Chapter 216

The end of one battle signaled the approach of another's conclusion.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Uchiha Zankai was encased in a massive, imposing dark gray Susanoo, enduring various ninjutsu attacks from Kakuzu, who had entered Earth Grudge mode. With every step, Zankai wielded colossal weapons, launching a fierce onslaught toward Kakuzu.

After unlocking his Mangekyō Sharingan, one of Zankai's unique abilities was the enhancement of Susanoo.

Despite only recently awakening the Mangekyō, his Susanoo, empowered by his Mangekyō's eye technique, had already reached its third form.

With further training, reaching the fourth form or even a complete form was just a matter of time.

At this moment, Kakuzu, who had underestimated his opponent's strength, was left with only three masked creatures in Earth Grudge mode. He looked at the dark gray Susanoo advancing toward him with a heavy expression, while the Fire and Wind masks on his creatures immediately opened their mouths.

"Fire Release: Head Mincing Pain!"

"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"

"Combined Style: Scorching Wind Turbulence!"

A vast sea of high-temperature flames, even larger than the Susanoo itself, swept towards it.

Within the sea of flames, though the Susanoo halted its advance, it showed no signs of damage under Zankai's Mangekyō-enhanced power.

Kakuzu frowned at the sight.

As a ninjutsu artillery type, he loathed facing enemies with strong defenses.

He had intended to switch opponents.

But Hidan, that fool, had been provoked and was now too far away to change targets in time.

"In that case, I'll just wait for the Mangekyō Sharingan to wear out," Kakuzu quickly decided.

As a member of the Akatsuki for years, though not directly paired with Itachi, he had some understanding of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

The Mangekyō Sharingan was indeed powerful, but it demanded a substantial toll on both chakra and the body.

Especially for high-level eye techniques, which required a hefty price.

Kakuzu doubted that Zankai's Susanoo could be sustained for long.

If this stalemate continued, the eventual victor would be him.

Thus, Kakuzu ceased his direct attacks and, using the flexibility of Earth Grudge, began dodging the Susanoo's strikes.

Noticing this, and seeing that his Susanoo's attempts had yet to connect, Zankai frowned.

Understanding that continuing like this would only worsen his position, he activated the Mangekyō Sharingan in his right eye.

"Futsunomitama!"

Zankai unleashed another of his Mangekyō abilities.

A massive longbow materialized in front of his Susanoo.

Futsunomitama, the legendary god of war renowned for his skill with bows and swords, was revered as a protector of warriors.

The Mangekyō technique, named Futsunomitama, could manifest powerful weapons, imbued with special abilities.

At this moment, Zankai's gaze sharpened as his dark gray Susanoo gripped the longbow, drawing the string back, forming a menacing, dark gray heavy arrow, aimed directly at Kakuzu.

Thwang!!!

The thunderous sound of the arrow piercing through the air echoed across the sky.

Kakuzu's expression shifted as he continued to dodge.

But it was useless.

This arrow was unavoidable!

The sonic boom grew closer and closer.

Seeing the fierce arrow homing in on him, relentless in its pursuit, Kakuzu was forced to sacrifice one of his lightning-attributed masked creatures, positioning it in front.

With no resistance, the masked creature was shattered to pieces by a single arrow.

Fortunately, the arrow dissipated into the sky after hitting its target.

As Kakuzu, left with only two lives, began to feel relieved, the loud sound of a bow being drawn echoed again.

Kakuzu's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly turned his head.

There he saw Zankai's right eye bleeding as the Susanoo's bow, powered by the Futsunomitama technique, drew back again. A familiar dark gray heavy arrow was nocked on the bowstring, its icy tip pointed directly at him.

Meanwhile, on another battlefield a kilometer away, Hidan's voice roared with fervor.

"How dare you desecrate God! You vile heretic, accept divine punishment!"

"Don't run away! I'll reduce you to bits and pieces, smeared and splattered!"

"Oh no! I got slashed! Ouch, that hurts!"

"Those who don't understand others' pain shall face divine retribution!"

"Another slash? Ah, it hurts! It feels so good… damn it!!"

Clang, clang, clang!

The clashing sound of metal echoed, interspersed with Hidan's loud jeers.

Uchiha Izumi, wielding two short swords crafted by Seimei himself, faced him calmly and silently.

In contrast to the fierce clash happening a kilometer away, this battleground was relatively subdued.

Hidan, in need of blood, kept swinging his Triple-Bladed Scythe at Izumi.

Izumi, proficient with Susanoo and wielding a unique eye technique, opted to confront Hidan directly.

In truth, even setting aside his Cursed Technique: Death Controlling Possessed Blood, Hidan's combat abilities were formidable.

His taijutsu, perfectly matched with his bizarre weapon, often overwhelmed even a seasoned Jōnin like Asuma, injuring him in the process.

Combined with his immortal body, he was nearly unstoppable when relentlessly attacking without defense.

Izumi, however, was able to keep up in taijutsu, occasionally managing to leave a cut on Hidan, thanks to her Mangekyō Sharingan.

Additionally, without needing an explanation from Hagoromo Gensou, Deidara had already spilled the details of Hidan's abilities.

From the start, Izumi knew to avoid letting Hidan get her blood.

Her precautions kept Hidan frustrated and ranting non-stop.

"It's about time."

After thoroughly analyzing Hidan's combat style, Izumi's eyes gleamed as she took a few steps back, leading the recklessly charging Hidan to a prearranged spot before deliberately pausing.

Without hesitation, Hidan swung his scythe.

Slish.

Blood splattered.

Seeing his scythe pierce Izumi's shoulder, staining the blade with her blood, Hidan was briefly surprised, but quickly burst into laughter.

"Ha ha! You're done for!!"

With that, Hidan eagerly prepared to lick the blood droplets.

But in that instant…

Izumi and the blood on the scythe vanished.

"What the…"

Hidan's eyes widened, but before he could react, a spatial ripple appeared behind him.

Hidan tried to turn around, but mid-swing, he was a moment too slow.

A short sword flashed.

And Hidan's head was separated from his body.

One of Uchiha Izumi's Mangekyō Sharingan abilities: Time Rewind.

Through a pre-set spatial anchor, the user can return to that location within five seconds, with all personal conditions reset to what they were at the anchor's setting.

This explained Izumi's sudden reappearance behind Hidan, as well as why her earlier injuries were no longer present.

The only downside was that the rewind produced a spatial ripple, causing a brief moment of stillness.

A powerful opponent might seize this instant to retaliate.

Izumi had allowed Hidan's attack to hit her shoulder precisely to slow him down for a fraction of a second.

With that, the battle was decided.

(End of Chapter)

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