A large amount of chakra surged from Itachi's body, forming a wild skeletal shape. Its defensive power rapidly increased, freeing him from the pull of Uchiha Obito's ocular power.
Tobi babbled, "His ocular power has increased again. He's awakened Susanoo, which can only be wielded by those who have unlocked the Mangekyō Sharingan. Susanoo is both offense and defense. I wonder how far he can take it?"
Uchiha Obito rose high into the air. Beneath his mask, his Mangekyō Sharingan glimmered with an eerie light. "Konoha can't have Uchiha Itachi around. Otherwise, he'll become an even greater obstacle to our future plans. I've already thought of a way to force Uchiha Itachi to leave Konoha. I should also thank him for inspiring me. I never knew the Mangekyō Sharingan held even greater power."
Itachi remained perfectly calm and seized the chance to attack.
The attack passed through Uchiha Obito's body without doing any harm.
"Is this one of your abilities, too?" Itachi continued expanding the range of his attack.
Using Kamui, Uchiha Obito made his body intangible and moved beyond the perimeter of Itachi's Susanoo. Raising his voice, he said, "Uchiha Itachi, look around you. The Uchiha Clan's destruction wasn't caused by our attack alone. If no one inside Konoha had passed us information, our plans could never have been so complete. In fact, our operation has already succeeded. I'll tell you a secret: Shimura Danzō was the main force behind this massacre. As long as he lives, your family can't live safely in Konoha."
The two were locked in a stalemate. Neither could defeat the other.
Itachi's thoughts were unfathomable. "Do you think I'll believe the words of an enemy?"
Uchiha Obito took a step to the left. "It doesn't matter whether you believe me. The Akatsuki in the Land of Rain will always welcome you. When the time comes, I'll tell you myself how grand my goal is. I'm the only one who can put an end to the eternal hatred between ninjas."
A Kamui vortex appeared, and Uchiha Obito and Tobi parted ways with Uchiha Itachi.
Itachi was exhausted. Susanoo vanished, and a sharp pain flared in his eyes.
"Dad, wake up." Uchiha Itachi found Fugaku Uchiha unconscious beneath the rubble and gently shook his head.
On Manda's head, Orochimaru rebuked Kisame. "This is my territory. If you dare interfere with me and ruin my plans, I might just attack you."
Kisame flew into a rage. He wasn't afraid of Orochimaru. "Come and try it, you slippery snake."
Just then, Uchiha Obito appeared beside Kisame. He surveyed the scene, his eyes shifting slightly. "Kisame, don't act rashly. Orochimaru is still our ally for now. We've already lost Sasori. If we lose Orochimaru too, our strength will take a serious hit."
Kisame snorted, walked behind Uchiha Obito, and began recovering.
"So that's the variable you mentioned?" Uchiha Obito pointed at Naruto. "Blond hair, blue eyes, and he looks a lot like Minato Namikaze. Is he that child?"
Tobi giggled and wiggled his hips. "He's special. You might not be able to beat him at full strength."
Tobi had fought Naruto himself. Under Naruto's gaze, Tobi had failed to use his Wooden Golem Substitution Technique, and Naruto's Wind Style: Rasenshuriken had sliced him in half. Tobi hadn't told Uchiha Obito about that, but he offered a warning now.
Uchiha Obito didn't know why Tobi had reached that conclusion. No matter how strong a child was, if his attacks couldn't hit me, how could I possibly lose?
"Let's watch for now!" Uchiha Obito decided not to act unless a good opportunity presented itself.
Naruto keenly realized that Orochimaru seemed to be showing off his strength rather than intending to attack. He immediately deactivated the Eight Inner Gates so his body could recover as quickly as possible.
"Sasuke, is Orochimaru interested in you?" Naruto read the situation and noticed that ever since Orochimaru had appeared, he hadn't taken his eyes off Sasuke. "It's different when you're good-looking. You appeal to both the young and the old."
Sasuke didn't want to joke around with Naruto. "Orochimaru killed so many of my clan. If I ever gain enough strength to surpass him, I'll kill him with my own hands."
Shisui added, "Orochimaru's summoning beast, Manda, is the embodiment of evil. The scales covering his body can withstand attacks from Chunin-level ninjutsu. He's fast, and his attacks are powerful. We're in a bad spot."
Sasuke ground his teeth. "If we had a few more years to train, there's no way I'd be weaker than these people."
Naruto asked, "Big Brother Shisui, what Hand Seals do you use for the Summoning Jutsu? Can anyone summon a beast?"
"There are many kinds of summoning," Shisui explained. "Orochimaru's Manda is a contract summon. He's a giant snake from Ryūchi Cave, which is located within a barrier somewhere in the Shinobi World. Ordinary ninjas have a hard time getting in."
"Ninjas sign contracts with intelligent summoning beasts, sometimes at a price. But those beasts are all incredibly powerful."
"Then there are raised summons. You tame capable beasts in the Shinobi World, raise them, and leave a summoning mark on them. You can then store them in a scroll and summon them whenever you need help in battle."
"Some don't need to be stored in scrolls, because certain support-type summoning beasts have their own barrier-bound habitats."
"Finally, there's the most common kind: scroll summoning. The scroll's seal connects to space-time, letting you store whatever you want inside it. This kind of Summoning Jutsu is also the most expensive."
"Big Brother Shisui, can you use the Summoning Technique?" Naruto wanted to learn. "I want to see."
Orochimaru was right in front of them, watching like a tiger eyeing its prey, and there was a giant snake, too. Yet Naruto was in the mood to learn the Summoning Technique from Big Brother Shisui. It was unbelievable.
Sasuke was speechless!
Shisui cut his finger and formed Hand Seals.
Smoke billowed.
A crow appeared and landed on Shisui's shoulder.
"This is the Summoning Technique. My summoning beast is a crow. Before I lost my sight, I could use my Sharingan to control crows and scout the enemy. I could also use them to deliver messages." Shisui knew Naruto would learn it after seeing it once.
Naruto was eager to try. "I'll summon something too. I hope it works."
Melon-Skin System, the Summoning Technique doesn't count as a particularly complicated space-time technique, does it?
No. The system has prepared a surprise for you, host.
There's a surprise, too? Could my summoning beast be incredibly powerful?
Naruto said to Sasuke, "Move aside. I might summon an even stronger beast and have it stomp this snake to death."
"I'm beginning to realize just how naive you are," Sasuke remarked.
Naruto cut his finger. A drop of blood fell, and he successfully formed the Hand Seals for the Summoning Technique.
The seal rapidly spread across the ground.
Ten percent of the chakra in Naruto's body was consumed.
A golden-yellow creature with fluffy fur all over its body, a pair of Fiery Eyes, six ears on either side, and bared teeth appeared, looking mighty and imposing.
"Who disturbed my beauty sleep? I'm Liu Er!"
Before you continue