Over the past year of experimentation, Ye Zi had not only integrated sealing techniques into Wood Release but had also fully explored the abilities of Go Tenjin.
Now, he was about to unleash the power residing within Go Tenjin.
The stalemate had been broken. For the first time in a one-on-one battle, the Third Raikage had shown signs of defeat. This was something the many Kumogakure shinobi found difficult to accept, but the fight was still ongoing, and the enemy was just one person.
Since they had the advantage in numbers, there was no need for a one-on-one duel. The best strategy was to swarm Ye Zi and eliminate him as quickly as possible.
During his battle with Ye Zi, the Third Raikage realized that he alone might not be able to win. And this was a brutal fight, there was no need to act like a noble warrior. With their overwhelming numbers, why should he insist on a duel?
Ye Zi was already completely surrounded, and the Third Raikage had distanced himself. There was no longer any reason to hold back. Even if Ye Zi's defenses were as formidable as his own, he didn't believe Ye Zi had enough chakra to withstand the relentless bombardment of thousands of attacks.
That's right, ultimately sheer numbers gave them an absolute advantage. Even if they couldn't deal significant damage to Ye Zi, they could simply wear him down until he was exhausted and killed.
The Third Raikage acknowledged Ye Zi's strength. When he retreated to his own ranks, he didn't even need to speak, the nearly ten thousand Kumogakure shinobi present already understood what to do. They were going to launch an all-out assault on Ye Zi.
"It's time to use a Tailed Beast Bomb," Killer Bee thought to himself.
Now that the Third Raikage was no longer locked in close combat with Ye Zi, there was no reason to hold back anymore.
This was the moment when Ye Zi truly faced an army alone, completely encircled with no way out.
There were only a few choices: flee, endure the never-ending attacks until he was worn down and killed, or… shatter this impenetrable wall of ten thousand shinobi in an instant.
Only by defeating all ten thousand in a short time could he break through the encirclement and avoid being slowly ground down. But even if the entire force lined up and let him slaughter them one by one, it would still take a significant amount of time.
Faced with such a dire situation, Ye Zi remained as calm as ever. He wasn't entirely confident in his next move, but even if there was uncertainty, he wouldn't let fear take hold just because he was surrounded by an overwhelming force.
Having survived countless life-or-death battles, he had long understood that fear was meaningless, it only served as a burden. That was why, long ago, he had trained himself to overcome fear in battle.
This was an essential mindset for anyone walking the path of the strong.
Seeing Ye Zi's unwavering composure, as if even a mountain collapsing in front of him wouldn't make him flinch, the surrounding Kumogakure shinobi, though they did not show it, couldn't help but respect him.
But this was still a battle. No matter how much they admired him, they would not hold back.
The second wave of attacks was quickly being prepared.
However, Ye Zi was even faster. His Mangekyō Sharingan, merged with the eyes of a serpent, gleamed with a dangerous light.
He activated the abilities of both of his Mangekyō Sharingan at once, fully releasing the power residing within his right eye's Go Tenjin. Then, using Go Tenjin to further enhance it, he unleashed an overwhelming force in an instant.
An invisible wave of energy exploded outward, rapidly expanding in all directions like the rings of a planet, spreading across the battlefield in the blink of an eye!
All the Kumogakure shinobi froze for a moment, suddenly feeling a faint tremor beneath the water.
Then, in the next instant, the intensity of the tremor increased by more than a hundredfold.
The entire water surface, as if it had been instantly brought to a boil, began to churn violently.
"What's going on?!"
"Is this an earthquake?!"
"How could such a powerful quake happen at this moment?!"
The unexpected and intense tremors sent shockwaves through the Kumogakure forces. Most of them were stunned by the timing, it was too coincidental. They didn't even consider that this might be Ye Zi's doing. After all, he was simply standing there, calm and motionless, under everyone's watchful eyes.
The earthquake had struck too suddenly. The energy it released surged through the water, making the entire surface boil and surge like the sea in a raging storm. The Kumogakure shinobi struggled to maintain their footing and keep their encirclement intact, let alone unleash any jutsu.
This natural disaster seemed impartial, affecting both sides equally.
Surely Ye Zi was also losing his balance, just like everyone else?
Yet, when their eyes turned toward him, they were left utterly dumbfounded.
Ye Zi stood perfectly still, his expression calm and unshaken.
Beneath his feet, the water remained completely undisturbed, forming a perfectly still circle with a diameter of about one meter. In stark contrast to the violently churning waves surrounding him, this untouched zone made for an eerie and surreal sight.
Many Kumogakure shinobi couldn't comprehend what they were seeing.
Was this some kind of advanced Water Release technique?
Just as their astonishment began to set in, the sky suddenly changed, causing their hearts to pound even harder.
The once-clear, star-filled night sky was now devoid of light. The moon, which had shone like a round disc, was now obscured by heavy, dark clouds.
Clouds had appeared from nowhere, swiftly covering the entire sky. Their density was so overwhelming that those who looked up felt as if the sky itself was sinking toward them.
The rolling clouds churned like living entities.
Then, streaks of crimson lightning flickered within the thick storm clouds, casting an ominous blood-red glow across the heavens.
At this moment, silence fell over the entire battlefield.
The blood-red thunderclouds pressing down from above, combined with the intensifying tremors in the water below, created an overwhelming sense of dread, as if an unstoppable natural disaster had descended.
This calamity had arrived without warning.
Boom!
A deafening peal of thunder erupted, shaking the heavens and the earth.
Within the blood-red storm clouds, countless serpentine bolts of crimson lightning writhed and coiled, illuminating the sky with a hellish glow.
Then, suddenly, a colossal bolt of crimson lightning descended from the heavens, striking directly into the Kumogakure ranks.
The blinding flash and thunderous roar sent shockwaves through the battlefield.
When the light faded, the area where the lightning had struck was revealed, hundreds of Kumogakure shinobi had been instantly reduced to nothing but blackened corpses.
No screams. No cries.
That single, devastating bolt of natural lightning had silenced them all.
For the first time, the Kumogakure forces fell into an eerie, deathly silence.
"Retreat!"
The Third Raikage, his expression grim, looked up at the sky and issued the command with great difficulty.
He had no idea how far this natural disaster would spread, but they had to leave immediately.
The power of that lightning bolt was simply too terrifying, far beyond anything a human could withstand.
The moment the order to retreat was issued, all the Kumogakure shinobi suddenly realized, Ye Zi, who had been standing calmly on the still water's surface, had vanished.
The night sky, shrouded in thick storm clouds, had taken on a blood-red hue, illuminated by the rampant crimson lightning within.
A lone figure floated silently in the air, gazing down upon them like a deity.
"That is…?"
The Kumogakure shinobi stared in shock.
Ye Zi hovered near the thunderclouds, dangerously close to the raging crimson lightning. Yet, despite its sheer destructive power, the lightning seemed to fear him. As the bolts tore through the sky, every single one instinctively veered away from him, refusing to strike his form.
The scene was beyond comprehension, leaving the shinobi bewildered.
Could it be… that this catastrophe was caused by Ye Zi?
The moment this thought crossed their minds, the water beneath them suddenly became scorching hot.
Most of the Kumogakure shinobi were still standing on the water's surface. Just as they were preparing to retreat, they noticed the water had turned a deep red, radiating an intense heat.
"Lava!"
A sharp-eyed shinobi from Iwagakure immediately recognized it, his voice breaking into a scream of pure terror.
And as if his cry had somehow drawn the lava's attention, the very spot he stood on erupted with a scalding burst of steam, engulfing his entire body in an instant.
The steam appeared and disappeared with eerie swiftness.
When it cleared, the shinobi who had cried out was gone.
All that remained was a scattered pile of white bones, which plummeted into the boiling water with a hollow splash before vanishing.
At that very moment, from within the blood-red storm clouds writhing with crimson lightning, hundreds of meteors came hurtling down.
Everyone could only stare in despair.
The suffocating storm clouds blotting out the sky, the frenzied crimson lightning twisting like dragons, the hundreds of meteors wrapped in fire as they plummeted toward them—
All of it served as nothing more than the backdrop for Ye Zi.
"This… is this Ye Zi's power?"
Most of the Kumogakure shinobi stood frozen in place, staring blankly at Ye Zi, who remained suspended in the air.
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Currently on Chapter 562 - No Turning Back