A massive fist the size of a house crashed down. Before such terrifying strength, the ground was as fragile as glass, and countless cracks spread out like a spider web.
In an instant, surging power erupted. The resulting shockwave completely shattered the earth, sending large chunks of rock flying along the fissures, accompanied by a dense and terrifying whistling sound.
Is this the power of the Wood Style? It really is terrifying.
Facing the legendary Wood Style and the man who personally defeated Shisui, Itachi did not dare to be negligent. The moment the enemy launched his attack, he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Relying on the fearsome dynamic vision of the Mangekyo Sharingan, he was able to react in advance and evade the lethal blow before the fist landed.
Standing atop the giant Wood Human, Simu spoke with a dissatisfied expression, "Itachi Uchiha, stop hiding like a rat. Hurry up and show me your true strength!"
With that, he clapped his hands together once more.
Itachi narrowed his eyes as his Mangekyo Sharingan—shaped like a three-bladed Fuma Shuriken—spun slowly, firmly watching his opponent's every move.
In the next second, an incredibly massive wood dragon grew out from behind the Wood Human, emitting a terrifying pressure that was hard to withstand.
He can use such a horrific ninjutsu with just a single seal?
Itachi lost count of how many times he had felt such amazement. Before this mysterious man, he seemed to constantly discover things he had never noticed before.
"However, since you've delivered yourself to my doorstep, I'll have to make you pay a little for the debt of Shisui's death."
A flash of sternness crossed Itachi's face.
He was not indifferent to Shisui's death. On the contrary, because of it, he harbored intense anger and hatred toward Root, Danzo, and the Wood Style ninja before him codenamed Yi.
However, for the sake of the clan and the village's greater good, and to avoid betraying his friend's final words and promise, he had to swallow his anger and bury his hatred deep within his heart.
But now, since the executioner who personally killed Shisui stood before him as an opponent, it wouldn't hurt to vent his fury a little!
With this thought, the flow of chakra in Itachi's body quietly accelerated.
Simu sensed the battle intent finally rising from Itachi and nodded in satisfaction.
"That's more like it. Come, show me your true strength, Itachi!"
The massive wood dragon plummeted from the sky with terrifying momentum, its glaring eyes radiating endless malice!
Determined to teach the other party a lesson, Itachi became serious. He wove hand signs again, and a massive amount of chakra instantly transformed into surging flames that erupted forth.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
Dazzling firelight illuminated the sky. The soaring, scorching fire dragon and the diving, majestic wood dragon collided in mid-air, producing a horrific explosion.
[ Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu ]
Although this was only a B-rank ninjutsu, it erupted with a terrifying power in Itachi Uchiha's hands that did not belong to its rank at all. It actually held its ground against Simu's Wood Dragon Technique.
After several seconds of stalemate, the two forces finally could not maintain themselves and exploded violently in mid-air. Under the powerful impact of the explosion, the ignited branches scattered around like meteors.
"Not enough! This still isn't enough!"
Simu drove the giant beneath his feet, crossing through the falling curtain of fire and charging toward Itachi Uchiha at top speed. Every step the giant took shook the ground forcefully, demonstrating its horrific power.
With such a massive size, ordinary tricks won't work at all. As expected, I can only target the main body?
Itachi Uchiha quickly analyzed the battlefield and immediately wove hand signs. Two clones appeared at his sides.
"Scatter."
Facing the aggressively approaching Wood Human, the three Itachis vanished in different directions.
Simu controlled the giant to throw a heavy punch at the Itachi directly in front. With another violent tremor, the ground shattered again. This time, the Wood Human's attack hit its mark.
Unfortunately, at the moment of impact, the Itachi in front turned into countless black crows and dispersed. It was merely a standard Crow Clone.
A second later, the Itachi on the left wove hand signs and spat a massive fireball at the Wood Human.
Firelight flickered in the dark night.
Though the Wood Human was massive, it was not bloated or slow. With a light dodge, it let the fireball miss.
However, Itachi's attack was clearly not that simple. As the fireball grazed the Wood Human's chest, a stream of water shot out from the other side. The fire and water intertwined, instantly evaporating into a large amount of mist.
Simu suddenly felt something was wrong because his vision was now completely obscured by the rising steam.
Suddenly, a dark shadow emerged from the mist. A high-speed spinning Fuma Shuriken easily sliced through the pervading fog, pointing straight at Simu's head with a sharp whistle!
"Wood Style: Wood Locking Wall!"
Wooden planks grew from the Wood Human's head. These planks, personally stimulated by Simu's chakra, were far stronger than steel. Even the Fuma Shuriken thrown by Itachi could only lodge into the Wood Locking Wall, unable to go further.
After blocking the shuriken, Simu looked up. A flock of crows had appeared from the steam at some point and gathered above his head.
Under Simu's gaze, these crows instantly condensed into Itachi Uchiha's form, and another massive fireball smashed down from above!
The firelight reflected a deep red on the Wood Human's head, flying toward Simu with terrifying high temperatures.
"As expected of the Uchiha genius, this level of Fire Style is truly surprising," Simu remarked.
There were differences even between Fire Styles. Ordinary Fire Style could do nothing to Simu's Wood Style, but the flames released by Itachi Uchiha were too powerful. If he were slightly careless, even the Wood Locking Wall might be burned away.
Therefore, this time Simu did not continue using Wood Style, but used one of the chakra natures that composed it.
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
A flow of water surged like a sea wave, stopping the falling fireball and creating another layer of thick mist.
Just as the mist rose, the Fuma Shuriken that had been embedded in the Wood Locking Wall transformed into Itachi Uchiha with a poof. Holding a kunai, he appeared before Simu in a few bounds and pierced his abdomen with lightning speed.
Itachi Uchiha's face showed no excitement despite the successful strike, because the texture transmitted through the kunai was wrong.
Sure enough, after being attacked, the Simu that Itachi pierced quickly turned into wood.
It's a Wood Clone!
I've been seen through?
Itachi realized he had fallen for a trap. Just as he was about to retreat, he discovered that a large number of tree roots had grown out of the Wood Human's head at some point, firmly entangling his feet.
Oh no.
The Mangekyo Sharingan with its special pattern contracted violently.
Itachi did not choose to use his kunai to cut the branches on his feet. He knew that since Simu had seen through his tactics, the man would surely have prepared a follow-up. If he took the time to cut the branches now, he would lose because he wouldn't be able to defend against the ensuing attacks.
"You really are calm, Itachi."
Simu's voice rang out as his form emerged from the wooden surface in front of Itachi. Immediately, a sharp spear lunged toward the enemy's head at lightning speed!
A fierce attack!
Utilizing the powerful dynamic vision of the Sharingan, Itachi clearly captured this incredibly sharp strike and hurriedly raised his kunai. The sharp wooden spear and the kunai collided with a dazzling spark, and the massive force transmitted through the kunai made his palm feel slightly numb.
But the attack did not stop there. More wooden spears emerged from all directions, surrounding Itachi in a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree circle. This time, unless he could grow dozens of arms, he was doomed!
To Simu's surprise, the Itachi in front of him seemed to give up resistance, allowing the wooden spears from all directions to pierce through his body.
The expected scene of blood splattering did not occur. The Itachi pierced by the wooden spears turned into countless crows once again and flew into the sky.
Another Crow Clone?
Simu frowned, finding it hard to believe. Although a clone's appearance is identical to the original, there is a world of difference in strength. The reaction speed and power that Itachi had just shown were not at a level a clone should have.
If clones were this good, what level would Itachi Uchiha's real body reach? Not everyone could create real clones with different functions and strengths like Simu.
Or rather, was that not a clone, but because he had fallen into a Genjutsu?
Simu thought of another possibility.
He looked up. At some point, a blood-red moon had appeared in the sky. The crows that had just dispersed gathered in front of the blood moon, reforming into Itachi Uchiha's shape.
"Tsk, as expected of a Genjutsu used by Itachi Uchiha..."
Simu couldn't help but remark. To be able to place him under a Genjutsu without his knowledge, Itachi's mastery of Genjutsu was almost peak-level. Unfortunately, such a thing had little effect on a clone.
A surge of chakra suddenly generated within his body, instantly disrupting all the chakra inside Simu, including the Genjutsu chakra that Itachi had injected at some point.
With the disruption of the internal chakra, Itachi's Genjutsu naturally broke, and Simu regained his clarity.
He saw that all the wooden spears he controlled were frozen about half a meter from Itachi Uchiha's body. The scene he had just witnessed of the spears piercing Itachi was nothing more than a scenario created by the Genjutsu.
The moment he realized this, Simu saw a flash of surprise on Itachi's face. However, the boy's movements did not slow down at all as a kunai came stabbing toward his face.
The sharp tip of the kunai expanded in his vision, about to drill a large hole in his head. Simu had to retreat hastily, woodifying his arm to barely block Itachi's attack.
The sharp kunai slammed into Simu's wooden arm with a dull thud. Using the force of the kunai, Simu took the opportunity to pull back.
Meanwhile, Itachi Uchiha stared at the enemy with astonished eyes.
Hand-seal-less ninjutsu?
Not only did he master the powerful Wood Style that only the First Hokage could use, but he could also quickly break through his Genjutsu and use ninjutsu without seals...
It was using ninjutsu without seals, not just using seal-less ninjutsu!
The former meant his understanding of ninjutsu was at the peak, allowing him to perform them without hand signs. The latter was simply using a technique that didn't require signs. There was a massive difference between the two.
In other words, during the fight just now, the opponent had been holding back...
Itachi Uchiha's eyes were filled with solemnity. This terrifying individual stood on the opposite side of the Uchiha, representing Root and Danzo.
Itachi did not know how many more people like Simu existed in Root, which had always been lurking in the shadows. And in this dangerous situation, those foolish and arrogant people in his clan still naively believed that their clan alone could succeed in a coup. It was laughable.
"That was close. If I hadn't broken your Genjutsu in time, I might have really died by your hand."
Simu patted his chest, acting as if he had just survived a disaster.
Itachi threw away the now-dulled kunai and pulled out a sharp one, saying coldly, "As long as I kill you, Danzo's plan to eliminate the Uchiha will collapse. The clan and the village will have no choice but to sit down and negotiate properly."
Hearing Itachi's words, Simu let out a sneer. "Although I know you're trying to bait information out of me, I don't mind telling you that the strongest person in Root has never been me, but the great Lord Danzo."
Simu's eyes were filled with worship and awe, and even a hint of fear.
"As long as Lord Danzo takes action personally, a mere Uchiha is not even worth mentioning!"
Is that man, Danzo, really that strong?
Itachi's heart sank. Then, gripping his kunai, he charged toward the opponent in silence.
Simu did not hesitate to pull out a wooden spear and met the charge. The moment they clashed, their gazes collided once more like lightning.
A surging ocular power erupted from Itachi's eyes.
[ Tsukuyomi ]
Accompanied by Itachi's cold voice, a crimson glow bloomed from his Mangekyo Sharingan.
In an instant, the entire world was shrouded in crimson, and a sinister, enchanting full moon hung high in the sky. Below, Simu found himself bound to a cross at some unknown moment, unable to move.
Ten thousand miles away, in the depths of a sea of blood, a tremor suddenly occurred, but it was quickly suppressed and calmed by the main body's will.
Is it a special ocular technique birthed from the Mangekyo Sharingan, similar to Kotoamatsukami?
Simu was somewhat impressed. The power was so strong that it could shock his main body from ten thousand miles away through the soul connection. It was truly unexpected.
Of course, by the time this power reached that far, the threat to Simu's main body was negligible.