A massive surge of green chakra erupted from Shisui's body, quickly forming a colossal armored giant. It thrust the spiraling lance in its hand toward the wall with a thunderous roar. Having gained experience from the first attempt, Shisui was now clearly much more adept at controlling the Susanoo.
Boom!
The terrifying power exploded against the wall, instantly blasting a gap through it. As the opening appeared, Shisui used the Body Flicker Jutsu again, attempting to break through the encirclement. However, just as he passed through the gap, three surrounding Root members suddenly lunged at him!
In the heat of the moment, Shisui was forced to draw his ninja blade and engage the enemies in close-quarters combat. Sparks flew between kunai and blade as a fierce battle unfolded. After several exchanges, although Shisui was exhausted, he did not fall behind and nearly managed to kill one of them. As for the two Wood Style ninja, Shisui didn't know why they remained on the sidelines watching, showing no intention of intervening.
Seeing that they couldn't take down Shisui Uchiha quickly, one Root ninja grew anxious and barked at the two beside him, "Jia, Yi, hurry up and help! This is Lord Danzo's order!"
Hearing the urge, Jia naturally turned his gaze toward Simu, seemingly seeking his opinion.
"Why are you looking at me? Since it's Lord Danzo's order, we must carry it out properly!" Simu said with a matter-of-fact expression.
Upon hearing this, Shisui's heart sank again. Given the strength that Wood Style ninja had just displayed combined with the coordination of these Root ninja, he feared he was in dire straits! The three Root ninja also breathed a sigh of relief at Simu's statement. As colleagues, they knew how terrifying Simu's strength was. As long as he was willing to join the fight, this victory was certain!
Simu didn't even weave a sign; he simply raised his arm flat.
"Wood Style: Great Spear Tree!"
Simu's robust arm instantly woodified, rapidly growing into a terrifying giant tree. Like a massive spear, it swept forward with an unstoppable force. The ground along the tree's path shattered completely. Shisui, already covered in wounds, naturally couldn't face such a terrifying blow head-on and hurriedly dodged to the side.
Once he moved, the horrific attack surged toward the three Root ninja behind him. Their eyes behind their various masks were instantly filled with shock.
Damn it, this guy is aiming for us!
Since they were unprepared, they had no time to react by the time the attack reached them. The three Root ninja were instantly swept up by the expanding giant wood and the countless branches sprouting from it, leaving them unable to move.
"Yi, betraying Lord Danzo is suicide!" they roared, believing Yi was a traitor to Root.
"Oh? This was just an accident. I never said I wanted to betray the great Lord Danzo..." Simu's figure materialized from the tree behind them at some unknown moment. "Don't confuse your lives with my loyalty to Lord Danzo, you bastards. You maggots don't even deserve to be Lord Danzo's dogs."
Sensing the terrifying killing intent radiating from Simu, they panicked.
"Yi! If you kill us, Lord Danzo will never forgive you!"
A mocking curve pulled at the corner of Simu's mouth. "Do you really think you're that important?"
With that, under the terrified gazes of the Root ninja, more branches submerged them like a rising tide.
Shisui watched this scene in utter shock. Wasn't the other person also from Root? Why would he attack his own comrades? Regardless, internal strife was a good thing; at least it relieved some of the pressure on him.
For Simu, seizing this chance to weaken Root's strength was indeed a good choice. Otherwise, the pressure would be too great when the Uchiha eventually launched their coup.
Simu looked at Shisui and said something incomprehensible: "Recover your strength."
?
Shisui froze for a moment. Not just him, but Jia, who was standing beside Simu, was also stunned.
"Yi, Lord Danzo's order was—" He hadn't finished when Simu interrupted him curtly.
"I want to see the true power of the Uchiha clan." Simu's eyes glowed with an intense desire for battle. He wanted to experience the power of the Mangekyo for himself!
Though he didn't know what the other man was thinking, Shisui wasn't going to waste an opportunity to recover. He unhesitatingly pulled several Food Pills from his tool pouch and stuffed them into his mouth all at once. Simu could tell at a glance that those Food Pills were produced by the Spider Lily Chamber of Commerce.
A massive amount of Yang Style chakra was released from the pills, healing Shisui's internal injuries and replenishing his severely depleted chakra reserves.
After about five minutes, Simu finally spoke: "I'm starting."
If they delayed any longer, that old man Danzo would likely arrive. Shisui also opened his eyes. Although five minutes was rushed, the effect of the Food Pills was excellent, giving him enough strength to fight. At the very least, he had a chance to stake his life on it.
The battle was about to erupt. Simu clapped his hands together, starting with a large-scale attack.
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Bountiful Wood Style chakra was channeled into every corner of the earth. In the next second, ten thousand giant trees rose from the ground, and the entire surface shattered as if experiencing a horrific earthquake. Countless vines and giant trees crashed toward Shisui like surging waves.
A terrifying sense of crisis surfaced in Shisui's heart. His remaining eye instantly shifted into the three-tomoe form.
Is this the power of Wood Style? The great strength of the First Hokage.
The Uchiha genius finally caught a glimpse of the God of Shinobi's terror from the scene before him. Such power was simply not something an ordinary Uchiha could withstand. Shisui looked at the dense swarm of branches; even with his Body Flicker Jutsu, he couldn't escape such a high-density attack unscathed.
I must use that move to decide this. Shisui made a quick judgment.
The three pitch-black tomoe merged once more into the unique pattern representing the Mangekyo. Emerald chakra surged out, forming a massive armored giant around Shisui. Just as the giant took shape, countless branches and vines coiled around it.
"Susanoo: Tsukumo!"
Shisui shouted, and the green giant's chest and ribs suddenly opened. The hidden red tomoe released a barrage of green light arrows, slicing through all the incoming trees! The green arrows drew fine lines in the air, shredding the attacking forest.
With only five minutes, the chakra Shisui could replenish was limited. A war of attrition would be a death sentence. After all, no one knew how many reinforcements Danzo had prepared; what if the numbers just kept growing? Therefore, Shisui had to choose a quick resolution.
Thinking of this, Shisui unhesitatingly drove the Susanoo forward. The massive armored giant swept along the path cleared by the light arrows, swinging its enormous spiraling lance to strike at Simu. The terrifying pressure of the approach weighed heavily on Jia's heart, even making him feel slightly suffocated.
Is this the pressure of an Uchiha?
It was hard to imagine what moves he would use to respond if he were Shisui's opponent. The thick chakra armor could block almost any conventional ninjutsu, and the condensed lance and long-range light arrows were even harder to guard against.
While Jia was lost in thought, Simu gently rubbed his wrists.
"Piloting a Gundam? Anyone can do that."
With that, he clapped his outspread hands together. An incredibly violent chakra exploded instantly.
"Wood Style: Wood Human Technique!"
A massive amount of branches grew beneath Simu's feet, intertwining and compressing to form a giant wooden human roughly the size of the Susanoo! Simu stood atop the giant's head, the turbulent air of the battlefield lightly fluttering his clothes.
"Come then! Let's see which is superior, Wood Style or the Uchiha!"
Under Simu's control, the massive wooden human charged toward the Susanoo without hesitation. Shisui's face was full of solemnity. He never expected the opponent to possess such a terrifying Wood Style ninjutsu. But things had come to this, and he would never retreat. The Uchiha would never be inferior to any power!
The green Susanoo aimed its giant spiraling lance at the wooden human and thrust it heavily, the sharp tip pointing directly at the wooden human's head. With a single glance, Shisui had analyzed the weakness of the wooden figure before him: the operator himself.
Unlike the Susanoo, which completely enveloped the user in chakra armor, the Wood Human Technique could not shield its caster. Therefore, this was the best breakthrough point. With a sharp whistle, the lance crashed forward.
Simu manipulated the wooden human to dodge to the side, letting the green lance graze past. Because of the sudden movement, one foot stepped heavily into the ground, the weight causing a large crater to cave in. Simultaneously, the wooden human raised an arm, gathered strength, and threw a punch at the chakra giant!
The lance had been thrust out and couldn't be retracted in time, so Shisui could only manipulate the other arm to block. Here, the disadvantage of the Susanoo became apparent. Because it lacked feet, the Susanoo's mobility was very limited. In a situation like this, it could only endure attacks with its thick chakra armor, unable to dodge.
The heavy punch from the wooden human landed on the Susanoo's blocking arm.
Boom!
The air at the point of impact exploded, and the massive power from the wooden human's fist erupted mercilessly. Shisui felt an irresistible force hit him, and the entire Susanoo slid backward uncontrollably, snapping every tree in its path.
With the first strike successful, Simu immediately pressed the advantage. The massive giant, carrying terrifying weight, left craters in the ground as it charged straight for the pushed-back Susanoo.
At this moment, wrapped in the green chakra, Shisui's eye couldn't help but leak a trace of blood. This was a sign of overusing the Mangekyo.
For the peace of the village and the clan, I cannot fall now!
He gritted his teeth and looked at the charging giant. To prevent Simu's continued assault, he had to perform another ninjutsu.
"Susanoo: Tsukumo!"
The green giant's chest opened once more, and a barrage of light arrows condensed from chakra fired out. Simu immediately had the wooden human cross its arms in front of its face. While these light arrows weren't incredibly powerful, their sheer number was vast, enveloping the giant like a rainstorm and even shaving off a thick layer of wood from the surface.
Taking this chance, Shisui ignored the massive drain on his chakra and closed in, thrusting the spiraling lance with a terrifying roar. The target was still the wooden human's head! Shisui had to take down this Wood Style ninja to have a slim chance of survival.
"Yi!"
Jia, watching from the edge of the battlefield, grew anxious. Though he knew how terrifying Simu's strength was, the opponent this time wasn't some Root fodder; it was the true genius of the Uchiha, Shisui of the Body Flicker! One mistake could truly mean death on the battlefield!
Under Jia's stunned gaze, the green spiraling lance, carrying a horrific momentum, pierced through the crossed arms of the wooden human. The massive amount of wood splinters from the impact sprayed out like smoke from an explosion.
"Did it work?" Shisui stared at the battlefield with his Mangekyo Sharingan. He didn't dare relax for a single second until victory was certain.
As the smoke from the wood chips slowly cleared, the parts of the wooden human above the shoulders had completely vanished, leaving only a headless "corpse." However, Simu's figure was nowhere to be found.
This discovery sent Shisui into a state of high alarm. He's not on the wooden human's head? Then where is he?
Under Shisui's anxious gaze, Simu's figure emerged from beneath the wooden human's feet, a smile on his face.
"Got you."
Simu clasped his hands tightly, his lips moving as he whispered: "Wood Style: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"
The wooden human whose head had been cruelly pierced suddenly trembled. Its abdomen bulged sharply, and a majestic dragon head emerged. Then, in just a second, a massive wooden dragon was born from the foundation of the wooden human.
Shisui's face filled with shock, and his first thought was to retreat immediately. However, he had closed the distance considerably to ensure he pierced the wooden human's head. Combined with the somewhat cumbersome Susanoo, he couldn't pull away in time.
The Wood Dragon Jutsu released by Simu had already taken flight, bypassing the Susanoo's attempts to block with a fluid motion and binding it tightly!
"Damn it, I can't move at all!"
Shisui gritted his teeth, desperately analyzing the situation. Being bound by the Wood Dragon was bad enough, but what was truly fatal was that his most precious chakra was being rapidly devoured and absorbed by the dragon!
Shisui Uchiha was backed into a corner!