"Did you do all of this?"
Izumi Uchiha cast an inquiring glance at Orochimaru, who had already told her some things, including the fact that he had taken Sasuke as his disciple.
Upon hearing his words, Orochimaru nodded noncommittally.
"His awakening of Wood Release was also beyond my expectations; his talent is truly remarkable!"
Even Orochimaru had to admit that as the reincarnation of Indra, how bad could one's talent be?
However, their brilliance was overshadowed by Itachi. This was not due to a difference in talent, but rather a difference in their upbringing.
Itachi had experienced the trials of the Third Great Ninja War, while Sasuke lived in a peaceful era.
The reason why the former's performance was more dazzling was due to his combat experience and combat intelligence; Itachi was indeed superior to Sasuke.
But just based on the fact that Sasuke awakened Wood Release by injecting so many Hashirama Cells, Sasuke's talent is already extraordinary!
As Sasuke's hand seal fell, a vast expanse of lush green forest engulfed Susanoo, while Garaga and Eight-Headed Serpent no Orochi pounced upon it.
The wildly growing tree branches entangled Susanoo, while the opponent's Kusanagi Sword relentlessly slashed at the thick tree trunks surrounding it.
Just as they finished dealing with the immediate trouble, Garaga and Eight-Headed Serpent's attack arrived.
Itachi could only use the Yata Mirror to defend against Garaga's attack, and his greatsword slashed at the Eight-Headed Serpent without hesitation.
Several heads were severed by the Kusanagi Sword in succession. When he swung it at the last three heads, a large amount of white liquid suddenly spurted out of the snake's mouth.
When the liquid came into contact with Susanoo, the Susanoo's skeleton visibly began to melt. And that wasn't all; the snake head that had been cut off earlier grew back under the infusion of Sasuke's Chakra.
Holding the tree trunk as if it were alive, it once again submerged Susanoo.
Garaga seized the opportunity to tightly entangle Susanoo. With its exertion, Susanoo was deformed by the constriction, and the skeletal Susanoo seemed on the verge of falling apart.
The Eight-Headed Serpent, the Garaga, and the Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence quickly enveloped Itachi completely. With the combined forces of the three, Sasuke's side was beginning to gain the upper hand.
Before he could even show a confident smile, the Susanoo beneath him began to tremble violently, and Sasuke, standing atop Garaga's head, immediately sensed something was wrong.
Before he could react, the Crimson Flame Sword pierced through Garaga's abdomen, and in pain, Garaga howled to the sky.
With a flick of the greatsword, Garaga and Sasuke were thrown out.
Sasuke, who was completely disoriented from being thrown around, had no time to care about the pain he was in. Once he came to his senses, his eyes were fixed on the center of the battlefield.
An arm, even larger than before, tore through the entangled tree trunk, and with a sweep of the greatsword, the surrounding area was completely cleared away.
Even the Eight-Headed Serpent was not spared; its head was severed in just a few moves.
When Itachi reappeared in front of Sasuke, the appearance of Susanoo behind him had changed drastically.
As if deliberately showing it to Sasuke, Susanoo's skeleton was quickly covered with meridians and flesh, which was Susanoo's second form.
That wasn't all. To counter the corrosive liquid from Eight-Headed Serpent, a set of Tengu Armor was once again placed over Susanoo.
The greatsword in his hand grew even longer and larger, becoming the complete form of the Totsuka Blade!
Even with only the upper body of Susanoo, the Eight-Headed Serpent no Orochi was forced to retreat steadily. Although the snake's heads were cut off one after another like leeks, Sasuke could not withstand such exhaustion.
Before he could cancel the technique, Itachi thoughtfully used the Totsuka Blade to trap Eight-Headed Serpent inside.
"Kid, this opponent is a bit tricky! Use any tricks you have as soon as possible, otherwise I won't be able to hold out for much longer!"
Garaga, who had been stabbed, was in a bad mood. It hadn't experienced such a fierce battle in a long time, and its tone was somewhat solemn!
The last time it was in such a desperate situation, its owner not only didn't stand by its side, but instead stabbed it in the back, and it was at that time that it lost an eye.
Now it will be interesting to see what its new master will do: will he sacrifice it to gain an opportunity, or will he fight alongside it?
These thoughts flashed through Garaga's mind, unknown to outsiders.
Sasuke was not in dire straits, and he would not let it follow in the footsteps of Manda in the Original Work unless absolutely necessary.
"Great! You've gotten stronger, Sasuke!"
Whether it was because the previous attack was effective or because Itachi's body was under too much strain, Itachi coughed up a mouthful of blood as he spoke.
The Susanoo behind him was somewhat unstable, showing signs of regressing to its third form, but it recovered in the blink of an eye.
"Hmph! I'll see how long you can hold out!"
Before he could finish speaking, Sasuke had already completed the hand seals and used Wood Release once again.
"Wood Release: Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"
"Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!"
After transferring his Chakra to the trees, the forest in front of him grew rapidly, and a Wood Golem and a Wood Dragon, which were taller Susanoo, appeared before him.
Upon seeing this, Itachi's expression also turned serious. He decided to stop holding back and let his Susanoo grow back its lower body, becoming the complete form!
Without exchanging many words, the two sides immediately began to fight, and Garaga joined the battle again.
A dragon, a snake, and a Wood Golem —three enormous beasts ganged up on Itachi's Susanoo. There was no other way; if the quality wasn't good enough, they made up for it with quantity.
His Chakra reserves at this time, while not comparable to Hashirama Senju, were certainly not comparable to Itachi's. That was his advantage!
"My goodness! That's amazing! I never knew Sasuke Uchiha up his sleeve!"
White Zetsu stared in astonishment at the scene. If he didn't know that the person in front of him was Sasuke, he would have thought that Hashirama had been Hashirama.
"It seems we have to raise his strength and threat level to a new level!"
Just as the two were whispering to each other, the battle on the battlefield had already reached a fever pitch.
Susanoo's powerful fist slammed straight at the Wood Golem, but it was blocked by the Wood Golem. The Totsuka Blade then arrived at the Wood Golem's head, with Sasuke positioned directly above it.
"Wood Release: Wood Release: Wood Golem Technique!"
A shield shaped like a fanged demon face blocked the slash of the Totsuka Blade.
Just as the opponent's old power was exhausted and new power had not yet been generated, the Wood Dragon on the Wood Golem figure wrapped around Susanoo's body along his arm.
The greatest function of the Wood Dragon is not to strangle the opponent, but to absorb and deplete the opponent's Chakra.
The one responsible for strangling was Garaga, whose wound was flowing with blood, and the more force it exerted, the more blood flowed.
But this guy was ruthless enough, acting like he didn't care about his life, holding off his opponent and buying more time for the Wood Dragon.
In just a short while, the complete Susanoo form regressed to its third form once again.
Itachi, who had been gritting his teeth and holding on just a moment ago, coughed up another mouthful of blood, and the Mangekyō Sharingan in his eyes became slightly unstable, as if it was about to degenerate into Three Tomoe.
Maintaining the Perfect Susanoo requires a great deal of energy from the Sharingan.
Seemingly knowing that things couldn't continue like this, Itachi decisively withdrew Susanoo. However, as he dodged backward, his right eye blinked, and streaks of black flame appeared on the Wood Golem and the Wood Dragon.
"Amaterasu!"
Sasuke was shocked to see this, but he was a beat too slow. Itachi's first attack was aimed at him.
It wasn't that Itachi was heartless, but rather that he believed his younger brother had the ability to handle such a situation.
Fortunately, Sasuke released the Summoning Jutsu the moment he was hit, otherwise Garaga would have met his end here today.
The Wood Golem Wood Dragon were submerged by Amaterasu, so there was no need to pay attention to them.
After a moment of panic, Sasuke quickly came up with a way to escape and unhesitatingly used the Orochimaru-Style Body Replacement Technique...