Chapter 605: Victory

Dry heat.

For some reason, this was the word that appeared in the hearts of the spectators at the venue.

Soon, everyone knew why.

A dazzling golden light suddenly burst from the red-orange giant, while pale golden flames surged from the sharp sword in its hand and wrapped around it.

Because of the giant’s enormous size, the golden light almost covered the entire venue, as if a giant sun had appeared on the ground, turning the entire world golden-red. The viewers watching the livestream could barely see anything except that dazzling golden light.

As the golden light faded, some spectators curiously looked toward the giant sword burning with golden flames, but suddenly felt an intense wave of heat. Their eyes also became extremely uncomfortable, as if they were staring directly at the sun at its brightest. They hurriedly looked away, only feeling better afterward.

Some ninjas had a flash of inspiration and reinforced themselves with Chakra, discovering that they could resist this force. They could not help but sigh. These powerhouses were becoming almost inhumanly strong. Even watching the battle required a certain level of ability.

"Holy shit, what is this? So cool!"

"How come this guy looks like he’s from a completely different art style from everyone else? If he brings this sword down, wouldn’t it directly change the terrain?"

"I hereby announce that Uchiha Itachi is my idol from now on. I don’t know any Fourth Raikage or whatever."

"It’s a highly completed Susanoo. According to the records, its height is approaching the Susanoo of the legendary Uchiha Madara," Izumo Kamizuki explained.

"What a terrifying aura. We spectators beneath the arena can feel this aura, yet contestant Kazuya Anda’s giant is standing completely motionless without the slightest fear. Could he be preparing to recreate the miracle of shattering Senjutsu from the previous match?"

Kotetsu Hagane noticed Kazuya standing completely still and assumed that he was completely unafraid of Itachi’s hundred-meter-tall Susanoo.

The reality was that Kazuya was already scared senseless.

When Itachi had first used Susanoo, Kazuya was somewhat frightened, but he could still comfort himself by thinking that such a huge body was merely inflated bulk. Once they actually fought, he would definitely be the one to win because he had received divine revelation.

When Itachi’s Susanoo became covered in magma, Kazuya’s eyelids uncontrollably twitched as he felt the terrifying heat at close range. But even then, he could still comfort himself by thinking that with the protection of divine revelation, this magma definitely could not kill him.

But after Itachi used Sun Breathing Sage Mode and produced the golden flames, Kazuya could no longer hold himself together.

He could no longer deceive himself. His senses were frantically warning him. As long as he came into contact with those pale golden flames, he would definitely die!

Kazuya wanted to surrender. He did not want to die.

But for some unknown reason, he was unable to control his own body. His full strength was enough to shatter mountains, yet now it could not even make his lips move.

Fear.

A terrified expression appeared on Kazuya’s face. It was not merely that he could not speak. He was losing control of his entire body.

Soon, Kazuya discovered that he could not even move a finger anymore. It was as if this body no longer belonged to him. He was merely a spectator, only able to watch helplessly as "himself" charged toward the enormous magma giant.

Otsutsuki Zangshi, who had transformed into an ordinary person and was sitting in the audience, smiled disdainfully. Did they really think their power was so easy to obtain? Since they had accepted the benefits, then they had to properly fulfill their responsibility as cannon fodder.

"Contestant Kazuya is remaining calm in the face of danger and has taken the initiative to attack. Could he be planning to utilize his advantage in having a smaller and more agile body?" Because most people’s attention was focused on the Susanoo, Kotetsu did not notice anything unusual about Kazuya before he charged forward.

"He’s been getting praised twice in a row. I feel like something’s about to go wrong." The viewers in the comments felt that Kazuya, charging toward the Magma Susanoo, was probably about to suffer.

"There might have been a miracle originally, but after this guy said that, I feel like it’s over."

Although the others had not noticed, Itachi, as his opponent, noticed that something was wrong with Kazuya.

He had suddenly shown an expression of fear before charging over with an emotionless face. It was truly strange.

However, since his opponent had already charged forward, Itachi had no intention of stopping the match. He immediately swung the Sword of Totsuka, and the overwhelming golden flames swept toward Kazuya like a gigantic net.

Watching the terrifying pale golden flames draw closer and closer, Kazuya desperately tried to regain control of his body and dodge, but how could he possibly overpower Zangshi? Not only did he fail to regain control of his body, Zangshi even maliciously overloaded the core within Kazuya, causing it to burn his life force even more fiercely.

The tattoos on Kazuya’s body became deeper and darker, while his aura continued to rise. His hair began silently turning gray-white, telling of the price of this power.

Moreover, because the power had seriously exceeded his body’s limits, Kazuya’s body began to collapse. Blood fissures continuously appeared on his arms, thighs, and cheeks, only to rapidly heal again because of his naturally powerful regenerative ability.

’Aaaaaah!!’ Kazuya’s soul continuously screamed in agony. Although he could not control his body, he could still feel the pain of his body. He could clearly sense his body continuously collapsing and healing, repeating the cycle over and over. At this moment, he was in unbearable agony.

The changes occurring to Kazuya happened in an instant. Upon noticing that something was wrong, Itachi immediately unleashed Senjutsu Chakra and slashed toward Kazuya with a golden flame slash, while the surging magma covering his body also rushed toward him.

Bang.

A charred figure fell onto the arena.

"Uchiha Itachi wins!" After confirming Kazuya’s condition, the referee immediately announced Itachi’s victory.

Zangshi shook his head from the audience. "The difference in strength is still too great. Even burning this much life force cannot make up for it."

"That flame is not simple." Otsutsuki Shuichi, who had remained silent beside him the entire time, spoke.

"Lord Shuichi, what did you see?" Zangshi asked. He did not feel that there was anything particularly powerful about that flame. If he fought Itachi, he could simply stand still and let Itachi burn him for ten minutes.

"If you suppress your power level to the same level as this Itachi, then you’ll know what this flame represents." Shuichi did not explain much to Zangshi.

"Didn’t we encounter it during other missions before? It’s useful below the god level, but after breaking through the god level, it becomes somewhat unnecessary." Zangshi simply thought that Shuichi was suffering from his old habit again.

Shuichi did not speak to Zangshi anymore. He knew that explaining it would be useless. That guy had nothing but muscles in his brain.

But this was indeed his own choice. If he had someone equally resourceful beside him, he would have to worry about whether the other person would attempt to overthrow him and stab him in the back.

Being brainless had its own advantages.

"Thank you." As Itachi walked down from the arena, Kazuya struggled to say "thank you" to Itachi.

He was not dead. At the critical moment, Itachi had held back. After merely beating him to the point where he could no longer move or continue fighting, Zangshi withdrew his control.

"You don’t need to thank me. I didn’t kill you simply because I am who I am." Itachi said calmly before walking down.

Kazuya recalled his initial provocation and felt only shame. He seemed to have become the very kind of person he had hated the most before.