Slay to Break the Deadlock

[Demon Flute: Dreamlike Sound Lock]

They opened with indiscriminate attacks, and quite a few samurai were caught in the Sound ninja's techniques, suffering all kinds of symptoms.

Wails and explosions rang out nonstop. The sound waves produced by blowing chakra-infused flutes triggered small explosions all around them. Several Anbu experts reacted quickly and dodged, but they still looked rather battered.

[Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall]

Kakashi Hatake slammed his palm against the ground, and a towering wall instantly cut them off from the outside world.

[Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet]

[Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique]

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In an instant of coordination, the two streams of chakra swept up the surrounding earth along with the mud. The blazing heat was immediately extinguished by cold water, and in the blink of an eye, most of the ground within the combined technique—the Four Violet Flames Formation—melted into mud, enveloping everyone inside.

After only a brief exchange, they could coordinate without a word.

The Anbu's teamwork had already reached an almost flawless level, but that was simply the standard they were supposed to meet.

The Anbu were the elite of a ninja village. As the village's sharpest blade, they protected the Hokage and carried out extreme missions in the shadows. Anyone without real skill would have long since been left to rot in the wilderness.

The water vapor around them further reduced visibility.

They had come to carry out an assassination in the first place. Even if their identities were exposed, it didn't matter. Those great nations might sanctimoniously condemn them on the surface, but once the deed was done, there was nothing they could do to stop it.

Besides, who would dare provoke the Land of Fire, which had stood alone against two great nations during three Ninja World Wars?

"Dammit, they're this troublesome?"

"So these are the Anbu?"

The Sound Four felt the pressure as well. Their ninjutsu had failed to put the enemy under serious pressure right away, which came as a major surprise.

These Sound ninjutsu were secret weapons Orochimaru had developed for them to catch their enemies off guard.

They had originally planned to show off their might during this hunt for Anbu ninja.

"Dammit, is this the power of ninja? Oh, Mom, it's burning! Save me!"

Ishiyama Sanae's face had gone deathly pale. Even as a daimyo who had weathered countless storms, he had long thrown away his so-called gentlemanly demeanor and regal dignity when faced with this scene.

After all, the line between life and death was when a person's true nature was exposed.

In mere moments, the two sides exchanged dozens of blows in that cramped space, shifting from taijutsu to ninjutsu. Violent, chaotic chakra continuously battered the red barrier of the Four Violet Flames Formation.

Even a defense reputed to be the strongest had begun to ripple, weaken, and leak energy.

"Fighting alongside these beasts really is troublesome."

Itachi gritted his teeth. He wanted to end this quickly, but the enemy's techniques were too well-rounded. How could they possibly give him the chance? Taking advantage of the gap, he had already secretly cut down several more samurai—vermin who usually preyed on ordinary people.

No matter how many of them died, it would be no great loss.

"Got you."

A fat man who had undergone Curse Mark Transformation suddenly burst out from the smoke at the side. His pupils and eyes had long been dyed black by the Curse Mark, while countless twisted veins resembling tiny snakes bulged across his face. After all, that power placed an enormous burden on their bodies.

He had been waiting for this chance for a long time. How could subordinates like them not know how much Lord Orochimaru coveted those Sharingan?

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Orochimaru had also waited a long time for this opportunity. A swarm of venomous snakes burst from the ground, attacking Itachi from below in a pincer assault.

As long as he was touched by the snake venom even slightly, then even if the daimyo was assassinated today, Orochimaru's gains would far outweigh his losses. He had long wanted to witness the power of this Bloodline Limit.

It was a power capable of breaking the limits of the flesh.

"Caw, caw, caw!"

Countless crows flew everywhere. Itachi directly used the Substitution Technique to replace his original body, but Orochimaru seemed to have anticipated his ninjutsu. As a grandmaster who had pursued every form of ninjutsu, how could he not have studied his mortal enemy's techniques?

No one fell into the same pit twice.

And the real body was that crow at the very top. As long as he caught it, he could still severely injure him!

"Itachi, I've got you."

Orochimaru sneered. Then, another Sound ninja swooped down from above with a sharp sword. The sword light flashed like a hare rising and a falcon diving, and blood suddenly sprayed through the air.

Caught by this sudden change, that massive crow was split in two and fell to the ground. Its cloudy eyes twitched incessantly. The vice captain's severe injury immediately shocked every member of the Anbu.

"Itachi!"

Oda Misuzu's face drained of color. It was also her first time seeing Itachi suffer such a serious injury. Those crows were manifestations of his genjutsu, and if they could bleed, that could only mean—

Boom!

Those crows suddenly transformed into countless fluttering black flames, as though they could cling to the air itself and burn. Yet the eerie black fire drifted lightly like ghost flames. Several Sound ninja foolishly touched even a little of it, and their screams immediately sounded like the wails of vicious ghosts.

"My hand!"

"How can this be? This fire won't go out!"

"Don't touch me, you bastard!"

"Cut off his hand!"

"Could you stop shaking? The blade's melting, dammit!"

"Mom, save me!"

"I want to go home!"

"Why won't it go out even after my hand fell off? Ahhh, it hurts so much!"

"Fuck, my hand! Ahhh, you cut the wrong one! If you wanted to cut someone, cut him! Why did you cut me?!"

For a time, those black flames completely took over the battlefield. Like infernal fire, they burned the most pitiful demons and monsters in the world. The sickening stench of scorched flesh filled the air, pungent enough to sting the eyes.

Quite a few ninja who had been eager to gang up on them were nearly hit. Even the battle-hardened Anbu ninja vomited repeatedly.

"What... is this? Is it over already?"

Kakashi Hatake could hardly believe it, and traces of his breakfast still lingered at the corner of his mouth.

He had never expected that this boy, who was several years younger than him, would display such overwhelming ability on the battlefield. Damn it.

Was this talent? He called himself a genius, yet he was nothing more than a firefly trying to compete with the sun and moon before this man.

Even Orochimaru wore a stunned expression, as though he had been struck by lightning.

"That's practically a small ninja army."

He could feel his hands trembling. These were the talented people of Otogakure that he had painstakingly cultivated with countless efforts. With these pillars, he had originally even been able to challenge the Five Great Nations.

Yet all that capital was reduced to ashes in those strange flames. There was no time to put them out. Those people could only endure the torment as their flesh slowly burned away to reveal white bones. Death and the stench of burning covered the ground, yet the culprit could not be found.

Itachi Uchiha was only eleven years old. Even compared to Orochimaru's own talent in his youth—

"I'm getting more and more interested in you. You always bring me so many surprises, Itachi Uchiha."

Orochimaru felt as though he were about to tremble.

Was it pleasure?

He still remembered meeting little Itachi before. Their conversation had begun with the meaning of life, and at the time, his beloved disciple had just died.

"What is the meaning of life?"

"There is none. A brief life has no meaning unless it is eternal."

That was how he remembered answering.

It had merely been the decadence and extremism born from losing someone important to him.

But he realized that now, he truly seemed to possess a real meaning for life, and the answer had always been so close to him.

It was this man.

"They're nothing but ants. Seeing an eagle crouched upon the ground, they delude themselves into thinking they can stand beside it. But on the day it truly spreads its wings and takes flight, you will discover just how ignorant and naive you really are."

Itachi's voice descended from the sky. A hurricane surged overhead as countless people looked toward the figure beneath the sun's shadow. The blinding sunlight made it nearly impossible for any of them to open their eyes, while that majestic voice seemed like a god descending into their world.