sharp stone spears suddenly shot up from the earth like bamboo shoots after the rain, stabbing diagonally upward and covering the spot where he had just been standing.
"This level of ninjutsu can't possibly harm me!"
Uchiha Yasuo also quickly formed hand seals. Susanoo opened its mouth, and flames filled the sky, sweeping toward those ordinary Root shinobi.
The blazing firelight surged skyward, distorting the air around it.
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