Chapter 59: You Can't Escape
"Orochimaru is dead?"
Deidara was clearly in disbelief. He had fought Orochimaru before and knew a thing or two about the man's survivability.
"Who did it? Anyone who can kill Orochimaru is no ordinary person."
"Not sure."
Konan shook her head. She had only received news of Orochimaru's death; the specifics were unknown.
"Uchiha Sasuke."
Black Zetsu suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse.
"Uchiha?"
Everyone present looked at Itachi.
"If I remember correctly, that's Itachi's younger brother."
Kisame, being Itachi's teammate, knew more about Itachi's situation.
"Itachi's younger brother?"
Nagato frowned deeply. If the Uchiha clan had a pair of brothers, the implications were vastly different. If both brothers awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, transplanting each other's eyes would allow them to awaken the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and above that, the Rinnegan.
Su Xiao had always had a thought: for the Uchiha brothers to obtain the Eternal Mangekyo, they needed to transplant each other's eyes. With the Eternal Mangekyo, the burden of using ocular jutsu on the body decreased, and there was no decline in vision.
What would happen if the two brothers swapped eyes? Wouldn't that result in two pairs of Eternal Mangekyo?
Of course, this was just Su Xiao's speculation. Whether it held true was unknown, and it was likely invalid, otherwise Eternal Mangekyo wouldn't be so rare.
"Senior Itachi, is your younger brother also a rogue ninja?"
Obito suddenly spoke, but Itachi remained silent.
"Senior Itachi, why not let your younger brother join the Akatsuki..."
As Obito finished speaking, he found a pair of blood-red eyes staring at him—Itachi, who had already activated his Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Senior Itachi?"
"Amaterasu!"
Blood flowed from Itachi's eye sockets, and Obito's pupils contracted sharply.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Boom.
A powerful repulsive force radiated from the Tendo Path. This force wasn't just aimed at the Amaterasu flames; Su Xiao and the others were also affected.
A shield costing 100 mana points materialized in front of Su Xiao. With a crack, fine fissures appeared on the energy shield, but he stood motionless.
"Itachi!"
Tendo looked at Itachi, not expecting him to strike so suddenly and with such ruthless means.
"Oh my? What just happened?"
'Obito' looked bewildered, though his body had already become intangible.
"Obito, teasing a senior like that will get you killed."
Su Xiao spoke, and Obito let out a few dry laughs.
"Sorry, sorry, Senior... Itachi."
Itachi still said nothing, silently walking out of the cave. Kisame hesitated for a moment before choosing to leave with Itachi.
"Bai Ye, keep an eye on Itachi. If you notice anything wrong, find a chance to get close and kill him."
Tendo left this low command before leaving the cave with Konan.
"What a harmonious and beautiful scene."
Deidara chuckled and also left. Internal strife in the Akatsuki was normal; this place gathered too many unruly rogue ninjas.
Only Su Xiao and 'Obito'—or rather, Obito—remained in the cave.
"Is this already a disdain for concealment?"
Obito spoke, using his own voice.
"Who knows. It's unlikely given Itachi's personality. This might be a warning."
"A warning... that's possible." Obito pondered for a moment before speaking lowly, "Leave the rest to me. As payment for the Hashirama cells."
"Mm. Aren't you afraid Itachi will kill his brother? After all, no one wants to die."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Obito let out a cold laugh.
"He won't. Itachi would do many things for his brother. His thinking is strange—he could annihilate his own clan for the village's peace, but he can't bear to kill this brother."
Space around Obito twisted, and he vanished.
Su Xiao stood still, lighting a cigarette. Because of his actions in joining the Akatsuki, the original plot was essentially half-collapsed. For instance, Deidara hadn't gone after Sasuke.
The Akatsuki's numbers were dwindling. Originally ten main members, three were dead, and the rest were either about to die or on the path to seeking death.
If they were so strong in group battles, why did they keep going one by one? Was Nagato brainless?
Not at all. The Akatsuki operating in teams of two to three was already the limit. Back in the Sasori squad, internal conflicts happened no fewer than five times. If all ten acted together, they might kill each other before even taking down the enemy.
These rogue ninjas were indeed powerful, but each had their own independent thoughts and convictions.
"This is falling apart."
Su Xiao exhaled a puff of blue smoke. He wasn't worried about whether the Akatsuki disbanded; he had already absorbed the chakra of two tailed beasts.
"But where have the other contractors gone?"
Su Xiao slowly walked out of the cave.
...
On the snowy mountains of the Land of Iron, a woman in thin clothing ran quickly across the snow, leaving a trail of footprints.
After running for a long time, she stopped, panting heavily, and collapsed into the snow, facing the sky. Her red hair slid from her shoulders to her chest.
"Ha... haha..."
The woman couldn't believe she had escaped the devil's clutches. She repeatedly checked if her chakra was stable and if there were any signs of being caught in a genjutsu.
After multiple checks, she finally felt at ease. She had indeed escaped. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Finally, I don't have to see that demon anymore."
Karin had never been this happy. Because a dead-eyed member of the Akatsuki had been 'negligent in his watch,' she had managed to escape by sheer luck.
"Oh? Don't have to see who?"
Su Xiao stood behind Karin, a cigarette between his fingers.
Hearing this voice, Karin's eyes widened, her pupils contracted to the extreme, and her calves trembled uncontrollably.
"You, you, you..."
"Heh~"
Su Xiao let out a light laugh, looking down at Karin.
"Running away without even removing the bomb? Do you think you can survive? An alchemy bomb inside a human body lasts at most half a month. After that, it explodes due to structural instability."
Karin lowered her head. She knew full well there was a bomb in her abdomen, but she would rather risk escaping than stay in the Akatsuki.
Su Xiao crouched down and pressed Karin into the snow. She didn't move, seemingly resigned.
"Ugh~"
Karin let out a dry heave, spitting out a small alchemy bomb.
"Is this... the bomb?"
Karin looked utterly incredulous.
"If it weren't a bomb, do you think you could lay eggs from your mouth?"
Su Xiao glanced at the saliva-covered alchemy bomb and abandoned the idea of retrieving it. He took out a winter coat and tossed it to Karin, along with a map and some food.
"Look here."
Su Xiao pointed to a spot on the map. Karin was stunned, her mind struggling to keep up.
"This is your current location... If you space out again, I'll kill you."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Karin quickly nodded. Though she didn't understand what was happening, the current situation suggested he wasn't going to kill her.
"This is your location."
Su Xiao tapped a point on the map—the border of the Land of Iron. Karin memorized that spot firmly.
"What did you do for Orochimaru before?"
"Guarded... guarded the southern base."
"Go back and keep guarding."
"Huh?"
Karin was even more bewildered. Even if she could go back, Orochimaru would be merciful not to kill her.
"Don't worry. Orochimaru is already dead."
"Lord Orochimaru is dead?!"
"Yes. Remember every word I say next without missing a single one. Otherwise, the next time we meet will be your death."
Karin felt like crying. She never wanted to see Su Xiao again.