Chapter 305: Tearing Apart a Tailed Beast, a Full-Count Tailed Beast Ball Home Run!
Chapter 305: Tearing Apart a Tailed Beast, a Full-Count Tailed Beast Ball Home Run!
A crimson blur streaked through the battlefield at extreme speed, its afterimages merging with the real body in a near-continuous line, making it impossible to distinguish or predict its position.
Uchiha Ci gritted his teeth with all his might, veins bulging from his forehead and temples.
Both hands clutched the eighteen-meter-long Futsunomitama, as if he were holding a massive pillar.
The scarlet glow in his Mangekyō eyes vanished at that moment, replaced by a pair of razor-sharp golden snake pupils.
As his chakra dwindled, the Susanoo dissipated, and his Sharingan could no longer remain active.
Fortunately, his eyes—mutated from absorbing natural energy—could still continuously absorb nature energy, barely keeping him from collapsing in the next second.
This was a strange sensation.
It wasn't relying on chakra, nor was it Sage Chakra formed from Senjutsu Mode.
It was the sheer act of controlling raw, untamed natural energy.
He had severed all ties—
No more Orochimaru's Cursed Seal of Heaven,
No more Animal-Type Senjutsu from the Three Great Summoning Grounds,
No more chakra inherited from the Ōtsutsuki Clan,
No more power borrowed from the Tailed Beasts.
Instead, his body accepted the purest, omnipresent energy of the natural world.
So long as he could endure its intensity, wave after wave of nature energy washed over him, forcing his body to adapt, to synchronize—
As if breathing in rhythm with the world itself.
[You have mastered: Unknown Sage Form. You may name it. (A)]
[Unknown Sage Form: Temporarily boosts physical strength and enhances senses. Intense use results in a three-day period of weakness. Long-term practice nourishes the body and extends lifespan.]
Two lines of text suddenly flashed before his eyes.
Uchiha Ci didn't bother reading the details.
All he knew was—
Time was running out.
The amount of natural energy in any given area was finite.
Compared to places like Hell Valley, a remote mountain wilderness, the natural energy density in a bustling city like Yunming City was even lower.
He had drained every last drop of natural energy within his absorption range.
At most—
He could maintain this superhuman strength, where he could wield the true form of Futsunomitama with his bare hands,
for only thirty seconds!
Thirty seconds later, his chakra would be depleted.
His natural energy would be depleted.
The lightning stored in Futsunomitama would be depleted.
Even the chakra extracted through the forbidden technique Body Revival would run dry.
After battling five Kage-level opponents back-to-back, defeat was inevitable!
He could only hope that Terumi Mei and her companion, nearby and likely witnessing this battle, would come to his aid.
But when it came to combat—
Uchiha Ci only trusted his own judgment.
To carve a path to survival in this desperate situation—
He had to take down every single enemy!
Thirty seconds.
Two Tailed Beast Jinchūriki.
More than enough!
A single thought flashed through his mind, and his gaze instantly turned savage!
At the same time—
Killer Bee and Rōshi, both moving at blinding speeds around Uchiha Ci, suddenly narrowed their eyes!
"His Sharingan is closed! And that skeletal armor holding the lightning blade is gone!"
"The brat is finally at his limit?!"
A grin stretched across their half-Tailed Beast Transformed faces, their expressions twisted with bloodthirsty excitement.
"Now's our chance!"
The moment that thought formed—
—— Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
Both Killer Bee and Rōshi planted their feet into the ground, kicking up clouds of dust, spinning around to face Uchiha Ci head-on—and preparing to unleash their Tailed Beast Balls right in his face!
But—
Just as they made their move,
The shadow in the center of the battlefield exploded forward!
Like a launched missile—faster than either of them!
Uchiha Ci would never sit still and wait for death!
At that moment, he gripped the eighteen-meter-long thunderous greatsword, raising it high above his head.
His arms bulged with veins, muscles twitching as if about to burst—
And then—
Not a sword strike.
No.
It was as if he was driving a colossal pillar straight down.
The thunderous greatsword was jammed directly into Rōshi's open mouth—right as he was about to fire his Tailed Beast Ball!
"So fast!!"
"Damn it—what is this speed?!"
Rōshi's expression contorted in sheer horror, his bulging white eyes trembling.
—— BOOM!!
The compressed Tailed Beast Ball at his lips was shoved back down his throat!
The sheer force slammed his entire head back into the shattered stone pavement, leaving only his four tails twitching helplessly in the air.
Half a second later—
A cataclysmic explosion erupted!
A column of raging energy shot skyward, forming a mushroom cloud.
But in that very instant—
Killer Bee made his move!
—— Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Eight crimson tails burst from the ground, sealing off Uchiha Ci's escape routes from behind.
Then—
Half-Tailed Beast Transformed Killer Bee dropped to all fours, devouring a Tailed Beast Ball into his gaping maw, eyes burning with malice.
"Point-blank blast! Eat this!!"
—— BOOM!!
A jet-black Tailed Beast Ball beam roared toward Uchiha Ci!
The sheer recoil sent Killer Bee tumbling backward!
At this moment, there was no finesse.
Only brutality.
Only a fight to the death!
Uchiha Ci's golden snake pupils glowed with a cold light.
And then—
His body twisted impossibly, wrapping his arms around the hilt of the eighteen-meter-long greatsword.
He arched his waist, curling into a crouched position midair.
And then—
—— BOOM!
A compressed air cannon burst from under his feet!
At the same time—
He swung the sword like a lever!
The massive blade—like a thrown javelin—spun wildly toward the incoming Tailed Beast Ball!
"EAT THIS!!"
Veins bulging, face twisted in fury, Uchiha Ci swung with everything he had—
—— CRACK!!
A thunderclap shook the battlefield!
The eighteen-meter-long thunder sword slashed clean through the Tailed Beast Ball!
Black-red energy beams shattered into four streams behind it, like delicate flower petals scattered by the wind.
"What the hell?!?!"
Killer Bee's eyes widened in sheer disbelief.
This battle style—
It was nothing like the scheming, underhanded tactics he had known Uchiha Ci for.
This was raw, primal dominance.
Before he could process what was happening—
Uchiha Ci had already outpaced the Tailed Beast Ball.
He surged forward—faster than the sword, faster than the beam—
By the time Killer Bee realized it—
A fist had already appeared before his eyes.
—— BOOM!!
The impact sent Killer Bee flying at speeds even faster than his own attack!
One down!
Uchiha Ci took a deep breath, glancing at his own fist, a flicker of surprise flashing across his face.
This form…
was even more ferocious than he had expected!
However, before he could relish the moment—
"Brat! You've pissed me off!"
Rōshi, who had just pulled his head out of the ground, wore a twisted, furious expression as he glared at Uchiha Ci.
His half-Tailed Beast Transformed hands pressed together in a seal.
"Lava Release: Scorching River Great Eruption!!"
The next instant, half of his massive ape-like form was summoned forth, lifting him high into the air.
Half-Tailed Beast Transformation controlling a full Tailed Beast Transformation—
In this state, he could harness the chakra of the Four-Tails, wielding both the power of the Tailed Beast Ball and Lava Release!
In a flash—
The ground rumbled violently as a massive volcano erupted from beneath, its searing magma blooming like a hellish flower, spewing forth with terrifying heat!
And then—
"Lava Release: Flower-Fruit Mountain!"
A tidal wave of molten lava surged forward, reshaping the battlefield into a sea of fire!
"Too slow!"
But at that moment—
A furious voice suddenly rang out behind Rōshi!
"What?!"
Rōshi's face twisted in shock—
Uchiha Ci had vanished from sight!
And the very next moment—
A single, powerful fist burst through the ground!
Uchiha Ci shot upward in a tremendous leap, soaring over the fully Tailed Beast Transformed Rōshi's head.
During the brief moment when Rōshi had been forming seals to release lava,
Uchiha Ci—unable to use ninjutsu, genjutsu, or even Susanoo—
had dug a tunnel with his bare hands at a speed so absurd it defied all logic, burrowing straight behind Rōshi, completely dodging the lava surge!
"Damn it, what is this brat?!"
Rōshi's heart pounded violently as he snapped his head around, watching in horror as the boy launched himself toward him like a beast!
Instinctively—Rōshi whipped all four of his massive tails at him,
each one moving like the lashes of a god's whip, howling through the air as they slammed down upon Uchiha Ci!
If even one of these tails struck—Uchiha Ci would crash straight into the lava below!
But just before impact—
Uchiha Ci's face turned grim.
One hand shot out—grabbing hold of a tail mid-air!
Instead of dodging, he took the full force head-on!
His grip tightened like an iron vice, veins bulging in his arms as he absorbed the impact.
Right now, with no chakra to shield him—falling into the lava meant certain death.
Almost immediately—
Rōshi's pupils shrank in alarm.
Uchiha Ci had wrapped both arms and legs around the tail like a monstrous lizard, crawling rapidly toward him with a terrifyingly sinister posture.
Cold sweat ran down Rōshi's spine.
"What the hell is this kid?!"
Panic flashed across his face as he whipped his massive body around, swinging his tail with all his might, hurling Uchiha Ci straight toward the city wall!
—— BOOM!!
The walls of Yunming City collapsed in an instant!
The sheer force embedded Uchiha Ci deep into the rubble.
"Guh—!!"
A violent cough erupted from his throat, blood dripping from his lips.
His face twisted in pain, but his grip never loosened.
Then—
—— Creak... Creak...
A piercing, sickening sound echoed through the battlefield.
It was the sound of tension.
Like the body of a squirrel being stretched beyond its limits, teetering on the brink of snapping apart.
Rōshi's expression finally eased—
He was about to retract his tail.
But the moment he pulled—
His eyes widened in shock.
He couldn't move.
His fully Tailed Beast Transformed body, with all the might of the Four-Tails—couldn't budge his own tail.
"Impossible—!!"
A chill shot up Rōshi's spine as he spun around.
And then—
He saw it.
A blood-drenched Uchiha Ci, his face twisted in a terrifying grin, had used his bare hands to punch down an entire watchtower—
And with the same tower, he had pinned Rōshi's tail to the ruins of the collapsed city wall!
Standing on the taut, stretched tail, Uchiha Ci reached out—
Grabbing hold of the massive lightning greatsword embedded in the wall, he yanked it free in one swift motion.
And then—
He charged.
Straight for Rōshi.
"Tch—!!"
Rōshi sucked in a sharp breath, a shiver running down his spine.
For the first time—he felt like he was looking at a monster.
Panic set in.
He hurriedly opened his massive jaws—gathering a swirling sphere of blue-black chakra!
A Tailed Beast Ball!
Its unstable energy compressed at a 2:8 ratio, spiraling into its final, deadly form.
But—
Uchiha Ci only grinned.
Veins bulged from his arms, muscles twitching violently—he hoisted the massive eighteen-meter thunderblade high above his head!
Then—
A single, ferocious leap into the sky!
As he soared—he twisted his body, spinning wildly in midair—
swinging Futsunomitama with all his might!
The sheer centrifugal force blurred the blade, leaving behind seven or eight afterimages in the air!
And then—
—— CRACK!!
A home run.
The sound of the impact reverberated across the battlefield!
Uchiha Ci could almost hear the cheering of an imaginary crowd!
Full count—Grand Slam!
The monstrous thunderblade smashed into the Tailed Beast Ball, sending it rocketing backward at terrifying speed!
The spinning greatsword followed suit—streaking directly into Rōshi's open mouth!
—— BOOM!!
The Tailed Beast Ball, now completely out of control, exploded inside the Four-Tails' skull!
Lightning crackled in all directions.
The final burst of power within Futsunomitama was completely spent, its form fading into a flash of blue lightning as it reappeared in the Susanoo's equipment slot.
Meanwhile—
The unstable, half-formed Tailed Beast Ball spiraled through the air, tracing a perfect arc,
before slamming straight into the castle keep at the city's core—
"——BOOM!!"
A magnificent, fiery explosion erupted—
Like a brilliant firework display,
announcing the final countdown's end!
At that moment—
Uchiha Ci stood atop the headless Four-Tails, overlooking the battlefield.
His eyes—dark and unreadable.
His blood-smeared face flushed with exhilaration, as if craving more.
Standing high above all—
He took a deep breath.
The city—reduced to ruins.
Everywhere, countless eyes gazed up at him—
Killer Bee, sprawled amidst the wreckage, unable to move.
Pakura, standing at a distance.
Sasori, watching from the city walls.
A weak yet dazed Hōzuki Mangetsu.
And countless unseen onlookers hidden in the shadows.
Among them—
Terumi Mei, who had stepped forward to help, but now stood frozen in place, her hand half-extended, her lips parted yet silent.
The battlefield—
Silent.
Not a single sound.
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