Nanoscopic Venomous Insects

"..."

An awkward silence filled the air.

Two seconds later, Itachi suddenly spoke. "Careful, his mouth is filthy."

"I could tell!"

The tiger-masked man's voice was cold and hard, and a flicker of surprise flashed through his eyes.

What did this brat mean?

Was he simply foul-mouthed, or had he... seen through something?

Kurenai Yuhi's mouth twitched as well, leaving her somewhat speechless.

When she had first fought Shu, he had been sharp-tongued too, but he had merely looked down on her strength. From what she had seen during their time together, he truly had the right to be arrogant.

But this time, it was pure personal abuse.

Still, as a teammate, it actually felt pretty satisfying to hear!

With such powerful aggression, it felt like they had already crushed the other side in terms of momentum before the fight had even begun.

Kurenai frowned. "Uchiha Itachi, attacking a fellow ninja from the same village without authorization—you know what you're doing, don't you?"

Itachi fell silent for a moment. He had no choice.

The Uchiha's situation was already too urgent to delay. The notice had been posted, and only by dealing with Shu as quickly as possible could he possibly turn things around.

To make sure Shu would come out, he could only target someone Shu knew. Yet Shu's social circle was pitifully small. Aside from Hazuki and Izumi, who stayed by his side, Kurenai Yuhi was the only one relatively close to him.

And to prevent Kurenai from calling for reinforcements, he could only choose to kill her, even though she had done nothing wrong.

Itachi wanted to apologize to her, but before he could speak, Shu's voice rang out first.

"His family's just like that. His little brother provoked me at the academy, and after I beat him up, his old man came looking for trouble too. He acted all high and mighty the moment he showed up, so I beat him up too."

Shu muttered to Kurenai, "Then his little brother came back the next day, saying it was because I beat up his dad. This guy's probably here for the same reason."

"You're mistaken."

Remembering the injuries his brother and father had suffered, Itachi's expression turned cold. "I'm killing you because your existence has caused a rift between the clan and the village."

"Oh, you even know how to find yourself an excuse." Shu sneered. "Not bad. Better than your little brother, who only knows to call for Daddy after getting beaten."

"Sasuke has never asked my father to stand up for him," Itachi said coldly.

"You're mistaken too."

Shu raised his foot and made a twisting motion. "He called me Daddy. That day, I stepped on his head like this and didn't let him go until he called me Daddy."

Hiss—

The instant his words fell, a rain of shuriken tore through the air with piercing whistles, shooting toward Shu and Kurenai like a storm!

Itachi Uchiha's eyes were blood-red as both his hands moved so fast they left afterimages.

Seeing the danger, Kurenai instinctively tried to dodge, but Shu grabbed her.

"Stay put."

A black Susanoo rose from the ground, and Shu's calm voice sounded beside Kurenai.

"He's really pissed now..."

Grinning, Shu pointed at Itachi Uchiha. "That's just how this guy is. Those old geezers in the higher-ups brainwashed him so badly he doesn't even know his own name anymore. He always thinks the relationship between the Uchiha and the higher-ups is resting on his shoulders, like he's Konoha's weightlifting champion."

Kurenai nodded thoughtfully. "There really are people like that... But what does he mean by a rift?"

Shu did not hide it from her. The matter was already settled anyway. "Shisui proposed that some of the clan members join the Daimyo's Court. The Daimyo gave him the position of Senior Vice Minister of War, and he took office today."

"Just because of that?" Kurenai looked speechless, yet also found it slightly amusing. "If this had happened before, I definitely wouldn't have agreed. But given Konoha's current situation, perhaps this is the best way out for the Uchiha."

"And there's nothing against the rules about it. It may look bad, but even the Third Hokage's own son once served as a Guardian Shinobi."

Kurenai glanced at Itachi, who was armed to the teeth like a hedgehog, and a vengeful delight curled her lips. "The reason was that he thought the village was too dark. For example, Danzo kidnapped children for human experiments, though Orochimaru ended up taking the blame for that."

As soon as she finished speaking, the barrage of shuriken outside paused for an instant.

The two inside the Susanoo exchanged a glance. Shu raised his hand, and Kurenai understood at once, giving him a high-five.

With a smack, both of them wore wicked smiles.

Just then, a massive fireball came hurtling toward them and slammed heavily into the Susanoo.

Only then did Kurenai look at Shu with some concern. "What kind of ability is this? Is its defense reliable?"

"I could stand here and let him hit me all day."

Shu sneered as solidified chakra gathered around the giant ribcage, which immediately sprouted strands of muscle.

The black Susanoo rose again, eventually becoming a half-bodied giant over ten meters tall!

The enormous Great Fireball struck the giant and exploded violently, yet it could not even scrape off a layer of skin.

Uchiha Shu's tone was lazy. "What's wrong, little mutt? Other than spraying spit all over my face, what else can you do?"

The next second, two hands suddenly stretched out from the ground beneath his feet.

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu..."

"I'll headhunt your grandpa!"

Shu stomped down with a bang. The earth shook violently, cracking open in a web of fissures that stretched for more than ten meters.

A puff of white smoke burst out, and the attacker vanished on the spot.

"What tremendous strength."

The tiger-masked man watched solemnly. Though he wanted nothing more than to tear Shu's mouth apart, he had to admit that this brat was truly difficult to handle.

"With strength at this level, getting hit even once would basically mean the battle is over."

"No, it's already over."

Itachi looked toward Shu's ankle. Kurenai followed his gaze and saw a deep purple color rapidly spreading up Shu's calf.

"Not good, is that... poison?"

Noticing the purple substance spreading across Shu's leg, Kurenai's expression changed.

"Nanoscopic Venomous Insects from the Aburame family?" The tiger-masked man's voice sank. "I see. You never intended to let me take those eyes from the beginning."

"I said you could take them if you were able to. Besides, haven't you even made your move yet?"

Itachi Uchiha stared fixedly at the venomous insects rapidly spreading over Shu's leg. When he saw that Shu did not turn into smoke but was continuously being eroded, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

It was the real body, not a Shadow Clone!

Uchiha Shu was dead for sure!

Nanoscopic Venomous Insects might not be impossible to cure, but there was no way to remove them in such a short time.

And even if he somehow survived, the areas eroded by the Nanoscopic Venomous Insects would be completely ruined.

"I didn't expect this to go so smoothly..."

Only when the purple Nanoscopic Venomous Insects had spread to Shu's waist did Itachi Uchiha regain his former composure. "Remember, it wasn't me who killed you. It was your foolish arrogance."

"Pfft..."

Shu raised a hand to stop Kurenai, who was looking worried and about to step forward to inspect him. Hearing Itachi's words, he could not hold back his laughter.

Then, in the blink of an eye, the Nanoscopic Venomous Insects covering his body receded like a tide and vanished without a trace!

"Immune to every poison, kid~"

(PS: Give me some monthly votes! We can also discuss how to torture these two!)