Aburame Ryōma was a veteran of many battles and had long since been prepared for Yasuo's attack. Unhurried, he raised both hands, and swarms of insects poured out from his sleeves.
The dense black mass of insects formed a moving curtain. Tens of thousands of kikaichū beat their wings, emitting an eerie droning sound. Like a cloud of death, they pressed down toward Uchiha Yasuo.
"Secret Technique: Insect Sphere!"
But the instant his insects appeared, Uchiha Yasuo once again formed hand seals at blinding speed—so fast that only afterimages remained.
Scorching chakra quickly gathered in his throat, and a close-range Fire Release burst forth from his mouth.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
[Fwoosh!]
The swarm was immediately ignited by the Fire Release. The clash produced crackling explosions as the charred insects fell like raindrops, filling the air with the acrid stench of burning protein that made one's stomach churn.
After crushing the swarm, the torrent of flames did not slow in the slightest but surged onward like a raging tide, completely engulfing Ryōma's figure. The blazing white firelight illuminated the entire battlefield in an instant.
Yet when the flames passed, Ryōma's figure instantly dissolved into a mass of pitch-black insects that clung tightly to the fire.
As they emitted their final droning sound, the insects secreted a special fluid at the cost of their lives, extinguishing the flames and forcibly carving out a small safe zone within the sea of fire.
"Tch, an insect clone, huh!"
Uchiha Yasuo frowned. Sweeping his eyes across the area, he found no sign of Ryōma reappearing. Deciding not to bother searching, he charged straight toward the two teammates behind him.
Both of them held kunai, standing fully on guard. Seeing their enemy rushing in, they hurled their kunai forward simultaneously while jumping to either side.
With a single sweep of his three-tomoe Sharingan, Uchiha Yasuo immediately saw the well-hidden explosive tags behind the kunai.
A fine tactic—but useless against an Uchiha!
He casually batted the two kunai aside, letting the explosive tags detonate in midair. Then, through the bursts of firelight, he caught sight of Yamanaka Fu, who had been hiding behind the two all along.
By this time Yamanaka Fu had already finished forming hand seals. Both hands came together before his chest, fingers clasped into a heart-shaped seal, aimed straight at the charging Uchiha Yasuo.
"Secret Technique: Mind Body Switch Technique!"
"Damn it!"
Yasuo's mind jolted as his body suddenly stiffened, no longer under his control.
His left hand lifted on its own, hurling the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki toward the other side. At the same time, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of movement—Ryoma, who had vanished earlier, suddenly reappeared. With a sweep of his wide sleeve, swarms of insects rushed down to cover Yasuo's body.
"Got him!"
The few people on the opposite side cheered, moving with practiced coordination.
One of them caught the fallen Yamanaka Fu and swiftly retreated, while another hurried forward, reaching out to catch the incoming Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
Their teamwork flowed seamlessly—clearly the result of countless real combat drills. At the very instant the mental control succeeded, the entire squad immediately shifted into their prearranged tactical formation.
Yet before the forward ninja's hand could even touch Naruto's body, his vision suddenly flared white. A violent stream of chakra burst forth, slamming into him like an invisible wall. The ninja had no time to assume a defensive stance before being hurled away.
The iron imprint of mission completion had long since been engraved into the heart of every member of Root. Even while airborne, that ninja forcibly twisted his body, stretching out his arm with all his might, reaching for Naruto—who was being blown away nearby as well.
But just then, a massive crimson energy hand appeared out of nowhere, seizing him effortlessly like a mere ant, and gently squeezed.
A sickening sound of bones shattering rang out. Blood spurted from between the fingers of Susanoo's giant hand, scattering under the moonlight and blossoming into a vivid flower of life.
Like tossing out garbage, Uchiha Yasuo flung the mangled corpse to the ground, then casually scooped Naruto back into his grasp.
"What… what is that thing!"
Yamanaka Fu spat out a mouthful of blood and slowly came to, lying across his comrade's back. When he looked up and saw the towering half-body giant skeleton before him, his eyes froze wide in shock.
His secret technique having been broken dealt him heavy backlash. If not for his companion shielding him, he would likely have been blown away by the chakra storm as well.
"This is the Mangekyō Sharingan!"
Standing firmly upon the ground, Uchiha Yasuo loomed within Susanoo's ribcage. Bearing Uchiha Itachi's face, his expression twisted into madness as he laughed wildly.
"All ninjutsu, in the end, come down to one thing—whose chakra is stronger!"
"No matter how secret or forbidden the technique, before the Mangekyō Sharingan, it's all just trash!"
Everyone looked up in horror at the crimson giant of chakra towering above them, its immense pressure stifling their very breath.
As one of Danzō's closest aides, Yamanaka Fu knew many classified secrets—among them, the information regarding Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan.
It was just that neither of the two had ever revealed the form of Susanoo within the village before, so he had somewhat misjudged the nature of that power.
Now that he experienced it firsthand, he finally understood how vast the difference was between figures on paper and seeing it with his own eyes.
Even though it was only the skeletal frame of the first stage, this power was truly something that transcended common sense—an overwhelming force that would drive any ordinary shinobi to despair at the mere sight of it.
Amid the terrified gazes of everyone present, Uchiha Yasuo held the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki in his left hand, pulling him to his side and setting him at his feet, shielding him within Susanoo, while his right hand came crashing down toward Aburame Ryoma, who had been blown away earlier.
The enormous chakra hand descended with a destructive force; before the palm even struck, the ground had already begun to crack and sink.
Aburame Ryoma was shocked, hurriedly releasing his Kikaichū again for defense, but before Susanoo's overwhelming attack, the emitted insect spheres could not offer the slightest resistance.
The dense swarm of insects was torn apart like thin paper before the massive palm, scattered in an instant.
The Kikaichū let out a despairing buzz, crushed to dust beneath the weight of the chakra.
Left with no other choice, Aburame Ryoma once again abandoned his insect clone to save his life.
Seeing Aburame Ryoma in danger, his two companions rushed to rescue him.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
The combined ninjutsu roared forth once again, a sweeping sea of flames surging toward him. But this time, Uchiha Yasuo did not even bother using ninjutsu; he merely swung Susanoo's colossal palm, shattering the wall of fire, ignoring the searing heat as he tore through the blazing curtain. The currents of air driven by the motion twisted the flames into a vortex that came crashing back down toward the two.
The sheer power was too terrifying; neither dared to take it head-on and swiftly dodged aside.
But Susanoo moved in perfect accord with its user's will—sweeping sideways, it caught up with one of them. The giant hand opened and clenched tightly.
"Ah…"
With a scream, the ninja had no chance even to use the Substitution Technique before being crushed into a mass of flesh, dying instantly on the spot.
"Hahaha…"
Uchiha Yasuo burst into wild laughter, filled with endless madness and pain, as though venting long-suppressed hatred and rage.
"Do you see it now?"
"This is what was bought with the lives of the Uchiha clan!"
"This is the power that old bastard Danzō coveted with all his heart!"
"This is the reason the Third Hokage and his ilk feared from the depths of their hearts—and why they sought the annihilation of the Uchiha clan!"
With every crazed shout, Susanoo's onslaught grew even more ferocious. The crimson chakra boiled like scalding blood, and the windmill pattern in his Sharingan spun ever more frantically.
He used no ninjutsu at all, merely struck again and again with his hands. Each palm that fell shook the earth and mountains, driving everyone into a corner with nowhere left to run.
Yamanaka Fū and the others fled like rats, darting in all directions. Every counterattack they launched struck Susanoo's body only to stir faint ripples—none could break through its defense at all.
"Damn it!" Yamanaka Fū gasped heavily. "How could Uchiha Itachi be this strong?"
Aburame Ryoma was heavily drained as well; his already pale complexion had turned nearly translucent.
While continuing to send out insects to interfere with the enemy's pursuit, he also exclaimed in shock: "I only knew his genjutsu was powerful, but the intel never said he could use something this outrageous!"
"Shisui also had the Mangekyō Sharingan before him. If every Mangekyō Sharingan is this overwhelming, how did the Uchiha clan ever get wiped out?"
Yamanaka Fū cast him a silent glance and said nothing, instead shifting the topic: "Talking about that now is pointless. Susanoo's defense is too strong—we can't break through it at all. Does anyone still have any powerful offensive ninjutsu left to use?"
Everyone shook their heads. "No. Even forbidden techniques can't harm that energy giant."
Yamanaka Fū turned to look at Aburame Ryoma again, only to see him shake his head as well.
"If I'd known this guy's defense was this tough, we should've brought Torune. His Forbidden Technique: Jar of Poison releases a large-scale toxic gas that's extremely hard to guard against or neutralize—it might be able to seep inside."
"My insects can indeed absorb some chakra, but Itachi's chakra is absurdly vast—practically like a tailed beast's. Even if all my insects died, they still couldn't drain him dry."
"However, he's been standing still the entire time, and there's no trace of the giant's chakra under his feet. Maybe we can try breaking through there."
"Under his feet?" Yamanaka Fū ran around Susanoo while glancing sideways, and indeed saw what seemed to be an opening. He immediately nodded. "This time I'll create the opportunity—be ready to follow up."
"Remember, we'll only get one chance. Make sure it hits."
"Yes!" everyone shouted in unison, forcing out the last of their chakra as they swiftly circled around Susanoo.