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Orochimaru eyed the towering "Susanoo," recognizing a formidable foe and sharpening his focus.
Itachi was unlike any opponent he'd faced before. As a prodigy of the Uchiha clan, he stood at the pinnacle of his peers.
Against such an adversary, a single misstep could mean death.
Three snake heads attacked "Susanoo" from different angles, but the "Sword of Totsuka" sliced one clean off. The remaining two collided with "Susanoo" but failed to breach its armor.
Danzo, watching this, felt the pressure mounting.
He'd once possessed Shisui's "Mangekyo Sharingan," but a single eye couldn't summon "Susanoo," and the eyes on his arm now were just regular Sharingan.
Earlier, Itachi's "Susanoo" had crushed his Wood Release, forcing him to use "Izanagi."
Seeing the "Eight Branches Technique" gave him a surge of confidence, but things weren't unfolding as smoothly as he'd hoped.
"Can you handle this?" Danzo asked uneasily.
"Should be fine," Orochimaru replied. "Don't forget—he just fought you with 'Susanoo.' I refuse to believe he's not exhausted!"
The remaining snake heads launched another assault on "Susanoo," but each strike only slammed into the armor.
As Orochimaru had guessed, Itachi's chakra was heavily depleted after repeatedly using "Susanoo" and "Amaterasu," and his eyes were starting to strain.
Yet even so, no one seemed capable—or willing—to back him up. Sasori's puppets were ineffective against an enemy of this size; Kisame tried to join the attack but was repelled by the snake heads each time.
Pain's expression was grim, holding back from acting. Konan made a few attempts, but aside from explosive tags, her paper shuriken barely scratched the surface.
In this environment, Itachi could only grit his teeth and press on.
The snake heads struck by the "Sword of Totsuka" fell one by one, blood gushing from their severed stumps as their massive bodies crashed to the ground.
Itachi cleaved through five heads in one go, gearing up for another strike, when two fully charged heads slammed heavily into "Susanoo."
Itachi could no longer sustain "Susanoo." He staggered back, and the moment the armor vanished, the two snake heads loomed right in front of him.
"Die!" Orochimaru's face twisted with ferocity.
At this point, he'd completely given up on Itachi.
Sure, he thought Itachi would make an ideal vessel, but vessels were a dime a dozen—while the "Rinnegan" was one of a kind.
Weighing the two, the choice was obvious.
The two snake heads pinned Itachi to the ground—he had no chance of surviving.
Orochimaru's lips curled into a smirk as the heads lifted. But the ground showed only a crater from the impact—no mangled corpse as he'd expected.
"Where's Itachi!?" Orochimaru shouted, scanning the area until his eyes landed on a stranger a hundred meters away—someone who had, at some point, used chakra threads to whisk Itachi to safety.
"Who are you?" Orochimaru roared.
"You really are forgetful, aren't you? I'm the guy with the black mask." Midorima grinned. "Listen up—my name's Yoshida Shin."
Sasori stared at Midorima, exasperated. "Why aren't you resting your injuries? What are you doing here?"
"Saving someone, obviously!" Midorima patted Itachi, who was slung over his shoulder.
"Uh... thanks, but could you put me down?" Itachi, hoisted awkwardly, looked a bit embarrassed.
"No problem!" As Midorima lowered Itachi, he whispered in his ear, "Are you an idiot? Everyone else is holding back, and you're going all out? Let Pain and Orochimaru duke it out. Win or lose, it works in your favor."
Itachi froze, staring at Midorima in surprise, confirming he didn't know this guy.
"Who the hell are you?" Itachi asked.
"Not your enemy." Midorima replied softly, then leaned against a wall, panting. "Can't do it—too injured. Even saving someone takes it out of me."
Right now, he was playing it by ear. He had cards to play, but it wasn't time to flip the table—not even his "Mangekyo Sharingan."
No matter how this fight ended, as long as he timed his moves right, he'd come out ahead.
If "Akatsuki" won, his target was the First's cells on Danzo. If "Akatsuki" lost, he'd aim for the "Rinnegan"—though Obito's presence made that trickier.
Itachi, hearing Midorima's words, clutched his eyes. The strain of prolonged "Mangekyo Sharingan" use was kicking in. He could still push through, but the toll on his eyes would only worsen.
By now, he'd cooled off considerably.
He'd been too reckless earlier, ignoring his own predicament. Calmer now, he shook his head at Konan, signaling he couldn't keep going.
"What now?" Konan asked Obito. "You said he could handle Orochimaru—looks like he failed."
Obito glanced at Pain. "You're really out of moves?"
"This is Amegakure. Some high-power techniques could endanger the village." Pain shook his head.
Obito clicked his tongue.
If he could use "Susanoo," he might take Orochimaru down easily—but his other eye was with Kakashi, slashing his "Mangekyo Sharingan" power significantly.
"Haha, you guys are done!?" Orochimaru, seeing "Akatsuki" at a standstill, smirked. "Danzo, our chance is here—kill them all!"
Danzo's lips curled as his vines stretched outward again, charging alongside Orochimaru toward Pain's Deva Path.
They closed the hundred-meter gap in moments, but before the massive white serpent, that distance was practically nothing. A snake head loomed before Pain in the blink of an eye.
The frenzied vines surged to engulf Pain, but he spread his fingers, facing the oncoming tendrils. "Shinra Tensei!"
Instantly, Danzo felt an irresistible force crash into him. The trees he'd been growing so furiously slapped back into his face, and his body tilted uncontrollably backward, flying alongside the white serpent.
Konan, hovering in the air, wasn't spared either—she sailed off like a kite with its string cut.
The Kazekage puppet shielded Sasori, but both were sent flying, crashing into a wall that collapsed under the impact.
Every building within two hundred meters of Pain was flattened in that instant.
"How did this happen?" Orochimaru struggled, forcing the white serpent to stand upright. As he faced forward, he locked eyes with Obito, now uncomfortably close.
He hurriedly opened his mouth, trying to draw a blade, but Obito struck first, piercing his chest.
"Time to rest, Orochimaru." Obito said.
The white serpent's body shrank rapidly, leaving only Orochimaru's corpse.
Obito looked up, scanning the surroundings, only to realize—shockingly—that Danzo was gone.
*****
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