Chapter 112: An Artistic Performance—How Can There Be No Audience?
Yasushi specifically chose nighttime to strike. After all, during the day Konoha was fighting wars. If Kakashi showed any abnormality, it would be discovered immediately. Succeeding would be too difficult.
Nighttime was different. Deep in the night's quiet, with Kakashi's abilities, ordinary shinobi couldn't stop him.
Sure enough, after waiting outside for a while, he smoothly saw Kakashi wandering over.
"Haha..." Yasushi laughed aloud, stepping forward to grab Kakashi and retreating with him toward the forest behind.
This place was too close to Konoha—not a good location for the absorption ceremony.
A moment later, Yasushi arrived at the predetermined meeting point. Hiruko had already set up the ritual array and everything needed.
Though Haku was young, he refused to let himself be idle, nimbly helping on the side with quick hands and feet.
Orochimaru, on the other hand, had already disappeared. Too lazy to waste time staying here, he'd left first.
"Hey, Hiruko, your Kakashi—take him and enjoy!"
Yasushi cheerfully tossed Kakashi into Hiruko's hands and retreated to the side to watch the show.
Hiruko bound Kakashi to a cross, placed him in the corresponding ritual array position, then began forming hand seals.
Following his movements, black lines spread from within his body, extending along the array's pathways toward the cross where Kakashi was bound.
At this moment, white smoke rose in the air. A ninja cat emerged from within.
"Yasushi-sama, Yashiro-sama sent me to tell you—Jiraiya has pursued. Should we stop him?"
"Jiraiya?" Yasushi glanced at Hiruko, who'd already begun absorbing, and shook his head. "Such a beautiful sight naturally must be witnessed by Jiraiya personally!"
"Don't stop him. Let him come."
The ninja cat departed on its orders. Yasushi shouted loudly to Hiruko:
"Hey, Hiruko, slow down your movements a bit! Leave the audience time to appreciate it. Don't be so rushed and hasty."
"Art must have the appearance of art!"
"An artistic performance—how can there be no audience?"
"Hmph!" Hiruko snorted coldly with displeasure. "I won't do such superfluous things!"
"Use your perverse interests on someone else. Don't expect me to cooperate with you."
"Tch!" Yasushi curled his lip, tempting him: "But it's Jiraiya coming! A super genius too!"
"Don't you want to show off your research results properly before such a super genius?"
"Let those Konoha people see clearly—the ordinary shinobi they didn't value back then has now grown to what level."
"You need to make them regret it bitterly!"
These words immediately moved Hiruko.
The "Chimera" protruding from his body had already tightly bound Kakashi, but now it stopped. Instead of retracting into his body, it froze in place.
A moment later, Jiraiya's figure finally appeared.
"Haha... The game begins!"
Yasushi laughed heartily as he moved forward, keeping Jiraiya and the others far outside the ritual array.
Looking was fine, but interfering with the absorption's progress was not allowed.
"Uchiha Yasushi!" Jiraiya looked in shock at the enemy who'd suddenly appeared, his heart alarmed.
His gaze swept behind Yasushi, seeing Kakashi bound to the cross, and also seeing the somewhat familiar-looking Hiruko.
But he didn't recognize him. Instead, his gaze looked around as he called out, "Looks like Orochimaru is the one causing trouble? Where is he?"
"Hehe..." Yasushi laughed strangely twice, calling out loudly: "Hiruko, see that? Jiraiya-sama doesn't even remember you! In his eyes, only geniuses like Orochimaru-sama exist!"
"Hmph!" Hiruko was most sensitive to such matters. Hearing this, veins immediately bulged on his forehead, his face extremely agitated.
And Jiraiya added fuel to the fire. His gaze focused on Hiruko, only now recognizing him. He couldn't help but cry out in shock:
"Hiruko!"
"You're Hiruko!"
"How did you join the Akatsuki organization?"
Hiruko's eyes turned fierce. His hands grabbed, pulling the "Chimera" inward, dragging Kakashi toward his body while shouting loudly:
"Why can't I join the Akatsuki organization?"
"Am I not worthy?"
"Jiraiya, you genius shinobi types forever look down on ordinary people like us!"
"But you should know—ordinary people also want to become strong!"
"So what if we don't have bloodline inheritance?"
"So what if we don't have famous teachers?"
"When we want something, we seize it ourselves!"
"Look!"
"This is the ninjutsu I created myself—the Chimera Technique! A technique that lets ordinary people become geniuses!"
"Stop!" Jiraiya rushed forward trying to prevent this, but how could Yasushi let him succeed?
The Mangekyo in Yasushi's eyes rotated. Susanoo rose from the ground, its massive staff swinging heavily toward Jiraiya.
"Haha... Jiraiya, you just need to watch Hiruko's performance properly. Don't think about personally entering to disrupt!"
"Damn it!" Jiraiya leaped backward, dodging the crimson Susanoo's attack.
The staff struck the ground with a tremendous boom, smashing a huge crater. Sand and stones flew everywhere, violent wind like blades.
"Come out, Gamabunta!"
Jiraiya formed seals with one hand, slapping the ground. With a "bang," a massive toad appeared beneath his feet.
"Ha!" The great toad immediately shouted upon appearing, brandishing its short blade and charging toward the crimson Susanoo.
"I'll hold this side! You quickly go save Kakashi!" Jiraiya waved his hand, calling to his companions behind him.
"Yes!" Everyone answered decisively, splitting up to run in different directions, about to circle around the crimson Susanoo and go straight for Hiruko.
But figures flashed before them. Uchiha Yashiro's group appeared before everyone, standing in a line, blocking their path.
"Impure World Uchiha!" Everyone startled simultaneously, hastily stopping.
In the previous battle at Konoha, the Impure World Uchiha had shone brilliantly, contributing significant force to Konoha's destruction. Because they were so deadly difficult to kill, they were deeply hated by all Konoha shinobi.
"Damn it!"
"To play with the souls of the dead like this!"
"Hahaha..." Uchiha Yasushi laughed heartily, cursing through gritted teeth: "I'm playing with the souls of the dead—so what?"
"They're willing to be played with by me!"
"Being played with by me after death is better than being played with by you Konoha people while alive!"
Looking at the three Uchiha with eyes blazing with fire, all the Konoha people fell completely silent.
When others created Impure World bodies, they had to control them tightly, afraid of losing control. Only with the Uchiha was there no need to worry about this problem.
Their Impure World bodies willingly served the summoner. What could outsiders say?
They could only fight!
****
70+advance chapters at patreon.com/Eatinpieces