Chapter 44: No Biting There

"Uchiha Itachi isn't just incredibly intelligent in battle, he's also extremely decisive," Shishou mused, watching the Susanoo-clad Itachi from the mountaintop. His lips curved into a slight smile.

Beside him, Mikoto, Izumi, Yugao, and Erina were all stunned into silence by the sheer power displayed by Orochimaru and Itachi. They had become numb to the overwhelming display of abilities.

"Not only does he wield that terrifying black flame, but he also has this," Orochimaru muttered from the shadows, eyeing Itachi's Susanoo with a mixture of awe and greed. "I must get my hands on a pair of Mangekyo Sharingan!"

Orochimaru had used up most of his chakra summoning Manda. To ensure his safety, he had hidden himself, leaving only a clone inside Manda to help resist Itachi's Genjutsu.

Itachi's Susanoo continued to form around him, quickly developing into a complete half-body. In its right hand, it manifested a sword, which Itachi used to slice Manda into pieces with ease.

"You..." Manda's eyes dimmed, disbelief flickering in them as it died.

"It seems this Itachi hasn't yet obtained the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror," Shishou observed, noting the ordinary sword in Susanoo's hand. He muttered to himself, "Impressive."

Orochimaru felt grateful that Shishou had warned him about Itachi's numerous hidden techniques. Without that advice, he would have been defeated quickly. Glancing at Manda's corpse, he made his escape.

"Let's go!" Itachi said, withdrawing Susanoo and leading Kisame away quickly after Orochimaru fled.

"Are we not chasing him?" Kisame asked, glancing at Orochimaru.

"No, Orochimaru was waiting here, which means he knew we were coming," Itachi replied. "There are others hiding on the mountaintop. We're not in any condition to fight them now."

Itachi was also puzzled by Orochimaru's unusual tactics. Normally, Orochimaru relied on his immortality and fought head-on. Today, he had kept his distance and used summoned creatures to probe instead.

This was suspicious. Additionally, Itachi had sensed the presence of someone on the mountaintop. Although he couldn't identify who it was, he was wary. Plus, using Amaterasu and Susanoo had exhausted him. He needed rest.

"I see," Kisame said, glancing at the mountaintop and trusting Itachi's judgment.

Without further questions, he followed Itachi as they quickly departed.

"Well, what do you think?" Shishou asked the four women beside him after Orochimaru and Itachi left.

"They were amazing! I wish I could be as strong as them," Yugao said, eyes shining with admiration.

"It seems revenge is hopeless," Izumi said, eyes dull with resignation.

"I..." Erina hesitated, unsure of what to say.

"Mmmph..." This was Mikoto, who was tied up and had her mouth covered.

Shishou quickly untied Mikoto. As soon as she was freed, she angrily bit down on Shishou's shoulder. Tears started to flow as she bit him. Facing Itachi's overwhelming strength, she saw no hope of defeating him or stopping the conflict between her sons, causing her deep pain.

"Go ahead, bite if it helps," Shishou said, holding Mikoto and gently patting her back. He didn't mind the blood seeping from his shoulder. Since Mikoto was his woman, he was prepared to share her burdens.

Yugao and Izumi exchanged a look, then playfully bit Shishou as well. They had been waiting for a chance to get back at him for a while.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Shishou laughed. "Who bit my chest?"

Seeing Shishou being playful with Yugao and Izumi, Mikoto couldn't help but join in, saying, "Usually, you bully us. Now it's our turn."

She invited Erina to join, "Erina, come on. Let's show him our strength."

Erina hesitated due to her past experiences but watching the others playfully wrestling, she wanted to join. She tentatively approached and joined in the playful biting.

Despite their biting, it was all in good fun. Shishou laughed inwardly, understanding that Yugao and Izumi were trying to cheer Mikoto up.

However, this didn't mean he wouldn't fight back. Seeing Erina join in, he declared, "If you keep biting, I'll start fighting back! I won't be responsible for what I grab or bite."

He began his playful retaliation, eliciting squeals from the women.

"Ahh! Watch where you're touching..."

"Don't bite there..."

After a playful tussle, Shishou sent each of the women back to their respective places. Then he returned to Orochimaru's experimental base.

"Tsk, tsk," Shishou said, looking at Manda's corpse. "This turned out better than I expected."

His advice to Orochimaru to use summoned creatures against Itachi had been a ploy to benefit himself. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered.

"Farewell, King of Snakes," Shishou said, releasing his worms to devour Manda's body.

With Manda and the other snakes' corpses, Shishou's worms would have enough nutrients to evolve again. This would allow him to open a new insect space and conduct a system lottery.

Thinking of the lottery made Shishou's eyes sparkle with anticipation. As the worms consumed part of Manda's body, a system notification popped up.

[Phosphorous Worm, epic insect species, has evolved five times, now ready for further evolution.]

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