"How is this possible?!"
"This was Susanoo's full-power attack!"
"Susanoo, nothing more than that."
Naruto shook his head, seemingly a little disappointed, continuing to provoke Sasuke, to see to what extent he could unleash his three years of accumulated power.
"Is this your limit, Sasuke?"
"Shut up!"
Sasuke was completely enraged, frantically channeling his ocular power.
"It's not over yet! Susanoo · Second Stage!"
More purple Chakra surged out, and Susanoo began to be covered with meridians and skin, becoming more solid, and its oppressive aura increased again!
It even condensed a giant Chakra Katana!
"Slash—"
Sasuke roared, controlling Susanoo to swing the Katana, tearing through the air, and slashing towards Naruto!
Naruto watched the giant Katana slashing down, and finally took his other hand out of his pocket.
He sighed: "Not enough, still far from enough."
He still didn't dodge, but made a move that left Sasuke dumbfounded—he raised his right foot and, with a casual side kick, met the incoming Chakra Katana, which was powerful enough to split mountains!
Yes, it wasn't an empty-handed block, but a kick.
And it looked effortless, as if he wasn't blocking a blade, but kicking away a small pebble in his way!
"Clang—!!"
A resonant sound, like a thousand giant bells ringing simultaneously, exploded.
Under Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan, which seemed about to pop out of his eye sockets, Naruto's seemingly ordinary right foot collided fiercely with Susanoo's Chakra Katana!
Immediately after…
"Crack—..Crack-crack——!!!"
The Susanoo Katana, condensed with immense ocular power and Chakra, starting from the point of contact with Naruto's instep, instantly covered with spiderweb-like cracks like fragile glass, and then exploded into countless purple Chakra fragments!
His right foot, its momentum undiminished, then lightly kicked Susanoo's chest!
"Bang—"
Another dull thud!
Sasuke only felt an irresistible, terrifying force, as if from the entire world, impact him.
His proud Susanoo, hailed as the "Power of God," with its incredibly sturdy chest, instantly caved in, shattered, and blasted open a huge hole, like a biscuit hit by a hammer!
The entire Susanoo trembled violently, letting out a mournful cry, its massive body could no longer be maintained, and it collapsed and disintegrated with a crash, turning into countless scattered purple Chakra light particles!
"Pfft—!"
Susanoo was forcefully shattered, and the backlash caused Sasuke to violently spit out a large mouthful of blood, his Mangekyo Sharingan instantly faded from his eyes, reverting to ordinary black eyes, and he flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily to the ground, his whole body in excruciating Pain, his Chakra completely chaotic, unable even to get up.
Naruto slowly lowered his right foot, patted non-existent dust from his trousers, walked over to the collapsed Sasuke, and looked down at him.
"Perhaps if you awaken the Perfect Susanoo early, you might have a chance to fight me."
Naruto's tone was still calm, but it was indeed comforting Sasuke.
In fact.
Even if Sasuke activated the Perfect Susanoo, he wouldn't be able to withstand a single move from Naruto.
Naruto had already stepped into the Six Paths level, or even stronger.
He hadn't fought with full power in a long time.
Because no one could force Naruto to use his full strength.
Even if there were, it wouldn't be in the Ninja World.
Perhaps in outer space, or in other Underground Cities.
Sasuke lay on the ground, gasping for breath, looking at the deep night sky, his eyes filled with bewilderment, shock, and a complete sense of powerlessness.
He had obtained the Mangekyo Sharingan he had longed for, and activated the legendary Susanoo, thinking he had closed the gap, but he hadn't expected the gap to become even more insurmountable, like the difference between heaven and earth.
Naruto's kick not only shattered his Susanoo but also almost shattered his fragile confidence, which he had just built based on the power of the Mangekyo.
In the depths of the cold, damp cave, faint torchlight flickered, illuminating the giant Gedo Statue's fingers on the rock wall.
Illusory, colorful projections, emanating powerful and eerie Chakra, appeared one after another on the fingers like ghosts.
These were the Akatsuki Organization members—Uchiha Itachi, Kisame Hoshigaki, Deidara, Sasori, Kakuzu, Hidan, Konan, and—Uchiha Obito, disguised as "Tobi."
The air was heavy and oppressive. The projection at the thumb position, with its Rinnegan, like concentric tree rings, slowly opened, and its cold gaze swept over every member present.
Pain, the visible leader of the Akatsuki Organization, slowly spoke, his voice deep and emotionless, as if from the netherworld:
"Everyone, the long preparations are complete. It is time to begin the organization's ultimate plan—capturing the Tailed Beasts, creating the ultimate weapon of war, and making this world feel true Pain."
Everyone was silent, but the Chakra fluctuations in the air showed that they were not calm.
Pain continued: "According to intelligence, the locations of most Tailed Beast Jinchuriki have been confirmed. Now, for task assignments."
He called out names one by one:
"Ichibi, Hidden Sand Village, Deidara, Sasori, you two are responsible."
"Two-Tails, Hidden Cloud Village, to be captured by Kakuzu and Hidan."
"Three-Tails—"
The tasks were assigned in an orderly fashion, until finally, "Lastly, the Nine-Tailed, Kurama's Jinchuriki." Pain's Rinnegan seemed to focus slightly, "Currently confirmed to be in Konoha Village, named—Uzumaki Naruto."
When the name "Uzumaki Naruto" was spoken, the colorful images formed by the Projection Jutsu in the cave seemed to ripple almost imperceptibly.
"Uzumaki Naruto?"
Deidara was the first to speak, his tone tinged with irritation and an imperceptible hint of apprehension.
"Hmm! I heard this guy has been very prominent lately! It seems he's taken down quite a few troublesome individuals, my art isn't even enough to watch, hmm!"
Sasori's deep voice rang out: "Konoha's Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki—it's said he has ties to Jiraiya, so he probably won't be easy to get."
Kakuzu snorted coldly: "The bounty is high, but the risk is equally immense. According to black market intelligence, he seems to possess multiple powerful Ninjutsu."
Hidan said: "Who cares how strong he is! Lord Jashin will protect me anyway! But it's probably best to let someone else test the waters first, hehe."
Kisame Hoshigaki bared his shark-like teeth: "Mr. Itachi, we met him three years ago, pfft, what a troublesome task."
Uchiha Itachi was expressionless and silent, only his hand, hidden beneath his Akatsuki cloak, clenched slightly.
Even Obito, disguised as Tobi, had his Sharingan behind his mask turn slightly, not joking around as usual.
He knew better than anyone what an outrageous variable Naruto was now.
Capturing the Nine-Tailed from Naruto's hands would be difficult!