[I'll have to use Kotoamatsukami...]
Itachi's first choice, of course, was to use Kotoamatsukami on the caster, Uchiha Nagi. If he could control him, all his problems would be solved. His parents, and Izumi, the girl for whom he felt the most guilt, could all be sent back to the world of the dead.
But just as he was about to use it, his sixth sense told him that Kotoamatsukami would be ineffective against Uchiha Nagi. Itachi quickly analyzed the situation. Aside from the Flying Thunder God, there could be no other reason for him to dodge it.
And the unique nature of Kotoamatsukami was such that even a Mangekyo of the same level couldn't resist it.
Just as Itachi was steeling his resolve, he saw Uchiha Nagi's mocking smile, and his heart skipped a beat...
"Argh!" Itachi clutched his eye. It was bleeding from the continuous use of Amaterasu, and having activated his Susanoo at the same time, every cell in his body was screaming in agony.
He was already ill. The last time he had gone to Konoha to "discipline" his brother, he had been left breathless. This time, he had not only used Amaterasu but also opened his Susanoo. For someone who had always been meticulous with his chakra, the burden was immense.
At this point, Itachi had no White Zetsu cells transplanted, no Eternal Mangekyo, and his own bloodline disease was beginning to worsen. He didn't trust anyone in the Akatsuki, so he couldn't let anyone examine his body like Kimimaro had. He could only suppress it.
Now, since leaving Konoha, he had been continuously using his Mangekyo. He hadn't had a chance to recover before being forced to use it again in this battle with Nagi. The strain was enormous.
As Itachi controlled his Susanoo and advanced on Nagi, Nagi was already prepared. He had taken the Mangekyo from Danzo and, using a Transcription Seal, had hidden the Kotoamatsukami within his own eye. If Itachi used Kotoamatsukami, he would counter with Kotoamatsukami.
I just don't know if Kotoamatsukami will work on me if my eyes are closed.
Caw, caw.
A crow flew by, spreading its wings. But it was no ordinary crow; it was an illusion formed from genjutsu and the ocular power of the Mangekyo. After circling once, its final target was not Uchiha Nagi, but his father, Uchiha Fugaku...
Fugaku's eyes were instantly overwritten by the pattern of Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan, and he broke free from the caster's control.
Uchiha Nagi: "..."
Having broken free, Uchiha Fugaku simply sighed, then looked with a complicated expression at his eldest son, Itachi, and at the only other clansman to have escaped the massacre, Uchiha Nagi.
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
"Not bad, not bad. I originally thought you would use the precious Kotoamatsukami on me, or on Sasuke. I never expected you to use it on Fugaku. You never cease to surprise, Itachi," Nagi applauded with a smile.
He had been afraid of Kotoamatsukami's mind control, which was why he had never dared to go after Itachi before. Only after getting his hands on Danzo's eye did he have the confidence. He never thought Itachi would use it on his own father.
But on second thought, it seemed to be the most logical choice. Fugaku was a Kage-level shinobi with a Mangekyo, and he was his own father who had supported him. By freeing him from control, Itachi gained an ally. Two against one. If they could defeat Nagi, he could then release his father's reanimated soul. It was no different than controlling Nagi himself.
"Since that's the case, I'll play with you both." Uchiha Nagi, his eyes still closed, activated his Gundam—the Susanoo.
Two Susanoo against Nagi's. Now it was a three-way Susanoo brawl.
"Now this is more like it. Genjutsu is just a minor path. Gundams and Rasengans are the ultimate form of combat," Nagi said with a faint smile. Even his Sun Breathing couldn't cut through Madara's Perfect Susanoo. That just went to show that the Susanoo and the Rasengan were the final destination for any shinobi...
[Dance, Dance of the Seedling Fern!]
Giant bone spikes, like tank shells, shot out with the force of Guy's Morning Peacock, striking the Great Water Prison from all directions. In an instant, Kisame's technique was shattered.
After that one move, Kisame was heavily wounded. He had released several water jutsus, but they had all been broken by the endless Dance of the Seedling Fern. In the end, one of the spikes had pierced his body.
But even then, Kisame was not dead. Samehada was channeling a massive amount of chakra into its master, healing his wounds.
"It's not over yet! Water Style: Water Pillar!" Kisame quickly formed hand seals. From the flooded ground, countless water pillars erupted.
The pillars struck at Kimimaro, one after another, like Gaara's Sand Coffin. They combined into a space of immense water pressure, trying to crush him into a pulp.
Crash!
Bone spikes grew from all over Kimimaro's body, the markings on his face clearly visible. The physical attack of Kisame's jutsu couldn't harm him in the slightest.
"This is troublesome. The Shikotsumyaku's physical defense is incredible," Kisame changed his hand seals again. "Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
He had thought about getting in close and using Samehada to drain all his opponent's chakra to end the fight. But the bones surrounding Kimimaro's body made him abandon the idea. A taijutsu master wouldn't make such a mistake, just like Guy.
Samehada would have to break through the meter-long bones surrounding Kimimaro's body before it could absorb his chakra. But he had to try. Kisame only knew Water Style, and none of his water jutsus could deal with Kimimaro now.
His Shikotsumyaku was so strong it was approaching absolute defense. He had never seen such a powerful Shikotsumyaku user, not even the head of the Kaguya clan in the past had such a formidable defense.
A massive wave from the Exploding Water Colliding Wave once again surged towards Kimimaro.
As Kimimaro was blocking the jutsu, Kisame used a Water Body Flicker and suddenly appeared behind him. He swung his Seven Swordsmen blade down hard, absorbing the chakra from Kimimaro's body.
[Success!]
Although the Shikotsumyaku was made of bone, it was still a kekkei genkai. As Samehada scraped against the outer layer of Kimimaro's bone armor, it opened its great mouth and bit down.
Though it was pierced and in agony, its greedy nature could not be denied. It began to frantically absorb chakra.
Kimimaro quickly countered with a slash, using his Water Breathing's Twisting Whirlpool to force Kisame back.
Kisame grinned. Samehada's absorption ability was the strongest there was. In that brief moment, it had already drained half of Kimimaro's chakra.
Samehada's appetite was like a black hole; it could drain even the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails dry. There was no questioning its absorption speed. But just as Kisame was about to continue his close-range assault, Samehada suddenly broke free from his hand and began to writhe on the ground.
"Samehada! What did you do to my sword?!" Kisame had never seen Samehada in such pain. It was like a poisoned fish, flopping and thrashing on the ground, even spitting up blood...
A moment later, a part of Samehada's blade turned to stone.
"It probably absorbed my sage art. It contains natural energy," Kimimaro said flatly, knowing at a glance what had happened.
Natural energy, if absorbed directly into the body, was extremely dangerous. Even Orochimaru hadn't dared to absorb it directly, instead researching the Curse Mark as a medium.
Samehada had directly absorbed Kimimaro's natural energy and was now suffering from indigestion, just like how the Preta Path had died after absorbing Naruto's natural energy.
In all his life, Kisame had a deep affection for his sword. For the first time, a look of pure hatred appeared on his face.
"Wood Style: Adamantine Fist!"
Madara had once put a Susanoo around the Nine-Tails. Uchiha Nagi had also tried putting a Susanoo around the Three-Tails. Regrettably, while the Three-Tails had the defense, it was still a Tailed Beast, and controlling it felt less agile than a human body.
Of course, that might have just been because it was a turtle. This time, he tried something different: Wood Style.
He summoned a Wood Golem and put his Susanoo around its body. He had learned all the Wood Style jutsu from the Scroll of Seals. And unlike Obito, he had not only transplanted White Zetsu cells but also Hashirama's cells.
But Uchiha Nagi would never do something as disgusting as tattooing a grown man's face on his chest like Madara had. Who knew, people might think he was gay.
He had injected the refined essence directly into his bone marrow, allowing for easier absorption and no change in his outward appearance.
A massive Susanoo-clad Wood Golem faced off against two other Susanoo. Fugaku's was fine; he was a reanimated corpse, immortal and with no worries about running out of chakra. But Itachi was a different story.
His condition was even worse than Sasuke's when he had first awakened his Mangekyo. He was ill and at his limit. Fighting with a Gundam was not his strong suit; he had to end this quickly.
"Father, we must end this quickly," Itachi called out.
"Sigh." Fugaku looked at Uchiha Nagi. "Can we talk?"
"Talk about what? You want me to let your son go? Or tell them not to take revenge?" Nagi pointed at the reanimated Uchiha being consumed by Amaterasu's flames.
A few of the Uchiha who hadn't been touched by the black flames were glaring at the father and son with hate-filled red eyes.
They hated Itachi for killing them, but now they hated Fugaku even more.
"Uchiha Fugaku! Why did you have such power but not stand up for us then? Why did you sit by and watch the Uchiha clan be destroyed? You and your son are both traitors! Traitors to our clan!" a middle-aged Uchiha roared.
"Uchiha Fugaku, you and your son should both be dead! You should both be dead!" another, younger Uchiha of seventeen or eighteen, spat.
"Itachi-kun..." This was Izumi. The girl still looked at Itachi with a sad expression, hoping he could explain what had happened that night.
"Uchiha Fugaku, let me tell you another cruel truth. Your son, Itachi, was under the influence of Shisui's Kotoamatsukami. He changed Itachi's will. So you died for nothing," Nagi said with a smile.
"Impossible!"
"Nothing's impossible. I'll let you ask him yourself."
Uchiha Nagi clapped his hands together and summoned Shisui. He was no longer afraid of him using Kotoamatsukami.
First, to break free of his control, Shisui would have to use one eye to override the Edo Tensei. Second, if he used his other eye on Nagi, Nagi's own spare Kotoamatsukami could cancel it out.
And not even the Edo Tensei could instantly heal a blinded eye. After Itachi had used Izanami, the Edo Tensei hadn't healed it.
After a puff of smoke, a handsome young man appeared, slowly opening his eyes...
Uchiha Shisui...
BOOM!
The battle in the Land of Rain continued. Otsutsuki Urashiki, having learned to play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses, had been staying in the sky. But he had not expected to encounter so many enemies who could fly.
First, there was Deidara, whose giant bird was incredibly agile in the sky. Then there was the Deva Path Pain, who was just like him. And finally, there was Sasori, though he had given up after a while; he was simply out of his league in this fight.
What gave Urashiki the biggest headache were the summoning animals. They were just constructs; he couldn't drain much chakra from them.
Every time he drained all their chakra and thought they were dead, they would just get a fresh infusion and be back at full health in the next second.
After a long battle, he had paid a price to eliminate the energy-absorbing Preta Path. Without the Preta Path, he could happily throw his Rasengans around.
"Die, you natives!"
Otsutsuki Urashiki raised a Tailed Beast Bomb high and threw it down at the ground. But in the next second, he saw the Preta Path he had just killed.
The Preta Path had been repaired by the Naraka Path. It jumped up, raised its hands, and once again absorbed his Tailed Beast Bomb.
"What?!" Urashiki was completely and utterly shocked.
And it wasn't over. The Deva Path Pain unleashed his ultimate technique.
"Chibaku Tensei!"
In the high tower, the emaciated Nagato's complexion was now full and ruddy. Beside him were the sealed Tailed Beasts.
He had absorbed the Tailed Beasts' chakra, which was why he had the stamina to fight Urashiki for so long.
Absorbing the Tailed Beasts' chakra could temporarily restore his body, but not for long. But it was enough. Enough for him to use Chibaku Tensei.
Nagato also wanted to obtain his opponent's Rinnegan, to see if he could evolve even further.
Regrettably, there were two ways to activate Chibaku Tensei. One was to place the sealing yin-yang formula directly on the enemy, like the Otsutsuki brothers had, creating a coordinate. That way, no matter where the enemy flew, they couldn't escape their fate of being sealed.
The other was Nagato's method: throwing out a small black sphere, similar to a gravity well. The second method, while powerful, was not fast enough to trigger. It was sufficient for large Tailed Beasts, but against someone with space-time ninjutsu, it was a step too slow.
[Yomotsu Hirasaka]
The moment the black sphere appeared, Otsutsuki Urashiki decisively activated his space-time ninjutsu and fled.