Are Tendo Pain and Obito strong?
Of course they are. As two of the masterminds behind the Akatsuki, they are undoubtedly boss-level characters.
Take Obito, for example. He singlehandedly caused the Nine-Tails attack, leading to the death of the Fourth Hokage and his wife.
His Kamui is often hailed by fans as the strongest Mangekyo Sharingan technique!
If Obito had both of his Mangekyo Sharingan, he'd probably be invincible, right?
And as for Pain? His power is beyond question.
Just think about it—with a single Almighty Push, he could destroy the entire village of Konoha.
In terms of Kage-level strength, both Tendo Pain and Obito could be considered at the very peak.
But so what? No matter how strong they are, they're still only at the Kage level.
Akira has surpassed that. He's at the Super Kage level.
So, when facing their combined assault, there was no need for any elaborate tactics—he just needed to crush them with sheer power.
Two against one? Then he would do what Madara did in the original story—send out a few wood clones, each one manifesting a Susano'o.
Four colossal Susano'os stood tall, leaving everyone watching in stunned silence.
These four Susano'os then surrounded Obito and Tendo Pain, forcing them into a desperate retreat.
As for Akira? He casually found a place to sit, as if he was just there to watch the show.
It wasn't that Akira wanted to be lazy. The truth was, after summoning four wood clones and powering their Susano'os, Akira had allocated over 90% of his chakra to them, leaving himself with very little.
So he decided not to continue fighting.
Out of his chakra reserves, around 140,000 units, more than 90% had already been used up!
However, seeing Akira seemingly vulnerable while his four wood clones wreaked havoc, someone decided to take their chance. A few shurikens flew towards him.
These shurikens collided mid-air, changing their trajectories and making it difficult to predict their paths. They came at Akira from multiple angles.
Such precision in shuriken-throwing could only belong to Itachi.
Akira remained unfazed, not even moving an inch. Instead, an invisible repulsive force radiated from his body, deflecting all the shurikens away.
Ever since extracting the Almighty Push from Tendo Pain, Akira had kept that ability without replacing it.
Even with more than 90% of his chakra gone, and his clones handling the battle with Obito and Tendo Pain, Akira's remaining chakra still left him at a Kage-level strength.
Using the Almighty Push to deflect those incoming shurikens was effortless.
"Itachi, it's been years, and this is how you greet me? Do you think I'm Danzo or something?" Akira chuckled, teasing Itachi.
In the original series, there weren't many Kage-level shinobi who died from shurikens. Besides Danzo, who else could claim that?
With his numerous "resurrection coins," Danzo certainly had a talent for dying in creative ways—like being taken out by a few shurikens, stabbing Susano'o with a kunai, or using his life to seal a bridge. It was so absurd that it was hard not to laugh.
It was clear Akira was mocking him, implying that his methods were too weak. Itachi didn't respond verbally, but his actions spoke for him.
His eyes turned into the Mangekyo Sharingan, and then—Tsukuyomi activated!
For a brief moment, Akira's consciousness wavered. When he came to, he found himself in a crimson-hued mental world, with Itachi standing right in front of him.
"Hahaha..." Instead of panicking after being caught in Tsukuyomi, Akira couldn't help but laugh.
"What's so funny?" Itachi finally spoke, puzzled by Akira's reaction.
"This technique of yours, Tsukuyomi, is indeed a powerful genjutsu, capable of dragging someone's mind here to torment them for three days and nights. But you used it on me?"
"So, what is it? Do you want to chat with me for three days and nights while Konoha's being attacked?" Akira asked with a grin.
"Akira, that sounds strange, but you're not wrong," Itachi replied, a small smile forming on his lips.
Indeed, in this mental world, three days and nights would pass, but in reality, only a moment would go by.
But during a crucial time like the attack on Konoha, using this technique on Akira really did feel like dragging him into a three-day-long chat.
"Alright then, let's chat. It's been a while since we last talked. What do you want to say to me?" Akira nodded, signaling to Itachi that he was willing to talk.
"Apart from me, Kakuzu is already one of your spies in the Akatsuki, isn't he? So there isn't much I need to report—he's more than enough to feed you information," Itachi said.
It was true. Ever since Itachi found out that Kakuzu had fallen under Akira's Kotoamatsukami, he had stopped reporting to Akira about the Akatsuki.
After all, with Kakuzu acting as an informant, Itachi did not need to do the same.
Akira nodded, agreeing with Itachi's point.
Then, glancing around the empty mental world, Akira couldn't help but complain, "Itachi, in this Tsukuyomi space, everything—time, space, and even matter—is under your control, right?
"So if we're going to chat for three days and nights, couldn't you at least create something for us to sit on?"
Without saying a word, Itachi conjured a chair with just a thought.
"Seriously, just a chair? Couldn't you make it a lounge chair?" Akira asked, pushing his luck.
Itachi's face darkened slightly, and his mouth twitched.
With another thought, the chair transformed into a lounge chair.
Akira lay back comfortably and added, "Since we're having a chat, isn't it better if we had some snacks and drinks to set the mood?"
"No. None of that," Itachi said, rolling his eyes at Akira's behavior.
"Alright, alright, no snacks, fine," Akira responded. "But honestly, even though it's a mental space, if you control everything, why not make it a bit more enjoyable?
"Some good food, a nice setting—heck, a few pretty girls giving foot massages would be even better!"
Itachi gave Akira a long look, his eye twitching, then decided to ignore that comment. Instead, he asked, "I didn't get a chance to ask you last time—why did you target Kakuzu with Kotoamatsukami?"
Kakuzu was strong, sure, but he wasn't the strongest in the Akatsuki.
Why had Akira chosen him as the target for such a powerful ability?
"For one, he makes for a good spy. No harm in that," Akira replied, shifting into a more comfortable position on the lounge chair.
"And also, Kakuzu has a lot of money!"
"So the second reason is actually the most important one, isn't it?" Itachi retorted, unable to help himself.
Akira just smiled, neither denying nor confirming, essentially agreeing with Itachi's comment.
Itachi continued, "And what about the Rinnegan? Have you really awakened it?"
"If I had truly awakened the Rinnegan, I would've used it by now. Why wait until now?" Akira replied, rolling his eyes.
"So, your eye technique lets you steal others' Kekkei Genkai, doesn't it?" Itachi said, finally understanding.
"Oh? So the Akatsuki knows about my eye technique now?" Akira asked, intrigued.
"Yes. The Akatsuki has confirmed that your eye technique allows you to steal others' abilities, even their Kekkei Genkai.
"Also, they suspect that you might have some ability to see the future. Kakuzu should've already told you all this, right?" Itachi explained.
"That's interesting. If they think I can predict the future, why did the Akatsuki and Urashiki still decide to attack Konoha?" Akira asked, perplexed.
If they thought he could see the future, and knew he could predict their actions, wouldn't it be foolish to attack Konoha?
Itachi didn't answer that.
Some things, even when victory seemed unlikely, still had to be attempted.
"Alright, let's talk about something important now," Itachi said, his expression turning serious as he looked at Akira.
Akira returned his gaze, curiosity in his eyes. At a time like this, what could be so important?
"Akira, my body isn't doing well. My vision is getting blurrier by the day—I'm reaching my limit. So…"
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POWER STONE!!!
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