Chapter 271: Swelling Ambition

Chapter 271: Chapter 271: Swelling Ambition

Standing at the very center of the platform, Hiruko panted heavily, his chest rising and falling violently as visible streams of steam wafted from his body.

At this moment, his physique was slightly more muscular than before.

He now looked tall, lean, and perfectly proportioned, possessing the ideal physique of a young man. Just one glance was enough to give the impression that this body was overflowing with power.

The skin covering his entire body was fair and delicate.

However, this fairness wasn’t the healthy, rosy complexion of a young girl, brimming with vitality. Instead, it was closer to the bloodless pallor of a corpse.

"Haa..."

Still panting, Hiruko picked up the clothes that had been prepared nearby and leisurely began putting them on.

Although he appeared to have exhausted an enormous amount of stamina, his expression was filled with wild ecstasy and brutality!

At this moment, every thought and emotion within his heart was completely reflected on his face.

He had finally stripped away the false expression he had always worn like a mask, revealing his true self for the very first time.

Seeing Hiruko’s intensely aggressive gaze sweep toward him, Hyuga Kagami’s heart skipped a beat.

"This isn’t good."

There was no doubt that Hiruko, having just completed the Kekkei Genkai fusion ritual, was eager to test just how powerful he had become after fusing five different Kekkei Genkai.

And among everyone present, the vast majority were members of the Akatsuki. Hyuga Kagami and Orochimaru were the only exceptions.

With Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki, standing right there, Hiruko obviously wasn’t going to brazenly attack one of his fellow members. So naturally, Kagami and Orochimaru became the most reasonable choices for him to test his newfound strength against.

Kagami wasn’t the only one who saw through Hiruko’s intentions.

At that moment, the Akatsuki members consciously began leaping off the platform one after another. In the blink of an eye, only four people remained atop it—Hiruko, Hyuga Kagami, Orochimaru, and a hesitant Shinichi.

Unlike Shinno, who wore a cheerful smile and clearly didn’t care in the slightest about Orochimaru’s safety, Shinichi glanced at Kagami with a troubled expression.

Kagami said, "It’s fine."

Shinichi replied, "Don’t worry. If things get dangerous, I’ll step in!"

With that, Shinichi also leaped off the platform and, like the other Akatsuki members, watched the platform closely.

At this moment, Hiruko wasn’t the only one eager to test his newfound strength. The entire Akatsuki was equally anxious to see just how powerful Hiruko had become after successfully completing the Kekkei Genkai fusion ritual.

Strangely enough, Kagami was completely calm.

He glanced at Orochimaru and found that Orochimaru was equally composed. There wasn’t even the slightest trace of fear in his eyes.

"Hahahahaha..."

After getting dressed, Hiruko suddenly burst into wild laughter.

Kagami’s gaze sharpened. The three tomoe in his Sharingan slowly rotated as his right hand moved to the hilt of his sword.

Orochimaru rolled his neck, the faint smile still lingering at the corners of his lips.

Hiruko’s laughter abruptly ceased. His entire face twisted as he snarled viciously, "At a time like this, there shouldn’t be any expression on your faces other than fear!"

Kagami said nothing, merely grumbling inwardly,

"Hiruko, you’ve really gotten full of yourself!"

In a soft, feminine voice, Orochimaru said, "Then let us experience just how terrifying you’ve become."

Hiruko slowly raised both arms and formed a hand sign.

Whoosh—

With the sharp sound of displaced air, Hiruko instantly vanished from where he stood.

"So fast!"

Kagami’s heart jolted, and his body instinctively drew the sword at his waist!

Clang—!

Barely managing to bring his sword horizontally in front of him, Kagami narrowly blocked Hiruko’s incoming straight punch.

The instant fist met blade, a piercing metallic clang rang across the entire mountaintop!

Kagami followed the momentum and slashed with his sword, but his blade passed through nothing more than an afterimage. Hiruko was already gone from in front of him.

"Swift Release... Steel Release..."

Those two Kekkei Genkai immediately flashed through Kagami’s mind.

He was surprised that Hiruko, despite having only just completed the Kekkei Genkai fusion ritual, was already capable of seamlessly switching between different Kekkei Genkai.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Almost the instant those thoughts arose in Kagami’s mind, a rapid series of metallic clashes rang out from the other end of the platform.

Because Hiruko possessed Swift Release and Steel Release, two Kekkei Genkai exceptionally suited for close-quarters combat, even the battle-hardened and highly experienced Orochimaru found himself completely suppressed in taijutsu for the moment.

However, Hiruko clearly wasn’t particularly skilled in taijutsu, or perhaps his combat instincts simply weren’t sharp enough. So although he had seized the initiative, he was unable to actually take Orochimaru down.

"Heh..."

With a soft chuckle, Kagami charged into the fray.

In an instant, sword flashes crisscrossed the platform as metallic clashes rang out without pause!

With Kagami joining the fight, he and Orochimaru actually managed to fight Hiruko to a standstill. In fact, they were even beginning to show signs of turning the situation around.

Hiruko’s lack of combat experience and poor battle instincts were laid bare in this fight.

But that was only natural.

Hiruko’s talents had never been centered around combat in the first place, nor did he have much experience fighting powerful opponents. On top of that, he had only just gained control over the two Kekkei Genkai, Swift Release and Steel Release, so there were inevitably glaring weaknesses in the way he used them.

And his opponents were no ordinary foes. One was Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin and a veteran of two Shinobi World Wars, while the other was Hyuga Kagami, who possessed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

For Hiruko to have managed this much against the two of them was already an impressive feat.

Moreover, combat experience and battle instincts were things that could be developed through training. As long as one’s raw strength reached a sufficient level, then, just like Kagami, fighting powerful opponents again and again would naturally sharpen one’s experience and instincts.

So this weakness wasn’t particularly difficult to overcome.

In the distance...

Black Zetsu chuckled. "He can’t even deal with two peripheral members of the Akatsuki? Heh, looks like this Kekkei Genkai fusion isn’t anything special after all."

Obito had already risen to his feet. Standing atop a massive boulder, he stared intently at the distant platform and said, "No. Hiruko’s performance might not be as overwhelming as we’d imagined, but those two women are anything but ordinary."

Outside the platform, Sasori teased Shinno, "Looks like your assistant is even stronger than you."

Shinno merely shrugged, clearly unconcerned.

On the other side, Juzo Biwa said to Shinichi, "That clanswoman of yours is really good at taijutsu. Her swordsmanship is sharp too. Every attack and withdrawal is clean and decisive, with almost no wasted movement."

Shinichi stared seriously at the battle and replied, "Yeah. I didn’t expect her to be this strong either!"

On the platform...

Unable to defeat the two of them after so long, Hiruko began to fly into an embarrassed rage.

He leaped out of the battle circle, rapidly formed hand signs, and shouted,

"Storm Style: Thundercloud Inner Wave!"

In an instant, a thundercloud appeared over the mountaintop.

At that moment, Kagami sheathed the sword in his hand and also began forming hand signs.

"Fire Style: Fireball Technique!"

As though he had already anticipated that Kagami would use a Fire Style technique, Orochimaru finished forming his own hand signs as well. He slammed both hands onto the ground and shouted,

"Earth Style: Clay Quicksand!"