Itachi was utterly perplexed.
The onlookers shared the same confusion.
"Why can he use Susano'o?"
Obito was nearly frantic. Even he couldn't use Susano'o right now, after all.
He only had one eye, and to manifest Susano'o required both Mangekyo Sharingan.
"The situation seems unfavorable."
Pain frowned deeply. "Takumi has displayed yet another new ability."
"Whenever he reveals a new ability, it always accompanies our defeat."
Konan continued his line of thought, her eyes also filled with bewilderment and worry.
Takumi had been assassinated by them so many times, yet each time he resolved it with ease, though each time some new ability was exposed.
But precisely because of this, they grew more fearful.
They didn't know where Takumi's limits were.
How many more trump cards did he have left to play?
Was he still just a twelve-year-old boy?
What were they doing at twelve years old?
For a moment, the Akatsuki's members fell into an eerie silence.
With the appearance of Takumi's Susano'o, they all felt waves of unease.
Perhaps Itachi was going to lose yet again!
Itachi stood stunned in place, shocked.
But Takumi did not.
After manifesting the Susano'o, Takumi suppressed his excitement and began testing its power.
He controlled the Susano'o to assume a horse stance, then calmed his mind and spirit.
Everyone watched this scene, no one daring to make a sound.
Even Naruto remained silent.
Sitting within the Susano'o's head, Takumi closed his eyes, sensing the changes in the surrounding aura.
After a while, he suddenly opened his eyes.
In that instant.
The Susano'o's right fist shot out.
Whether it was an illusion or not, the onlookers, like Kakashi's group and the Akatsuki's members, seemed to see countless fist afterimages, yet also as if there was only that one attack.
Countless fist afterimages appeared and vanished.
A fierce gale from the punch howled past.
The trees in front of the Susano'o were all flattened.
"Such incredible power!"
Itachi was even more astonished.
As someone who used the Susano'o for combat himself, Itachi knew very well how long an average person could sustain it.
But Itachi miscalculated.
How could Takumi be an average person?
With millions of units of Pupil Power and a considerable accumulated Chakra Reserve from several simulations,
maintaining the Susano'o was nothing. Even if he maintained it for three days and nights, Takumi wouldn't feel the slightest fatigue.
Withdrawing the right fist, Takumi's Susano'o suddenly threw a left punch.
The violent force even sent the flattened trees flying into the sky.
The power of this punch was truly terrifying.
'The power is even stronger!'
Itachi's expression grew graver.
He abruptly slashed down with the Totsuka Blade in his hand towards Takumi.
'As long as I seal you away, I won't need to worry about anything else!'
Itachi's plan was sound.
But Takumi had long been waiting for this moment.
The only technique Itachi possessed that posed a threat to him was one and only one.
The Totsuka Blade.
Or rather, the Totsuka Blade's sealing effect.
As long as he wasn't struck by the Totsuka Blade, he could remain undefeated!
At this moment, facing the descending Totsuka Blade, he suddenly shouted, "Take this!"
The voice was deafening, and at the same time, he controlled the Susano'o to throw a punch.
Or rather, countless punches.
The Susano'o's rapid punches were incredibly fast.
Reaching almost a thousand punches per second.
Moreover, due to the extreme speed, it could even make people feel the fist afterimages they saw were illusions.
In the simulation, the simulated Takumi faced Itachi's attacks, once breaking the sword-wielding hand, once catching the blade empty-handed.
As for him, he intended to break through in the most violent way.
In an instant.
The power of thousands of punches erupted.
Itachi suddenly froze.
He found the crimson energy surrounding him gradually dissipating.
And he himself was falling from the air, plummeting straight towards the ground.
'What? What happened? Where's my Susano'o?'
He was somewhat dazed.
He had clearly attacked.
But in the blink of an eye, his Susano'o was gone?
The events unfolded too quickly.
He hadn't even noticed what happened.
"Another failure!"
Pain's brows were tightly furrowed. "Zetsu, go retrieve Itachi. We cannot lose him here."
"Yes."
The pitcher plant on White Zetsu's body closed, and then he burrowed into the ground.
"To think even Itachi lost."
Kisame shook his head regretfully. "Even after displaying such formidable power, he still couldn't defeat Takumi."
"Of course! That's Takumi-senpai for you!"
Deidara stood with hands on hips, as proud as if he himself had defeated Itachi.
Thump!
"Stop causing trouble here."
Konan said with displeasure. "Let's retreat quickly. If more Konoha's Shinobi gather, our location might be exposed too."
"Hmm."
Pain nodded. "Let's go."
...
'This is absolute power!'
A gleam of excitement shone in Takumi's eyes.
In that instant, the thousands of punches thrown by the Susano'o struck Itachi's Susano'o.
It actually forcefully shattered Itachi's Susano'o!
He looked down at Itachi falling towards the ground.
Itachi was still somewhat dazed.
He seemed not to have recovered from the defeat yet.
Everything had happened too fast.
Too fast for anyone to react.
This was precisely the terrifying aspect of Takumi's Susano'o.
It was simply too fast!
At that moment, a White Zetsu emerged from the ground, enveloped Uchiha Itachi, then burrowed into the ground and vanished.
"Hmm?"
Takumi frowned deeply, but soon relaxed his brow.
Forget it if he wasn't captured this time.
After all, he now had a way to counter Itachi's Totsuka Blade. This battle was already a great harvest.
Moreover, defeating such a powerful opponent in front of everyone would undoubtedly boost his reputation significantly.
"Well done, Takumi."
After Takumi dismissed the Susano'o, Kakashi immediately jumped over and patted his shoulder. "If not for you, if Uchiha Itachi had rampaged here, few would have survived."
Kakashi didn't press for details on why Takumi could use the Susano'o.
He would speculate internally but wouldn't pry into others' secrets.
Just as he wouldn't casually reveal his own secrets.
"It was what I should do."
Takumi proudly patted his chest.
"Hmm, we'll leave the cleanup here to others. Let's head back quickly."
Kakashi nodded. "I have a feeling their target this time was still you."
'Perceptive.'
Takumi thought to himself, then said, "Maybe it's just a coincidence. Regardless, the enemy has been driven off. What we need to focus on is checking and repairing the barrier's vulnerabilities."
"The enemy keeps infiltrating one after another. What do they take our barrier for!"
"Takumi, you're so strong! You can summon such a huge giant!"
Naruto excitedly rushed up, grabbing Takumi's shoulders and shouting, "Quick, quick, teach me!"
"Sorry, Naruto, I can't teach it."
The moment Takumi answered Naruto, a girl grabbed his arm.
No need to guess, it was definitely Sakura.
Turning his head, he indeed saw Sakura with starry eyes.
"It's getting late now. We should head back too. The enemy might still be nearby."
Shikaku stepped forward.
He gave Takumi a deep look, then turned and left.
Takumi didn't know what he was thinking.
But this man known as Konoha's highest IQ.
So he remained somewhat wary of him.
Little did he know, Shikaku inwardly admired him greatly.
A youth of immense strength and unknown potential.
And also part of the Hokage's faction.
He was practically a future Hokage!
He definitely needed to have his son get closer to him to secure the clan's status.
Shikaku's little calculations were clicking away.
He also planned to inform his two close friends when he got back.
Takumi was absolutely a worthwhile investment target.
He looked back. At this moment, Takumi was surrounded by the crowd, carried on someone's shoulders like a celebrity.
That was Guy.
Only Guy would do something like that.
"Such a thoroughly satisfying fight! It made my blood boil with excitement!"
Guy excitedly shouted. "I'm going to run five hundred laps around the village right now!"
"W-wait!"