"Oh? The struggles of ants?"
Facing the mountain-like Susanoo, Ci Xian remained unfazed, only to have black markings gradually appear on his face and hands, his aura surging once more.
Though they were bewildered by Ci Xian's ability to "tattoo" himself, Obito and the other two had already committed.
"Attack!"
Shisui led the charge, his green spiral greatsword piercing towards Ci Xian's head. Obito, his Kamui fully charged, held god-black glowing Kamui shuriken in his hands.
*Swish!*
The ground erupted in a colossal cloud of dust. The four experimental subjects in the nearby black cage showed expressions of horror. The flying sand and dust were all blocked by the black cage.
Among them, the red-haired girl stared intently at the center of the battle, her dirt-streaked face filled with terror, fear, and a flicker of longing. If only she possessed such strength, she could eat her fill every day!
Back in the fight, Shisui, standing within the Susanoo, frowned. He glanced around; Ci Xian had vanished bizarrely!
On the ground, Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan spun wildly. Suddenly, he shouted, "Be careful, he's above us!"
Hearing this, Shisui immediately looked up, meeting Ci Xian's grotesque face for a fleeting second. When had he gone up there?!
"Ants!"
*Bang!*
Ci Xian's punch instantly pierced through the Susanoo's defense and struck Shisui's chest. Shisui was sent flying out of the Susanoo like a cannonball, crashing into the mountainside. He had shattered the Susanoo's absolute defense so easily!
Obito and Itachi's expressions beneath their masks were one of utter shock. Even if it was the Susanoo's weakest point, it shouldn't have been broken with a single punch!
"Shisui!"
The green Susanoo dissipated in the air. As Obito moved to check on Shisui, a faint voice sounded in his ear.
"Still got time to worry about others?"
Ci Xian, who had appeared above Obito at some unknown moment, pierced through the Susanoo with a mid-air kick, striking Obito's chest. However, at the moment of contact, the kick passed through. Obito was once again encased by the Susanoo.
Ci Xian, who had kicked through the rock wall due to the momentum of passing through the Susanoo, brushed the dust off his body and said softly, "What a troublesome ability. It seems I must deal with you first."
"Hm?"
Ci Xian's peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a red light slicing towards him. He quickly dodged to the side. It was a long sword that seemed to be ablaze with flames.
"This sword..."
Ci Xian sensed a trace of danger from this sword, but not much, perhaps just a minor annoyance.
Just then, two black shuriken streaked towards him. Seeing the shuriken, Ci Xian scoffed and made no move to dodge.
*Pop!*
With a soft pop, the two shuriken vanished like phantoms. Obito, standing within the cyan Susanoo, looked even more grim. This guy could even shrink shuriken imbued with Kamui chakra. He could absorb ninjutsu and shrink objects, rendering them powerless. How were they supposed to fight this?
Obito deactivated his Susanoo and landed beside Itachi. The Susanoo posed too little of a threat to Ci Xian and consumed too much chakra. They had planned to use their physical advantages in close combat, but it turned out they had overestimated themselves. The speed and power difference was on an entirely different level, especially with Ci Xian in his current state, which was far stronger than before!
On the other side, Shisui, who had climbed out of the rubble, had a caved-in chest and bloodstains at the corner of his mouth, with several ribs likely broken. Itachi's Tsukuyomi had proven ineffective, leaving Shisui's ultimate ability, Kotoamatsukami, useless.
Sweat beaded on Itachi's face. He had not deactivated his Susanoo and was relaying his battle analysis to Obito. "The opponent's ability has not only improved again, but that shrinking ability seems to affect him as well. Shisui-niichan's attack earlier was dodged because he shrunk it."
Obito's expression was grave. "Not only can he shrink inanimate objects, but he can also shrink ninjutsu attacks to the point of being harmless."
"However, it seems he can't shrink living things, otherwise, he could have reduced us to the size of dust." Obito, considering Ci Xian's ability to absorb chakra, had specifically attacked with Kamui shuriken, only for Ci Xian to shrink them away! Ninjutsu could be absorbed, and physical attacks could be shrunk. How could they continue fighting?
The expressions of the three were grim. They had used their trump cards, but they had barely made any impact.
"Stay calm! There must be a way. No ninjutsu in the world is perfect!" Although Itachi was the youngest, his mental age seemed greater than Lin Yu's. Even facing such an insurmountable foe, he was still looking for a way to break through.
Ci Xian walked towards the three unhurriedly, saying elegantly, "Originally, I had no interest in crushing you, but you insisted on interfering."
"Then I will have to eliminate you!"
Ci Xian waved his hand, and countless black rods shot towards the three of them.
"Give me some time! Stall him!" Itachi glanced at the Totsuka Blade in his hand and nodded at Obito and Shisui.
"Phantom Body Flicker Technique!"
"Kamui!"
*Clang clang clang...*
The flying black rods were deflected by Shisui's kunai with his Body Flicker Technique. Another barrage of black rods in the sky was swallowed by the Kamui dimension. Shisui and Obito seized this opportunity to close the distance and engage Ci Xian in hand-to-hand combat.
"Meaningless struggle!"
Ci Xian slapped Shisui away with one hand, blocked Obito's attack with a raised leg, and kicked him away with a forceful push. Then, with the residual momentum, he punched the lunging Shisui.
*Bang!*
Even though his Mangekyo Sharingan could track the opponent's movements, his body couldn't keep up. Shisui was battered and bruised, his chest indentation growing deeper.
"Damn it!"
Obito chose to face Ci Xian head-on in a physical confrontation to shield Shisui from more blows. By utilizing his ability to phase through physical attacks, Obito managed to hold his own against Ci Xian for a time.
"Unfortunately, you could have left."
As Obito's phasing ability wore off and he solidified, Ci Xian waved his hand, and several black rods pierced through Obito's body.
*Gasp!*
"When?!"
Obito's limbs and chest were pierced, and he collapsed powerlessly onto the ground. He had been so careful, yet how had he been hit by the black rods?
Meanwhile, Itachi, who had been searching for an opportunity, saw it clearly. As Obito solidified and engaged in hand-to-hand combat, Ci Xian had inserted black rods, shrunk to the size of dust, into Obito's body, and then, as Obito phased out of his intangible state, they instantly enlarged and pierced him.
However, this was not the time to explain to Obito. If they survived this battle, they could analyze the situation later!
"Obito-niichan!"
Seeing Obito pierced and fall, Shisui's eyes became bloodshot, and he lunged maniacally at Ci Xian.
"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
Ci Xian watched the approaching fire dragon with indifference. He slowly raised his hand and said, "Seeing your companion dying, have you lost your reason?"
"Now's the time! Shisui-niichan, increase the output!" Itachi's eyes flashed with a bright light. The long-prepared Totsuka Blade slashed towards Ci Xian with unparalleled speed.
Ci Xian's eyes changed. He was currently absorbing ninjutsu and could not dodge.
"Haha! Absorb it! Absorb more of it for me!" Shisui poured all his remaining chakra into the attack, causing the increasingly small fire dragon to swell again.
*Chrr!*
Ci Xian let out a cold laugh. A spatial portal opened behind him. Did they really think he had no other options?
At this very moment.
"Kamui!"
Two forces of space tore at each other, making Ci Xian's spatial portal extremely unstable. If he entered it, he might be torn apart by space itself.
Ci Xian glared furiously at Obito, who was slumped on the ground, barely able to open one eye. Could he still move?
*Clack!*
His mask fell off, and Obito's pupils returned to black. He had done his best. It had to succeed!
"Hit him!"
Itachi controlled his Susanoo, and the Totsuka Blade slashed towards Ci Xian, whose eyes were wide with shock.
*Boom!*
A massive explosion rang out. Obito and Shisui were flung away by the shockwave. Itachi's Susanoo dissipated, and he collapsed to the side, his expression extremely grim.
He missed!
From within the dust, a clear footsteps sound arose...
*Clack clack...*
"To push me this far, you are indeed worthy of the Uchiha name."
A figure with long, curved horns on his head emerged from the dust. It was Ci Xian in his second form.
"First, the one to die will be you, wielder of space-time ninjutsu!"
Ci Xian took a step forward, and his figure instantly appeared beside Obito. Just as he was about to raise his foot to finish Obito, he found that Obito had started laughing, and his laughter grew louder and louder.
Before Ci Xian could question him, someone patted his shoulder. Then, a lazy male voice sounded in his ear.
"Hey! These guys, I'm covering them!"