Deidara laughed loudly. "If we'd done this earlier, wouldn't it all be over by now?"
Persuasive talk no jutsu was really not the specialty of the three of them.
Konan, a straightforward person, had always done whatever Nagato said.
Deidara, his whole heart was focused on art. Negotiation? Go talk to my art!
Uchiha Itachi, say no more. If he were good at negotiation, he wouldn't have taken things so far and slaughtered the whole clan just because someone gave an order.
The originally heavy atmosphere between the three instantly lightened the moment they began to fight.
Deidara immediately rode his clay bird into the sky. The various clay bombs he had prepared long ago rained down with crackling pops.
Konan used her signature Dance of the Shikigami. Her entire body turned into sheets of white paper, fluttering in the air, then reformed into spears and butterflies to attack Ryosuke.
Uchiha Itachi distanced himself from the core of the battlefield, coldly observing Ryosuke's responses, but in his heart, he was calculating something else.
Itachi's original plan was to capture Orochimaru and use genjutsu to force out a method to save Sasuke.
But Orochimaru was now dead, and this plan had to change.
In Itachi's view, Ryosuke approached Orochimaru for revenge. He didn't know what those discs extracted from Orochimaru's body were for, but it was unlikely they were used to treat Sasuke.
Itachi had found out, Sasuke was receiving treatment in Konoha.
'If Ryosuke returns alive, then even if Sasuke's treatment is completed, he'll leave Konoha with Ryosuke again.'
'So from the Konoha higher-ups' perspective, they definitely won't use up resources to fully heal him. Sasuke will die.'
'On the other hand, if Ryosuke dies, Sasuke is just a child. Considering he's the last Uchiha bloodline, the village will likely go all out to save him.'
'If Ryosuke lives, Sasuke dies.'
'If Ryosuke dies, Sasuke can live.'
Uchiha Itachi stared at Ryosuke, who was fighting Konan and Deidara, then slowly closed his right eye.
"So Ryosuke… I'm very grateful for everything you've done for Sasuke, but…"
"You must die!"
From the tightly closed right eye, black blood trickled out. Then Uchiha Itachi suddenly opened it, the three tomoe transformed into a Mangekyo. His gaze locked onto Ryosuke in the center of the battlefield, "Amaterasu!"
A ball of black flames appeared without any warning.
The instant the black flames of Amaterasu appeared, Ryosuke instinctively sensed danger. He moved half a step, but still couldn't completely dodge the black flames.
A burst of black fire appeared on his right arm.
Deidara shouted in shock, "Itachi! What the hell are you doing?! We're supposed to bring him back, as a teammate, not kill him!"
Uchiha Itachi acted like he didn't hear. His gaze kept tracking Ryosuke, clearly a stance of fighting to the death.
The burning pain tormented Ryosuke's nerves.
The eternal, never-extinguishing black flame, Amaterasu, was a power Ryosuke knew only from "Amaterasu" memes. It was one of the few things he recognized from the Naruto world.
Once touched, it would continue burning until the target was reduced to ashes.
The black flames on his arm were spreading toward his neck. Ryosuke didn't hesitate, his left hand pressed onto his right shoulder, and Ripple energy, like a blade, severed the right arm.
Blood gushed from the severed limb. Under Ripple energy's control, it formed a wall of blood, blocking Uchiha Itachi's view.
The flames of Amaterasu burned on the blood wall, unable to reach Ryosuke hidden behind it.
Uchiha Itachi closed his right eye and gasped heavily.
Amaterasu consumed too much chakra. But he couldn't stop. This time, he channeled chakra into his left eye.
"Genjutsu, Tsukuyomi!"
With the white snake interfering, Itachi knew Tsukuyomi couldn't activate normally, but he didn't need Tsukuyomi to kill Ryosuke.
"Konan, Ryosuke can only summon one evil spirit at a time. To resist my genjutsu, he has to maintain that weak one. Strike now!"
Doubt flickered in Konan's eyes.
Since Uchiha Itachi joined Akatsuki, he had always been calm and indifferent. This was the first time she saw him so determined.
Konan made up her mind, after returning, she would report today's events truthfully to Nagato. But for now...
Since they had already made their move, and even forced Ryosuke to cut off an arm, there was no turning back now.
With years of battle and killing experience, Konan knew, no matter how many questions you have during battle, wait until it's over to ask them.
She condensed tens of thousands of densely packed paper spears. Konan held the sharpest one in her hand, and white paper wings spread from her back. Like a descending battle angel, she charged at Ryosuke.
One side, Uchiha Itachi maintaining Tsukuyomi.
One side, Konan charging in.
Up in the sky, a clay dragon had just formed. It roared from its mouth and dived down toward Ryosuke.
The scouts hiding in the corners forgot to breathe.
The battle rhythm was too fast.
From the first move until now, only a few seconds had passed. For most ninjas, they might not have even finished forming seals for a single jutsu. But these four had already exchanged several rounds.
Not long ago, Ryosuke had slain Orochimaru in a berserker state. Now, he had lost an arm and fallen into a desperate situation.
"So this is Akatsuki? It's just too terrifying!"
Pain had been wondering for some time how to increase Akatsuki's notoriety. This battle alone had done the job. It was foreseeable that after today, Akatsuki's commission count would greatly increase.
Countless gazes, open and hidden, all fell on Ryosuke.
This man who ignored the rules, fought his way to today, some called him a madman, others hailed him as a savior...
Would he die?
Konan stared hard at Ryosuke, waiting for his reaction. But… nothing?!
Ryosuke closed his eyes, as if accepting fate.
'So-called 'Ryosuke', is just a man who loses the will to resist when faced with despair?'
That thought flashed through Konan's mind, when suddenly, a gust of wind blew.
Wind rose, clouds surged. Dark clouds covered the land, and the world darkened all at once.
Ryosuke spread his arms to welcome that gust of wind.
'Wait… arms?!'
They saw that the severed right arm had regrown in an instant.
This was...
Only now did Konan notice, a spinning disc was embedded in Ryosuke's chest. On the disc, she could vaguely see Orochimaru's face.
"Orochimaru's power! You're using Orochimaru's regeneration ability?!"
Hearing her words, Ryosuke slowly opened his eyes, and at the moment of eye contact, the charging Konan froze, she had never seen such dazzling eyes.
Under the shadow of clouds and darkness, deep within Ryosuke's eyes, a circle of golden brilliance rippled.
Ryosuke took a deep breath.
Surging and mighty natural energy flowed into his body with each breath.
Orochimaru's power?
No. Ryosuke wasn't using Orochimaru's power.
He was using Orochimaru's knowledge.
The fusion of Ripple and natural energy could stimulate the body at a deep level and achieve a transformation beyond the limits.
The only problem, Ryosuke couldn't previously control the direction of genetic sublimation. He couldn't tell which mutations were beneficial and which carried risks.
But now, Ryosuke had filled in the missing final piece.
Ripple, natural energy, the Dragon-Snake Pearl, and Orochimaru's human biology knowledge.
These four complemented each other, laying down a path beyond human limits under Ryosuke's feet.
Rumble~
The sound of wind and thunder came from Ryosuke's body. Golden lightning shimmered across his skin. The swirling clouds overhead spun above him, like the end of the world.
Deidara, riding his bird, had his mouth half-open, "What the hell… is this?!"
Limb regeneration, floating midair, summoning wind and thunder.
Everything before them, looked like a god descending upon the world.
"I don't believe in gods!" Konan shouted low.
There was only one god in her heart, and that was Pain.
Konan thrust her spear.
Ryosuke caught it with one hand.
BOOM!
The explosive tags inside the spear detonated. Cracks formed in Ryosuke's palm, only to heal instantly in front of Konan.
'I can't engage him in close combat!'
Konan made a judgment.
"Paper Angel Technique!"
With a pop, her body dispersed, turned into countless paper butterflies flying in all directions. Even with Ryosuke's speed, he couldn't locate her real body in an instant.
Once she created distance, she would support Deidara's long-range attacks... but...
Star Platinum appeared in front of Konan.
The scattered butterflies were all caught and crushed in its palm, forcing Konan to reveal herself again.
Konan showed no fear, instead, she was secretly delighted.
If Star Platinum had appeared, it meant the one responsible for genjutsu resistance, the white snake, had disappeared.
"Itachi! Now!" Konan shouted.
But even as Star Platinum's fist slammed into Konan's face, Itachi's genjutsu never activated.
Wind whistled past her ears. Konan turned her head, only to see the white snake arrive in front of her.
'Two?!'
"Didn't they say Ryosuke can only summon one evil spirit? Itachi! You tricked me!"
Uchiha Itachi was also dumbfounded.
Ryosuke had never summoned two Stands at once…
'What is going on…'
He saw Ryosuke's radiant eyes, felt a will and spirit that transcended mortals and was impossible to defeat.
Ryosuke had surpassed the limits of life itself. With his current spiritual power, he could simultaneously summon and control two Stands, for a very short period, only 2-3 seconds.
But that was enough.
Star Platinum grabbed Konan's neck, she couldn't even turn her head.
She could only hear the white snake's voice behind her.
"Hehe… your Disc,"
"I'll be taking it."
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