Chapter 148: Wood Release: Great Forest Technique
On a distant mountain peak.
Sasori, with his red hair, stood on a large tree, gazing fervently at the Asura Path in the distance.
That was his masterpiece!
The Five-Tails Jinchuriki had been turned into a half-human puppet by Sasori. On top of that, Pain had transformed the half-human puppet into the Asura Path.
This way, the Asura Path not only possessed the abilities of the Five-Tails Jinchuriki but could also draw upon the Tailed Beast Chakra within, achieving multiple benefits.
A half-human puppet involved sealing the person's will and transforming their body into a living puppet, allowing the puppet master to control them. This was challenging for most puppet masters but was easy for Sasori, who mastered both the Brain Control Technique and Human Puppet Technique.
Those turned into half-human puppets were not dead, but they weren't truly alive either, like vegetative beings who could only be manipulated.
In the air.
Tsunade, Mei Terumi, and the others frowned with concern.
The leader of the Akatsuki was already powerful. Now, with the support of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, Shishou's battle seemed challenging.
But the next moment, they were reassured.
Seeing the wooden hands of the All-Encompassing Bags Technique severed by the scorching laser, Shishou clapped his hands, causing the severed wooden hands to rapidly regrow into two wooden dragons. These dragons coiled around the freed Four-Tails, biting its neck and arms.
"Roar!!!"
The Four-Tails roared in agony, struggling fiercely.
However, the Chakra of the Four-Tails was being absorbed by the wooden dragons, making them stronger and tightening their grip on the Four-Tails.
A '座' symbol appeared on Shishou's palm. As he aimed it at the restrained Four-Tails, the towering wooden giant at his feet moved toward the Four-Tails, extending a hand to press on its head.
Universal Pull!
Pain's Deva Path raised his right hand, pulling Shishou into the air before letting him drop, interrupting his technique.
Horn Break!
The Asura Path jumped off the Yatagarasu, transforming into the Five-Tails mid-air. It landed and charged at Shishou's wooden giant, knocking it away from the Four-Tails.
As Shishou fell from the air, he clasped his hands together.
Wood Release: Wood Human Technique: Three Wise Kings!
In the next second, three more towering wooden giants rose from the ground, catching Shishou firmly.
In the air, Tsunade bit her lip. The power of Shishou's Wood Release now rivaled that of her grandfather!!!
"Has the gap between our abilities really grown this wide?" Tsunade thought bitterly.
Mei Terumi shared Tsunade's sentiments.
"Are you trying to exhaust me?" Shishou chuckled, looking up at the Yatagarasu in the sky.
It was clear that Pain intended to use the Four-Tails and Five-Tails to deplete Shishou's Chakra, which was why he only sent out the Animal Path and Asura Path.
But Shishou had tricks up his sleeve too.
Leaving the four wooden giants to engage the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, Shishou pressed his hands into the air, summoning.
"Master."
With a puff of smoke, three snake sisters, Shinki, Shima, and Tsuchiki, appeared before Shishou, bowing respectfully.
"Catch them!" Shishou commanded, pointing at the Yatagarasu in the sky.
As the leaders of the Dragon Cave, one of the Three Great Sage Regions, the snake sisters could all hover and fly.
"Yes." Shinki nodded, transforming into a giant green snake, carrying Shishou and the other two snake sisters as they flew towards the Yatagarasu.
"Where did that bastard find these three women?!" Mei Terumi and the others gritted their teeth in frustration.
Shishou preferred the assistance of these three over them, which implied that he considered the trio far superior in strength.
"Combine your Fire Release with mine!" Shishou directed the two snake sisters on the back of the Yatagarasu.
"Yes," Shima and Tsuchiki replied in unison.
Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!
Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves x2!
Shishou exhaled a massive fire technique, while Shima and Tsuchiki unleashed wind techniques, amplifying the flames. The resulting inferno surged towards Pain and his paths, turning the sky above Death Valley orange, even more powerful than the fire technique Shishou had used with the Dream Eater.
"I've never seen such a terrifying fire technique..." Kisame muttered, stunned, while the other Akatsuki members nodded silently.
In the sky, Tsunade and the others were too shocked to speak.
Preta Path!
On the Yatagarasu, the Preta Path's hands detached, forming a floating circular shield around the Yatagarasu, absorbing all the flames.
"In the face of the Rinnegan, all ninjutsu is meaningless," the Preta Path stated coldly, looking at Shishou behind him.
The Yatagarasu descended, dropping the remaining paths of Pain onto one of Shishou's wooden giants before soaring again.
The Preta Path placed its hand on the wooden giant's head, absorbing its Wood Release Chakra. Within seconds, the giant began to wither and crumble.
The technique used by the Preta Path was the same Chakra Absorption used to absorb Naruto's Sage Mode energy in the original series.
Shinra Tensei!
At the same time, the Deva Path launched at Shishou, extending both hands forward to use Shinra Tensei to block Shishou and the three snake sisters.
After absorbing one wooden giant's Chakra, the Preta Path leaped to the next. Within minutes, Shishou's four wooden giants were destroyed, and the Four-Tails and Five-Tails were free again.
Seeing his Wood Human Technique broken, Pain's Deva Path returned to the other paths of Pain, not wanting to engage Shishou any further.
Standing on the transformed giant snake, Shishou looked at the slightly altered Pain paths and stroked his chin: "Looks like you've prepared well."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shishou quickly formed seals.
Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!
Boom!! Boom!!
Countless giant vines erupted from the ground, like rampant dragons, tearing through mountains, piercing rocks, and covering the entire ground, surging towards the Six Paths of Pain. The scale and speed of this forest far exceeded the Nativity of a Sea of Trees.
This was an enhanced version of Flowering Forest Descent, upgraded and modified after Shishou fully awakened Hashirama's power and absorbed the Chakras of Rinnegan Madara, the Two-Tails, Three-Tails, Six-Tails, Eight-Tails, and Yin Kurama. Its power was more than tripled!!!
Even Hashirama and Madara in their prime couldn't wield such power and scale.
"Too fast, there's no time to use the Tailed Beast Ball," the Animal Path quickly judged, pressing its hands to the ground.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several giant summons appeared before the Six Paths of Pain, managing to block the rampant forest... for two seconds.
Two seconds later, the Preta Path created a Chakra absorption shield around the Six Paths of Pain, trying to stop the forest.
"Damn, there's too much Wood Release Chakra; I can't absorb it all..." The Preta Path shouted in dismay after three seconds, then, along with the Animal Path, Naraka Path, and Human Path, was shredded by the rampant forest. The Four-Tails and Five-Tails were also bound in place, unable to move.
Only the Deva Path managed to escape by propelling itself several hundred meters into the air using its force field.
Then, giant flowers bloomed within the forest, releasing poisonous pollen, causing the Four-Tails and Five-Tails to fall unconscious and revert from their Tailed Beast forms.