Chapter 550: 515. Encounter with Rogues Part-1
Ugh…
As soon as the group steps onto the fourth floor, a foul stench of blood, feces, rotten flesh, and bones hits the group.
"What's with this rotten stench?" Yuri almost pukes from the foul stench.
There is no light on the fourth floor, and the entire floor is covered in darkness. The anbu members take out a few glow sticks to light their surroundings.
Hmm…
Itachi and Sasuke swiftly take out their kunais and throw them toward the roof.
Bzzt… Crackle…
Lightning flicker across the kunais as they pin down a soccer-sized spider on the roof.
Blue blood falls from the ceiling. The sizzling sound echoes in the area. The corrosive blue blood destroys the floor.
Suddenly, several green eyes glow in the dark.
"Damn it, there are a hundred of them." The anbu quickly grabs their weapon in fright.
"Use lightning jutsu on them. It's their weakness." Itachi swiftly instructs them.
He makes a series of hand signs.
"Lighting Release: Lightning Senbon,"
Itachi fires multiple lightning needles toward the rapidly approaching spiders.
"Lightning Release: Chain lightning,"
"Lightning Release: Thunderbolt strike,"
"Lightning Release: Lightning Quake Flash,"
One after another, the anbus launches several lightning techniques toward the group of spiders.
"Chidori: Crescent Moon Strike,"
Sasuke also throws a crescent lightning blade to finish off the spiders.
"It's coming!"
Suddenly, Yuri's expression turns grim.
"A powerful chakra signature is rapidly approaching us."
Rumble… Rumble…
As soon as she speaks, the ground and the ceiling tremble. Within a few seconds, a giant spider with an upper human torso dashes toward them with its eight legs.
"This… this is…"
"What's this?"
The anbu members gasp in surprise.
The giant spider head opens its mouth and fires a spiderweb at them.
"Dodge it!"
The anbu quickly dodges the spider web.
Pew… Pew… Pew…
The spider continuously fires one spider web after another at the shinobis. A few anbu members are pinned to the wall after the rapid barrage of spider webs. They attempt to cut the webs with their kunais, but it's futile. Itachi also throws a few kunais toward the spider's body, but its hard carapace deflects them.
Itachi and Sasuke run around the spider and target its legs with their lightning jutsus. The eight eyes of the spider trace their movements and fire several hardened organic fluid arrows toward them.
"Chidori: Lightning cutter,"
Sasuke thrust his finger towards the approaching arrows and shatters them.
"Avoid these arrows at all costs!" He notices the power and hardness of the arrows and warns others.
The human body on top of the spider also makes a series of hand signs and opens its mouth.
It spews out blue color flames toward the group.
"Water Release: Water jet,"
The anbu members use water-release jutsu to extinguish the flames.
"These flames are toxic and highly corrosive. Avoid them at all costs!" The vice-captain notices the effect of flames on the walls of the area.
Swoosh…
Suddenly, Sasuke accelerates his speed and disappears from the spider's vision.
"Chidori: Lightning Sword Strike,"
Bzzt… crackle… Slash…
Sasuke flashes past the spider's top and slashes the human torso with his lightning blade.
Swish… swish… swish…
Itachi also makes a series of hand signs.
"Lightning Release: Thunderbolt formation,"
Lightning flickers across the kunais around the lower spider body. A bolt of lightning rises from them and strikes down the revealed flesh of the spider at the human torso.
SCREEE…
The spider releases a painful scream as lightning chars its entire body. It slowly turns into ashes and its human half falls among the ashes.
The human half slowly opens its mouth to whisper something before closing its eyes.
Sasuke clenches his fists as he understands the 'Thank You' words, the dead person whispered.
"Sigh… another unfortunate victim of Orochimaru's experiment." Itachi sighs and closes the eyes of the dead with his hands.
"Let's move forward!" He turns towards his teammates and nods. A few fire users burn the spider-web around their teammates with fire breath.
The group continues to move through the fourth floor. Along the way, the group encounters several more chimera lifeforms and human-beast fusions ranging from gigantic gorilla with tiger's claws and lion's legs to a human-snake hybrid with an upper human body and a lower snake tail.
They also encounter several chimeras of sea creatures and even some avian chimera creatures along the way.
"I have seen such chimeras before." Sasuke opens his mouth.
"Where?" Itachi turns to Sasuke in surprise.
"These chimeras are similar to chimeras created by the rogue shinobi Hiroku. A year ago, he attacked Sunagakure and kidnapped a few elders from Sunagakure to wage war on the five nations. Sunagakure asked for assistance from Konoha since Hiruko was a former missing-nin of Konoha. In the end, our team 7 ended up helping the Sunagakure.
It was during that battle that we encountered several chimeras of Hiruko. However, Hiruko's chimeras were much stronger than these chimeras." Sasuke shakes his head.
The strength of these chimeras isn't half bad. These chimeras are strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Kage-level shinobis in raw power. However, their lack of intelligence and control makes them a lesser threat. Hiruko's chimera was not only stronger but also well-controlled.
"Hmm… this solidifies our earlier speculation of Orochimaru's involvement with Hiruko." Itachi glances at the corpses of the chimeras.
Soon, they blast a hole through the entrance to the fifth floor and continue to move downward.
"We are getting closer to our target!" The vice-captain grits his teeth as he stares at the remaining teammates.
The battle on the previous floor wasn't without a cost. Though they avoided any casualty, a few shinobis were still grievously hurt when facing the strange attacks of chimeras. Especially, a centipede-like creature that dealt the most damage to the group.
Again, the group leaves behind the hurt individuals after treating their wounds with a few of their comrades. The initial size of the group has decreased by seventy-five percent.
Bang…
The barrier shatters, and the group marches through a giant hall on the fifth floor. They continue to walk through the dark corridor and finally notice some light at the exit of the corridor.
Fwoosh… Fwoosh… Fwoosh…
A bright light flashes on the face of the group as several light bulbs light up one after another. The anbu members block the blinding light with their hands and glance at their surroundings.
"Is this some kind of arena?" They look around in surprise.
Swoosh… swoosh… swoosh…
Suddenly, several figures leap into the area and confront the group.
Hmm…
Sasuke's and Itachi's eyes narrow as they glance at the shinobis in front of them. Most of these shinobis are human and only a handful of them have some imperfect body modification of them.
"Who are you?"
Itachi walks forward and questions the shinobis in front of them.
"Ah… we… we are the unlucky fellows who survived the cruel experiments of that snake bastard."
A lean-built young man of average height, with straight white hair with a light-blue tint to them, walks forward. He has almond-shaped purple eyes and jagged teeth with extra-large canines that stick out of his mouth even when closed.
"I am Suigetsu… Suigetsu Hozuki." The young man introduces himself.
"That bastard Orochimaru captured me and that double-eye freak Kabuto experimented on me." Suigetsu has a careless expression on his face as he shakes his head.
"You people seem to be shinobis from Konoha. What are you guys doing here?" Suigetsu asks them.
"Orochimaru is dead and now we are here to capture Kabuto," Sasuke speaks to him. There is no point in hiding their objective since the earlier commotion they created must have already warned everyone here.
"Hmm… you people are quite strong to be able to make it up to here. But your journey ends here."
Suigetsu wields a giant butcher blade from his back and points it toward Sasuke.
The rest of the shinobis also turn hostile toward them.
"We don't want to hurt you. So, it will be better if you surrender." The vice-captain remarks.
"Woah… woah… hold it there! What makes you think you can win against us?" Suigetsu raises his arm and points toward them.
"Also, it's not that we don't want to fight you; but we have no choice but to fight you." Suigetsu points towards a curse mark on his neck.
"Do you see this mark here? It controls our body and if we resist it, then boom…" Suigetsu makes an explosion gesture.
"Our bodies will explode and we will die. So, you see, I don't want to die yet since I have a mission to become the head of the Seven Ninja Swordsman. So, I will apologize in advance for severing your head."
Swoosh…
Suigetsu stomps his foot on the ground. The floor beneath his foot cracks and he disappears.
"You emo-looking kid, you will be the first person I will slice in half."
Shoom…
Suddenly, Suigetsu appears behind Sasuke with his blade and inch away from Sasuke's neck.
"DIEEE for my freedom!"
Chapter 551: 516. Encounter with Rogues Part-2
'He is fast, much faster than I expected. However…'
Clang…
Sasuke blocks the Suigetsu's blade with his katana. Sparks fly around as both blade clashes against each other.
Swoosh…
Suigetsu swiftly retreats and avoids a kick from Sasuke.
"Not bad! You aren't half bad!" Suigetsu smiles to reveal his jagged teeth.
"But this will make it all more fun. It has been a while since I last fought someone to my heart's content without holding back. I will enjoy my sweet time dismembering your limbs slowly and finally beheading you." Suigetsu licks his cleaver.
"Looks like everyone involved with Orochimaru has a screw or two loose. Or perhaps his insanity is contagious."
Sasuke's Sharingan tracks Suigetsu's every movement.
Haha… Muhaha…
Suigtesu laughs maniacally. The muscles of his arm buffs up. He grabs the hilt of his cleaver sword and slams it into the ground.
Bang…
Cracks appear on the floor underneath them. He drags the cleaver along the surface and charges towards Sasuke with bloodlust. The cleaver leaves a trail of destruction on the cold, hard pavement of the floor.
"DIE!"
He swings the giant cleaver toward Sasuke's torso.
Bang…
Another person with several scales, yellow eyes, and orange hair charges toward Itachi.
"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!"
The person aimlessly charges in Itachi's direction and slams his enlarged fists, covered with hard shells on the ground. There are several curse marks around his body that transform his limbs into hammers, clubs, axes, spears, stakes, and other weapons.
He mauls anyone in his way, irrespective of an ally or a foe.
"DIE!"
The bloodthirsty orange-hair man jumps in the air, enlarges his fist, and punches Itachi.
Whoosh…
Itachi swiftly dodges out of the way, but he follows up with another round of attacks. Itachi's back touches the wall.
"DIEE!!"
The orange-hair man charges up his fist. Streams of chakra escape from the exhaust-like opening on his elbow like a steam engine.
BANG…
He strikes the wall and shatters a large area of the arena on the side of his strike. Cracks spread across the wall and reach all the way to the ceiling of the arena.
Itachi infuses chakra in his legs and kicks his head and sends him flying across the wall of the arena, like a rag doll.
"His attacks contain power, but no technique. It's like a wrecking ball filled with rage is charging towards you with the sole purpose of destruction with no consequences."
Itachi draws his blade and points toward the enemy.
Bang…
Suigetsu's sword strikes the ground after Sasuke avoids it. Sasuke jumps on top of his blade and stabs his katana toward Suigetsu's brow with impeccable speed.
Stab…
Sasuke's blade pierces through Suigetsu's forehead and splits it in half.
Splat…
However, no blood spills from his forehead, much to Sasuke's surprise.
Suigetsu's entire body turns into water and falls to the ground in a puddle.
"A water clone!"
Sasuke frowns and carefully glances at his surroundings to search for his opponent's traces.
A pair of hands silently slowly crawls out of the water puddle. Suigetsu's figure slowly rises from the water puddle and points fingers towards Sasuke's head.
Bang…
<Water Release: Water Pistol Jutsu>
Two water bullets pierce through Sasuke's head, scattering brain matter and blood.
Poof…
Sasuke disappears in a puff of white smoke, and a wooden log appears at his place.
"Substitution!"
Suigetsu quickly looks around to spot Sasuke.
Swish… swish… swish…
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu,"
Suddenly, a giant fireball appears above Suigetsu's head.
Suigetsu quickly crosses his arms and squirts water from them.
"Water Release: Water Wall jutsu,"
He creates a water wall to delay the fireball and quickly jumps out of the way of the giant fireball.
Boom…
The fireball explodes on contact with the ground. Wisps of flames quickly spread through the air.
"Damn, that was hot!"
Water trickles down from Suigetsu's body like a hosepipe.
"So, you can liquify your body." Sasuke notices the strange state of Suigetsu's body.
"Hey… hey… I didn't expect you to be so strong. Those red eyes… are you an Uchiha?" Suigetsu picks up his cleaver and places it on his shoulder.
His arm and leg muscles adjust again, and he stomps the ground again.
Whoosh…
Suddenly, Suigetsu covers his cleaver with water and swings a ten-meter-long water blade toward Sasuke.
Slash…
Sasuke infuses lightning in his katana and slices the cleaver in half with his own version of a ten-meter-long lightning blade. Suigetsu slightly jumps back to avoid the blade.
"Fine, you are strong enough for me to take you seriously!"
Swish… swish…
Suigetsu makes a series of rapid hand signs.
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave,"
A massive wave of water measuring tens of meters in height starts from Suigetsu's position and quickly moves towards Sasuke, drowning everyone in its path. Suigetsu also liquefies his body and merges with the water wave.
Swish… swish…
Sasuke also makes a series of hand signs and takes a deep breath.
"Fire Release: Majestic Flame Destroyer Wave,"
He also spits out a massive wave of fire that collides with the water and creates a large amount of steam. The steam covers the entire arena and blocks everyone's vision.
A few puddles of water still linger in the arena.
Blub… Blub…
The water slowly moves between the cracks created by the ground during their early fight.
Fwoosh… Splash…
Suddenly, a large amount of water rises from a hole near Sasuke and drowns his entire body in the water.
"Water Release: Drowning Water Blob Technique,"
Suigetsu starts to choke Sasuke by cutting off his supply of oxygen.
BOOM…
Rumble… Rumble…
The entire arena trembles and several cracks spread across the ground.
A massive, black-brown hulking figure of four meters is standing in the center of the arena with a bloodthirsty expression.
"Damn it, this bastard Jugo has lost it again. Now he will rampage for the next eight hours." Suigetsu's voice echoes in the arena.
"Hehe… once you pass out from the lack of air, I will take my sweet time murdering your emo ass. Now, you can't even make hand signs to use any jutsu."
Sasuke's struggling expression turns calm, and he stretches out his left hand.
Bzzt… Chirp… Chii…
A large amount of lightning chakra gathers in his left palm. The lightning current quickly spreads over his entire body.
<Chidori: Current Stream>
Sasuke releases a massive electric discharge from his entire body and repels the surrounding water. The lightning chakra dispels Suigetsu's Hydrification form and leaves him twitching on the ground, paralyzed.
"I lost!" Suigetsu raises his hand in surrender.
Sasuke binds his body with lightning chakra chains and places a chakra suppression sealing tag on his body.
On the other side of the arena,
Itachi is fighting against the giant hulking Jugo. He carefully avoids his teammates while fighting Jugo.
"It's time to end this!"
Bang…
A giant orange strikes Jugo's body and pins him to a wall.
The Susanoo arm opens its palm and releases several 'Yasaka Magatama' beads.
Bang… bang…
The beads strike Jugo and explode. Smoke rises from Jugo's body and he loses consciousness.
His body reverts to the human state, and Itachi throws a chakra suppression sealing tag to capture him.
By this time, all other anbus also finished their battle. They killed several frantic prisoners and captured others.
The anbu team is exhausted after this series of battles and several of them are injured or out of chakra after being overwhelmed by a large group of enemies.
Itachi and Sasuke glance at each other and nod.
Itachi turns towards the Vice-captain.
"Gojo, keep an eye on these prisoners. Sasuke and I will face against Kabuto." He issues an order.
"But captain, we…"
"It's an order!"
Gojo sighs and glances at his exhausted and wounded teammates.
"Alright! Beat that bastard Kabuto for us, captain!"
The other shinobis also cheer for them.
Sasuke and Itachi walk towards the exit of the arena. The path leads toward the next floor.
"That's it! What a weak barrier!"
Itachi breaks the barrier wall with the swing of a fist of his Susanoo. The wall collapses to reveal a pathway.
Both Itachi and Sasuke step down the path. A gust of cold wind blows from the exit of the passage, sending shivers down their spine.
"Snakes are cold-blooded animals."
Itachi murmurs. The sibling duo exits the passage and confronts a cloaked figure sitting in the middle of the area.
Several stalactites and stalagmites hang decorates the area, and the entire floor is a natural cavern.
"Well done for finding me and making it past all those hurdles."
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
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