Chapter 85: The Old Guy Has Some Tough Bones
Just as Guts's Armament Haki: Falling Meteor Fist was about to smash into Ōnoki's skull, less than 20 centimeters away...something clenched his fist mid-air.
Red chakra erupted around him like a blaze. Behind him, four swaying tails emerged, shifting with unnatural fury.
Rōshi had entered his half-tailed beast form.
His magma-coated fist intercepted Guts's lethal strike, blocking it with raw force.
But Guts could hear the low, guttural roar building in his throat,a sign that Rōshi was struggling to maintain control over the tailed beast.
"Fourth Gate: Gate of Pain… open."
Guts muttered under his breath.
Veins bulged across his skin as it flushed red. His blood surged like lava.
Even a full Tailed Beast Transformation should think twice before facing this power.
Crack–Crack–CRACK!!!
Rōshi, barely clinging to his sanity, tried to force Guts's fist back.
But the moment of hesitation was all it took. In mid-air, caught in a deadlock for barely half a second, Guts's monstrous punch shattered through the magma-imbued defense.
The blow twisted Rōshi's wrist, sending a surge of agony up his arm.
"RROOAAARRR–!!"
Rōshi let out a howling cry as his bones cracked under the impact.
Even with the Tailed Beast's natural healing,less potent than the Nine Tails, but formidable,it was barely enough to hold the damage at bay.
The Falling Meteor Fist wasn't done. With the path now clear, it thundered toward Ōnoki once more.
Rōshi's interference had thrown off Guts's trajectory slightly, but it had still been enough time,barely a second,for a Kage-level shinobi to react.
Gritting his teeth, Ōnoki twisted mid-air, flying backward, struggling to escape the incoming blow.
But Guts was faster.
Though his strike didn't connect with the head as intended, it slammed into Ōnoki's midsection with devastating force.
If someone from the Hyūga Clan had been watching with their Byakugan, they would've seen it: a shattered mess of bones along Ōnoki's lower back.
"GUUUAAAHHH!!"
Ōnoki screamed in pain as his body was launched like a ragdoll, spinning violently through the air.
"DADDY!!"
Kitsuchi's face twisted in horror.
He jumped up and barely managed to catch Ōnoki, whose limp body felt like it had been smacked with a sledgehammer the size of a mountain.
The two crashed to the ground as Rock Shinobi rushed in to protect them.
Kitsuchi's hands trembled as he checked his father's injuries. One glance, and cold sweat drenched his face.
"His back... no... half of his spine's been crushed—!!"
Before he could react further, a cold, serpentine voice echoed from behind.
"Did you think I'd let you leave so easily?"
Orochimaru.
With a sickening twist, his body slithered across the ground like a snake, weaving between the feet of the Rock Shinobi.
Before Kitsuchi could react, Orochimaru had already snatched Ōnoki right out of his arms.
"Damn you!"
Kitsuchi roared, lunging forward.
But from above, another voice rang out.
"Senju Style: Monster Strength Punch!!"
Tsunade crashed down like a hammer, slamming her fist into the earth.
BOOM!!!
The impact sent shockwaves ripping through the battlefield, chunks of ground launching into the air like shrapnel. While it didn't deal serious damage to high-level shinobi, it was enough to cover Orochimaru's escape.
He slithered back into his human form, Ōnoki now hanging limp in his grasp like a captured rabbit.
"Hehe... Guts-kun was right," Orochimaru sneered. "Taking out a Kage ends the war."
[Achievement Unlocked: Defeated the Third Tsuchikage]
[Template Character: Monkey D. Garp Completion: 58.03%]
Not as big a leap as when he took down the Third Raikage. Guess it didn't count since Ōnoki wasn't completely dead... and he wasn't as strong as the Raikage, either.
Before he could reflect further
ROOAAARRR!!!
The air trembled as a colossal roar split the clouds.
Guts turned, eyes narrowing.
Rōshi had lost control.
He was now fully tailed-beast transformed, the hulking form of Four Tails towering over the battlefield.
The ground trembled as magma fists swung violently in all directions.
"Damn it! Lord Rōshi's lost his mind!"
One Rock Shinobi Jōnin shouted.
"He couldn't handle full tailed-beast form!"
"Mission accomplished!" Tsunade's voice rang out. "Retreat immediately!"
They had the enemy Kage. And with a rampaging tailed beast now turning the battlefield into a death zone, there was no reason to stay.
Unless the Rock Village was willing to sacrifice Ōnoki, they had no cards left to play.
Even with the Fourth Gate active, Guts's body remained almost unscathed.
As Rock Shinobi scrambled to recover their Tsuchikage, Orochimaru casually tossed Ōnoki toward Guts like a basketball.
"Catch."
Guts raised a hand and caught him effortlessly.
The sight made Kitsuchi's blood run cold.
"His injuries... he can't take that kind of impact again!!"
Meanwhile, Four Tails roared again, caught in a brutal internal struggle as Rōshi fought for control inside the beast's mind.
Every punch from the magma fists crushed entire squads of Jōnin. Screams echoed through the battlefield.
Kitsuchi's voice trembled.
"Konoha... we surrender! We're willing to negotiate! But please... please treat our Tsuchikage immediately!!"
Guts glanced at the barely-breathing old man in his arms.
"Damn," he muttered.
"Although I didn't manage to hit his head… but to think he's still alive after getting hit like that?"
Ōnoki's resilience surprised him.
But then again,this was the same old man who once caught a second meteor from Reanimated Madara and still kept fighting.
Maybe... just maybe... those brittle bones weren't so brittle after all.
Maybe that was his talent...
The kind of man who just refuses to die.
PS: I have a deep love for Old Man Ōnoki. Watching him die is something I just can't bear.
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