NOVEL NEXT Chapter 117: Continue Fight?
Hidden Underground Base.
Shino and Karina observed the intense standoff between Venom and the four formidable Akatsuki members displayed on the holographic screen.
Itachi, Kisame, Kakuzu, Konan. Each one was an S-rank ninja, some even with Kage class level combat power!
Taking in the rather unfavorable situation, Karina peeked over at Shino, "Should we continue the fight?"
"Yes, why not?" After all that set-up, Shino's emotions mirrored that of a normal Naruto fan. He was pumped up!
But Karina? Clearly, not so much.
Bringing up holographic screens displaying an array of statistics, Karina began her dissuasion.
"My dear, I really think we should reconsider continuing this fight. The battle time was short, but we've already expended so much. Aside from the minor loss in our deployed bug monitors, the depletion of biomass in the clone's body had reached a critical point after the temporary strength buff, and the Venom mode would only be a shell without biomass replenishment..."
"Not only that, the base of our Tobey clone is the Sound Four's Kidomaru, with combat power at around jonin-level. No matter how we strengthen him, the limited time and resources will not let the Tobey clone's combat power to skip directly to the true Kage class. At most, we can temporarily buff his combat power to that level using external assistance, like how we are doing now with our computation power and bugs..."
"However, we already allocated two additional clone units of comp power just to combat against Kakuzu's Earth Grudge threads and to calculate his movement trajectory, but we still couldn't gain the upper hand in that battle of attrition. Both Kakuzu's fine control over his threads and thread quantity outclasses our own genetically decoded version..."
"According to the database, this Kakuzu hasn't even shown the real extent of his abilities. Our clone will be hard pressed to deal with him even if he had only one life, let alone five. And now, with three more powerful Akatsuki members added to the mix, even if we dedicate all our computation resources, it won't be enough."
"Huh?" Shino furrowed his brow, "Really not enough? I thought we got more computation power after bringing in Kurenai."
Karina rolled her eyes, "Already took that into account, my dear. But remember, in order to maintain basic functionalities of the system, our other zerg armies roaming in the world, and our main bodies, we technically only have five clone units available, two of which were already allocated. With three left, that's barely enough to handle a single Kakuzu, let alone the other three."
"I understand your concerns, Karina, but..." Shino's excitement was still not doused, trying to push for a win-win scenario.
"This is a golden opportunity to assess the true abilities of these S-rank ninjas. We can't let it slip away. Our cause demands that we push ourselves to the limit. Plus, if this was a story, our audience would certainly demand for encore."
"Shino, your joke is getting old. Wake up to reality, our life isn't a story."
Karina continued to weave her compelling argument, captivating Shino with her... graceful hand movements.
"Naturally, I will support my dear unconditionally if you are really determined to throw down, but Shino, think twice about the risks involved. Remember. Uchiha Itachi is amongst them. Dealing with Itachi's genjutsu is an entirely different matter. Our clone's weakness is illusions, and there is still a risk that Itachi's Tsukuyomi can affect us."
A sudden throb coursed through Shino's veins at the mention of Itachi's overpowered Tsukuyomi, jolting him awake from his complacency. Oh my goodness... his mind was clouded by too much excitement, and he almost overstepped his stability creed!
Fortunately, there was Karina to put a stopper to his recklessness.
However, this crimson haired secretary of his probably thought it wasn't stable enough.
So, as if it wasn't enough, Karina took her reminder one step further!
[Even without his genjutsu, we've got records of what he's capable of, and his taijutsu alone is not something to be taken lightly. The high stakes make this fight dangerous, and it might not be worth the investment for our cause, especially since we are busy deciphering the Flying Thunder God technique right now.]
Karina's persuasion skillfully rolled off the tip of her tongue, leaving her target enthralled by her skills...
Persuaded by her talk-no-jutsu, Shino recognized the need to navigate the coming challenges with a composed and strategic mindset!
So, he let Karina bear the full brunt of her exquisite persuasion skills after which he swiftly exerted control over his reawakening chuuni personality, suppressing it beneath a veil of restraint.
Returning to a stable mindset that many would deem to be the entry stages of "sage mode", Shino got a clear overview of his situation and could only shake his head in disappointment, acknowledging his current combat force's limitations.
"Alas, even with my current abilities, I am still too weak. It seems I need to assimilate more humans into my hive to enhance my strength."
Karina rolled her eyes at Shino's remark.
[Ah, Shino-sama, always thinking about expanding your harem.]
Shino lightly rapped the naughty woman on the head, "It's not necessary to only assimilate women, there are some useful tool men..."
Like um... Haku? Oh wait, he's dead. How about...
Karina gave Shino's bubble of lie another poke, and- Pop.
Looking up at Shino, Karina swallowed down her words, not bothering to argue, yet she gave him that "who are you trying to fool" look.
"Ahem," Shino shielded her accusatory eyes with a hand, "Let's focus on the serious business."
Shino set his focus back on the holographic display, where beautiful paper angel was still waiting for a response.
With Konan's sensory abilities alone, it'll be difficult for his clone to escape even with the support of his bugs and zergs. No, facing powerhouses like these, even if there were overwhelming amount of bugs, it won't help much.
Even if it's useful, at this stage, it'll be a waste to deploy his zergs onto the chess board.
So, there was only one road left to take.
"Karina, handle the negotiations. But make sure to keep a close eye on Itachi. We can't afford any slip-ups."
"As you command, my dear."
The "blindfolded" Karina gave a submissive affirmation, her head lowering in a respectful gesture as her hand familiarly swept a stray lock of Uzumaki red hair back to her ear, ready to unveil her unparalleled prowess in the art of negotiation...