Chapter 44: No Biting There

"One against seven, not only is his battle IQ extremely high, but he's also very decisive."

"He's really difficult to deal with."

On the mountaintop, Shishou's lips curved slightly as he watched Uchiha Itachi activate his Susanoo.

As for Mikoto, Izumi, Yūgao, and Eri, they were already numb from shock at the combat abilities displayed by Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi, so they had no particular expression at this moment.

"Not only does he have that terrifying black flame, but he also has this?"

At the foot of the mountain, hidden in the shadows, Orochimaru watched the Susanoo surrounding Uchiha Itachi and showed a greedy expression.

He had to obtain a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan!

After summoning Manda, Orochimaru had almost exhausted his chakra. To be safe, he found an opportunity to hide, leaving only a clone inside Manda to help resist genjutsu.

Susanoo around Uchiha Itachi continued to perfect itself, and in less than a second, it turned into a complete half-body form.

Then, Susanoo's right hand materialized a long sword.

The long sword swung continuously.

Like cutting through vegetables, it chopped the immobile Manda, whose fangs were stuck in Susanoo, into several pieces.

"You..."

The light in Manda's eyes gradually dimmed. It hadn't expected to die like this.

"It seems that Itachi hasn't found the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror at this point."

Seeing the ordinary long sword in Itachi's Susanoo's hand, Shishou's eyes narrowed, and he muttered to himself.

Hehe.

So this is the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan?

Orochimaru felt very fortunate that Shishou had warned him about Uchiha Itachi's many trump cards in advance.

Otherwise, he might have already been defeated.

Glancing at the dead Manda, Orochimaru revealed his true form and fled to the distance.

"Let's go!"

Uchiha Itachi withdrew Susanoo upon seeing Orochimaru had fled. He said a word and swiftly left with Jūzō Biwa.

"Aren't we going to continue chasing Orochimaru?"

Jūzō Biwa glanced at Orochimaru.

"No, Orochimaru had been waiting here, clearly knowing we would come for him."

"Also, someone is hiding on the mountaintop. After fighting Orochimaru, we are not fit to continue fighting."

Uchiha Itachi didn't look back as he quickly left.

Furthermore, Itachi was puzzled by Orochimaru's unusual combat style today.

A person's fighting style, once formed, is challenging to change—it's a habit.

But today, Orochimaru behaved unusually, no longer relying on his immortality and attacking head-on.

Instead, he kept avoiding direct confrontation with Itachi.

It was strange!

Moreover, Itachi had already sensed someone on the mountaintop.

Although he didn't know who it was because of their concealment, he was wary.

More importantly, using Amaterasu and Susanoo back-to-back had left his body extremely fatigued, and he needed to find a place to rest quickly.

"I see."

Jūzō Biwa glanced at the mountaintop and believed Itachi's words.

He had great faith in his strong companion.

Jūzō Biwa stopped asking questions and followed closely behind Itachi as they quickly left.

...

"So, what are your thoughts?"

After Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi left, Shishou turned to the four women beside him.

"They're amazing. I wish I could be as strong as them," said Yūgao, starry-eyed and oblivious to her own limitations.

"It seems like avenging my clan is hopeless," said Uchiha Izumi, eyes dim and a bit more self-aware.

"I...," murmured Uzumaki Eri, unsure of what to say.

"Mmm...," grumbled Uchiha Mikoto, who was tied up and had her mouth gagged.

Shishou quickly got up and untied Mikoto.

As soon as she was freed, Mikoto angrily bit into Shishou's shoulder.

As she bit down, tears began to flow.

Facing Itachi's immense power, she saw no hope of defeating him.

She also felt helpless to stop the conflict between Itachi and Sasuke.

This made Uchiha Mikoto deeply sorrowful.

"Sigh, go ahead and bite."

"As long as it helps you vent, bite as much as you need."

Shishou held Mikoto in his arms, gently patting her back.

He paid little attention to his shoulder, now bleeding profusely from her bites.

Since Mikoto had become his woman, he was naturally ready to share her burdens.

Yūgao and Izumi exchanged glances upon hearing Shishou's words, then simultaneously pounced on him and took bites.

They had been putting up with Shishou for a long time and had long wanted to teach him a lesson.

But they had never been able to win against him.

Now that they saw an opportunity, they didn't want to miss it.

"Sigh, why are you two joining in the fun..."

"Who's biting my chest..."

Seeing Shishou and the two women wrestling, Uchiha Mikoto couldn't help but stop feeling sad. She looked at Shishou, now surrounded, and said fiercely:

"Usually, it's you bullying us. Now it's our turn to bully you."

With that, Uchiha Mikoto also joined the 'biting' group and even invited Uzumaki Eri:

"Eri, come help us."

Uzumaki Eri was taken aback. Given her past experiences, she was somewhat resistant.

But for some reason, seeing the playful fighting, she also wanted to join in.

So, she walked over and joined the 'biting' fun.

Though they called it biting, it was more like playful wrestling.

Seeing the women's resistance, Shishou found it amusing.

He was well aware of Yūgao and Izumi's intention to alleviate Mikoto's sorrow through playful fighting.

However, this didn't mean he wouldn't fight back.

Seeing Uzumaki Eri join in, Shishou shouted:

"If you keep biting, I'll start fighting back."

"When I do, whatever I catch, touch, or bite, I won't hold back."

With that, Shishou began his counterattack, prompting a chorus of squeals from the women.

"Ah~~"

"Stop it, where did you touch..."

"Don't bite there..."

...

After a playful tussle with the women, Shishou sent them back one by one.

Then he returned to Orochimaru's laboratory.

"Tsk tsk tsk."

"This time, I've struck it rich."

"It was worth all the talking with Orochimaru and suggesting he use summoning beasts against Itachi."

That's right!

Shishou had advised Orochimaru to use summoning beasts to kite Uchiha Itachi to take advantage of the situation himself.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered with these extra efforts.

"The mighty serpent king has fallen."

Shishou approached the dead Manda and released his chakra bugs to devour the corpse.

With Manda and the other five or six large snakes' bodies, his chakra bugs would undoubtedly reach the required number for evolution.

He would soon unlock a new breeding space.

And he could perform a system lottery!

The thought of the lottery made Shishou's eyes light up with anticipation.

As the chakra bugs devoured part of Manda's body, Shishou received a system prompt.

[Chakra Bug, Epic Species, has evolved five times, currently able to evolve.]

...