Chapter 62: My Foolish Little Brother
"Who will win? Of course, it's Itachi."
Zetsu answered without hesitation. This guy's intelligence was the lowest among the few present.
"Heh~ That's not necessarily true."
Black Zetsu's voice was different from White Zetsu's, low and hoarse.
"Bai Ye, who do you favor more?"
At this moment, Obito wasn't disguising his voice. Both Black and White Zetsu knew his identity. His previous disguise was largely to guard against Itachi.
Nagato and Obito were both well aware of Itachi's spy identity. During the night of the Uchiha clan's annihilation, Obito and Itachi had acted together. Within the Akatsuki, Nagato had taken corresponding measures, pairing the absolutely loyal Kisame with Itachi as a team.
Although Itachi commanded the squad's actions, the person Nagato truly trusted was Kisame. To be precise, aside from Konan within the Akatsuki, Kisame was the one Nagato trusted most.
"Who do you favor?"
Su Xiao held a tablet, glancing sideways at Obito.
"Uchiha... Sasuke."
"Oh? His strength is far below Itachi's..."
"How about we make a bet? If Uchiha Sasuke wins, Itachi's eyes belong to me."
Obito fell silent. He had long had his eyes on Itachi's eyes; they were related to a grand plan.
"It seems Bai Ye has high hopes for Sasuke. I favor Itachi more."
Sasuke and Itachi were fighting inside the underground base. Zetsu could see the situation through his clones.
"How's it going inside?"
Obito spoke. Entering that base now was dangerous, not from fear of being caught in the brothers' battle, but from fear that Itachi might drag someone down with him before dying.
"Those two brothers are dueling in genjutsu. Itachi's condition is a bit off... a draw..."
Even White Zetsu couldn't continue. Itachi and Sasuke dueling in genjutsu and ending in a draw? How absurd was that?
"The outcome should be decided soon."
As Obito's words fell, a roar came from afar. The roof of the underground base shattered, smoke and dust surged up, and Itachi flew out from within.
Mid-air, Itachi quickly formed hand seals. Without any visible movement, flames spewed from his mouth, forming a massive fireball.
The flames scorched the large hole in the roof. Moments later, Sasuke appeared on the circular rooftop.
At this moment, Sasuke was bare-chested, a huge fleshy wing sprouting from his back shoulder, his face covered in black markings. This was Orochimaru's Curse Mark.
"Finally out."
Su Xiao grabbed a handful of popcorn from Bubu Wang. Bubu Wang, who had been waiting for a long time, watched the show with rapt attention.
The two brothers in combat began exchanging Great Fireball techniques, flames rising high.
One of Itachi's eyes was tightly shut. When that eye opened, blood flowed from the socket, and black flames appeared—it was Amaterasu.
The black flames of Amaterasu clung to the Great Fireball Sasuke had spat out, actually beginning to burn the fire itself.
Moments later, Sasuke's Great Fireball burned away completely. Itachi's right eye widened, using his line of sight as a focal point, the flames of Amaterasu chased after Sasuke.
Seeing this, Su Xiao completely lost interest and continued playing the puzzle game.
With Itachi's current fighting method, within half an hour, even if Sasuke didn't kill him, he would exhaust himself to death.
The black flames had burned a large semicircle around the battlefield but hadn't reached Su Xiao, so he paid it no mind.
"Itachi wins."
When White Zetsu saw Sasuke being burned by Amaterasu's flames, he had already judged the outcome between the two.
Su Xiao didn't look up. The current Itachi wasn't fighting Sasuke; he was forcing someone out.
"Oh? Orochimaru's substitution style? Sasuke even learned that technique. Did he devour Orochimaru?"
"No, Orochimaru is hiding inside his body."
Obito saw the situation clearly.
"So that's how it is. Then the outcome between those two is uncertain. Maybe the final winner will be Orochimaru."
White Zetsu turned commentator. Bubu Wang ate popcorn, occasionally taking a sip of cola, with White Zetsu commentating on the side. It could only be described as blissful.
Su Xiao focused intently on the tablet. Just as he was about to clear a level, a drop of rain fell on the screen, causing an operational error. The character in the game was almost caught by a beast.
A light drizzle began to fall. Su Xiao was a bit puzzled; just minutes ago, the sky had been clear.
When he looked up at the sky, he understood what was happening.
The sky was covered with dark clouds, blue arcs of electricity flickering within them, rumbling sounds echoing continuously.
"This is... the hot air rising from Sasuke's Fire Style just now? Did that Fire Style technique hit the sky?"
This time, Black Zetsu acted as commentator.
"We... won't be caught in this, will we?"
White Zetsu was a bit worried.
"It's fine."
Black Zetsu glanced at Su Xiao and Obito. As long as these two were here, the battle wouldn't reach them. Even if it did, it wouldn't be a problem.
A lightning bolt shaped like a Kirin was faintly visible within the dark clouds. Su Xiao stared at that lightning Kirin. If this thing struck him, the energy shield with 400 points of strength would definitely be able to defend against it.
Boom!
The lightning Kirin charged down, the battlefield turning a blinding white.
With a crackling sound, an arc of electricity flashed across the tablet in Su Xiao's hand, and black smoke billowed out.
After the lightning dissipated, Itachi, who had been fighting Sasuke, lay on the ground. Sasuke staggered a few steps, nearly falling. The chakra in his body was almost depleted, and he couldn't use any more ninjutsu.
Su Xiao held the tablet, black smoke still rising from it. The popcorn fell from Bubu Wang's mouth as he subconsciously stepped back a few paces.
"I cleared level 796 of the puzzle game!"
Su Xiao wasn't upset about the tablet. Although it was high-tech, it only cost 150 Paradise Coins. He was heartbroken over the puzzle game he had been playing for a long time and had already passed half of.
"You little bastard, I'll kill you."
Su Xiao stood up. Obito nearby was startled.
"Bai Ye, what are you..."
Obito clearly didn't know what had happened.
"Calm down, Bai Ye! Don't forget about the Hashirama Cells. This battle is also part of our deal."
White Zetsu also spoke to persuade him, seeing that Su Xiao was about to go kill Sasuke.
Su Xiao lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.
"Forget it. It's my fault for watching the battle here."
The gloomy sky quickly cleared. Su Xiao's mood improved a bit, and he looked toward the battlefield.
Itachi, who had been lying on the ground, slowly stood up. His arms were covered in burns, and his gaze unconsciously drifted toward where Su Xiao and the others were.
"These people..."
Itachi sighed. He was like a candle in the wind, no longer capable of dealing with those people. Among the three, one had extremely strong swordsmanship, and the other two had incredible survivability. None were easy to deal with.
Glancing at Sasuke, Itachi clearly sensed that Sasuke's chakra was low. A cold, icy chakra was gradually appearing inside Sasuke's body.
"Ah!!"
Sasuke knelt on one knee, the Curse Mark on his neck causing intense pain.
The Curse Mark bulged. Sasuke knew the situation was bad. Orochimaru was coming out, about to devour him.
Eight giant white snakes burst out from the Curse Mark. Sasuke nearly fainted, drool even flowing from his mouth.
Seeing this, Su Xiao in the distance stood up.
Itachi's eyes were tightly shut. When those eyes opened, a faint red energy appeared around him.
The faint red energy quickly formed a massive phantom, enveloping Itachi within. This was the unique ability of the Mangekyo Sharingan: Susanoo.
Itachi's Susanoo was not to be underestimated. In his left hand was the Yata Mirror for defense, and in his right hand was the Totsuka Blade for sealing.
These were two "sacred artifacts" of the Naruto world. They shared one common trait: they targeted the soul.
At this moment, Orochimaru's Eight Branches Technique was in a soul form. Facing these two artifacts, the outcome was predictable.