206. Predestined Fate
Whoosh…
Jigen flickers in front of Izuna and prepares to kick him.
Swoosh…
"Power Release: Asura's cloak"
Izuna enters in his power release form and avoids the kick. He gets behind Jigen and clenches his fist and gathers chakra in it.
"Sage Art: Super Compression Vacuum Fist"
Bang…
He releases a strong chakra wave from his tenketsu points. The chakra waves take the shape of a giant fist construct and slams into Jigen.
BOOOOMMM...
Jigen is sent flying into a nearby hill. The upper half of the hill explodes as a giant crater appears at its place.
BANG... BANG... BANG...
Jigen continues to slam through multiple hill.
Bang...
He slams into another hill as dust and debris rises in the ground.
'Most of my ninjutsu techniques would be useless against him. He can absorb my jutsu and use against me. I can't give him any opportunity to retaliate.'
Izuna makes some hand signs and opens his mouth.
"Sage Art: White Rage Technique"
He expels a giant crimson dragon from his mouth. The snake holds a purple orb in its hand as it moves towards Jigen.
Ptui...
Jigen slowly stands up as he spits out a mouthful of blood. There is a large fist mark on his chest.
Swoosh...
The fist mark on his chest closes as he slowly stands up. Jigen raises his head and confronts the incoming attack.
"If this is the extent of your power, then you don't stand a chance... Izuna Uchiha."
Jigen stretches his arm in front of his chest as he prepares to shrink the jutsu.
"Release"
Izuna immediately makes a Ram seal and releases the jutsu.
Crack… crack…
The crimson dragon crushes the purple orb.
*BOOOOMMM*
The orb flashes a blinding light which engulfs the entire mountain.
Scree…
The dragon releases a deafening sound from his mouth. The powerful screech blows away the nearby tree and casts a powerful genjutsu because of the intensity of the resulting vibrations.
*BOOOMMMM*
The intense sound vibrations slam into Jigen as his body throbs violently.
Drip… drip…
Jigen touches his ears as blood drips from them.
Bleurgh…
Izuna coughs a little blood as a result of the backlash of the jutsu.
'These Sage Arts of Ryuchi Cave are quite powerful. But they also have a side-effect on the user.'
Wham…
The deafening pulse travels around Jigen and traps him in a genjutsu.
"This is my opportunity."
Izuna stands up and clasps his hand together.
"Sage Art: Wood Release: Gate of the Great God"
Izuna clasps his right wrist and stretches his arm outward.
Whoosh…
He motions it downward.
BANG…
A giant tori gate falls from the sky and crushes Jigen.
BANG… BANG… BANG…
Multiple Tori gates fall one after another and trap Jigen.
"Not yet."
Whoosh… whoosh…
Izuna creates four shadow clones. He nods towards the clones.
The clones dash around the Tori gate and get into a formation.
"Space-Time Technique: Dimensional Ensnarement"
Izuna creates a space-time sealing barrier with Fuinjutsu seals.
Whoosh...
He flickers towards the Tori gates and makes some hand signs.
"Dark Release: Corrosion shackles"
The clones create four shackles and bind Jigen.
'He isn't utilizing his ability to shrink objects to get rid of Tori gates. Maybe it has a certain limit to it or it is on a cooldown of some sort.
I don't know to what extent has he recovered. But he is nowhere near the combat prowess he showed in his fight against Sasuke and Naruto.
I won't take any risks. If I can finish him here, then I will get rid of one of my problems.'
Izuna analyses Isshiki's ability as he prepares for his next attack.
Whoosh…
He summons the Eighth Mist blade from his storage.
"This weapon has enough power to slay a god. The owner of this blade used it to kill some Otsutsukis. That's what the Snake Sage told me."
Izuna remembers the information about the blade revealed by the White Snake Sage.
He wields the great sword and dashes towards Jigen.
"It's time to end this."
Izuna swings the blade at an incapacitated Jigen.
"Your futile efforts are praiseworthy. But you underestimate me."
Fwoosh…
Jigen's right eye changes into his unique Dojutsu as eight spokes appear in his right eye.
"Daikokuten"
Jigen murmurs silently.
Swoosh...
A large disturbance occurs in space-time as time slightly slows down.
Swirl...
A black swirling portal opens in front of Jigen's right eye's focal point.
BANG… BANG…
Multiple black rods instantly appear in front of Izuna as they attack him from all angles.
'Damn, they are too fast to track. Even with my Mangekyo Sharingan, I can't track and avoid all of them in time. I have to resort to it."
Izuna infuses large amounts of chakra in his left eye as he activates his Mangekyo ability.
"Amenominakanushi"
Shoom…
The time slows down around Izuna as the black rods appear in slow-motion to him.
"Sage Art: Dark Metal Slash"
Izuna coats his hands with metal release chakra and turn them into a blade.
Clank… clank… clank…
He deflects all of them and points his blade towards Jigen.
"I can say the same to you. Don't underestimate me." Izuna remarks as he swings the blade towards Jigen's neck.
'I can't maintain this ability for a long time. It requires an enormous amount of chakra and concentration.'
Hmm…
Jigen notices the unusual movement in space-time with his Dojutsu. He ignores Izuna's attack and remark.
"Oh!... You possess the ability to wield a concept. It is such a low-level, but it is still there, nonetheless."
'I never expected a member of the Branch family to possess such power. Maybe if I feed him to the ten-tails, then it might be able to bear a complete chakra fruit.'
Jigen clenches his fists and punches the stacked Tori seals.
BANG...
A large explosion occurs at his position as shockwaves travels through space.
BAM...
The shockwaves pushes Izuna back.
Crack… crack…
Several cracks appear on the Tori gates as they start to break apart.
"I am not done yet."
Izuna takes a deep breath and makes multiple hand signs.
"Artic Release: Hailstorm of Frost Flames"
He spews out blue flames from his mouth. The flames burn on top of the Tori gate and freeze instantly encasing them in ice.
Bang…
Jigen punches them again.
Crack... crack...
Some slight cracks on the ice but it holds up.
'Interesting…'
Jigen turns to Izuna as his right eye revolves slightly.
'Kama Rift'
Whoosh…
Jigen's body is enveloped in a black portal as he disappears from his place. The shackles holding Jigen's body fade away as the shadow clones dispel.
"What?!"
Izuna's eyes widens in surprise.
"Where would he attack from? Top, bottom, left, right?"
Izuna warily inspects his surroundings.
"Daikokuten"
Several portals appear around Izuna as many ultra-high-speed projectiles aim at him.
"Crap!... Susanoo: Yata No Kagami"
Izuna instantly summons his Susanoo and encases his body into the Yata shield.
BAM… BAM… BAM…
The barrage of high-speed black rods collides with his shield.
Crack… crack…
Cracks appear on his shield as the onslaught of black rod continues.
Izuna's expression turns ugly.
'At this rate, I won't be able to hold out for too long. I have to do something.'
He reinforces his shield with Sage chakra and makes one hand sign.
'Metal Release: Mineral Wall'
Izuna slams his palm on the ground. Large amounts of minerals rise from the earth and form a wall to block the black rods.
Whoosh…
Jigen teleports behind Izuna.
BANG…
He kicks Izuna's Susanoo.
Rumble… rumble…
Cracks appear on Izuna's Susanoo as it shatters into countless fragments.
Bleurgh…
Izuna pukes out a mouthful of blood as the black chakra rod pierces his body. His body is pinned against the hill as he struggles to knead his chakra.
Swish…
The black rods rapidly drain his chakra.
Cough… cough…
Izuna coughs another mouthful of blood as he stares at Jigen.
Jigen slowly walks up to Izuna and grabs him by the neck and lifts him.
"You bear a mighty fate… a star of change."
Jigen suriously inspects Izuna with his Right eye.
"... I can see it clearly with my eyes. Yet the fate of all genes… all beings is predestined. And your fate is… you will die by my hands and act as fodder for my clan. So long!"
Jigen's right eye changes slightly as he opens a Kama rift.
---------------
A few moments earlier,
Inside Konoha,
Mei grabs Chojuro from the arena and flickers towards Ao. She hands over Chojuro to Ao.
"Ao! Take care of this kid and our people." She turns around and prepares to leave.
"But… Mizukage-sama! What about you? Where are you going? Your safety is my priority."
Ao blocks her way.
"Ao! I am the Mizukage. But I am also a woman who fell in love with a man. How can I rest easy when my lover's life is in danger? Ao! You won't understand my feelings; my pain.
I can't lose any of my loved ones, and that includes Izuna."
Mei has a serious expression on her face.
Gulp…
Ao gulps his saliva as he is at a loss for words. He gets out of her way.
"Take care… Mizukage-sama!"
Whoosh…
Mei flickers towards the location of Izuna and Jigen's fight.
In the audience hall,
Akira, Yagami, Aiko, Fumiko and Mito sense the genjutsu cast around them.
Whoosh…
Akira and Yagami immediately jump from their seat as they block attacks from nearby Sound and Suna ninjas.
Akira turns towards the ladies.
"We will stop these invaders. The rest of you evacuate to the safe shelter."
"We understand."
Aiko picks up Ayaka and flickers towards the shelter. Mito and Fumiko follow her as they evacuate nearby civilians.
"Mom! Will Onii-chan be alright?"
Ayaka asks Aiko in fear.
"Yes! your brother will be alright. He is very strong, after all."
Aiko caresses Ayaka's head as she turns towards the direction of the battle.
'I hope you will be alright… son. Somehow, I have a bad feeling about it.'
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A/N:- Comment your thoughts on this chapter. I want to make this battle arc better than the Uchiha arc, so any suggestion is appreciated.