Susanoo

Uchiha Itachi exploded!

No, it should have been Uchiha Itachi's clone that exploded.

Clone Great Explosion was an A-rank ninjutsu created by Uchiha Itachi. By injecting chakra into a Shadow Clone, it could cause an explosion of immense power.

As the explosion rang out, enormous clouds of dust and waves of fire spread in all directions. In that instant, Sasori's Hiruko shell was blasted directly into fragments.

Soon, a handsome red-haired figure charged out from the flames.

It was Sasori's true body, transformed into a Human Puppet!

Once everyone realized that Itachi's body had been a Shadow Clone, they immediately sensed the direction of Uchiha Itachi's chakra.

Orochimaru, the Six Paths of Pain, and Konan immediately redirected all their attacks toward the edge of the waterfall.

The two giant pythons from Orochimaru's sleeves lunged toward Uchiha Itachi, their jaws tearing at him.

However, after using his Shadow Clone to draw everyone's attention, the battle-ready Uchiha Itachi had already finished forming his hand seals.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

He raised his head slightly, looked at the two giant pythons, and spat out an enormous fireball.

The two giant pythons were still in midair when the overwhelming flames engulfed them.

The colossal snakes were burned away inch by inch, their bodies turning to ash.

But Uchiha Itachi's crisis had only just begun.

The missiles on the Asura Path's wrists bombarded Uchiha Itachi before anyone else could attack.

Yet Itachi flashed rapidly across the ground. Each time he reappeared, he precisely evaded another shell.

Once the Asura Path's assault ended, Uchiha Itachi charged toward Orochimaru first.

Surrounded by so many enemies, he had to break through one weak point if he wanted any chance of escaping alive.

And Orochimaru's soul, having changed bodies repeatedly through Living Corpse Reincarnation, had extremely poor resistance to genjutsu. Uchiha Itachi had experienced that himself years ago.

"Summoning Technique!"

At that moment, the Animal Path's voice rang out.

A gigantic Three-Headed Hellhound and a Giant Bird flying through the air, their Rinnegan eyes reflecting Itachi's figure, charged toward Uchiha Itachi.

Uchiha Itachi could not use Sage Mode. He could not overturn these two beasts barehanded as Naruto could.

If those two summoned beasts struck him, he would most likely be severely injured!

But at that moment, the three tomoe in Uchiha Itachi's eyes shifted into Mangekyō Sharingan, and the windmill-like patterns in his eyes spun rapidly.

He raised his head slightly. A bloody tear streamed from his left eye as he glared fiercely at the two summoned beasts.

"Amaterasu!"

Black flames immediately began to burn.

The Three-Headed Hellhound, which possessed the ability to split apart, feared flames most of all—let alone the inextinguishable flames of Amaterasu.

Unable even to use its splitting ability, the Three-Headed Dog collapsed to the ground and howled in agony.

The Giant Bird in the air fell straight from the sky, releasing a piercing shriek.

Nagato, who controlled the Animal Path, furrowed his brow.

Uchiha Itachi's movements had only paused for an instant when he unleashed Amaterasu. He still rushed toward Orochimaru at top speed.

Orochimaru froze for a moment, then a longing smile appeared on his face.

"Itachi-kun, are you planning to use genjutsu to deal with me first, then look for a chance to escape? What astonishing combat instincts!"

Orochimaru saw through Uchiha Itachi's intentions at once. Naturally, he would not give Itachi that opportunity.

The genjutsu in Itachi's right eye, Tsukuyomi, was powerful and difficult to deal with once caught in it, but it had one fatal weakness: its casting range was only five meters!

"I can't let Itachi get close. I don't want to experience the Mangekyō Sharingan's genjutsu again..." Orochimaru licked his lips, a savage gleam in his eyes.

Orochimaru rapidly formed hand seals. As the distance between him and Uchiha Itachi shrank, his hands moved faster and faster.

"Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique!"

Orochimaru used Kirigakure's signature ninjutsu with consummate mastery. Pale white mist quickly obscured his figure.

But this technique was clearly meant to conceal one's body for assassination. Why was Orochimaru using it for defense? Doubt arose in Itachi's heart.

Orochimaru soon gave him the answer. With a vicious, sinister grin, he slammed both hands onto the ground and roared:

"Crystal Release: Crystal Shuriken!"

The water vapor in the air crystallized under Orochimaru's Crystal Release Kekkei Genkai, transforming into sharp crystal shuriken. Their sheer number and vast range astonished even Uchiha Itachi.

Those crystals were incredibly hard and exceptionally sharp.

Whether stone or steel, anything before these hardened crystals could easily be pierced and shattered!

Uchiha Itachi came to an abrupt stop.

"Crystal Release?" His eyes filled with disbelief. Though he did not know how Orochimaru had obtained this Kekkei Genkai, it was obvious that he could no longer approach Orochimaru.

The crystals covered an enormous area. If he continued forward, even if he avoided their attacks, he would still be enveloped within the range of the Hiding in Mist Technique.

From Orochimaru's earlier display, he understood Crystal Release's ability: it crystallized tangible matter. Orochimaru had released the Hiding in Mist Technique to fill the air with moist droplets of water.

Several flashes of insight crossed his mind, and Uchiha Itachi rapidly retreated.

Fireballs shot from his mouth one after another, knocking down a large swath of red crystals in the air.

"Attack! Don't give him another chance!"

Seeing that Orochimaru was unharmed, the Deva Path immediately turned to Uchiha Itachi.

"Shinra Tensei!"

Powerful repulsive force pressed down upon Uchiha Itachi's body.

Once the Deva Path gave the order, everyone launched overwhelming attacks against Uchiha Itachi at once.

Giant pythons, sheets of paper, puppets, poisoned hidden weapons, and the red puppets in the sky all spewed flames together.

Uchiha Itachi's body stiffened.

Red blood flowed from both Mangekyō Sharingan.

Just as those attacks were about to strike him, a dense layer of crimson chakra covered his entire body.

"Susanoo!"

Boom!

The ground shattered as a gigantic crimson chakra giant rose upon it!

A massive chakra sword formed in the giant's right hand, sweeping horizontally through everything before it.

All the paper was slashed into scraps, and the giant pythons were cut into bloody pulp.

After dispersing those attacks, a huge chakra shield formed in the giant's left hand.

The dense flames spewed by the puppets and the repulsive force field unleashed by the Deva Path were all blocked by the shield in the giant's hand!

Uchiha Itachi's Susanoo, along with the divine artifacts Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror!

At the sight of the crimson chakra giant, the greed in Orochimaru's eyes was so intense that he nearly wanted to gouge out Itachi's eyes and implant them into himself immediately.

"Keep attacking! He's already at the end of his rope!"