Ch.144 Once You're Dead, You Won't Be Anymore!

Shinnō's face stiffened immediately.

The other person had actually told him to "get lost" so dismissively. This was a tremendous insult, especially considering that Shinnō had now opened the Seventh Gate, the Gate of Shock.

His power and speed were at the very limit of human ability.

In this state, he felt he could even go toe-to-toe with the Five Kage!

So after a brief moment of shock, his voice turned cold: "Since we're in the same organization, I'll just give you a lesson today—to teach you to watch your tone when speaking to a comrade."

"Tch!"

The Akatsuki member in the hooded red cloud cloak spat dismissively.

"You...!"

Shinnō was thoroughly enraged!

Whoosh!

Without wasting any more words, he launched himself at the Akatsuki member with incredible speed.

In the fading evening light, Shinnō's speed was so great that his body seemed to drag out a long afterimage behind him.

There was even a sharp, whistling sound that accompanied his movement!

It was clearly just a physical attack, yet it created shockwaves that rippled through the air like a cannonball.

"What...?!"

Neji, Kiba, Kimimaro, and the others, who had been knocked down, all held their breath in awe at the sight.

As young as they were, they couldn't imagine that someone could take taijutsu to such an unimaginable level!

Boom!

At that moment, Shinnō's strike, carrying the force of a storm, hit the Akatsuki member squarely, resulting in a deafening explosion.

Everyone, from Neji, Kimimaro, Kiba, Shino, to Uchiha Shinji, Haku, and Karin's shadow clones, all instinctively covered their ears, wincing from the impact!

The shockwaves alone were enough to make their blood boil and their ears ring, their heads spinning from the sheer force of it all.

A moment later, the dust on the battlefield began to settle.

Everyone quickly looked over, only to find that Shinnō's punch hadn't directly struck the Akatsuki member. Instead, it had been blocked by a golden skeletal figure.

Without a doubt, this Akatsuki member who had suddenly appeared was none other than Uchiha Shinji's real body!

Through the golden skeletal figure, Shinnō stared at Uchiha Shinji, who stood calmly under his Susanoo Tomoshibi. His expression grew tense: "W-what is this...?!"

Shinji didn't bother explaining. He simply activated his Susanoo and threw a punch at Shinnō.

Despite his lightning-fast speed from opening the Seventh Gate, Shinnō wasn't a pure taijutsu shinobi. For a brief moment, he hesitated, forgetting to dodge. By the time he realized something was wrong, Shinji's Susanoo's fist was already coming down on him.

With no other choice, Shinnō raised both hands to block.

Boom!

With a massive crash, the fist of Shinji's Susanoo slammed down on Shinnō.

Even though he was in a state of immense power from the Seventh Gate, Shinnō's flesh-and-blood body couldn't withstand the sheer force of Susanoo. The punch didn't crush him instantly, but it drove him into the ground like a nail being hammered down.

The ground beneath him cracked instantly, spreading out in a web of fissures that extended several dozen meters.

Struggling from within the crater, Shinnō managed to pull himself out, gasping heavily as he stumbled backward.

"D-damn it...!"

His eyes were wide with rage.

Even after opening the Seventh Gate, the fact remained that his body was made of flesh and blood. Going head-to-head with Uchiha Shinji's Susanoo, powered by the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, had left him severely injured.

This was evident from his heaving chest and trembling arms.

Shinji, standing under his Susanoo, began to walk toward Shinnō. "You're insulting the Eight Gates!"

As he spoke, the golden Susanoo enveloping him began to change.

What had started as a skeletal form of Susanoo quickly began to fill out with muscles and tendons as more of Shinji's chakra poured into it.

The form grew larger, its armor thickened, and eventually, it donned a full suit of golden armor, complete with a long golden sword in hand.

"What... what kind of jutsu is this?!"

Shinnō instinctively backed away.

The brief exchange had already shattered his arrogance.

When he realized that Shinji's Susanoo was continuing to grow stronger, he instantly lost all will to fight, and a desire to flee took root in his heart.

The moment that desire surfaced, his entire aura dropped. The vortex of chakra and sweat that had been swirling around him visibly weakened.

Such a stark change couldn't escape the notice of Shinji, who possessed the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Tch."

He snorted, disdain clear in his expression.

This wasn't him putting on an act; it was a genuine feeling.

In terms of physical strength, Might Guy's father, Might Duy—the so-called "Eternal Genin" of Hidden Leaf—was far weaker than this Shinnō.

But in terms of combat ability, Shinnō, who also mastered the Eight Gates, was leagues behind Duy.

The Eight Gates technique had already transcended mere taijutsu.

Opening each gate meant pushing one's body beyond its limits—a challenge to one's body and will!

Thus, mastering the Eight Gates through relentless hard work, like Might Duy, imbued the technique with willpower and one's personal ninja way. Opening the Eight Gates Formation meant death was certain.

Even the perfect form of Susanoo wouldn't be able to withstand that kind of power.

But Shinnō had only mimicked the Eight Gates, cheating his way to its basic power through medical and dark medical ninjutsu modifications. What he lacked was the soul—the willpower infused into the technique!

When the battle turned unfavorable, not only did he lack the perseverance of the Steel Fist style, but his state weakened rapidly.

At first, Shinji had been somewhat wary of Shinnō, but now, after witnessing the Seventh Gate, he'd lost all interest in him.

"If this is all you have, then just die obediently!"

With that, Shinji's golden Susanoo drew its sword.

Staring at the massive golden figure, Shinnō screamed, "Y-you can't kill me! I'm part of the Akatsuki!"

Shinji kept walking, unfazed. "Oh? Once you're dead, you won't be anymore."

Shinnō was dumbfounded. "What is this?! Does the Akatsuki allow members to kill each other?!"

Whoosh.

At that moment, Shinji's golden Susanoo swung its sword toward Shinnō.

Shinnō had no intention of resisting. Seeing the golden blade coming toward him, his soul seemed to flee from his body, and he turned to run, retreating as fast as he could!

But by now, his speed had already diminished from its peak state, and even though he dodged with all his might, he was still caught within the arc of the sword's light.

Boom!

With a thunderous crash, Shinnō emerged from the cloud of dust.

Now, he looked completely disheveled. His face was covered in blood and dirt, and there was a deep, gruesome wound across his chest.

"So powerful!" exclaimed Shinji's squad in unison.

Before Uchiha Shinji's real body had appeared, Shinnō, having opened the Seventh Gate, was practically like a war god. Not even Neji, Kimimaro with his Dead Bone Physique, or Kiba and Shino could withstand a single strike!

But after Shinji's real body had shown up, the tide of battle shifted instantly.

Shinnō, who had seemed invincible, was now as weak as an ant under the might of Shinji's golden Susanoo.

In just two or three exchanges, Shinnō had been utterly overpowered, and it seemed like his life could end at any moment.

At that moment.

Whoosh!

Another Akatsuki member in a red cloud cloak descended from the sky, landing in the middle of the battlefield.

Seeing this new arrival, Shinnō, battered and bloodied, cried out in joy, "Help me!"

There was no doubt—this was none other than the demon Mōryō, who had just slaughtered the Cloud shinobi!

Mōryō ignored Shinnō's cries for help. His eyes were fixed on Uchiha Shinji, radiating intense killing intent!

Neji, Kimimaro, and the others were filled with despair.

As more and more Akatsuki members appeared, they realized that they had somehow gotten caught in a battle far beyond their capabilities.

Especially Mōryō, who reeked of blood. His aura alone told them that the fate of the Cloud shinobi had been utterly gruesome.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

Almost immediately after Mōryō arrived, Kakashi and the rest of the Hidden Leaf team appeared at the edge of the battlefield.

Looking at the towering golden Susanoo and Mōryō, with his countless dark-purple tendrils, the Leaf shinobis' faces were filled with dread.

Both of these enemies were far beyond anything they could handle.

Still, because Shinji's team was trapped in the battlefield, they couldn't simply retreat like they had before. They were forced to stand on the edge of the battlefield, gathering up their injured comrades.

Fortunately, neither Shinji under his golden Susanoo, nor Mōryō locked in his killing intent, nor the disheveled Shinnō, were paying any attention to the Leaf shinobi.

So, despite the tense atmosphere, Kakashi and his team managed to retrieve the injured Neji, Kimimaro, Kiba, and Shino from the battlefield's core.

Glancing at Shinji's uninjured shadow clone, Kakashi asked, "Where's Sasuke?"

Shinji's shadow clone didn't hold back, answering directly, "Sasuke was taken by an Akatsuki member wielding the Executioner's Blade."

"Him!?"

Kakashi was taken aback, then sighed in relief.

Clearly, upon learning that Sasuke had been taken by Uchiha Itachi's partner, Zabuza Momochi, Kakashi quickly deduced that Sasuke's safety was likely assured.

Asuma approached Kakashi and asked, "Kakashi, what do we do now?"

Staring at the strange battlefield, Kakashi could only shake his head. "I don't know."

In the current situation, the Akatsuki members had split into two factions and were standing off against each other. Kakashi didn't dare make any rash moves.

No one knew if these Akatsuki members might suddenly resolve their differences and decide to eliminate them first.

After all, both the Akatsuki member with the golden Susanoo and the demon from the Land of Demons were far beyond what they could handle.

If the two of them teamed up, Kakashi feared that even escaping would be impossible for their team.

Just then, they heard the sound of something cutting through the wind from a distance.

Moments later, another figure arrived on the battlefield.

Kakashi's group turned to look and saw that it was none other than the Akatsuki member who had used Ice Release to kill so many members of the Stone Decapitation Unit in the forest earlier.

Without hesitation, this Akatsuki member stepped into the battlefield and stood clearly beside the golden Susanoo.

The Leaf shinobi's hearts sank. "Damn it, another Akatsuki member!"

Whoosh!

Before they could even process that, yet another figure landed on the battlefield.

The Leaf shinobi turned pale.

This figure was none other than the Akatsuki member who had used Susanoo earlier to fend off the Mist assassination squad.

After entering the battlefield, this Akatsuki member quickly joined the Ice Release user, both standing on either side of the Akatsuki member under the golden Susanoo!

With the arrival of these two Akatsuki members, the Leaf shinobi realized that they could now see the silhouettes of the Stone Decapitation Unit and the Mist assassination squad in the distance.

Clearly, they hadn't given up and had followed these two Akatsuki members.

However, upon seeing five Akatsuki members on the battlefield, neither the prideful Stone Decapitation Unit nor the fierce Mist assassination squad dared to move any closer.

"Five Akatsuki members!" Kurenai muttered through gritted teeth.

Asuma added grimly, "Kakashi, we should retreat. We should at least try to get some of us out alive."

Kakashi hesitated, unsure what to do.

The strength of the five Akatsuki members far exceeded their team's. If they decided to turn on the Leaf team, none of them would stand a chance of escaping!

Elsewhere.

Led by Zabuza, Sasuke arrived at a valley.

The moment he stepped into the valley, Sasuke wrinkled his brow.

The light breeze carried a strong scent of blood.

Noticing Sasuke's reaction, Zabuza chuckled. "Heh, no wonder you're Itachi's brother—sharp sense!"

Sasuke snapped, "Where is he? Where's that guy?!"

Zabuza stopped walking and pointed his Executioner's Blade toward the center of the valley. "Your brother is just ahead. Go find him yourself."

In a flash, Sasuke darted forward.

In just a few leaps, he found himself in an open area.

In the middle of this clearing stood none other than Uchiha Itachi, clad in his red cloud Akatsuki cloak. At his feet, scattered all around, lay the corpses of Sand shinobis.

The stench of blood that filled the air clearly came from them.