Chapter 578

Land of Fire border, near a secret base of the Akatsuki organization.

Su Xiao stood before a rock wall and pressed the "Sky Ring" on his hand into the groove on the rock wall.

Rumble.

The rock wall rose, and a passage leading into the mountain appeared. Walking into the passage, the rock wall behind slowly descended, and the passage became dim.

Faint sounds of conversation came from within the secret base, and Su Xiao walked toward the source of the sound.

"It's a lie... it must be a lie. These are obviously lies. Itachi did it to protect me? Nonsense, I've been nearly killed by him several times."

Sasuke's roaring voice came from within the base; it must have been Obito recounting the truth about Itachi to Sasuke.

"If Itachi had been serious, you would have lost your life long ago."

Obito's voice came, his tone peaceful.

"Impossible, he even went so far as to use the Mangekyo Sharingan's ocular jutsu to kill me. His goal was my eyes, not protecting me at all. If you dare to say such nonsense again, I will kill you."

Sasuke's voice was somewhat weak, and his words showed he didn't believe Itachi would protect him, but judging by the trembling tone, he was wavering.

"Itachi had already calculated everything that would happen during the battle, including your abilities, your chakra levels, and how you would respond to his attacks. His goal was to force you into a desperate situation. The purpose of doing this... you had already guessed it, hadn't you?"

Hearing Obito's words, Sasuke's mouth opened slightly, his mind recalling the scene where Orochimaru was sealed; the feeling of lightness in his body at that time could not be faked.

Obito continued to recount the facts to Sasuke, and Sasuke's defensive arguments grew quieter.

Su Xiao pushed the door open and entered the room. Obito, wearing a mask, turned his head to glance at Su Xiao, while Sasuke kept his head down, his gaze dull, seemingly doubting his life.

"Blood smell, are there enemies nearby?"

"No, I went to the vicinity of Konoha earlier."

Su Xiao didn't continue, and Obito nodded.

Sasuke raised his head to look at Su Xiao, his dim pupils filled with confusion, no longer holding the firm hatred he once had.

"Bai Ye, you've come at the right time. Sasuke, this is Itachi's partner who captured Tailed Beasts with him while he was alive."

Sasuke's pupils regained some luster.

"You..."

The words reached Sasuke's lips, but he didn't know how to say them.

Su Xiao waved his hand: "I don't know much about Itachi's affairs."

Lighting a cigarette, the smell of the cigarette gradually permeated the cave.

"Hey, I have only one question."

Sasuke's fists were tightly clenched.

"Between me and Itachi... who is stronger?"

As soon as Sasuke's question came out, Su Xiao and Obito looked at each other, both simultaneously having the same thought: where did this kid get his confidence?

"With all due respect, this is the most foolish question I've heard recently."

Su Xiao exhaled a puff of blue smoke, his aura gradually changing; it seemed as if blood energy was permeating the Dragon Flash at his waist. This aura that made living beings retreat made Sasuke tense his nerves.

"Who is stronger between you and Itachi? Do you have the confidence to kill me?"

Sasuke hesitated for a moment, recalling the scene of his first meeting with Su Xiao, when the other party's blade tip was pressed against his throat, ready to take his life at any moment.

"Perhaps... I can't."

"Oh? In other words, you think I am stronger than Itachi?"

Sasuke nodded; after the previous battle, in his perception, Itachi wasn't that strong.

"Just based on your level of Three-Tomoe Sharingan and Lightning Release ninjutsu, I could slaughter you within twenty minutes. As for Itachi... I don't want to fight him; there's an 80% chance I would die."

Sasuke shook his head, seemingly not quite believing it.

"Not to mention anything else, just speaking of genjutsu levels, I've seen Itachi use genjutsu to control a Jinchuriki. As for your genjutsu level, hehe~"

Considering Sasuke didn't know the combat style of Jinchuriki, Obito spoke up.

"Jinchuriki can be immune to most genjutsu. You can imagine it this way: a Jinchuriki has a Tailed Beast sealed within their body, so two types of chakra and two consciousnesses coexist in one body. The Tailed Beast can release chakra to disrupt the Jinchuriki's chakra structure, and the genjutsu will break on its own."

Put this way, Sasuke understood the difficulty of using genjutsu to control a Jinchuriki; it was almost impossible to achieve.

"Itachi really... could use genjutsu to control such a guy? With two types of chakra interfering with each other, how could genjutsu possibly be effective?"

Under Obito's "deception," Sasuke doubted his life even more, while Su Xiao and Bubu Wang sat on the sidelines watching Obito show off.

"You have fought Orochimaru. When Orochimaru faced Itachi, he was defeated in a single exchange. Afterward, Orochimaru defected from the Akatsuki organization and became obsessed with the power of the Sharingan. This was all Itachi's plan, to let Orochimaru cultivate you wholeheartedly."

Obito dealt Sasuke a "fatal blow."

Sasuke stopped talking, and a special chakra surged from his brain.

"This is..."

Obito's Sharingan rotated, finally turning into a Mangekyo form.

"Itachi... Konoha's high-level officials, I will kill those guys."

Sasuke's head suddenly raised, his pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan rotating, finally forming a six-pointed star shape; Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan had appeared.

"Opening the Mangekyo, huh? It's my first time seeing it."

Su Xiao examined Sasuke. Sasuke collapsed as soon as he opened the Mangekyo, likely having fainted due to excessive emotional fluctuation.

"This guy has been in a coma for days. His decisive battle with Itachi was three days ago, right?"

"He has been in a coma the whole time."

Obito thought for a moment and looked at Su Xiao.

"Thank you for assisting me in my actions before, but all this time, I still don't know your purpose."

"My purpose? Absorbing Tailed Beast chakra; that is my purpose for joining Akatsuki."

Su Xiao was so straightforward that Obito was clearly stunned.

"You noticed the Tailed Beasts I captured before, right? They were all half-dead."

"Oh? Aren't you afraid the leader will kill you?"

"Of course I'm afraid; the leader's strength is too great, and I'm not a match yet. Greed never retreats because of fear; only with enough guts can one become stronger."

Su Xiao faintly felt that Obito seemed to have something important to say.

"I transplanted that Sharingan from before."

Obito pointed to his own Sharingan; this was actually his original eye, not obtained through transplantation.

"The ability is not bad, right? This Sharingan is space-type."

"Very good. By the way, there's one more thing: the leader is not prepared to let you participate in the plan to capture the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails. You should know the reason."

"I had already thought of that."

The Tailed Beasts Su Xiao captured were all half-dead; Nagato's patience had a limit, and that limit was two.

"What do you plan to do afterward? Quit Akatsuki? After all, your purpose has been fulfilled."

"I haven't thought about it for the time being. The Mist Village, Sand Village, Rock Village, Konoha—I've offended all four of these major ninja villages. Except for the Akatsuki organization, no other force will take in a villain like me. I'm just a killer with nowhere to settle, and Akatsuki happens to be a place to settle, so I'll stay here."

Hearing Su Xiao's words, a smile appeared on the corners of Obito's mouth under the mask.

If the Su Xiao of the past wasn't very trustworthy, the current Su Xiao was very trustworthy, because he had offended too many forces; this was completely the style of a desperate rogue ninja. But Obito didn't know that there was a place called the Reincarnation Paradise.

"Why not work for me?"

"Work for you?"

Su Xiao grinned.

"You are also a member of Akatsuki, at the same rank as me. Why should I work for you?"

"Why? What if I tell you my name is Uchiha Madara?"

Su Xiao sneered in his heart, secretly thinking that Obito's bragging was truly loud and clear.

"Uchiha... Madara."

Su Xiao stood up; he was considering whether to temporarily join Obito's force, although the risk was not small.

If it were before, he would have refused immediately, but now he had the power to protect himself, so it wasn't impossible to consider.

Obito had been using Nagato to complete the Eye of the Moon Plan, while Madara had been using Obito, and Black Zetsu had been using Madara. These people were using each other, and the relationships were complex.

As things stood, Nagato couldn't let Su Xiao go to capture Tailed Beasts anymore. Nagato's goal was to use the power of the Tailed Beasts to rule the world, thereby stopping war. Su Xiao's continuous act of absorbing Tailed Beast chakra had made Nagato very dissatisfied.

Obito was different; his requirements were much looser. It didn't matter how he absorbed it, as long as the Tailed Beast was still alive.

"If you are truly Uchiha Madara, can I take it that... you are the true leader of Akatsuki?"

"No, the leader of Akatsuki is neither me nor Pain, but a man who has already died, named Yahiko. This is an agreement between me and Pain."

Su Xiao extinguished the cigarette between his fingers and looked at Obito: "Anyone can claim to be Uchiha Madara. I'll consider it and give you an answer later."

"Of course you can."