Chapter 61: Oh, Foolish Second Pillar
"Go back and keep watch over Orochimaru's stronghold. Later, someone will come to find you. Go with him, and tell him..."
"Um... hold on." Karin mustered her courage to speak.
"Am I your spy now? How are you going to control me?"
After saying this, Karin focused intently on observing Su Xiao's expression.
Su Xiao looked Karin up and down. He suspected this woman had persecution mania. Aside from shooting her once, he hadn't really hurt her that much. Was he really that terrifying?
Although Su Xiao thought this, the reality was that in Karin's mind, he was completely a great demon king.
"Spy? No. Don't interrupt me."
"Mm, mm."
Karin nodded quickly, like a chick pecking at rice.
"As I said before, go back and keep watch over Orochimaru's stronghold. If someone comes to find you, go with him. Whether you become his subordinate is your own judgment. You only need to tell him one sentence."
"What sentence?"
"If he wants to avenge Itachi, he can come find me at Divine Rainbow Mountain in the Land of Fire."
Karin organized her thoughts and finally nodded.
"There's enough food for five days. As for fresh water, eat snow for the first few days. After leaving the Land of Iron, figure it out yourself. If there's no river water, drink dew."
"Dew..."
Karin really wanted to complain. She wasn't a grasshopper; why did she have to drink dew?
"Understood?"
"Completely understood, word for word. I'll go back to Orochimaru's stronghold first, then wait for someone to find me, and tell him that if he wants to avenge Itachi, he can find you at Divine Rainbow Mountain."
"Good comprehension. Accomplish this, and the next time we meet, I won't kill you."
Karin calmed her emotions. Although her heart was full of doubts, she knew she was temporarily safe.
"Still not leaving? Or do you want me to 'escort' you?"
"Goodbye!"
Karin turned and ran, faster than a rabbit, even making Bubu Wang turn his head to watch.
"Wouldn't it be simpler to have your younger brother come find you directly?"
Su Xiao looked at a crow not far away. The crow was watching the retreating Karin.
"Forget it. As a teammate, doing this small favor for you is no problem. Just don't forget to pay me after you take your brother Sasuke's eyes."
Su Xiao mounted Bubu Wang, who ran out of the snowy plains. Moments later, Itachi appeared.
The earlier Amaterasu was because Itachi had already sensed Obito's identity. Although he wasn't sure of the specifics, he knew Obito was of the Uchiha clan.
"This should be fine. From here on, it's up to you, Sasuke."
A gentle smile appeared on Itachi's face. He had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, and had done many things he was reluctant to do for its sake.
...
Three days later, in a mountain range.
This mountain range was located within the Land of Fire. Because at sunrise, one peak resembled a giant sitting cross-legged, the locals called it Divine Mountain and would offer sacrifices there regularly. Until one time after rain, a rainbow appeared on this 'Divine Mountain' stretching straight to the sky, earning it the name Divine Rainbow Mountain.
"996, 997, 998, 999... 1000!"
Boom! Su Xiao dropped the boulder he had been holding above his head, drenched in sweat.
He went to the river to wash himself. He had been waiting here for two days, and conservatively estimated he would need to wait a few more days.
With nothing to do, Su Xiao opened his skill list. He hadn't had a chance to check the previous upgrade to his Azure Steel Shadow's level.
【Azure Steel Shadow (Active Skill)】
Usage Condition: After activating (Azure Steel Shadow), the Hunter consumes 62 mana points per minute (increased by 12 mana consumption). Automatically deactivates when mana falls below 1%.
Skill Effect: After activating (Azure Steel Shadow), each melee attack burns 130 mana points from the enemy (increased by 30), and deals true damage equal to the burned mana value plus 9% of the enemy's lost mana (increased by 1%). The enemy will suffer intense pain from the mana burn.
Lv.20 Additional Ability:
Controller: Can highly concretize Azure Steel Shadow energy into three forms.
Form One, Demon Hunting: This is the basic form of Azure Steel Shadow, burning enemy mana and dealing true damage.
Form Two, Proud Song: This is the defensive form, capable of generating an energy shield of any shape to defend against enemy attacks. The shield's strength is related to the mana consumed, with a single-use mana consumption cap of 400 points (increased by 100 points cap).
Form Three, Azure Shadow King (Not Awakened)
...
The improvement to Azure Steel Shadow was significant, both in the increase of mana burned and the 9% true damage based on the enemy's lost mana.
Although both increases were considerable, the biggest improvement was the energy shield from the 'Proud Song' ability.
Su Xiao wasn't sure what a 400-mana-point energy shield meant. Since he had nothing to do, he decided to test it.
Extending his palm forward, an energy shield two meters wide and three meters tall appeared.
This energy shield was a light blue color, with darker edges. It seemed an energy line was running along the edge. The entire shield was crystal clear, not like it was made of energy, but rather carved from light blue crystal.
Su Xiao raised his hand and tapped the energy shield, producing a clear *clink clink* sound.
He clenched his left fist and smashed it, wrapped in a red metal gauntlet, against the energy shield.
Boom!
A shockwave spread out. Su Xiao's mouth twisted, keeping his punching pose motionless. His hand hurt badly, even though his fingers were wrapped in metal.
Bubu Wang, who was sleeping nearby, was startled awake by the noise, kicking his hind legs.
A resentful look appeared in his eyes. Bubu Wang sighed and lay back down on his fluffy front paws to continue sleeping.
After discovering his fist couldn't break the shield, Su Xiao drew the Dragon-Slaying Flash from his waist.
A clanging sound rang out. Su Xiao put all his strength into each slash. After ten minutes of furious hacking, he was panting heavily, hands on his knees, with Dragon-Slaying Flash stuck in the ground beside his foot.
Looking up, the energy shield in front of him was as clean as new, though its strength had slightly decreased because ten minutes had passed. This thing would make enemies doubt their own existence.
Su Xiao dismissed the energy shield. He had been thinking about how to develop the energy shield, but hadn't come up with any ideas for the moment.
His initial thought was to step on the energy shield for a double jump, or even multiple jumps, to achieve a flight-like effect.
This idea died in its infancy because the energy shield was centered on him. This made it absolutely impossible to jump off the energy shield. Jumping off the energy shield was as absurd as stepping on your left foot to jump with your right. Su Xiao and the energy shield shared the same gravity.
As for other development methods, although he had some ideas, they required extensive experimentation.
His energy shield should be developed for defense and functionality. For offense, the blade in his hand was enough.
After studying the energy shield for a while, Su Xiao began practicing his swordsmanship again. Although his swordsmanship had reached a level where improvement through practice was very difficult, he never stopped training himself.
Tired, he slept. Woke up, continued practicing swordsmanship. And so, five days passed in the blink of an eye.
Although time within the derivative world was precious, he couldn't leave now.
It wasn't until the morning of the sixth day that the aerial guard detected humans approaching.
【Biological entity detected, scanning...】
【Entity identified as human, four in total. Database analysis complete. Identities obtained.】
【Uchiha Sasuke, Karin, Suigetsu Hōzuki, Jūgo.】