Chapter 78: Can You Pretend to Be Weak and Lure out Obito?
The night grew deeper. In the center of the Training Ground, a colossal Susanoo and a purple giant snake that blotted out the sky formed a visually striking scene. The air was still. The wind had also ceased to flow.
Manda's massive golden vertical pupils gazed at the enormous Susanoo before it, its innate arrogance replaced for the first time by an emotion called "solemnity." Manda, as a powerful summoned beast, would not allow its dignity to retreat without a fight. Battle was inevitable. Better to be proactive than passive.
"Roar!"
Manda moved. It did not choose a foolish frontal assault; its massive body moved with an eerie, uncharacteristic gait, skimming the ground at high speed. The hard stone slabs beneath its scales were easily ripped open and shattered like tofu. Its figure left trails of purple afterimages across the Training Ground, attempting to find a weakness in the Susanoo.
Uchiha Akira simply stood quietly within the crystal on Susanoo's forehead, arms crossed. He had long since anticipated all of Manda's movements. "Too slow."
Just as Manda circled to the side and rear of Susanoo, opening its gaping maw, preparing to launch a fatal surprise attack, the Susanoo giant moved. Its enormous arm swung backward with an angle that defied physical common sense.
Bang—!
That massive hand, precisely and pre-emptively, slapped hard on Manda's side face. The muffled thud was like a mountain collapsing. Manda's enormous head was directly sent flying sideways by this irresistible force, crashing heavily into the nearby ruins, kicking up a sky full of dust.
"Hiss ah—!" A painful hiss emanated from the dust.
Kakuzu began to subtly shift his feet backward, ready to flee at any moment. Orochimaru also looked solemn; such a powerful summoned beast as Manda was actually slapped away.
As the dust settled, Manda shook its somewhat dazed head and stood up again. On one side of its cheek, large patches of scales had shattered, and purple blood gushed from the wound. At this moment, Manda's snake eyes were completely filled with mad killing intent.
"You… have angered me!" It opened its huge mouth, but this time, it did not launch a physical attack. A concentrated stream of acidic venom, like a high-pressure water gun, shot towards the Susanoo. Wherever the venom passed, the air sizzled, and the venom that fell to the ground corroded deep ravines into the earth.
Uchiha Akira's Susanoo simply slowly raised its arm, directly meeting the torrent of venom with its thick Chakra armor.
Sizzle—!
The corrosive venom impacted the Chakra armor, emitting bursts of white smoke. But it was useless. The venom could only corrode the surface, while the inside remained completely unharmed.
Manda was a bit stunned! This was not a battle. The gap was too wide. It could not shake Uchiha Akira's Susanoo at all.
"The game should end now." Akira's voice sounded, pronouncing the coming outcome.
The Susanoo giant took a step forward. It extended its giant hand, directly grabbing towards Manda. Manda wanted to escape, but under the lock of that giant hand, it could not. The next instant, the blue giant hand descended. Precisely, it pinched Manda's vital spot.
"Hiss—!" Manda let out a desperate shriek, its massive body twisting and coiling frantically, attempting to break free. But, all was in vain. Uchiha Akira manipulated the Susanoo, slowly lifting the wailing Manda into the air, as if picking up a loach.
Then, he slammed it hard onto the ground.
Boom—!!!
The earth shook violently. The hard stone ground of the Training Ground instantly cracked and collapsed, and a massive pit suddenly formed. Then, Uchiha Akira's Susanoo slowly raised its hand. Light swirled, and a divine weapon entwined with lightning and storm suddenly took shape.
Totsuka-no-Tsurugi!
Manda's instinct for survival finally overcame its dignity as a summoned beast. It could not die here. Absolutely not! Just a thousandth of a second before Totsuka-no-Tsurugi was about to strike, "Bang—!"
A huge puff of white smoke exploded out of thin air. Manda's massive body instantly vanished, forcibly dissolving the summoning contract and escaping back to Ryūchi Cave.
Totsuka-no-Tsurugi struck nothing, and the violent sword energy left a terrifying, bottomless slash mark over a hundred meters long on the ground.
Orochimaru's face was filled with disbelief. His summoned beast had actually deserted in battle!
Just then, that towering blue giant suddenly began to flicker violently. The light rapidly dimmed. The massive body quickly dissipated, finally turning into countless specks of light and returning to nothingness.
Uchiha Akira's figure reappeared in the center of the Training Ground. It was time to test his acting skills.
Akira stumbled, almost falling to the ground, supporting himself on one knee with one hand, gasping for breath. At the same time, his face also became exceptionally pale, his forehead covered in fine cold sweat.
[Warning! Host is performing high-risk tactical disguise. Please remain vigilant.]
[High-threat target Uchiha Obito's emotions have fluctuated violently. Threat level increased.]
The system's prompt box flashed across Uchiha Akira's vision and then quickly disappeared. It worked. Akira sneered inwardly, but on the surface, he continued to feign extreme weakness. In this situation, only if he showed weakness could he lure Obito out from the shadows.
If Uchiha Obito kept hiding and didn't come out, Akira really couldn't pull him out. System positioning could only determine the approximate location; if Obito remained hidden in Kamui's dimension, there was indeed no way. Only by feigning weakness might Obito appear to ambush Akira.
Akira looked up, pretending to be very weak, and glanced at Orochimaru and Kakuzu, who were completely stunned nearby. "It… ran fast… Now… It's your turn."
This threatening remark, falling into the ears of Kakuzu and Orochimaru, instead made them feel that Akira was on his last legs. This monster was exhausted! However, before they could make any move, a strange, spiral-shaped spatial ripple suddenly appeared behind Akira.
A figure wearing a spiral mask stepped out of nothingness. The black short blade in his hand, without any flourish, stabbed directly into Akira's unguarded back. The timing was perfect. The angle was cunning. The speed was lightning-fast. This was a fatal blow!