Satoru looked down at the forest below and the suddenly appearing forest of bone white. A trace of solemnity appeared on his face.
"The time left for the Tyrant Mode to sustain itself is not much. I can't drag this out any longer."
He took out a scroll, and as the white mist dissipated, a multitude of senbon needles materialized out of thin air, hovering in the space behind him.
Constructing electromagnetic propulsion, the senbon needles revolved gently, interweaving arcs of blue lightning, instantly enveloping all the ninja tools, forming a lattice of lightning arcs.
Satoru raised his hand and swung downward.
In an instant, the floating ninja tools behind him transformed into electromagnetic cannons, rapidly hurtling toward the ground, accompanied by thunderous booms.
A multitude of bone spikes were shattered by the electromagnetic cannons, and bone fragments mixed with dust were scattered in all directions.
Satoru's eyebrows furrowed slightly. The scene of Maru's impact on him, as anticipated, was not visible within the angle of his Byakugan's vision.
"Did he teleport away before the attack arrived? What a troublesome ability."
The Dance of the Seedling Ferns was the ultimate technique of the Shikotsumyaku. Members of the Kaguya Clan could teleport to any location covered by bone spikes.
Suddenly, a chill sensation came from behind.
Without turning around, Satoru's silver-white snakes rapidly moved, forming a shield behind him.
Clang!
Just as the shield was forming, an immense force burst from it, causing his body to stagger slightly, propelling him a few steps forward from midair.
Behind him, the lower half of Maru's body, connected to massive bone spikes, extended over ten meters, appearing behind Satoru. His right hand had transformed into a huge spiral bone spike, pressing firmly against the silver shield.
"You still haven't learned your lesson."
Suppressing the surging chakra within him, Satoru's eyes revealed a hint of coldness.
Suddenly, a tiny metallic snake flowed out from the silver shield, moving toward Maru's body along the spiral bone spike.
His pupils contracted abruptly, and Maru didn't dare to hesitate any longer. He disintegrated the bone spike on his right hand, his body quickly descending, once again disappearing into the bone-white forest.
Satoru tore open another scroll. A multitude of metallic ninja tools materialized, and with the terrifying enhancement of electromagnetic propulsion, they transformed into electromagnetic cannons, shooting toward the ground.
Boom!
Numerous bone spikes were obliterated, revealing a devastated ground. Yet, the forest of bone white swiftly surged and regrew, swallowing the cleared area once more.
"Are you trying to buy time?"
Narrowing his eyes, Satoru murmured. The time remaining for the Tyrant Mode was running out, and if he didn't quickly deal with this opponent, it would become troublesome.
He turned his head to look in the direction Anko had departed. He mumbled softly, "It's been a while. Anko should have escaped far by now."
Taking a deep breath, he decided to stop holding back. Chakra surged wildly within him.
He raised his right hand towards the ground and clenched it tightly.
In an instant, the ground started trembling unbelievably. With the ground shaking, a large number of metal forests emerged, rising from the ground and devouring countless trees in the process. The metallic forest ruthlessly tore through the bone-white forest, annihilating it.
Deep within the bone forest, Maru's pupils trembled slightly.
"What kind of jutsu is this???"
Chakra surged chaotically as he attempted to manipulate the bone forest's growth to resist. However, with a mere hesitation, his efforts were crushed as bone fragments filled the air.
With a resounding roar, the black metallic forest thoroughly overwhelmed the bone forest, relentlessly advancing toward the center.
In mid-air, Satoru's face paled. Clenching his teeth, he squeezed out the last remnants of chakra within him.
Below, the black metallic forest had already consumed most of the bone forest and was rapidly closing in on the center.
Seeing that he could no longer hold back the metallic forest, Maru's expression turned manic. Bloodshot veins burst from his eyes as he hoarsely roared.
"If I'm going to die, you'll die with me!"
With the last chakra support gone, the bone forest's rate of being consumed by the metallic forest increased significantly. In the blink of an eye, it arrived by his side. Numerous pieces of hard black metal pierced through his body, staining the surrounding bone white with his blood.
He was laughing a crazed laugh.
"Hahaha... You'll die too, you'll die!"
The rapidly growing bone spikes were approaching, and Satoru's pale face trembled. His body had been depleted to the point of no escape. The silver snake rapidly flowed, shielding the vital parts of his body.
Plop!
Several bone spikes pierced his body, and droplets of blood fell onto the metallic forest below, staining it.
The arcs of blue lightning between his hair disappeared, and Satoru felt intense pain completely enveloping him. The Tyrant Mode had come to an end.
Just then, a clap of thunder echoed in the gray sky. Satoru weakly raised his head, and a cold raindrop landed on his face.
Following that, another drop...
The rain washed away the bloodstains on his face, taking away the remaining warmth from his body.
"It's raining."
His gaze trembled slightly as he looked at the sky. He murmured, his voice almost inaudible.
The long-awaited downpour finally arrived, just as the battle was nearing its end.
Splatter, splatter...
The June rain came with great intensity. Within a few breaths, the raindrops had grown numerous. The dense rain washed over the gruesome battlefield.
Beside the ruined bone forest, Maru's body was pierced through by the dense metallic forest. His body had grown cold, but his face still bore a final, cruel smile.
Satoru exerted his last bit of strength, gradually extracting his body from the bone spikes. Falling from midair, the silver-white snakes around him converged into a fist-sized metallic sphere, plummeting alongside him into the ruins.
Pain... It hurt so much...
Cold... It was so cold...
In the pouring rain, Satoru's eyelids felt as heavy as lead. He felt as if he could just fall asleep like this.
At that moment, familiar cries reached his ears, causing his half-closed eyes to slowly open.
"Satoru! I'm back!"
"Satoru! Where are you? I won't leave you behind..."
"Satoru..."
In a daze, he felt like someone was lifting him. Amidst the pouring rain, they staggered forward. A hint of warmth flowed from the other person's body into his.
"Satoru, I'm taking you home."
In his final moments, his consciousness plunged into darkness.