Chapter 301: Battle Against Three Kage, The Radiance of Silver Sky!
Chapter 301: Battle Against Three Kage, The Radiance of Silver Sky!
At this moment,
Mifune's seemingly fatal sword strike was shattered by sheer physical force, and he was even mocked by Uchiha Ci.
Yet, despite the shocking scene, the three opponents merely tensed up, their expressions grave but not despairing.
After all, they were battle-hardened veterans—being caught off guard due to a lack of intelligence on their enemy was nothing unusual in a ninja battle.
Chiyo's strongest attack, Kitsuchi's devastating Earth Release technique amplified by the terrain, and Mifune's lethal sword strike had successfully broken Uchiha Ci's Susanoo and even forced him to reveal a second technique, one that resembled Earth Release: Hardening Jutsu.
Although they had not managed to injure Uchiha Ci in the slightest, this was not something to be discouraged about.
On the contrary, it was a significant achievement!
They had gathered invaluable intelligence!
"With the defensive power of that skeletal jutsu, if we time it right and use mountain-level Earth Release techniques, we should be able to trap him. Furthermore, that jutsu doesn't seem to provide omnidirectional protection!"
When Kitsuchi unleashed Earth Release: Rock Lodging Destruction to send a mountain crashing down, he noticed something—
When Uchiha Ci used Susanoo to block the falling mountain, the ground beneath his feet was neither completely intact nor shattered like the surrounding terrain.
If he had to describe it, Kitsuchi suspected that Susanoo protected the ground beneath Uchiha Ci as well.
If that were true, then his earlier attempt was akin to smashing an iron block with a hammer—logically, the ground should have sunk under the pressure.
But it didn't.
This suggested that Susanoo was hollow, which provided an opening they could exploit.
"Not to mention, maintaining such a technique must consume an enormous amount of chakra..."
After shattering Susanoo, Kitsuchi swiftly moved away, his expression solemn as he stared at Uchiha Ci.
"This brat isn't invincible!"
At the same time,
Though Uchiha Ci appeared calm and composed, he was actually frowning internally.
Susanoo wasn't without side effects—
And more importantly, he had forcibly activated it with just a Three Tomoe Sharingan.
Even though he had only used its skeletal form and its second-stage half-body form three times within a minute—once against the Daimyo's samurai, once against Kitsuchi, and twice against the three before him—he could already feel every cell in his body screaming in pain!
It was as if thousands of ants were gnawing at his flesh.
Unleashing such vast amounts of chakra in a short period to form Susanoo's protective shell placed an immense burden on his body, his vision, and his stamina.
Moreover, his eyes hadn't fully fused yet, meaning a large portion of his ocular power was being expended in the fusion process. His physical energy was also rapidly depleting.
Even though his chakra reserves had increased due to his natural talent, his techniques were far too demanding—
By his estimation, he had just enough chakra left for two more uses of Susanoo. However, he would need time for his body to recover from the current strain.
The chakra cost of a single Susanoo activation was equivalent to one use of Fire Release: Chakra Mode, two Sage Techniques, or four Orochi-Style Substitution Techniques.
For perspective, each Orochi-Style Substitution cost about the same chakra as four Great Fireball Techniques.
In simpler terms, he currently had enough chakra for 32 Great Fireball Techniques.
(Note: Don't think that's too little—his full reserves allow for around 70 Great Fireballs. Compared to Kakashi, who can only use Chidori four times a day, this is already an absurdly high amount. Also, remember that Susanoo is a dōjutsu that still requires chakra to activate. No jutsu, whether taijutsu, ninjutsu, or genjutsu, can be performed without chakra. Ocular power isn't a unit of energy—don't mix them up.)
Now, during this brief period where he couldn't use Susanoo—
Could he kill these three Kage-level opponents, plus the six others about to arrive, with just 32 Great Fireballs?
There was no time to dwell on such thoughts. His instincts kicked in—
As Mifune stood momentarily stunned by the sight of his sword being shattered by Earth Release: Earth Spear—
A savage glint flashed in Uchiha Ci's eyes.
His foot dug into the ground, and with a circular sweep of his battered samurai sword, he turned and slashed horizontally at Mifune's throat!
Simultaneously, his other hand clenched into a fist and pulled back behind his chest.
Feeling the cold wind rushing toward him, Mifune's instincts screamed in warning.
His body tensed as he snapped back to reality, seeing Uchiha Ci's blade swinging toward him.
Instantly, he gripped his broken sword with both hands and took a defensive stance, retreating with a smooth warrior's step to create space before slashing upward to intercept the attack.
Clang!
Sparks flew as their blades clashed!
But the difference in weapon quality was clear—
Uchiha Ci's makeshift samurai sword, picked up randomly from the battlefield, was far inferior to Mifune's chakra-metal katana.
In just an instant, the broken blade smoothly sliced through the weaker sword, continuing its trajectory toward Uchiha Ci's body!
Seeing this, Mifune's gaze sharpened.
"All Hardening Jutsu share the same flaw!"
"This brat's Hardening Jutsu must cause stiffness—if I follow up with another quick slash, I can—"
But before he could complete the thought—
Uchiha Ci smirked mockingly.
He let go of his broken sword without hesitation.
Then, his open hand shot forward—
Grabbing Mifune's broken blade with his bare hand!
The shattered katana pierced straight through his palm!
Mifune's pupils shrank. The unexpected move disrupted his swordplay rhythm completely—
And in that split-second of hesitation,
Uchiha Ci's right fist shot forward like a cannonball, hammering directly into Mifune's face!
The impact rattled Mifune's skull, making his vision blur and saliva fly from his mouth. His expression was filled with shock—
Before he could recover, Uchiha Ci's hand clamped onto his face.
A step forward, a vicious sweep kick shattered Mifune's balance—
Then, gripping his head like a predator, Uchiha Ci violently slammed Mifune's skull into the rubble!
Sensing the danger, Mifune tried to twist mid-air, attempting to use his legs to lock Uchiha Ci's body—
But—
A chilling laugh echoed in his ears.
"Your movements… have already been completely seen through by these eyes!"
Then—
Uchiha Ci suddenly released his grip, raised his elbow, and smashed downward. A heavy elbow strike, infused with chakra, slammed straight into Mifune's aged face.
Boom!
The crushing impact tore through the air with a sonic boom, driving Mifune—head and all—straight into the ground.
Uchiha Ci swung his leg, kicking up a samurai sword that had yet to touch the ground.
His fully healed left hand reached out mid-air, grabbing the spinning sword. Reversing his grip—
With the broken blade's sharp edge aimed straight at Mifune's heart, he thrust downward!
One versus three. A disadvantageous situation.
Kill one first!
With Mind's Eye, Battle Instinct, and Mastery of All Martial Arts, combined with the Foresight ability of Uchiha-style swordsmanship—an inherent counter to shinobi sword styles—Uchiha Ci's taijutsu had reached an absurd level.
He could even fight on equal footing with extreme speedsters like the Third Raikage and Namikaze Minato, gaining the upper hand in battle.
Mifune was strong, but their levels were no longer even in the same dimension.
"Not good!"
Seeing this scene, Chiyo's scalp tingled.
As someone who had lived through the Second Shinobi World War, she knew Mifune's skills well.
A swordsman who could threaten a Kage with pure swordsmanship. Even with his blade broken, his taijutsu was still far beyond an ordinary jōnin's.
And yet, such a formidable warrior—against Uchiha Ci's reckless, close-quarters assault—was unable to hold his ground!
Moreover—
Why did it feel like Uchiha Ci without Susanoo was even harder to deal with than when he was clad in that skeletal frame?
With taijutsu like this, if he got close, forget Kitsuchi—even she, a puppet master, wouldn't stand a chance.
"Mifune can't die. At least not now!"
Chiyo made a swift decision, a ruthless glint flashing in her eyes as she reached into her waist pouch and pulled out a yellow-sealed scroll.
Then, with a flick of her wrist, she hurled it toward Uchiha Ci.
"Puppet Art: Manipulated Blade Assault!"
The yellow scroll unfurled in mid-air, revealing a large, glowing 刃 (Blade) character.
In the next instant—
A torrent of weapons, throwing needles, and swords, all attached to chakra strings, shot out like a storm!
Amidst the dense barrage, Chiyo stealthily took out a small vial filled with a purple liquid and tossed it into the mix.
Then, turning her head, she shouted urgently at Kitsuchi:
"That terrifying technique—he can't use it continuously!"
"Kill him now! Hurry!"
On the other side, Kitsuchi also sensed the danger.
His concerns mirrored Chiyo's exactly.
Even with his Earth Release-based taijutsu, he knew he couldn't dominate and kill Mifune as effortlessly as Uchiha Ci had.
With that realization, Kitsuchi gritted his teeth and responded in a low voice:
"I understand!"
The moment he finished speaking, he pressed his palms together, forming hand seals, and slammed them onto the ground!
"Earth Release: Ganglidishi Technique!"
As his palm struck, the ground surged upward into a massive earth mound—
A colossal hand, formed from solid rock, erupted from below, lifting its massive body from the earth.
At this moment—
Faced with the relentless rain of ninja tools—
Uchiha Ci's expression turned serious.
The veins around his eyes bulged instantly, and a faint purple eyeshadow appeared.
Pulling back his left hand, he entered Sage Mode, then formed a Tiger (寅) seal with his blade-wielding hand—
Tilting his head forward—he exhaled!
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
A long, straight torrent of flames erupted, expanding into a massive, scorching fire wall that shot toward the sky!
However—
Crack!
Amidst the hissing of burning weapons, the sharp shatter of ceramic rang out.
In the next moment—
A thick purple mist rapidly spread, cascading downward from above!
As the toxic gas threatened to engulf him—
A warning blared in Uchiha Ci's mind!
Run!
A tidal wave of danger surged through his consciousness.
Suppressing the chill crawling up his spine, he flipped backward, dodging a few stray kunai falling from the sky—
Then, without hesitation, he abandoned the half-dead Mifune and leaped away in a blur!
Though he wasn't sure what the purple mist was exactly—
He knew one thing for certain:
It was the most troublesome ability of Chiyo—
Poison!
A Sand Village toxin that rivaled even Hanzo the Salamander's poison!
But just as he had put some distance between himself and the deadly cloud—
A violent gust of wind surged beside his ears!
Uchiha Ci barely had time to lift his head before an overwhelming force slammed into his face, blasting his hair straight back!
From the empty ruins ahead—
A twenty-meter-tall rock giant suddenly burst from the ground.
The moment it emerged—
It immediately cocked its massive arm back—
And swung a devastating punch straight at Uchiha Ci's face!
Earth Release: Ganglidishi Technique!
A high-level Earth Release jutsu.
Like most Earth Release techniques, it was slow and lacked mobility—
But when pre-planned and positioned correctly—it was a whole different story!
Standing in the distance, controlling the towering rock giant, Kitsuchi smirked coldly and growled:
"For Iwagakure—"
"Leave your head here, brat!"
The massive rock fist smashed forward!
With nowhere to dodge, Uchiha Ci was sent flying—
His body tracing a perfect arc before crashing into the ruins.
Even though he had sensed the danger in advance and used Earth Release: Earth Spear to harden his body, preventing himself from being completely pulverized—
The sheer force of the impact still caused his internal organs to violently shake and shift out of place.
"Cough…! Pfft—!"
Under the heavy black clouds of the night sky—
Amidst the ruins—
Uchiha Ci coughed up a mouthful of blood and struggled to prop himself up using a broken slab of stone.
In that very moment, a faint wisp of smoke rose—
And all his wounds vanished completely.
As the battle intensified, the blood in his veins boiled—
Surging wildly from within!
Taking a deep breath, he exhaled in exhilaration.
Then—
Uchiha Ci snapped his head up, eyes locking onto the towering twenty-meter rock giant before him—
His figure was like an ant in comparison.
Reflected in his pupils—
The dark, ominous sky.
The distant city, now engulfed in flames.
And—
His heart, burning with a raging fire, surging with irrepressible battle lust!
A cruel grin spread across his face, blood staining his teeth.
"Now this is more like it."
"A battle without danger… almost made me feel like I was soaking in a hot spring."
"Very well!"
His eyes flashed with a savage gleam—
And in the next instant—
He shot into the air, lifted by something even taller!
The pain in his body disappeared—
And the power of a god returned once more!
A thirty-meter-tall, blazing flame giant descended upon the battlefield!
Susanoo clapped its hands together, unleashing a thunderous shockwave!
PAH!
And then—
A brilliant blue light surged between its flame-clad palms.
As its hands parted—its true form was revealed.
The most radiant heavenly judgment in existence!
The legendary divine blade, the Silver Sky's Radiance—
Raijin's Sword—Futsunomitama!