The Monster That Cannot Be Killed

Perhaps it was because he was not using the expressionless Puppet.

The anger on Nagato’s face at this moment seemed to make him appear a little less mysterious and imposing than before in the eyes of the others.

However, Orochimaru had no intention of paying him any attention.

Seated inside the Mage Tower, Orochimaru merely stared at the flames burning before him. No matter how they rolled, they refused to go out, and he wore an expression of great interest.

"Is this also the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan? What a pair of wondrous eyes, but…" As his voice traveled over, the corners of his mouth curved slightly, and through his contract with Death Power, he issued an order to his precious creation.

The sound of cracking rang out continuously.

Right before everyone’s eyes, cracks constantly appeared across the monster’s body. Pieces fell away one after another, turning to ash beneath the black flames. Yet what emerged from within the shell was a monster exactly like the one before.

"Molting?" Itachi Uchiha muttered to himself.

Cutting away the parts being burned by the black flames could indeed avoid the fate of being completely consumed by Amaterasu, but he had not expected it to have a method like molting.

Otherwise, such a large area should have meant certain death.

"Looks like this isn’t something that can be dealt with easily." Kakuzu interrupted, "It’s not a solution for us to keep entangling ourselves with this monster. We’d better send some people to attack Orochimaru’s main body."

This was easy enough to think of.

Neither Kakuzu’s nor Hidan’s abilities were suited to dealing with such a massive monster.

Their immortality could only be brought into full play when their enemy was human.

"I object," Itachi Uchiha said. "Orochimaru is extremely dangerous, and his methods are mysterious and unknown. Even if we all attacked together, we might not be able to defeat him. It’s best not to split up."

Although Itachi Uchiha was an undercover agent,

he had a feeling that if the Akatsuki Organization truly fell here, Orochimaru’s strength would receive a terrifying boost.

Not to mention anything else, the supplies the Akatsuki Organization had collected over the years alone represented an enormous amount.

And to the others, his words sounded somewhat like he was undermining his own morale while boosting the enemy’s.

"Hmph, Itachi Uchiha." Sasori snorted coldly. "After seeing the man you mentioned, your courage seems to have shrunk by more than a little. This isn’t like the old you."

The others also looked over, their expressions changing somewhat, especially Nagato.

Clearly, Sasori was not the only one who thought this way.

Faced with such provocative words, Itachi Uchiha’s expression did not change at all. He merely said calmly, "If you had witnessed a power that could never be matched, you would become just like me."

After seeing the Jars, no one could afford to underestimate any member.

Even if they had witnessed that person’s battles before.

Itachi Uchiha was not sure whether Orochimaru had continued buying Jars during this day. With that possibility in mind, it was never excessive to overestimate him.

"Unmatched power?" Nagato’s already furious heart seemed to be enraged even further by those words. "We rose from weakness to where we are today precisely to deal with that so-called unmatched power, Itachi Uchiha—"

"Looks like you haven’t finished discussing your strategy." Orochimaru’s hoarse voice interrupted Nagato. "In that case, I won’t be polite. I’ll make the first move."

As soon as his voice fell, the enormous monster let out an indescribable roar. All its tentacles moved at once, carrying a sky full of highly corrosive acid as they surged toward the members of the Akatsuki Organization. Their speed was astonishing, their force immense, and the air was filled with howling sounds.

For a moment, it seemed as if the sky were filled with tentacles.

Everyone in the Akatsuki Organization could only evade.

Each of them launched attacks with their own methods.

Itachi Uchiha used a clone to wield his main body’s weapon and brought it down heavily on a tentacle.

Air Slash.

An extremely thin, semicircular slash swept across at high speed, cleaving the tentacle in two.

Yet in less than a second, an entirely new tentacle grew back.

"I’ll do it!"

Kisame Hoshigaki shouted, leaping high into the air. The Samehada greatsword in his hands gathered tremendous might before he brought it crashing down onto the monster’s head.

Mountain Crusher Strike!

This strike not only used the power of the Ghost God, but also poured in Chakra madly. Like Sasuke’s Flying Immortal Beyond the Heavens, it was infused with nearly half of Kisame Hoshigaki’s strength.

Its might could be imagined.

Even the other members of the Akatsuki Organization paled slightly and hurriedly retreated.

Boom—!

A deafening roar exploded.

Seen from high above, with Kisame Hoshigaki’s strike at its center, the earth cracked in rings, shattered, and then flew outward in every direction. The entire stretch of land seemed to sink several meters, while dust filled the air.

"It’s actually this powerful." Even Nagato’s expression changed slightly.

On that day, Kisame Hoshigaki had clearly not used his true strength in his battle with him.

However, after this strike, Kisame Hoshigaki was already covered in cold sweat. He panted heavily, clearly having expended an enormous amount of energy.

For even his massive Chakra reserves to cause such exhaustion,

the price of this strike could be imagined.

"Wind Style." Kakuzu’s voice came from nearby.

A gale arose from nowhere, blowing away the dust at the scene.

What appeared at the center was the massive monster’s head, which looked like a lump of mud.

It lay motionless on the ground, its flesh mixed together with the soil.

"Did we finish it?" Sasori asked.

As if responding to his words, the monster’s body, which had stopped moving, began to twist again. Then, under everyone’s gaze, the lump of mud that was its head began to squirm little by little, dragging its tentacles back onto its body. Its flesh writhed and rapidly restored itself at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Even these powerful rogue ninjas could feel a chill rising in their hearts.

How were they supposed to deal with a monster that could not be killed?

"Useless."

Orochimaru’s hoarse voice came again:

"It is an unkillable existence. Any injury will recover in the blink of an eye. It has no weakness and no flaw. Relying on your strength alone, you absolutely cannot defeat it!"

Although it sounded like the words of a victor,

in reality, they were merely an attempt to bluff.

Although he had used a large amount of materials and evil magic to create such a monster,

it merely possessed a wide variety of abilities.

For example, just now, it had rapidly scattered its flesh. That was an ability brought by one of the materials.

Most of Kisame Hoshigaki’s strike had been vented into the ground.

Both molting and rapid recovery required Orochimaru to expend Death Power. Like the Bone Dragon, this was his summoned creature. How much strength it could display and how many times it could use its abilities both depended on his own strength.

The recovery just now had consumed no small amount.

However, information was also a kind of advantage.

32/71 Clearly, even with an outline, I still write so slowly.