A faint cracking sound rang out, short but sharp, like glass suddenly splitting apart.
The sound came from within the smoke. Though Ye Zi couldn't see clearly what had happened, he knew that even his full-force thrust hadn't completely pierced Susanoo's defense. But with just a bit more strength, he could likely shatter it.
Had it not been for the thick steam obscuring his sight, Ye Zi would have seen a dozen white cracks spiderwebbing across the area where his blade struck Susanoo's shell.
He didn't need to see it to know. His judgment came not from sight or sound, but from that indescribable sense of battle.
At that very moment, the Totsuka Blade arrived late, piercing through the heavy steam toward the head of the Wooden Susanoo. Simultaneously, countless small green chakra arrows burst forth from the spiral lance of Shisui's Susanoo, raining toward the back of Ye Zi's wooden warrior's head.
Two enormous pitch-black shuriken, charged with Kamui's power, followed shortly behind the arrows.
These were Shisui and Obito's ranged attacks.
They all knew how crucial this battle was, holding nothing back. Even if it meant losing their eyesight, so be it. To them, if defeating Ye Zi meant going blind, then blindness was a small price to pay.
Faced with this pincer attack from front and rear, Ye Zi made the most correct and ruthless decision.
In combat, his mind always turned with frightening speed.
The instant that glass-like crack reached his ears, aided by the perception of Sage Mode, he already had his next move planned.
Shinra Tensei!
An overwhelming repulsive force erupted from the outer shell of the Wooden Susanoo, under Ye Zi's precise control. The power surged outward like an invisible tidal wave, sweeping across the land, so powerful that even grains of sand were hurled away.
The oncoming Totsuka Blade halted in midair for a brief instant before its energy form distorted violently, then was blown away along with Itachi, his Susanoo, and all the surrounding steam. None of them could resist that repulsive force.
Ye Zi's decision was flawless, and merciless, instantly nullifying Itachi's gambit.
Susanoo's defense was formidable, but it could not withstand such a shockwave. Under Ye Zi's unrestrained Shinra Tensei, Itachi was sent flying backward, his body sustaining considerable damage despite Susanoo's protection.
As Itachi was flung back, the green chakra arrows and Kamui shuriken approaching from behind Ye Zi were shattered by the same overwhelming force, disintegrating into countless particles of dispersed energy.
Although Shisui and Obito realized that their attacks had been neutralized and that the same invisible force was about to hit them, they had no time to react.
In the next second, their Susanoo were struck as well and the massive bodies hurled backward with no resistance, just like Itachi's.
In mere moments, the battlefield centered around Ye Zi's Wooden Susanoo had transformed into a vast, cratered pit.
Unlike Nagato, Ye Zi suffered no physical backlash from using Shinra Tensei, only significant chakra expenditure.
That one move not only dismantled all three opponents' attacks but also separated Itachi from Shisui and Obito, creating distance between them. It wasn't enough to completely isolate Itachi, but it meant his allies wouldn't be able to assist him quickly.
This opening, this narrow window of time, was the perfect opportunity for Ye Zi to finish Itachi once and for all. He would not waste it.
Drawing upon the chakra he had devoured, Ye Zi replenished his reserves as he drove the Wooden Susanoo toward Itachi once more.
Despite taking the full brunt of Shinra Tensei, Itachi stubbornly kept his Susanoo active. The steam had now completely cleared, and Ye Zi could see the white cracks still glowing on the surface of the red Susanoo.
"It's about time… to end this."
Ye Zi's eyes were cold.
As the massive wooden titan charged forward, the wind howled violently, and the ground quaked beneath its steps.
Carrying a killing intent colder than ice, Ye Zi rapidly closed the distance.
"Damn it… Itachi—!"
Shisui and Obito, recovering from the blast of Shinra Tensei, saw Ye Zi rushing toward Itachi and felt their hearts tighten. Controlling their Susanoo, they sprinted after him, but the distance was too great.
Even with the enormous strides of their Susanoo, they would need at least ten seconds to reach Ye Zi.
Ten seconds was a fleeting moment, yet in battle, it could decide everything. Ye Zi needed only that short span to destroy Itachi's Susanoo and strike him down.
Anxious, Shisui and Obito prepared long-range attacks again, burning through their ocular power recklessly. They knew the price they'd pay afterward would be severe, but neither hesitated.
Ye Zi, however, no longer paid them any attention. His mind was fixed on the kill.
As the Wooden Susanoo drew closer, Itachi felt the weight of an overwhelming crisis pressing down upon him. His heart chilled, but his mind remained calm. The question was how to resist Ye Zi's next strike.
His Susanoo, manifesting only its upper body, was much slower than Ye Zi's or Shisui's. Escaping was impossible. The Yata Mirror had proven ineffective, and Susanoo's defense was on the verge of collapse. Only the Totsuka Blade remained, but whether it could land a hit was another matter.
The situation was dire. He had no choice left.
Gritting his teeth, Itachi raised the Totsuka Blade to face Ye Zi head-on.
Seeing this, Ye Zi's gaze fixed on the central point of the cracks spidering across the red Susanoo. A cold smile spread across his face, and his eyes glinted with murderous light.
If he hesitated even a moment longer, Itachi might repair those cracks, and the opportunity would vanish.
Ye Zi commanded the Wooden Susanoo to raise its arm. The black blade thrust forward, aimed precisely at the center of those fractures. In Ye Zi's mind, this single strike would shatter Susanoo's defense completely, and once stripped of that protection, Itachi's fate was sealed.
Seeing the dark blade thrusting toward him, Itachi clenched his jaw tightly. With no other options, he met force with force.
Inside his crimson Susanoo, Itachi suddenly shifted to the right. His upper-body-only Susanoo followed, narrowly dodging Ye Zi's first thrust.
Ye Zi saw the movement clearly. His blade struck air, but he immediately pulled it back and lunged again, this time using Wood Release simultaneously.
Five thick roots burst from the earth, slithering like serpents, coiling around the red Susanoo and binding its body tightly.
He didn't need to hold it long, less than a second would be enough.
With Itachi restrained, Ye Zi's eyes went cold. He thrust his sword once more.
Startled, Itachi's expression hardened. He steeled himself, ignoring the oncoming black blade and controlled his Susanoo to drive the Totsuka Blade toward the Wooden Susanoo's head.
"Too slow."
Ye Zi's voice was cold and final.
Crack!
The black sword, wrapped in crackling lightning, struck first, its point piercing the red Susanoo's surface. Itachi's face twisted as he watched the white cracks widen and multiply.
The next instant, the entire Susanoo shattered like glass and the Totsuka Blade stopped, still a meter short of Ye Zi's Wooden Susanoo's head.
A single meter, yet it might as well have been an endless gulf.
The red Susanoo broke apart into countless shards, scattering through the air. Within it, Itachi's flesh-and-blood face remained emotionless, like that of a puppet without a soul.
"Die."
The black blade, having shattered Susanoo, missed Itachi by only a hair, striking the ground beside him, but that was enough.
A deafening explosion followed. The earth quaked, sand and dust surging like a storm.
The immense force and searing black lightning crashed into Itachi at point-blank range, engulfing his fragile-looking body in a roaring wave of sand and shock.
Dust and debris billowed skyward, cloaking half of the Wooden Susanoo's form. Inside its head, Ye Zi sensed Itachi's chakra fade away, and a cold smile touched his lips.
"One down. Two left."
His gaze shifted toward the remaining two, locking once again onto the Wooden Susanoo's head.
"Itachi!"
Shisui and Obito's faces went pale as they shouted his name.
Their green chakra arrows and Kamui shuriken once again flew forth, slamming directly into the Wooden Susanoo's head.
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