Chapter 196: A Failed Endeavor
On the other side of the battlefield, Uchiha Fugaku's expression darkened as he faced the Sage Art: Wooden Golem. He and another combatant were both being held back by a single individual—Uchiha Hikari.
"Haha… Is this the true power of Wood Release? What an incredible force!" Standing atop the wooden golem's head, Hikari crossed her arms, laughing with unrestrained delight.
"I need more chakra. This amount isn't enough for that technique!" Hikari's smile was wild, almost twisted, as if savoring the chaos.
The Sage Art: Wooden Human clashed fiercely with the Sage Art: Complete Body—Susanoo, the two powers evenly matched.
"Damn it! She's only as young as Shisui, yet she has enough chakra to use both the Wooden Human and a fully-formed Susanoo at the same time!?" Fugaku's face was grim.
What Fugaku didn't know was that Hikari had absorbed a significant amount of chakra from the reincarnated bodies on the battlefield using the Hachisen before arriving. Now, Hikari's chakra reserves were overflowing.
...
Meanwhile
Nagato's Wooden Human was only managing to hold off one Susanoo. Two more had broken through and were closing in fast.
Gritting his teeth, Nagato brought his hands together in a seal.
"Sage Art: Wood Release—Wooden Dragon Jutsu!"
Another Sage Art Wooden Dragon burst forth from the earth, its massive form surging toward one of the incoming Susanoo.
"It's useless! No matter what you do, you're no match for three of me. Just accept your fate," came Akira's cold voice.
The Susanoo's black Kamui lightning surged and struck the wooden human. The moment they collided, a significant portion of the golem's body was sliced away.
But in the next instant, a crackling sound echoed as the severed parts regenerated rapidly under the life-infused Sage Art chakra.
"Tch, Sage Art from Ryūchi… Truly troublesome," Akira muttered, narrowing his eyes.
Within moments, black lightning spread across the entire Susanoo.
Zzzap!
A black chakra blade, encased in Kamui lightning, came slashing down.
Splinters flew everywhere as the upper half of the wooden golem was cut clean off. With Kamui's power, this was one of the most devastating attacks in existence.
"Sage Art: Wood Release—Wooden Dragon Jutsu!"
From the shattered remains of the wooden golem, another wooden dragon surged forth, wrapping itself tightly around the massive Susanoo.
As one Susanoo neared the Three-Tails, Nagato raised his hands.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
Under the overwhelming gravitational force, Akira's projected body was momentarily halted. With his current power, even Akira couldn't entirely ignore Nagato's attack.
At that moment, Tendo Hanzo's voice rang out near the Three-Tails:
"Shinra Tensei!"
Boom!
A deafening explosion ripped through the battlefield, sending plumes of smoke and debris into the air.
"Summoning Jutsu—Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"
Thick smoke billowed as the massive form of the Demonic Statue emerged, summoned by Tendo Hanzo.
"Sage Art: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!"
"Sage Art: Wood Release: World of Trees Wall!"
Nagato's hands came together once again, unleashing a torrent of Sage Arts. Enormous tree roots erupted from the ground, sprawling across the entire island in mere moments. The roots intertwined, forming thick barriers that split the terrain into countless roofless prisons.
"Not this trick again!" Akira's eyes narrowed coldly. His Susanoo dissipated as he retreated into the Kamui dimension.
When he reappeared, he was already near the Three-Tails.
"Space-Time Ninjutsu…" Nagato's eyes gleamed with killing intent. With a wave of his hand, countless wooden spikes shot forth.
Whoosh, whoosh!
The wooden spikes rained down like a storm, passing harmlessly through Akira's intangible body.
Ignoring the attacks, Akira advanced toward the Three-Tails, his form flickering with Kamui's intangibility. The massive turtle beast was already ensnared by blue chains from the Demonic Statue, being dragged closer to its maw.
"Susanoo!"
In an instant, Akira's black Complete Body—Susanoo reappeared. A black blade, crackling with Kamui lightning, swung down toward the Demonic Statue.
"Not good!" Nagato's pupils contracted. If that blade struck true, the Demonic Statue would be cleaved in two!
"Shinra Tensei!"
With no time to hesitate, Tendo Hanzo unleashed his strongest Shinra Tensei without any buildup. Simultaneously, the tree roots surrounding the battlefield surged like living swords, stabbing toward the Susanoo.
Boom!
The black blade clashed against the invisible repulsive force, creating a thunderous explosion that shook the heavens.
Tendo Hanzo was sent flying by the backlash, tumbling hundreds of meters before coming to a stop.
But that brief moment of resistance was enough to buy time for the Demonic Statue.
Tree roots surged upward, transforming into writhing wooden dragons that coiled around the massive Susanoo, restricting its movements.
"Kamui!"
From within the Susanoo's forehead, Akira's cold voice rang out. A swirling spatial vortex appeared over the Three-Tails.
The beast's massive body began to distort, flowing toward the vortex at an incredible speed.
"The absorption speed is too fast!" Nagato's heart sank. Raising his hands, he shouted, "Banshō Ten'in!"
Under the immense gravitational force, the Three-Tails' form was pulled back, inch by inch, from the brink of being entirely absorbed.
"Damn those Rinnegan powers!" Akira cursed inwardly. Sometimes, the Rinnegan's abilities were more trouble than they were worth—especially during large-scale absorption attempts.
While Kamui was powerful, absorbing massive objects wasn't as instantaneous as smaller ones.
Left with no choice, Akira deactivated the Kamui spatial vortex.
Roar!
With a harrowing scream, the Three-Tails' massive body was severed in two as the vortex closed.
The Demonic Statue's chains rattled as it devoured the remaining half of the Three-Tails.
Howl!
The statue let out a deafening roar as another eye opened on its head. Invisible shockwaves radiated outward, sending gales ripping across the battlefield.
Nagato exhaled in relief. At least they had secured the Three-Tails' chakra.
From within the Susanoo, Akira sighed. In the end, Nagato had managed to claim the chakra of the Three-Tails.
While Kamui was unmatched in its utility, it wasn't sufficient to swiftly eliminate enemies of equal strength. Battles against such foes inevitably devolved into a drawn-out struggle.
Though his past and future selves had driven Nagato's Wooden Human to the brink of collapse, they hadn't been able to destroy them entirely.
The regenerative abilities of Sage Art-enhanced Wood Release were absurdly potent, even surpassing the capabilities of Hashirama Senju's original techniques.
"Sage Art: Fire Release—Ash Pile Burning!"
Nagato exhaled a dense cloud of fiery ash, blanketing the battlefield in dark smoke.
Moments later, the wind swept the smoke away, revealing an empty battlefield. Nagato and the Demonic Statue were gone.
Staring at the now-vacant land, Akira took a deep breath.
Against opponents of this caliber, it was nearly impossible to stop them from retreating if they were determined to escape.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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