The tone of Itachi's voice shifted subtly compared to before.
The person below felt a little puzzled, but before he could figure it out, he noticed two more troublesome individuals had joined the scene. The newcomers looked fierce and intimidating, as though they would be even harder to deal with.
His mind grew restless as he pondered a way to break the deadlock.
Since Itachi's voice was already slightly different from how it used to be, combined with his deliberate effort to lower his pitch, no one could recognize him as Uchiha Itachi.
Thinking back to the ninjutsu he had previously used, Itachi quickly reviewed them in his mind and felt slightly exasperated.
"Damn it," he thought, "I don't know that many jutsu. How can I look impressive without being exposed?"
At this thought, Itachi began extracting natural chakra, taking advantage of the moment when the man below was momentarily distracted.
…
Meanwhile, the man below was feeling a little flustered. He planned to wait for Itachi to make the first move, then counter with a thunderous strike to turn the situation in his favor.
His current position was a bit awkward.
Those two strange-looking individuals were standing behind him.
If they suddenly attacked, he'd be done for.
As the man continued to fix his gaze on him, Itachi felt something odd. His expression began to shift subtly.
"Interesting," Itachi thought. "He knows I'm vulnerable while extracting sage chakra and still gives me the time to do so. How generous."
After about thirty seconds, a streak of silver appeared at the corner of Itachi's eyes.
Within his pupils, a small silver snake slithered gracefully, its form constantly flickering and swaying.
Outwardly, Itachi underwent a dramatic transformation.
A silver aura of chakra surrounded him, and the phantom of a massive red one-horned snake coiled menacingly around him. Its slit pupils locked fiercely onto Itachi's enemy, exuding a chilling intensity that seemed capable of piercing through one's soul.
This was the first time Itachi had seriously used sage mode in battle.
…
Seeing Itachi's transformation, the man below stood frozen in shock.
Kisame gripped the hilt of Samehada tightly, as if to calm the nervousness of the sentient sword.
Sasori, on the other hand, stared at Itachi in awe.
"Blood Moon... Such immense chakra. Why have I never heard of this person before?" Sasori finally murmured after a long pause.
Itachi, on the other hand, was quite pleased with his fully unleashed sage mode.
"At least the visuals deserve a full score," he mused.
As for the actual abilities... well, there was a target right in front of him to test them on.
In an instant, Itachi's figure blurred, vanishing from his original position and leaving behind only a faint afterimage that dissipated into the wind.
"He's coming..."
The man below narrowed his eyes, his pupils shrinking as he locked onto the approaching figure, a blur that seemed almost like an illusion.
He tightened his grip on his sword, his entire body focused, as the chakra within him began to surge.
Realizing that Itachi's speed was too great, the man concluded he might not even have time to react before being struck down. He couldn't afford to sit and wait for Itachi to appear right in front of him.
"Wind Blade!"
With a focused expression, he swung his sword along an intricate trajectory, leaving a trail of blue light in the air.
A massive blade of wind, sharp as sword energy, shot forth.
As it flew, the blade expanded rapidly, growing several times larger and engulfing the space in front of him.
This attack was enhanced with wind chakra to amplify its sharpness and power.
It was a move from the ninja sword arts, one that consumed an enormous amount of chakra—a trump card he rarely used. In the past, this move had been unstoppable.
It was the very source of his confidence.
…
Now, his only goal was to use this attack to force Itachi back and create a cloud of dust with the ensuing energy burst, providing him with a chance to escape.
"Roar… ROAR!"
Itachi watched the incoming wind blade, the friction in the air causing a shrill screech as it closed in on him.
The silver glow around his body intensified, and the massive red one-horned snake coiling around him swelled in size.
With a deafening roar, an invisible shockwave shot forth, slamming directly into the terrifying wind blade.
On closer inspection, the enormous blue sword aura contained countless smaller wind blades, which ground against one another, generating immense kinetic energy and an unparalleled cutting force.
The red, single-horned serpent's phantom roared, and the resulting sonic wave clashed with the wind blades that seemed capable of cutting through anything.
The wind blades, directly struck by the sonic wave, dissipated into nothingness.
"Whoa, that's intense!"
Itachi's expression showed a slight ripple of surprise. Such a seemingly powerful move had been shattered effortlessly by the serpent phantom's roar.
...
The man stared at Itachi, his pupils constricting in shock.
The attack he had pinned all his hopes on—gone, just like that?
Who was this person, akin to a serpent king, and where had he come from?
Why would someone like this target him?
The bitterness in the man's heart was overwhelming.
Noticing his dazed opponent, Itachi pursed his lips slightly. Getting distracted in the middle of a battle—what kind of bad habit is that?
With a wave of his arm, countless silver and red serpent phantoms surged from his wide sleeves, pouring out endlessly.
The serpent phantoms flying from Itachi's sleeves weren't large—each was about as thick as two fingers and around 30 centimeters long.
Their gaping jaws revealed sharp fangs as they rushed toward their target.
Just the sight of them was enough to make one's skin crawl.
After all, these red and silver serpents clearly looked venomous...
...
"My chakra?"
The man snapped out of his daze, only to see a growing swarm of densely packed serpents charging toward him. A shiver ran down his spine as he felt his scalp tingle, his entire body recoiling in dread.
Moreover, the phantoms of these small snakes moved at incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, their gaping mouths lunged toward him.
Unable to dodge in time, the man unleashed a desperate burst of potential, rolling clumsily on the ground like a donkey. Crouching, he found several small snakes clinging to him, their fangs embedded in his body.
Almost instantly, a wave of weakness washed over him.
He realized that these snake phantoms weren't just draining his chakra—they were also devouring something else...
Just as he struggled to ignore the snakes clinging to him and tried to stand, ready to evade the returning serpent swarm, his legs gave out beneath him.
"My stamina is being drained too…"
The man, gripping his longsword, collapsed to the ground, his face painted with disbelief.
"How is this possible? What kind of bizarre ability is this?"
His initial shock quickly turned into skepticism.
He refused to believe that such an uncanny ability could exist in this world.
With his chakra surging wildly, he prepared to overdraw his life force, steeling himself for a desperate final stand.
...
"How is this possible…"
"How could an ability like this exist in this world?"
"No way… Is this some kind of genjutsu?"
Swinging his sword with all his strength, a faint gust stirred the dust before him.
"My chakra… my life force… even my mental energy…"
The man's back was now completely covered with a dense swarm of red and silver snakes, their tiny jaws greedily sucking away at him.
Collapsing to the ground, the man weakly lifted his head, his eyes dazed as they fixed on Itachi.
Silver light radiated from Itachi's body, while the red, single-horned serpent phantom's cold, unfeeling eyes bore into him.
"Who… are you?"
The light in the man's eyes gradually dimmed, turning to a dull gray. His pupils lost focus as life drained away.
...
Itachi stood over the fallen man, his face devoid of emotion, watching until his opponent's life had completely faded.
With a slight wave of his hand, the serpent phantoms clinging to the man dissipated.
The man's body bore no visible wounds, yet his life force had been utterly drained.
The corpse shriveled, emaciated, as though completely wrung dry.
Itachi hesitated for a moment, then raised his head to look in the direction of Kisame and Sasori.
A sharp, murderous aura radiated from his entire being.
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