Chapter 57: Don't Eat Me
Old Zi sensed the chill coming from behind him, clasped his hands together, and wrapped his entire body in a Tailed Beast Chakra Cloak, his four tails attempting to block Su Xiao's slash.
*Clang.*
The dark red Tailed Beast Cloak was instantly cut through. Old Zi, who had already confidently turned his head toward Kisame, was stunned.
*Pfft.*
Blood splattered. Su Xiao's blade slashed across Old Zi's back, leaving a vicious wound with glimpses of pale white spine visible within.
Old Zi was a perception-type ninja, so he hadn't sensed any chakra within Su Xiao, only assuming Su Xiao was skilled in swordsmanship. This cost Old Zi dearly.
Old Zi's body lurched forward as Cyan Steel Shadow energy merged into him, his face twisted in agony.
*Whoosh.*
A sound of breaking wind came—Kisame was swinging Samehada toward Old Zi.
*Bang.*
Samehada slammed into Old Zi's stomach, absorbing a massive surge of chakra. The sword trembled with excitement, its size noticeably increasing.
"Oh? To make Samehada this excited, it seems it really likes your chakra."
*Rip.*
The bandages wrapped around Samehada were torn open, revealing rows of black spikes.
Old Zi flew through the air, his hands instinctively forming seals.
"Lava Release..."
"Crow."
Before Old Zi could complete his jutsu, Itachi, not far away, transformed into a swarm of crows.
"Genjutsu!"
The Four-Tails inside Old Zi immediately released a large amount of chakra, disrupting the chakra structure within Old Zi's body, causing the genjutsu to collapse on its own.
Jinchuriki have a natural advantage—they are immune to most genjutsu. Of course, this depends on the strength of the genjutsu; if it's too powerful, even a jinchuriki can't break it.
Itachi's genjutsu was clearly of the strong variety. Just as Old Zi thought the genjutsu was broken, a massive flock of crows rushed toward him.
In reality, that wasn't the case. There were no crows. In everyone's view, Old Zi stood frozen in place, his hands still in a seal-forming position.
If one looked closely at Itachi's eyes, they would see his Sharingan had already transformed into the Mangekyo form.
Taking advantage of Itachi's momentary control over Old Zi, Su Xiao rushed forward. Blue smoke rose from his left hand as he grabbed Old Zi by the back of the neck.
Blue smoke spread, and a powerful suction force emerged. Su Xiao activated the Devouring Core to its maximum.
Itachi and Kisame were still nearby, so he had to absorb the tailed beast chakra quickly.
A massive amount of tailed beast chakra surged into Su Xiao's body. Both Kisame and Itachi witnessed this but didn't stop him, as Samehada had also absorbed tailed beast chakra earlier.
"Who are you?!"
A roar that only Su Xiao could hear came through—the voice of the Four-Tails.
Su Xiao ignored it. Just as the Four-Tails was about to roar again, a blue smoke enveloped it.
The Four-Tails tried to struggle, but the blue smoke wrapped around it, rendering it completely immobile.
The tailed beast chakra Su Xiao absorbed was stored in an energy orb near his heart. As soon as the tailed beast chakra entered the orb, it began to transform into a colorless energy.
The moment this colorless energy appeared in his body, his Cyan Steel Shadow energy became active, almost instantly enveloping it. The Cyan Steel Shadow energy devoured the colorless energy and began to strengthen.
[Due to absorbing energy converted by the Devouring Core, Cyan Steel Shadow level increased.]
[Cyan Steel Shadow has been raised to...]
At this point, the Four-Tails inside Old Zi was wrapped in blue smoke, with only its head exposed, a look of shock on its face.
"I'm being drained of chakra by a human? No, this is absorbing my primordial power!"
Unlike the One-Tail, the Four-Tails didn't beg for mercy. It struggled fiercely, trying to break free from the blue smoke's restraint.
Old Zi's eyes suddenly snapped open wide—he had broken free from Itachi's genjutsu. But now, he couldn't even speak.
Old Zi's strength wasn't weak, but that was relative. In the original story, Kisame alone took on Old Zi. Now, Old Zi was facing a three-on-one assault.
Su Xiao handled close-quarters suppression, Kisame blocked Old Zi's attacks head-on and used Water Release to counter Old Zi's Lava Release, while Itachi waited for an opportunity to use genjutsu on Old Zi.
If they had been near the lava lake in the center of the Great River Valley, Old Zi might have been able to resist for a while. But he was too confident in his own strength and actively approached Su Xiao's group.
Years of intense training had left Old Zi ignorant of the outside world. He didn't know about the Akatsuki organization and knew little about Su Xiao's group. In the Land of Earth, he rarely encountered opponents, and over time, his confidence turned into arrogance.
Under the combined assault of Su Xiao (melee), Kisame (tank), and Itachi (support and long-range firepower), Old Zi was defeated before he could even use his full strength.
If three of them working together struggled against a Four-Tails jinchuriki, that would be absurd.
After more than ten seconds, Su Xiao's eyes turned a pale blue. Karin, hiding nearby, hugged her shoulders, her body trembling slightly.
"What is this feeling? This is beyond what a human can do."
Karin murmured softly. Su Xiao's pale blue eyes suddenly turned toward her.
"Delicious thing."
"Huh?"
Karin's throat went dry, and fear filled her eyes.
Due to absorbing a massive amount of tailed beast chakra, a blue flame seemed to ignite within Su Xiao's heart.
[Cyan Steel Shadow has been raised to...]
By now, the Four-Tails' main body was emaciated, the light in its eyes dimming. It was dying.
"Bai Ye! Bai Ye!"
Itachi shouted twice, his Mangekyo Sharingan fixed on Su Xiao. He felt that Su Xiao was very dangerous at this moment.
The blue light in Su Xiao's eyes gradually faded. He forcefully suppressed that greedy urge—he couldn't let that desire take control.
After a moment, Su Xiao released Old Zi, who collapsed to the ground with a thud.
A faint burnt smell wafted over. Now clear-headed, Su Xiao looked at his left hand. The metal bracer on his arm was glowing red hot, and the hand inside was severely burned, almost numb.
Old Zi had used a defensive jutsu earlier, raising his body temperature significantly, and Su Xiao's hand had been badly burned.
Though his hand was severely injured, he had gained a lot. Cyan Steel Shadow had increased by 6 levels. For context, levels above Lv.20 required 10 Soul Crystals (Medium) + 5,000 Paradise Coins per level.
Thankfully, he had the Devouring Core ability; otherwise, just upgrading Cyan Steel Shadow and Blade Grandmaster would have bankrupted him.
A numb sensation spread from his left hand, and Su Xiao frowned. This would affect his combat ability.
Kisame walked over, confirmed Old Zi couldn't resist, and hoisted him onto his shoulder with Samehada.
"Progress is smooth, but the jinchuriki is pretty badly injured."
The sword wound on Old Zi's back was shocking, bleeding heavily.
"With a jinchuriki's vitality, this injury won't kill him. Just bandage it simply."
While Kisame and Itachi dealt with Old Zi, Su Xiao walked toward Karin. His left hand was severely burned, and Karin happened to have healing abilities.
"It seems bringing you along was the right choice."
Su Xiao approached Karin, who was already terrified of him, slowly backing away.
"You... what are you going to do?"
"Your chakra feels special to me. It might help me recover from my injuries."
Su Xiao raised his left arm. Karin recalled the scene of Old Zi's chakra being drained earlier.
"Don't 'eat me.' Just bite me."