"Look, someone's charging at Shukaku!"
"Who is it?"
"Seems like he's wearing the Uchiha clan's fan insignia."
"Who's that?"
The Konoha ninja nearby also saw Linton rushing forward, and naturally, everyone was shocked. The monster in front of them had just repelled Lord Orochimaru's Manda, so what was this Uchiha doing? You could call him brave, but maybe this was a little too much.
Of course, they didn't know that Linton was still talking to the battle system in his head: "Come on, big guy, aren't you supposed to be an intelligent system? Don't you have any sense of whether you can win this fight? It's obvious you can't win, can't you recognize that? Take my advice: don't drive recklessly... no, that's not it. Anyway, can we..."
Before he could finish speaking, Linton's body suddenly leaped into the air, heading straight toward Shukaku. As he got closer, Linton quickly muttered, "Didn't see me... didn't see me..."
But just as he whispered this, Shukaku's head turned, and its terrifyingly huge eyes locked onto Linton, who was still mid-air.
"Uh..." Linton was speechless. "Alright... I'm officially done for."
A gust of wind blew as a massive paw swung at Linton. If it hit him, there was no doubt he'd be squashed into pulp, just like the others he'd seen earlier. Of course, based on his previous experience, he figured he probably wouldn't actually die—most likely the exploration would just end.
Without the threat of death, Linton's mind cleared. In this situation, he just needed to survive as long as possible. Glancing at his points, he saw he had over 100,700, most of which he'd picked up from the battlefield just now. Could he turn things around with this?
His options were limited to two: the B-level Spider-Man bloodline or the B-level Sharingan, both costing 100,000 points. These were the best things he could buy, judging from the price alone. If he was right, the Spider-Man bloodline would only boost his overall stats, but given the current situation... it didn't seem like there was much choice.
"Let's go! Sharingan, activate!" Linton bought the B-level Sharingan, and as soon as he confirmed the purchase, a strange warm sensation flowed into his eyes. He felt a sharp jolt in his vision, and even with the pain sensors turned off, he had to close his eyes from the discomfort.
The next moment, a black mist erupted from Linton's body and slowly gathered into a gigantic black skeleton. The skeleton had no lower half, just the upper torso, and it enveloped Linton in the middle.
With a loud "boom," the skeleton raised its left hand and blocked Shukaku's incoming paw. At the same time, the skeleton's right hand clenched, and from nowhere, a massive black sword, flaming at the edges, appeared. With a shout from Linton, the sword slashed down, striking Shukaku's shoulder.
"Aaargh!" Shukaku let out a painful howl and stumbled backward, crashing heavily into the ground and shaking the earth.
"What... is that?" The sudden development left all the ninjas still fighting in stunned silence. What was this new creature joining the monster battle? They could somewhat understand the previous beasts, but this huge black skeleton? What on earth was that?
Not everyone was clueless, though. Among the Konoha forces, there were some who recognized the technique. One of the Uchiha ninjas exclaimed, "Could it be... the legendary Mangekyo?"
"Susanoo? The Mangekyo Sharingan?" Orochimaru also gasped. He hadn't seen it in person but had heard of it before. The last person to have the Mangekyo Sharingan was Madara Uchiha, and ever since his death, no one from the Uchiha clan had awakened the Mangekyo. So who was this guy?
While everyone was still in shock, the black skeleton suddenly stopped and began doing some strange movements. It raised its hands, stretched them out, and then lowered them—almost as if it was doing gymnastics. This left everyone even more confused. What was going on?
"Awesome! Now this is awesome!" Linton suddenly shouted. He wasn't just excited about Susanoo; he already knew it was amazing. No, what thrilled him was that he could actually control this skeleton.
That's right, while he couldn't control his own body, he had full control over Susanoo. A quick realization hit him: Susanoo was moving according to his will. While the weird automatic battle system controlled his body, his mind remained free, which meant he could manipulate Susanoo as he pleased.
This was a total game-changer! Just as he finished experimenting with the skeleton, Linton's body started moving again. Even though Shukaku had taken a hit, it wasn't down yet—it was getting back up. Seeing this, the crazy auto-battle system was about to charge in for another attack.
"Wait!" Linton quickly made Susanoo's left hand grab his body, preventing it from charging forward.
"Please do not interfere with the battle, Host," the battle system, or "Battle Sister," spoke up.
"Heh... Looks like I've finally found a way to stop you," Linton gloated. "Wanna fight? Beg me for it!"
"..." Battle Sister was momentarily speechless.
"You've been using my body to get us killed, and now I've got the upper hand," Linton said smugly.
"Host, the enemy has stood back up," Battle Sister suddenly pointed out.
Linton, still reveling in his victory, glanced up and saw that Shukaku was indeed standing, brimming with beastly rage after being slashed.
"Uh... not good."
Sure enough, in the next second, Shukaku opened its mouth, and a purple orb began to form. Linton recognized it immediately.
"A Tailed Beast Bomb, huh? What now?"
There was no time to think. The purple blast was already heading straight for him. Instinctively, Linton swung the giant black sword in his right hand at the incoming Tailed Beast Bomb.
With a loud "bang," the black sword collided with the bomb. To Linton's surprise, the sword held its ground. He wasn't sure what this sword was, but he knew the Tailed Beast Bomb was incredibly powerful. This meant the sword was no ordinary weapon.
Now that he was holding it off, Linton pushed harder, slashing down with the sword. Suddenly, with a thunderous explosion, the Tailed Beast Bomb detonated. The blast's shockwave swept over Linton's body, but Susanoo protected him from harm. Trees were blown away, and nearby ninjas were caught in the explosion, but Linton emerged unscathed, having just withstood a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Holy crap, I really am awesome!" Linton shouted, almost babbling in excitement.
"Host, please manage your mana," Battle Sister reminded him, bringing him back to the battle at hand.
Linton glanced at his mana bar and was stunned to see it dropping fast. He had thought that over 10,000 mana points would be more than enough, as most jutsu only used a few hundred, and his mana regeneration was pretty quick. But keeping Susanoo active was draining him at an alarming rate.
In just a few seconds, his mana was nearly depleted. No wonder Battle Sister warned him. At this rate, Susanoo would only last about 40 seconds.
With no time left, Linton had no choice but to go all out. Shukaku seemed to be in a brief post-attack recovery state, likely from launching the Tailed Beast Bomb. Seizing the opportunity, Linton raised the sword and slashed at Shukaku again.
Another hit, sending dirt and sand flying. Shukaku let out another pained screech, clearly wounded, but not defeated. Linton suddenly realized—tailed beasts don't die, do they? According to the original story, they're just masses of chakra.
Sure enough, Shukaku was already focusing on Linton for a counterattack, but Linton's mana had hit rock bottom. Just as he wondered what to do, Shukaku's body trembled and began to shrink, as if something was pulling it away.
"What... did he defeat Shukaku?" The surrounding ninjas were in disbelief.
"No," someone who knew better spoke up. Orochimaru saw what was happening. Shukaku wasn't beaten; someone had found the summoner and was sealing Shukaku. "Did he make it? Namikaze Minato."
(End of Chapter)