Chapter 304: Izumo-Kyaku-Nation Slayer! What Is True Art?

Chapter 304: Izumo-Kyaku-Nation Slayer! What Is True Art?

According to Buddha, Hell is divided into three types: Fundamental Hell, Peripheral Hell, and Solitary Hell.

Among them, Solitary Hell can appear suddenly anywhere—in the mountains, in the wilderness, under trees, or in the air.

It makes one lose lasting interest in anything, unable to escape the suffering at the edge of dreams, living a passive life of forgetting pain, day after day, until—

The gate of judgment, Rashōmon, swings wide open,

Eradicating all suffering, sweeping away all extravagance, obliterating indulgence in wine and lust.

With the Heavenly Eye overlooking the world—an entire nation is destroyed!

At this moment—

The sky darkened abruptly.

For hundreds of thousands of miles, the sky was covered by inky clouds, surging like waves of black ink.

Blazing beams of lightning and fire flickered for just an instant as they soared into the sky.

Then—

The overcast sky split open, forming a long, narrow rift—like a human eye.

The swirling dark clouds parted outward, spiraling and expanding. Under the cold moonlight, the layers of the clouds became visible—

From the deep, suffocating black, to the gray tinged with moonlight, to the milky-white clouds drifting high in the distant blue sky.

And beyond that—

A full moon, like the pupil of a celestial eye, gazed down indifferently upon all things!

Countless people in the burning city below raised their heads,

Gazing in stunned silence at this divine phenomenon.

Under the scrutiny of this moon within the rift, this eye in the heavens, it felt as if all secrets were laid bare.

The next moment—

A blinding, deathly-white light engulfed everything in sight.

A thunderbolt, like a pillar of pure energy, descended from the heavens—

Striking directly at the most lavish place within Yunming City!

"—BOOM!!"

Amidst the ruins of a shattered palace—

Uchiha Ci tilted his head back, watching the colossal pillar of lightning crash down from the sky!

The endless lightning surged, and at the moment it touched the skeletal hand of Susanoo, gripping the Futsunomitama—

The divine sword absorbed it entirely.

Now—

The eighteen-meter-long straight blade, held within the skeletal giant's grip, vibrated wildly with compressed, raging thunder.

The color of the sword had transformed from its initial bright blue into a deep, abyssal black!

It was like that day when he sealed the Nine-Tails with his blade—through a series of coincidences, he had forged a weapon beyond human capability, an embodiment of the will of eight million deities.

But unlike that day—

This time, Uchiha Ci's arm was not crushed.

This level of wild power was finally within his control!

By using the divine weapon, Futsunomitama, to summon heavenly lightning, and combining Fire Release Chakra Mode with the technique of Lightning Release: Kirin—

He drew the thunder down from the sky,

Then absorbed this celestial might into the sacred blade, recreating an attack no less terrifying than his battle against the Nine-Tails!

Finally—

He wielded it with the divine power of Susanoo!

"What is that?!"

Pakura stared in shock at the enormous sword wreathed in black lightning.

Even the residual arcs of electricity crackling from its surface were enough to shatter the ground—sending a chill down her spine.

If that thing struck her directly, her fragile human body would be reduced to ashes in an instant!

She had no doubt that this weapon was far more terrifying than her own Scorch Release!

Just then—

"Go!"

A weak voice came from the woman in her arms.

Chiyo, clinging tightly to Pakura's hand, spoke with difficulty:

"That brat… is no longer someone we can restrain."

"Pakura, while he's fighting the Four-Tails and Eight-Tails—let's leave this place!"

"Quickly!"

Pakura froze.

Not long ago, hadn't Chiyo urged her to kill him immediately, fearing that if she hesitated, he'd suddenly recover and jump back to life?

And now… she changed her mind this fast?

But Pakura, though straightforward, was not foolish.

She shuddered at Chiyo's words, then nodded grimly. Without hesitation, she hoisted Chiyo onto her back, slung Mifune over her shoulder, and leaped over the city walls.

At that very moment—

Whoosh!

"Raijin Sword: Izumo-Kyaku-Nation Slayer!"

A roaring whirlwind erupted, accompanied by the furious shout of a young man!

Pakura had just landed atop the inner city wall when an instinctive chill ran down her spine. She ducked instinctively.

Behind her—

A brilliant white light, edged with black, blazed like a supernova!

The afterglow seared her peripheral vision, making her jerk her head aside in terror.

Then she saw—

A ten-meter-thick section of the city wall behind her had been blasted clean through by a beam of black-lightning-infused energy!

The force tore through brick and stone, scattering debris in all directions.

"BOOM!!"

Without pause, the colossal light beam lowered, sweeping across the battlefield like a scythe.

In an instant—

The towering city walls encircling the inner city, stretching for thousands of meters, were sheared down in one brutal stroke!

With her newly unobstructed view, Pakura stared in horror.

She saw—

"—ROAR!!"

"—ROAR!!"

Two colossal figures leaped into the sky, dodging the light beam's sweep, before lunging toward the seemingly tiny boy in the ruined city center!

One was a monstrous, four-tailed ape.

The other—a titanic, eight-tailed ox-octopus hybrid!

And yet—

As the two behemoths charged, the lone figure standing amid the palace ruins did not move.

Behind him, the skeletal hand of Susanoo lifted the thunder-charged greatsword, twirled it once in the air—

Then gripped it with both hands and slashed downward!

A blinding burst of light erupted from the sword's surface, nearly blinding all who looked upon it.

As the blade swung, it expanded in an instant—growing nearly a hundred meters long and ten meters wide!

The first strike came crashing down—

Slamming the Four-Tails' skull into the ground, pinning it in place!

The second strike—

Before the Eight-Tails could reach Uchiha Ci, Susanoo's massive hand twisted the hilt—

And fired a ten-meter-wide beam of light straight into the Eight-Tails' torso, blasting it high into the sky!

For a moment, it soared over two hundred meters upward. Then—

The light vanished.

And the Eight-Tails' massive body plummeted like a meteor.

"BOOM!!"

The ground quaked.

A shockwave of dust and sand erupted, spreading outward like a tidal wave!

Pakura could only watch in horror.

Even the aftershock alone was enough to overwhelm her.

At that moment—she finally understood why Chiyo had told her to run.

Because now—

She couldn't even withstand the aftershocks of this battle!

Gritting her teeth, her entire body trembling, Pakura watched the approaching sandstorm with a sinking heart.

Though she possessed the Scorch Release Bloodline Limit, which allowed her to vaporize enemies upon contact, that ability was only effective in battles between ordinary shinobi.

But this—

This was far beyond anything normal shinobi could handle!

Just then, a weak voice spoke from behind her.

"Puppet Technique: Mechanical Light Shield Seal!"

Chiyo, lying not far away, struggled to form hand seals.

A translucent blue chakra barrier flickered into existence in front of them, standing between them and the incoming sandstorm.

Panting heavily, she then tilted her head back and said:

"Pakura, abandon Mifune. Carry me instead."

"I'll hold off the shockwaves behind us. We need to leave now—"

But before she could finish, her injuries flared up.

Darkness swallowed her vision as her chakra supply abruptly cut off.

In that instant—

The sandstorm obliterated the chakra barrier!

It roared forward, about to engulf them both.

Pakura's expression changed drastically.

Yet, she was helpless.

Her techniques were too dangerous—using them at close range might kill Chiyo. But if she didn't use them, she'd die as well.

And then—

The raging sandstorm suddenly split apart right before them, curving to either side!

Pakura stared in shock at the miraculous sight.

But there was no time to think.

Seizing the opportunity, she rushed forward, hoisted Chiyo onto her back, and fled toward the outer city.

Not far away—

A red-haired youth in a black cloak silently watched their retreating figures.

For a long moment, he said nothing.

Then—

"Hmph."

Sasori of the Red Sand let out a cold snort.

He stopped controlling the Third Kazekage, now reduced to a human puppet, and glanced at the man lying at his feet—Mifune.

Mifune's face lit up with hope, believing he had been saved.

But Sasori merely reached into his pouch—

And pulled out a kunai.

Without hesitation—

He drove the blade straight into Mifune's throat!

"Perfect timing. I needed a puppet proficient in taijutsu anyway."

"Though he's a bit worn out… with some modifications, he'll still be useful."

He sealed Mifune's corpse into a scroll—the first trophy he had acquired since arriving in Yunming City.

Yet, there was no satisfaction on his face.

Unlike the Sand duo, he didn't flee.

Instead, he slowly stepped onto the half-destroyed city wall.

His gaze locked onto the battlefield's center—where a lone figure was battling the Four-Tails and the Eight-Tails.

"…So, it's really him."

Sasori muttered to himself.

His eyes narrowed as he studied the skeletal frame enveloping the boy's body—Susanoo.

And the colossal thunder-charged blade gripped in its hand.

By all rights, he should be furious.

Uchiha Ci had deceived him.

And turning Uchiha Ci into an Eternal Human Puppet should be his ultimate goal.

But—

His thoughts drifted to that moment when Uchiha Ci had held his flintlock pistol, gazing at it with pure admiration.

He recalled the boy's jutsu—techniques far beyond their era, each one imbued with a unique artistic flair.

But more than anything—

Sasori lifted his head.

He gazed at the sky above.

And for the first time—

He felt profound awe.

Human bodies were fragile, like candles in the wind.

Only by turning people into puppets could they transcend decay and achieve eternal beauty.

But in truth—

Was that not just escapism?

The things he had failed to obtain in his youth had shackled him for half a lifetime.

Deep down, he knew—

Even puppets decay.

And they rot even faster than human flesh.

Turning a person into a puppet did not preserve their essence—

It merely trapped their form in an empty frame.

All this time, what he had sought was not true art—

But rather, a way to preserve the beauty that had once moved him.

And now—

As he looked up at the divine scene in the sky,

At the celestial painting that Uchiha Ci had etched upon the heavens,

At the eternal moon, the rolling clouds, and the unyielding stars—

For the first time, he understood.

A breathtaking realization roared in his soul.

It told him—

This… this was true eternal beauty!

Yet reality told him otherwise.

He was powerless.

He had nothing.

Like a destitute artist who couldn't even afford a paintbrush, left standing outside the gates of the artistic world.

And at this moment—

For the first time, Sasori felt jealousy toward Uchiha Ci.

And soon after—

Came doubt, introspection, and a silent question that thundered in his mind.

Staring into the heavenly moon,

Sasori murmured to himself in bewilderment:

"…What is true art?"

"Cough… cough."

A fist smashed through a massive boulder.

Terumi Mei dragged the half-dead Hozuki Mangetsu by the collar, leaping from the shattered mountaintop onto the ruined city wall.

Earlier—

She had been waiting outside the palace of the Daimyō's son.

And then—

A thunderbolt had come crashing down.

It made her wonder—

Just how much of a sinner was the guy inside that palace, to be directly smited by the heavens?

But then—

She remembered Uchiha Ci was inside.

And instantly, she panicked.

Just as she was about to rush in and check if that idiot had been turned into charcoal—

She ran straight into Ryūzōji Sugiya, who was dragging Minato Namikaze out in a full sprint, drenched in sweat.

And before she could even ask what was happening—

BOOM!

The entire palace collapsed.

She barely managed to shield Ryūzōji and Minato before sending them away.

Then—

As she prepared to enter the wreckage to look for Uchiha Ci—

The entire mountain crumbled.

Of course, she was right at the epicenter.

At the last moment, Hozuki Mangetsu used every ounce of his strength to unleash Water Release: Shielded Eboshi, summoning a towering water construct to block the first shockwave—

The same one he had used back at the Evil God Cult's fortress.

Then, Terumi Mei used Boil Release: Unrivaled Strength—

And punched straight through the collapsing mountain.

And now—

They were finally free.

As she emerged into the open, Terumi Mei frantically scanned the battlefield, searching for Uchiha Ci.

And just then—

Her gaze fell upon the battlefield's center.

At that same moment—

Uchiha Ci caught the thunder-charged blade falling from the fading Susanoo skeleton.

Veins bulged in his arms as he hefted Futsunomitama—

And aimed it at Killer Bee and Rōshi.

Both had abandoned full Tailed Beast transformations.

Though powerful, full transformations made them huge targets.

After being blasted twice by Futsunomitama's light cannons,

They had learned their lesson.

Now, both had switched to partial transformations—

Dashing around at high speeds to dodge the incoming energy blasts—

While simultaneously charging Tailed Beast Bombs at Uchiha Ci!

Meanwhile—

The lightning infused within Futsunomitama was nearly depleted.

Uchiha Ci glanced at his gradually dimming blade.

His brows furrowed.

He had finally reached the end of his rope.

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