Chapter 149: Breaking the seal

(T/N: There is now a p.atreon for this work, and any new work I add will be dropped there first. check it out for an early release of up to 30 chapters edited smoothly. https://www.p.atreon.com/INeedRest)

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Temari was shocked to find that the supposedly dead Uchiha Itachi had suddenly transformed into a ninja from her own village.

She was at a loss for words.

"It must be some kind of enemy jutsu, using A living person as a sacrifice. Similar to the Impure World Reincarnation," Colt explained vaguely after a quick glance.

His words made her clench her hands.

"We should seal their bodies and bring them back to Sunagakure," Kakashi instructed taking out a scroll to seal Yura's body before handing it to Temari.

As for the other person, Colt had already beaten him to a pulp and he was sealed after in a similar scroll and handed over to her.

She held the scrolls for a bit, and then tucked them in carefully, determination surging in her eyes.

"Let's go," Colt said, and the group set off again.

According to the map they had, they weren't far from Sasori's location.

Meanwhile, in another location, Itachi and Kisame's consciousness returned to their original bodies.

"That's a terrifying power," Kisame muttered vaguely.

Even if it was his real body, that last punch from Colt would have blown him away.

'After not seeing him for three years, Colt-san's strength had become even more frightening…'

"We should report this to the leader. That would let Sasori and the others prepare for their fight," Itachi said calmly, channeling his consciousness back into the ring.

Back in the familiar cave, when the others saw Itachi and Kisame open their eyes, they knew it was over.

"Such a short time? The both of you are really useless," Deidara smirked.

The others couldn't help but look at these two guys weirdly.

They had failed in less than half an hour…

"Kamiyo Colt's strength has grown even stronger. You should be careful," Itachi warned, ignoring Deidara's taunts.

He'd been in a foul mood recently and had no time to give to the idiot of the Akatsuki.

Orochimaru had completed a Living Corpse Reincarnation three years ago and was now able to perform this jutsu again. And his target was, of course, Sasuke.

Thinking of this, Itachi's expression grew even colder than before.

Pain said nothing, silently increasing his chakra output while Konan looked at him worriedly.

Not only did he have to maintain the Gentōshin no Jutsu, but he also had to preside over the S-rank sealing technique of the [Illusionary Dragon Nine Consuming Seals].

The burden on Nagato's body was immense.

But she kept her silence because she understood.

If they failed to seal even the One-Tail, their plan would become much more difficult to execute once the hidden villages detected them.

Finally, after more than an hour, the Gedo Statue stopped absorbing Gaara's chakra, and one of its eyes slowly opened.

Gaara, now unrestrained, fell heavily to the ground.

"Deidara, Sasori, you're in charge of the cleanup. Kakuzu, Hidan, you need to hurry as well," Pain said, recalling the Gedo Statue and arranging the next phase of the plan.

With the One-Tail successfully captured, the next target was the Two-Tails. Kakuzu and Hidan had already arrived in the Land of Lightning.

"Don't worry, the two tails jinchuuriki is going to be an exceptional offering for Lord Jashin," Hidan said dismissively.

Kakuzu merely let out a cold snort.

The projections of the group gradually dissipated, and Pain finally focused his attention on Sasori and Deidara.

"Be careful. Don't die," he said before disappearing as well.

The two were left there.

"Hey, it's finally over, Sasori," Deidara said, sitting on the ground without any decorum and discussing his superior art with Sasori.

Outside the cave, Pakkun had finally reached the destination.

"This is it," Pakkun said.

"Thank you, Pakkun." Kakashi thanked him.

Looking at the sealed cave entrance before them, Kakashi dismissed his ninken.

"There are several seals here. Five barriers, with a mirroring technique hidden underneath," Colt explained, having learned about most seals from Namikaze Minato.

Naruto looked lost, as did Temari.

Sunagakure's sealing techniques had always been notoriously poor, which was why Gaara's seal as the Kazekage was so unstable.

"The Five Seals Barrier is a C-rank sealing technique. All five seals must be lifted simultaneously to break it," Kakashi said, frowning.

The mirroring technique underneath was even more troublesome.

This jutsu would create an identical opponent to fight against the person who lifted the seal. Unless one's strength improved during combat, it would be difficult to defeat this mirror image.

"I'll handle it. No need to overcomplicate things," Colt said.

He had already sensed the situation inside; Gaara's chakra had disappeared, leaving only two unfamiliar chakra signatures.

"Sasori of the Red Sand and Deidara, who attacked Sunagakure, are inside. You deal with Deidara, and leave Sasori to me," Colt instructed.

The others agreed.

Colt was the strongest, could use healing jutsu, and was highly resistant to Sasori's puppet poisons.

It made sense for him to fight Sasori.

Stepping forward, Colt formed a hand seal.

[Sage Mode: Activate]

An invisible wave of air swept out. A tear-like mark appeared under Colt's right eye, and a pair of pure white wings manifested behind him.

"What is this?" Kakashi's pupils constricted, and Naruto was equally surprised.

Temari gazed at Colt, mesmerized.

'He looks so handsome!'

For a moment, she even forgot about the imminent danger Gaara was in.

According to the records, if the five seals weren't removed simultaneously, they would devour all attacks. But every jutsu had its limit. Not to mention a mere C-rank technique?

Today, Colt would use absolute power to break through this so-called absolute defense.

[Sage Art: Five Swirling Dragons of Destruction]

Colt rose into the air, and five giant dragons of different elements flew from his palm, attacking the sealing barriers at the five points simultaneously.

In the Sage Mode, the power of his jutsus increased exponentially.

Kakashi felt a chill run down his spine.

Each of these dragons possessed terrifying power far beyond his Raikiri.

They weren't even comparable.

Crack! Crack!

The sound of glass shattering echoed throughout the space as the seals ignited without warning, much to everyone's surprise.

As for the Mirror Technique, it didn't even have a chance to activate, as it couldn't create mirror images of the jutsu dragons.

Boom!

The boulder at the entrance was instantly shattered by the lightning dragon after the seals burned away.

As the smoke dissipated, it revealed two shocked faces inside.

It was Deidara and Sasori.

"Hey, what the hell is wrong with this guy? He forcibly broke through the seal?!" Deidara clearly couldn't believe it.

They had thought Colt and the others would need time to defeat their respective mirror images.

Instead, it had been broken by sheer brute force.

Their chakra hadn't even recovered much yet.

"Deidara, go first with the Jinchūriki," a deep voice came from Hiruko, Sasori's puppet.

Deidara didn't hesitate as he heard that.

He immediately created a small clay bird and took to the sky.

"Art is an explosion!"