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Hiruzen Sarutobi laid out the plan: he would deal with Kakuzu, while the others would focus on stalling Pain.
They didn’t need to defeat Pain—Hiruzen didn’t expect Shisui Uchiha and the others to accomplish that anyway—just keep him occupied.
‘Mangekyō Sharingan—activate!‘ Shisui Uchiha declared softly, his eyes transforming.
Hiruzen was stunned.
He hadn’t known Shisui had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. Such youth, yet possessing such power… Hiruzen’s thoughts grew complex.
Besides Shisui, the Uchiha clan boasted another prodigy—Itachi Uchiha, Fugaku’s son. The Uchiha clan seemed almost too powerful.
A clan with excessive strength could threaten the village’s stability. But Hiruzen pushed those thoughts aside for now.
Seizing the moment Shisui engaged Pain, Hiruzen moved towards Kakuzu.
Regardless of anything else, Kakuzu had to die. Not just to appease the Daimyo, but also to avenge his son, Asuma. That was his primary motivation; Hiruzen had his own personal reasons.
“Mangekyō Sharingan.”
Orochimaru’s eyes lit up. He immediately turned his attention towards Shisui Uchiha.
Although Orochimaru’s ultimate goal was the Rinnegan, obtaining the Mangekyō Sharingan wouldn’t be bad either.
He remembered Shin Uzumaki’s Susanoo, its terrifying destructive power rivaling the Rinnegan.
However, Orochimaru knew only the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan could unleash such might. A regular Mangekyō couldn’t compare.
Still, Orochimaru coveted the Mangekyō Sharingan. If an opportunity arose, he wouldn’t pass it up.
This was his chance…
———
“<Lightning Release: Lightning Blade!>”
Kakashi Hatake, his left eye a three-tomoe Sharingan, fixed his gaze on Orochimaru and unleashed the upgraded version of the Chidori—the Lightning Blade.
This jutsu concentrated a massive amount of chakra into the hand, forming high-intensity lightning, then charged forward to pierce the enemy.
Due to the incredible speed, it was best used in conjunction with the Sharingan. Kakashi happened to possess the Sharingan gifted to him by Obito.
The Lightning Blade struck Orochimaru’s body, which dissolved into mud—Orochimaru had used an Earth-Style Substitution Jutsu at the last second.
It was only thanks to Orochimaru’s heightened sense of danger that he dodged the attack. Even a Kage could be caught off guard and killed by a surprise Lightning Blade attack, despite Kakashi’s overall strength being below Kage level.
“What a dangerous jutsu.” Orochimaru looked at Kakashi expressionlessly, though inwardly furious.
“That jutsu looks pretty good.” Kushina’s eyes brightened. She found Kakashi’s Lightning Blade impressive.
While the Lightning Blade lacked wide-area destruction, its piercing power was second only to the Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite.
However, hitting an opponent was difficult. Without the Sharingan’s visual prowess to compensate for the speed, missing was common.
Even with the Sharingan, if the opponent anticipated the attack, dodging was relatively easy because it was a linear strike.
Regardless, it was still an S-rank jutsu, quite powerful. Shin casually copied it.
Honestly, Shin could probably develop the Chidori and Lightning Blade himself if he put his mind to it.
But he felt they lacked the development potential of the Rasengan, so he hadn’t bothered. Better to spend time refining the Rasengan.
After all, the protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki, had basically spammed variations of the Rasengan all the way to the end of the series.
———
The battlefield descended into chaos.
Hiruzen faced off against Kakuzu and Sasori.
Orochimaru was temporarily held up by Kakashi Hatake.
Although Kakashi wasn’t Orochimaru’s match, he could stall him for a while.
Meanwhile, Shisui Uchiha led the other Elite Konoha ninja, engaging Pain in a tactical battle.
“Are we just going to watch?” Kushina asked Shin.
“Yes. I’m here for the show anyway. If you feel like joining in, Kushina, go ahead.”
Shin had no interest in intervening. The opponents were too weak. If it were Six Paths level opponents, he might participate.
But these guys weren’t even challenging. It felt like stepping on ants. Shin preferred watching the ants fight amongst themselves.
“Nah, I’ll just watch with you.”
Kushina snuggled up beside Shin.
She had initially felt the urge to fight, but realizing she could spend quality time alone with Shin, she decided against wasting it.
“<Susanoo!>”
Shisui Uchiha activated his Susanoo. A Green Susanoo materialized, blocking the Shinra Tensei attack.
“That Susanoo is way too green. Not a good color,” Shin couldn’t help but comment, looking at Shisui’s Susanoo.
Activating Susanoo took a heavy toll on Shisui. His face contorted in pain, blood streaming from his eyes—a frightening sight.
This was the price of using Susanoo. Its power was immense, but so was the cost.
Shisui felt an excruciating, bone-deep pain, forcing guttural roars from his throat. It required incredible willpower to endure such agony.
Shisui’s green Susanoo wielded a rapidly rotating spiral sword, like a drill, and thrust it towards Pain.
“I’ve found your weakness. That jutsu that repels everything… it has a five-second interval,” Shisui said to Pain.
Though the fight hadn’t lasted long, Shisui had already identified a weakness in Pain’s Rinnegan.
In terms of combat talent, Shisui Uchiha was definitely on par with Itachi Uchiha, if not superior in some aspects. Itachi’s Genjutsu skills were taught by Shisui.
Shisui’s death was truly a loss.
“So what if you know? Can you even hit me?”
Pain remained confident, unfazed by the Susanoo’s attack.
Just as the spiral sword was about to strike Pain, the Deva Path vanished—summoned away by the Animal Path.
Besides summoning beasts, the Animal Path could also summon the other Paths. Shisui’s attack hit nothing but air.
“<Asura Attack!>”
The Asura Path launched its fist and forearm like a rocket, striking the Susanoo and forcing it back. The Asura Path’s attacks were akin to modern weaponry.
Though the Deva Path often overshadowed the other Paths, their individual abilities were still quite formidable.
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