Chapter 501: Two Instances of Pain
Inside the towering Perfect Susanoo that stretched nearly a hundred meters into the sky, Sasuke clamped one hand firmly over his eyes, desperately attempting to suppress the visceral discomfort radiating from his metamorphosis while simultaneously striving to shut down the Susanoo projection.
However, at this precise junction, the Susanoo wasn't an entity he could simply toggle off at will... Having just breached the threshold of evolution, the explosive surge of visual prowess—multiplying by tens of times its previous baseline—left him momentarily incapable of commanding his own chakra flow.
"Well! Teacher, they are actively preparing to launch a coordinated assault. Should I intervene to supply covering fire?"
"...An assault?" Snapping out of his absolute devastation over the lost Witness Points, Ryo scanned the perimeter.
Amidst the chaotic debris and collapsing architecture, the respective Kage and their designated guards had implicitly formed a tacit, unified encirclement around Sasuke's Susanoo. Had Obito and Shisui not continuously intercepted their lines of advance while frantically broadcasting explanations, they would have long since unleashed their offensive volleys.
"Senior, trouble you to please suppress this localized disruption!" Yahiko executed a rapid Body Flicker to materialize right beside him, his face twisted into a bitter knot.
"Disruption, sigh!" Ryo let out a heavy breath. Following half a minute of meticulous mental calculation, he concluded that the recent wave of events had cost him a minimum of 60 Witness Points. An absolute, catastrophic loss!
"Hold back your intervention for a brief moment. Since the logistical parameters have already devolved to this state, we must fundamentally harvest an alternative layer of utility to compensate."
"An alternative harvest?"
Before the final syllable of his prose could settle, a violent detonation of lightning flared a short distance away. The highly explosive Fourth Raikage—having suffered a night of stifling frustration only to be ambushed by a 'violent insurgent' today—completely disregarded the ongoing explanations. His physical frame blurred into a lightning bolt, launching off the dirt to deliver a catastrophic punch squarely against the Susanoo's thigh...
When all was said and done, Sasuke had merely just secured his Eternal Mangekyou. The structural durability of his Perfect Susanoo remained leagues below Madara's legendary benchmark. Struck heavily by the Raikage's fist, a web of microscopic fractures instantly rippled across the Susanoo's leg armor. Consequently, Sasuke parsed a sensation heavily mirroring a localized mosquito bite against his thigh...
When bitten by a mosquito, a person's subconscious instinct naturally dictates swatting the pest. Swinging his right arm in a sweeping arc, Sasuke seamlessly swatted the Fourth Raikage straight through the air, sending him crashing violently into a neighboring structure, collapsing it entirely.
Outside the high tower... Oh wait, currently, the high tower was fundamentally nonexistent. Naruto stood completely dazed for an immense duration, only managing to parse the situation at this precise moment: The entity launching an assault against Sasuke must undeniably be a hostile adversary!
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A dense battalion of Shadow Clones, entirely blanketed by a heavy layer of Nine-Tails chakra, charged directly toward the Fourth Raikage's coordinates.
"Shield Lord Raikage!"
"Hokage! Exactly what is the meaning of this unvarnished hostility?!"
Obito: I genuinely desire the exact same data!
Even if the Fourth Raikage's current physical durability failed to precisely match his father's historical peak, it was fundamentally not far off. The Susanoo's swat had inflicted absolute zero structural trauma upon his vessel, yet it had catastrophically shattered his sovereign dignity.
Naruto had effectively kicked a hornet's nest. His entire battalion of Shadow Clones was obliterated into absolute nothingness in a single fraction of a second. Before he could remotely organize a secondary maneuver, the lightning-clad brute had already closed into point-blank range...
Boom!
A vibrant green, skeletal Susanoo arm abruptly materialized, swatting the Raikage straight through the air yet again, subsequently collapsing a secondary building structure. Right at the absolute most critical junction, Shisui executed an interception block to salvage Naruto's life force.
"Lord Raikage!"
This time around, the Hidden Cloud delegation was genuinely infuriated. Even Mabui lacked the capacity to restrain the counter-offensive; Yugito launched herself directly toward Obito's position... If your forces execute an assault against our Raikage, I shall systematically strike down your Hokage!
The alternative villages watched with absolute, jaw-dropped bewilderment as a localized war erupted between Konoha and the Hidden Cloud, fundamentally failing to map out a logical course of action. Gaara initially intended to deploy his sand to intercept the clash, yet Chiyo firmly clamped onto his arm to halt his advance.
Obito's face was completely devoid of any will to live. He offered zero evasion or resistance against Yugito's furious assault, permitting her to phase harmlessly back and forth through his intangible vessel. A singular thought echoed through his mind: Exactly why did the parameters devolve to this state? Why on earth did I escort these two specific guards? This is entirely the Master's fault...
"Master! Exactly where did you disappear to?!"
"Senior, Obito is actively calling for your intervention," Yahiko offered a bitter smile. "I assume whatever alternative harvest you were aiming for has been successfully secured by now? Even though my central tower has been completely eradicated, there are still several specific logistical items buried within the rubble that I desperately desire to salvage..."
Ryo slowly rose to his feet, casually dusting off the non-existent dirt from his apparel while gazing into the distance. Stymied by Shisui's localized Susanoo projection, the Fourth Raikage had failed to breach the defensive perimeter for a prolonged duration, leaping up and down in pure, unadorned fury. Dragging the sequence out for this specific duration was explicitly because Ryo desired A to develop a proper, self-aware baseline regarding his own strength limitations, thereby ensuring he adopted a significantly more respectful posture toward the Great Ancestor down the timeline.
His attitude last night warranted an absolute, negative rating!
"Deterrence. Mmm, a high-powered deterrence block is required to pacify him!" Ryo lifted his head to gaze at the heavens: "This operates as a flawless opportunity to administer a severe educational lesson to this unfortunate brat Sasuke, forcing him to compensate the Great Ancestor for his lost Witness Points!"
"Super Multi-Size Technique (Chō Baika no Jutsu)!"
Ryo's physical frame expanded at a terrifying velocity—larger and larger—until his singular thigh sat perfectly level with the peak height of Sasuke's Perfect Susanoo. Lifting his colossal foot, he drove it straight downward...
"Every single one of you, cease your hostilities immediately!"
Yahiko massaged his temples, the profound sorrow locked within his heart lacking a proper audience to articulate to. Setting aside the complete loss of his central high tower, it appeared highly probable that the entirety of the Land of Rain's central district would necessitate a comprehensive, ground-up reconstruction block this time around...
The chaotic farce was ultimately suppressed into absolute silence. The primary instigator, Sasuke, was cleanly knocked unconscious by Ryo's descending foot. Under Obito's frantic logistical arrangements, a thoroughly bewildered Naruto paired up with Shisui to escort Sasuke straight back to their residential villa to rest. Concurrently, Obito presented his most earnest, formal apologies directly to the Fourth Raikage.
"Hmph!" The Fourth Raikage let out a cold, sharp snort, spinning around to march away. The Hidden Cloud's 'three blossoms' hurriedly sprinted to match his pace, while Mabui briefly paused to offer a polite nod of apology toward Obito.
"The Raikage's secretary is exceptionally competent. Reflecting on the logistics, given the Great Ancestor's monumental status, shouldn't I systematically assign a premier secretary to my flanks as well? Karin? Unworkable! Sakura? That similarly appears unworkable..." Ryo fell into deep, thoughtful contemplation.
Obito wore a face packed with absolute, profound grievance: "Master, exactly why did you delay your intervention for such a monumental duration?"
Ryo calculated the details for two seconds: "You completely failed to parse the pure goodwill behind your Master's execution, child. A moment ago, if you had smoothly joined the fray to pin the Raikage against the dirt and thoroughly friction-burn his dignity, do you genuinely believe he would possess the audacity to 'hmph' at you? This is what constitutes absolute deterrence!"
Obito blinked his eyes, offering a confused scratch of his hair, before turning away to continuously apologize to the alternative Kage.
Ryo felt a wave of absolute boredom wash over him. Having occupied the Hokage seat for this prolonged duration, Obito had significantly lost his comedic value from the historical past. Sigh!
The alternative villages hadn't suffered a single shred of logistical loss. Following Obito's comprehensive apologies, the internal dissatisfaction radiating from their ranks steadily subsided. After formally verifying with Yahiko that the Six Kage Summit would reconvene in exactly two days at the identical timestamp, they presented their farewells to Ryo and systematically retreated to their respective villas. Strictly Nagato—operating as the First Uzukage—remained stationed behind Ryo alongside his dual guards.
"Teacher, what are our operational logistics?"
Ryo hesitated for a brief moment, shifting his focus to address the two guards: "You two execute a retreat back to the villa first."
"Understood, Grand Elder!"
The duo flawlessly executed a Body Flicker to depart. Ryo waved his hand to lead Nagato forward. Obito was currently enduring a relentless barrage of cold, sharp mockery administered by Ameyuri Ringo, while Yahiko actively organized a dense battalion of Rain shinobi to commence the rubble-clearing operations.
"Yes, yes, Sister Ringo, the fault lies entirely with my execution!" Obito's posture was exceptionally sincere.
"Tch, a stinking brat remains an absolute stinking brat!" Ameyuri Ringo let out a ferocious sneer. Catching sight of Ryo advancing at an unhurried, leisurely pace, she mentally cursed: And an ancient bastard remains the exact same ancient bastard!
"Master, you tossed me into a catastrophic pit yet again..." Obito snapped his head around to look at Ryo, looking so monumentally aggrieved he appeared on the absolute verge of weeping.
Ryo scratched his hair: "Ahem, Obito, down the subsequent timeline, ensure you escort a significantly more reliable guard roster. For the immediate moment, we are actively assisting Yahiko with the reconstruction block!"
A fraction of a minute prior, in order to cleanly shatter Sasuke's Perfect Susanoo with a single stomp, he had fundamentally deployed his absolute peak physical output, triggering a cataclysmic shockwave that mirrored a localized earthquake... Throughout the entire central district of the Land of Rain, fundamentally zero patches of flat, un-shattered terrain remained.
Yahiko strolled back over, appraising the Rain shinobi diligently clearing away the structural debris, offering a trace of nostalgic lamentation: "Once a shinobi's strength tier breaches a highly specific threshold, every single one of their casual movements inherently delivers apocalyptic disaster straight to ordinary commoners..."
Ryo was briefly startled: "Doesn't the central district of the Land of Rain strictly house the elite executive forces native to your nation? Did the Great Ancestor accidentally inflict collateral trauma upon standard civilians? That shouldn't be structurally possible, right?"
Yahiko slowly shook his head: "Negative. I am fundamentally not referring to the localized disruption that played out today."
Ryo's physical frame given a sudden pause, his dual eyes subtly squinting into a narrow slit. He razor-sharply parsed out exactly what prose Yahiko intended to articulate; it was genuinely a monumental deviation from his expected parameters...
"There are certain logistical details I have desired to articulate to you for a prolonged duration. Regarding the... Two Instances of Pain (Futatsu no Itami) that I have endured throughout my lifetime!"
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