Volume One, Chapter Nine: Susanoo

“It seems the situation is a bit tricky.”

Shisui gazed calmly at the hostile Sasori before him, his eyes narrowing slightly as he spoke softly.

At the same time, his eyes shifted to the standard Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Slowly, he drew the short sword from his back, clearly ready to strike at any moment.

“That eye… is it from the Uchiha clan? Excellent. It seems the quality of materials this time is unexpectedly high…”

Sasori silently observed Shisui’s readiness for battle, showing no sign of nervousness. Instead, upon seeing Shisui’s Three-Tomoe Sharingan, he appeared unusually excited.

“In that case, I’ll leave it to you, Shisui. Indeed, finding help isn’t so easy…”

Fengtian rubbed his temples helplessly, speechless for a moment.

The battle was about to erupt.

Shisui’s figure vanished swiftly from where he stood, reappearing in front of Sasori in the next instant.

With a gentle flick of his short sword, the blade traced a brilliant arc through the air, accompanied by a surge of sword energy aimed at Sasori.

Sasori sneered coldly, swiftly forming hand seals. The surrounding air seemed to freeze in response to his movements.

“Ninja of the Leaf Village, your speed is impressive, but within these ruins, my traps and poison techniques will be your greatest nightmare.”

Before his words finished, the ground suddenly cracked open. Several massive arms made of sand and stone shot up abruptly, attempting to restrain Shisui’s movements.

Shisui flickered his form, effortlessly evading the sudden assault. Meanwhile, his Sharingan spun rapidly, unleashing a barrage of genjutsu to disrupt Sasori’s mind.

However, Sasori seemed well-prepared. Having heard of the Uchiha clan’s mastery of genjutsu, he avoided looking directly into Shisui’s eyes from the start, greatly weakening the illusions’ effect. Seizing the moment, he fired a poison-coated shuriken.

The shuriken traced a sinister trajectory through the air, aimed straight at Shisui’s vital points.

Shisui’s form shifted once more, narrowly dodging the fatal strike. His short sword transformed into a silver lightning bolt, lunging directly for Sasori’s head.

Sasori let out a cold snort, his body folding like paper to evade the blow with ease. Simultaneously, he activated hidden traps concealed in the shadows.

In an instant, the ruins filled with the fierce aura of battle—sparks flying and stones scattering.

“This can’t drag on any longer…”

Shisui’s thoughts moved swiftly as he formed hand seals. A vast amount of chakra converged in his mouth, followed by the launch of a massive fireball at Sasori.

“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!”

The enormous fireball, radiating intense heat, rapidly raised the temperature of the already narrow cave. The surrounding air grew stifling, and countless traps lost their effectiveness before the blazing sphere.

Even so, Sasori’s expression remained calm. His hands danced rhythmically, skillfully manipulating chakra threads to control the Third Kazekage’s puppet, sending it charging toward the fireball.

Just as the fireball was about to strike the puppet, its mouth snapped open suddenly, releasing countless iron sand particles that formed a defensive barrier, withstanding the attack.

After blocking the assault, Sasori continued to command the Third Kazekage puppet to advance on Shisui.

The puppet extended two sharp giant blades from its hands, radiating boundless killing intent as they slashed toward Shisui.

Seeing this, a cold gleam flickered across Shisui’s face. He decided not to hold back any longer—he needed to take Sasori down quickly.

His Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly, and in a brief moment, it shifted into the Mangekyō Sharingan!

“Susanoo!”

With Shisui’s angry shout, a towering, emerald-green half-body Susanoo manifested around him.

“Here it comes! The divine technique exclusive to the Mangekyō Sharingan—Susanoo!”

Fengtian, watching the battle unfold, couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise upon seeing Shisui activate Susanoo. Even though he had witnessed countless Susanoo before, each appearance still stirred his blood with excitement.

The giant blades of the Third Kazekage puppet slammed fiercely against the Susanoo, but in an instant, the blades shattered upon impact.

Seeing this, Sasori’s handsome face grew serious for the first time. His eyes fixed intently on the artistically magnificent half-body Susanoo, feeling an overwhelming shock within.

“So this is the legendary Susanoo? It seems not so easy to deal with…”

The emerald half-body Susanoo appeared like a war god stepped out from ancient legend, radiating a terrifying aura.

“Sasori, your traps and puppets are mere tricks before absolute power.”

Shisui’s voice echoed through the Susanoo’s armor, resonating in every corner of the cave with undeniable authority.

“Is that so? Your Susanoo probably can’t last very long…”

Sasori spoke calmly, then produced a scroll.

When Fengtian saw the scroll, his expression grew unusually serious. His eyes instantly shifted to the Mangekyō Sharingan as well.

“Reverse Cause and Effect!”

With Fengtian’s fierce shout, the scroll in Sasori’s hand vanished instantly.

Before Sasori could react, Fengtian spoke again:

“That’s enough, Sasori. We came to recruit you. There’s no need to waste such a precious technique like the ‘Hundred Puppet Drill’…”

“This is the ultimate art I just completed recently. How do you know its name?!”

More than the disappearance of the scroll, Sasori was shocked that Fengtian could name the ‘Hundred Puppet Drill’.

Yet Fengtian remained calm. He had acted simply to prevent Sasori from recklessly wasting the technique.

If Sasori unleashed the full might of the Hundred Puppet Drill, summoning countless puppets, the battle would turn into a prolonged war.

While Shisui’s Susanoo could withstand such an onslaught, it wasn’t certain he could last until all puppets were destroyed. Regardless of the outcome, such a fight would drain both their strength in the future.

Seeing this, Shisui withdrew his Susanoo.

His eyes felt a moment of discomfort, and his aura grew slightly chaotic. It was clear that casually activating Susanoo drained him greatly.

“Sasori, join us. Our goal is to create a perfect world without war or smoke…”

“I believe you must detest this war-ravaged world deeply…”

“Come, join us, and together we will change the world!”

Fengtian smiled, extending his hand toward Sasori, awaiting his response.

However, Sasori did not answer immediately but fell into deep thought.

Finally, after a brief silence, Sasori looked up at Fengtian and said:

“You’re right—I do hate this filthy, real world.”

“But…”

“If I join, I have two conditions…”