Chapter 76: Your Summoning Beast Is Big? My Susanoo Is Taller!
Kakuzu's voice no longer held its previous arrogance. "You… you bastard…"
However, Uchiha Akira did not give Kakuzu a chance to catch his breath. The next moment, Akira left a faint afterimage in his original spot. Too fast! So fast that Orochimaru, who was watching from the side, only managed to catch a blurred outline.
Kakuzu's battle-hardened instincts wildly warned him at this moment. The Lightning Release mask monster on his back suddenly opened its mouth, and a dazzling lightning bolt, like a long whip, swept towards his body! Covering himself with attacks to force the enemy to retreat—this was a trick he had used with great success against speed-type ninja. However, this time, he miscalculated.
Uchiha Akira's figure did not appear in any of the positions he had anticipated.
"Above you," Akira's voice rang out directly above Kakuzu's head. Kakuzu sharply looked up. He saw Akira, who had appeared directly above him at some unknown point, his body parallel to the ground. His right hand was raised high, and within his palm, a dazzling, extreme blue-white electric light was converging.
Chirp, chirp, chirp—!
"Zzzzzzt—!"
Without giving Kakuzu any time to react, the hand, entwined with lightning, transformed into a blade that tore through the night sky, plummeting down with a roar.
Boom!
Kakuzu's back was pierced through, leaving a huge hole with charred edges. His Lightning Release mask, which had just finished releasing ninjutsu, was also completely crushed by the lightning.
"Ugh, ah, ah—!" A belated, heart-wrenching scream finally erupted from Kakuzu's throat. One heart was destroyed just like that!
"First heart." Uchiha Akira's figure lightly landed not far away. Watching Kakuzu writhe in pain on the ground, Akira prepared to step forward to harvest the second heart.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!" Several ferocious venomous snakes burst out of the ground, biting at Akira's limbs from different angles. Orochimaru, who had been watching from the side, finally made his move.
"Such a body, such power… Truly… too perfect! Only by becoming my vessel will it not be wasted!"
Akira glanced out of the corner of his eye. Around him, a dense, snake-like current of electricity suddenly erupted. The attacking venomous snakes, upon contact with the current, instantly stiffened, twitched, and turned into clouds of black smoke, disappearing.
"You, alone?" Akira finally slowly turned around, casting his gaze toward Orochimaru.
Kakuzu also took advantage of this gap, struggling to stand up, restoring himself with a secret technique while heavily panting. He understood that he alone was definitely not a match for Akira. "Let's go together!" Kakuzu roared, and 3 masks simultaneously opened their mouths.
"Fire Release: Searing Migraine!"
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
3 ninjutsu of different attributes formed a comprehensive attack network from 3 directions, sealing off all of Akira's escape routes. At the same time, Orochimaru's hands were already pressed to the ground. "Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
The ground beneath Akira's feet instantly transformed into a sticky swamp that continuously dragged downwards. A net of heaven and earth, a fatal trap!
However, facing this seemingly unsolvable series of attacks, Uchiha Akira's face still showed no trace of panic. He formed a hand seal with one hand. "Lightning Release: Lightning Clone Jutsu!"
Bang!
A lightning clone, identical to Akira, appeared beside him. The moment the clone appeared, it voluntarily leaped into the firestorm and water waves.
Rumble!
Violent lightning violently detonated within the clone's body, forming a destructive shockwave that forcibly scattered Kakuzu's 3 ninjutsu. Meanwhile, Akira's body, at that very moment, was enveloped by a layer of deep, bone-like blue Chakra.
Susanoo!
The pulling force of the Swamp of the Underworld was completely unable to shake this absolute defense made of pure Chakra.
"The game needs to level up." Orochimaru looked at the layer of blue skeletal Chakra that appeared on Akira's body, and his expression instantly became serious. He knew very well that ordinary ninjutsu was now completely ineffective against the Susanoo before him.
He no longer hesitated, bit his thumb, formed hand seals at an extremely fast speed, and slammed his hands onto the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!"
Boom—!!!
A cloud of smoke, larger than all the previous ninjutsu combined, shot up into the sky. The ground violently vibrated. A fierce, tyrannical, terrifying aura permeated from the smoke. A massive purple giant snake appeared on the training ground. Its body was thicker than the tallest house, its scales shimmered with a cold metallic luster under the moonlight, and its pair of golden snake eyes were filled with arrogance and disdain.
Orochimaru's signature summoning creature, Manda!
"Orochimaru!" Manda's voice rang out, full of displeasure. "You had better have a hundred living sacrifices ready! Otherwise, I'll eat you first!"
Orochimaru licked his lips, pointed at Akira in the center of the training ground, his voice carrying a hint of temptation. "Manda, do you see that brat? His Chakra is more delicious than a hundred sacrifices."
Manda's gaze slowly shifted, landing on Akira, and a hint of disdain flashed in its enormous snake eyes. "Just this little runt?" However, facing this terrifying giant beast capable of easily destroying a small town, Uchiha Akira showed no fear at all.
Immediately after, the layer of blue rib-like Chakra on Akira's body began to extend and grow wildly outwards. First the arms, then the spine, and then, a complete, enormous upper body skeleton. Flesh, meridians, armor… layer after layer, continuously covering.
A deep blue Chakra giant, even larger, more majestic, and more oppressive than Manda, rose from the ground!
Susanoo: Third Stage!
Akira did not activate the Perfect Susanoo; if there were only these 2 spectators, it would be too undignified. The Third Stage was sufficient to deal with a summoning creature like Manda. Akira stood within the diamond-shaped crystal on the forehead of this blue demon god, looking down at everything from above. His Susanoo's height was precisely controlled by him to be slightly above Manda's head. This height was just right.
Manda's arrogant snake eyes instantly froze. It could feel the terrifying pressure emanating from the blue giant before it.
"Orochimaru!" Manda roared, suppressing a tremor. "You… what kind of monster have you provoked?!" Manda's pride prevented it from showing weakness, but the bravado in its voice was obvious to anyone who heard it.