Hurricane winds, thunder, and flames blasted Itachi and his Susanoo away, triggering a violent explosion. Naturally, it was far-fetched to think a single combined ninjutsu could finish off Itachi while he was protected by the Susanoo. However, Simu's goal was merely to prevent Itachi from interrupting his process. In the gap created by the explosion, Simu pressed the pitch-black energy swirling around his fingertips—carrying Uchiha Inabi's body tissue—firmly onto Sasuke's neck.
Aaaah!!
Along with Sasuke's painful wails, countless black cursed seals spread across his body like flickering flames.
"Stop it right now!"
Hearing his younger brother's agonized screams, Itachi's roar echoed from within the smoke. More orange chakra surged from his body, covering the skeletal Susanoo with a thick layer of armor and causing his weapon to solidify further. Clearly, the Susanoo released by Itachi had undergone a degree of evolution under the impact of his intense emotions.
Itachi took a step forward, and the armored samurai giant moved with him. The Evil-Faced Ghost Snake immediately opened its massive maw, blocking Itachi's path to protect its master. Its tail, reinforced with a massive amount of Koukaku and appearing like steel, swept toward the samurai giant like a spear.
Despite this, Itachi did not retreat even an inch, for his brother was currently enduring unimaginable agony. The orange chakra erupted like a blaze. The massive samurai giant reached out to block the incoming snake tail and quickly gathered power in its other hand. Driven by terrible fury, it swung its blade in a heavy strike against the ghost snake. Sparks erupted at the point where the blade met the Koukaku surface of the snake.
"Let go... of Sasuke!"
Itachi's eyes looked as if they were about to burst. Simu had observed Itachi in secret for a long time, yet this was the first time he had seen him show such an expression. Amidst the flashing firelight, the Evil-Faced Ghost Snake was unable to withstand such a terrifying blow and was sliced in two by the Susanoo's heavy strike.
Simu lightly scratched his mask.
How terrifying. This is truly the first time I have seen Itachi-kun so angry.
"Why is it that you get so angry when I hurt Sasuke, yet you act so righteous when you hurt him yourself?" he asked in a tone filled with confusion.
Hearing this, Itachi's pace faltered for a moment, but he immediately shouted toward Sasuke. "Sasuke, do not believe that man's lies! He is only trying to use you!"
At this moment, Sasuke's face was contorted, his entire body wracked with localized pain. Even so, he immediately barked back at Itachi's words. "You, the one who murdered the entire clan... what right do you have to lecture me?"
"I'm going to kill you, Itachi Uchiha!"
Aaaah!!
Sasuke erupted into another painful wail as the fusion speed between the black cursed seal and his body accelerated. Seeing this, Itachi grew frantic and hurriedly manipulated his evolved Susanoo to attack Simu.
"This is quite a headache, Itachi-kun. I cannot simply allow you to violate the Divine Son of our Jashin Religion."
Suddenly, eight incredibly thick tentacles, appearing as if they were wrapped in dense muscle, grew from beneath Simu's black robe. They slammed toward the approaching Itachi from different directions. Because of the Susanoo's massive size, Itachi was unable to dodge in time. Consequently, he chose to strike first.
Red chakra leaped across his long blade like fire. The crimson samurai giant swung its sword, and with a flash of red light, one of the massive muscular tentacles fell. However, no matter how fast Itachi was, he only had one sword. Conversely, Simu had eight tentacles. Therefore, after Itachi severed one, he immediately shifted into a defensive stance.
In the next second, the remaining seven tentacles slammed heavily against the samurai giant's armor.
Boom!
The immense force traveled from the tentacles to the Susanoo and then into the ground. This caused the earth to shatter once more, and the height of Itachi and his Susanoo instantly dropped by dozens of centimeters. Just as Itachi prepared to release his power to break free and strike Simu again, he realized the seven tentacles had no intention of letting go. Instead, after the initial strike, they wound themselves tightly around the Susanoo. Furthermore, Itachi keenly sensed that his chakra was rapidly disappearing.
These tentacles can absorb chakra?!
He immediately made a judgment: he had to escape the control of these tentacles quickly. Using the brute force of the Susanoo clearly wouldn't work in a short time. Furthermore, staying restrained would lead to a continuous drain of his chakra. However, deactivating the Susanoo now only to restart it later would be far too taxing. Therefore, his only option was to voluntarily leave the Susanoo's coverage and use other ninjutsu to cut the tentacles.
Although this carried significant risk, Sasuke was falling deeper into the Jashin Religion's trap, and Itachi could no longer care about the danger. His body blurred, appearing atop the samurai giant's head almost instantly. He immediately formed hand signs, compressing a vast amount of Wind Style chakra onto three fingers.
"Wind Style: Gale Blade!"
As Itachi swung his hand, the Wind Style chakra condensed between his fingers formed a razor-sharp current. It expanded outward like a ripple, slicing through everything in its path, including the three muscular tentacles binding the Susanoo. This highly compressed current acted like the sharpest of blades, severing the tentacles the moment it touched them. A massive amount of blood sprayed from the severed limbs, forming a foul-smelling rain. If Simu hadn't withdrawn quickly, all eight tentacles likely would have been cut.
This is an extreme application of Wind Style chakra nature transformation!
Even though three tentacles were severed, Simu didn't care about the pain, which felt like losing a limb. Instead, he flashed a smile. By launching such a fierce attack, Itachi had also exposed himself outside the protection of the Susanoo. Consequently, this was the best chance to strike. Simu naturally would not let it pass.
"Earth Style: Earth Movement Core!"
The ground beneath the Susanoo suddenly sank six or seven meters. Having just left the Susanoo, Itachi was left suspended in mid-air for a brief moment with no point of leverage.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
A fire dragon pierced the sky, illuminating Itachi's cold face. At this point, Itachi had no way to dodge. He could only retaliate with his own Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu, breathing out a dragon of flames to counter Simu's attack. The two fire dragons tore at each other in mid-air for a moment before turning into a violent explosion. Of course, the people present tonight seemed accustomed to such explosions; compared to the commotion caused by the Nine-Tails earlier, this was nothing.
Within the thick smoke, several streams of water suddenly pierced through Itachi's body. Unfortunately, the Itachi who was hit quickly turned into crows and vanished. As for his true body, he had used the smoke as cover to return to the Susanoo.
He used the impact of the explosion, the thick smoke, and the heat to disable all the observation methods I placed on the battlefield, taking the chance to use a clone to dodge...
Simu marveled at Itachi's split-second reaction. It was important to note that Itachi had no intelligence on him. Even if Obito had told him something, it wouldn't have been much. Yet, under these circumstances, he could accurately interfere with Simu's observation methods. It was indeed impressive. At the same time, Itachi was silently analyzing the situation in his mind.
Light, sound waves, heat... exactly how is he observing my movements?
Itachi stared at the masked man before him. Genjutsu wasn't only triggered through sight. As long as he could understand the opponent's observation methods, he could use targeted Genjutsu to control him. Simu wore a look of appreciation, but the only pity was...
"You've run out of time, Itachi."
Hearing this, Itachi's heart sank. He looked over to see that the flame-like cursed seal had completely covered Sasuke's body. With a gentle push from Simu, Sasuke floated upward like a balloon that had lost its gravity. Under Itachi's murderous gaze, Simu offered a helpful explanation.
"I have planted the mark of Jashin on Sasuke. Next, his body will attract all the bloodlines of the Uchiha. Then, this mark will transform his body into a Divine Vessel capable of carrying the descent of Lord Jashin. He will also gain the power to destroy the Hidden Leaf."
He paused slightly before continuing. "Of course, the price is that from now on, you will become the vessel for Lord Jashin's descent. Do you accept, Sasuke Uchiha?"
Sasuke was currently shrouded in darkness, revealing only two crimson Sharingan eyes that stared deathly at his older brother. He spoke with total impatience. "As long as I can kill this man, I will accept anything. Stop talking!"
"Tsk, how truly impatient."
Simu cracked his neck. "After all, Lord Jashin never forces any believer. The tenet of our Jashin Religion is being voluntary. Give your soul, and receive..."
"Power!"
After Sasuke agreed, the cursed seals on his body became deeper and darker. Eventually, even those crimson eyes were swallowed by the darkness, and he was completely encased in a black cocoon. Upon hearing Simu's introduction, Itachi felt completely overwhelmed.
"Stop this senseless ritual immediately, Simu Kamizuki!"
His uniquely patterned Mangekyo Sharingan erupted with intense killing intent. If looks could kill, Simu... likely still wouldn't die. After all, he wasn't human. However, facing Itachi's intense bloodlust, Simu still gave a "warm" reminder.
"Mr. Itachi, I need to remind you of one thing."
"Your brother, Sasuke Uchiha—the future Divine Son of the Jashin Religion and the vessel for Lord Jashin—is currently completely defenseless."
Simu spread his hands, the corners of his mouth curling beneath the mask into a playful smile. "So now, Mr. Itachi, please make your choice."
"Will you kill the brother you wanted to protect for the sake of the Hidden Leaf?"
"Or will you betray the so-called Will of Fire for your own personal feelings and push the village into the abyss?"
"I am very much looking forward to it, Itachi Uchiha."
Itachi looked at the black sphere floating in the air, his hands trembling slightly. At this moment, he was truly lost. In truth, even he didn't know if killing the whole clan was for the village, for his ideals, or simply so that his brother could be preserved. He had already killed his parents and all his clansmen; was he really going to kill Sasuke for the village as well?
Obito frowned and spoke slowly. "Senior Simu, aren't you going a bit too far? Itachi is a recruit I brought in."
Hearing Obito, Simu replied indifferently, "He hasn't officially joined the Akatsuki yet. Or are you, Tobi, prepared to violate the Akatsuki's agreement and strike me for the sake of an outsider?"
"I doubt the leader would permit such actions."
Obito's fist tightened under his black cloak. Though he was furious, he had to endure it. Simu was right; the Akatsuki had a strict rule against members attacking each other. If Obito attacked Simu now, it would definitely enrage Nagato and might cause the newly formed Akatsuki to collapse, especially since the organization was already split into several factions. Obito still needed to use the Akatsuki to help capture the Tailed Beasts and complete his plan. Therefore, attacking Simu now did not serve his interests.
Seeing Obito remain silent, Itachi could only pin his hopes on others. He turned his gaze toward the other battlefield that had just quieted down. If he couldn't stop the Jashin Religion alone, then if other Hidden Leaf ninja—especially the Hokage—arrived to support, there would be a way, right? Perhaps they could seal the cursed mark on Sasuke?
Simu sensed Itachi's thoughts and once again crushed his hope.
"If Mr. Itachi is hoping for the rest of the Hidden Leaf to come and help, you should probably abandon that thought. After all, I am not the only one in the Jashin Religion."
As he spoke, high above the battlefield where the Nine-Tails had just been quelled, a masked man in black descended at high speed. During his descent, he formed hand signs and released a massive formation.
"Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique!"
The Barrier Team, sensing the chakra fluctuations, immediately used the Yamanaka Clan's secret technique to relay information into the minds of everyone on the battlefield. It was just four words: "Above! Enemy attack!"
In the next second, thick smoke erupted in mid-air. A terrifying shadow, as massive as a mountain, crashed down.
The [Apostle of Desire] had arrived!