Chapter 354: Blasting Strike! The Descent of Susanoo!
Everything in sight was instantly engulfed in flames.
Around the little brat standing across from the military formation, waves of visible air pressure surged outward, forming ring-shaped shockwaves.
In the next instant,
As that raised palm slashed downward—
"——Swoosh!"
It was as if a divine pillar had come crashing down from the heavens!
The moment the tip of the massive flame sword struck the ground, it blasted out a shockwave of churning sand and debris!
Dirt, shattered rock, dried grass, severed limbs—
Countless Cloud shinobi standing in front of the blade's impact point were instantly flung away!
At the same time—
Gripping the blazing greatsword in one hand, Uchiha Ci twisted his wrist and let out a sudden shout:
"Condense!"
With that word, the flaming sword in his hand dimmed abruptly, and the brightness of the entire battlefield dropped with it!
It was as if something terrifying was brewing in the air,
So much so that every Cloud shinobi present instinctively felt a wave of intense dread rise in their hearts.
Infused with Senjutsu chakra, this technique—normally uncontrollable after being fired—was sublimated.
Just like the massive leap in power between the standard Wind Release: Rasenshuriken and the Sage Art version,
This slash would be unleashed in the form of a cannon!
From the hilt, flames of Blaze Release burst out at a wide angle, expanding into a searing photonic beam nearly fifty meters wide!
"Special Combat Unit, Fourth Division! Twelfth Squad! Tethering Forces! Assault Unit, Second Squad!"
As the newborn sun was gradually veiled by clouds, the already-dim battlefield grew darker.
The young A clenched his fists tightly, quickly barking out orders and pinpointing the squads with matching chakra natures.
Beads of sweat covered his forehead—not clear if from the intense heat before him or the pressing urgency of the situation.
Gritting his teeth, he snarled with a fierce voice:
"Move out!!"
Over six hundred Cloud shinobi from the unit stepped forward together, braving the fear surging in their hearts.
All prior drills and tactics aimed at countering Uchiha Ci had utterly failed!
Yet—
They were already at full draw, with no choice but to fire.
At that moment,
Everyone knew in their hearts:
If even one of them faltered and caused this formation to fail,
Then none of them would survive Uchiha Ci's wrath!
Now—
It was far too late to counter Uchiha Ci's fire release with additional Water Release techniques like Water Formation Wall.
As the commanding officer, the young A could tell from past intel and present circumstances that what Uchiha Ci was unleashing now was absolutely no ordinary fire release!
In this scenario—
If they wanted to survive—
They had no choice but to strike faster and harder!
At that thought,
The elite of the Cloud Village rapidly formed hand seals at the frontlines, unleashing their power with a thunderous roar:
"Combined Ninjutsu: Compound Lightning Release—Lightning Water Dragon Bullet!"
This was a composite jutsu invented by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, through the combination of two different elemental releases.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, it was used jointly by the Fifth Mizukage Mei Terumi and the Fourth Raikage A to counter Uchiha Madara's fire release.
Now, it was executed by this elite core unit of six hundred Cloud shinobi—each at least a chunin, with over a third being special jonin or higher!
In a flash, a colossal blue dragon head—dozens of meters wide—surged forward from the Cloud formation!
As it emerged—
It clashed head-on with the flaming photonic cannon—formed when the sword hilt became the dragon's maw, unleashing a furious beam of light and storm!
"——BOOM!!!"
Two massive forces—one red, one blue—collided like titans from a myth made real!
Or rather—
The Lightning Water Dragon Bullet was desperately struggling to withstand the Blaze Cannon's onslaught!
Unlike during the Fourth Great Ninja War, where the Lightning Water Dragon Bullet managed to devour Madara's fire release,
This time—
The fire swallowed the water!
Infused with Senjutsu, Blaze Release, compound ninjutsu, and Tailed Beast-level chakra,
In this moment, Uchiha Ci's fire release mastery had already surpassed that of Uchiha Madara!
1,500 Cloud shinobi stood behind the front-line force of 600, and those 600 stood behind the Lightning Water Dragon Bullet.
The light cannon from that single sword strike struck the dragon head and split into four beams, blasting toward the fifty-meter-high wall behind them!
An endless inferno exploded from beyond the formation, engulfing an area hundreds of meters wide in a sea of flames!
This was a clash of quality versus quantity!
"Gah!"
Cloud shinobi collapsed one after another, coughing up blood as they exhausted their chakra.
"Can we hold it…?" The young A stared intently at the frontlines, his nerves taut, fists clenched tightly in secret.
"We just need a little more time than them… just a little more!"
The clash of water and fire kicked up a thick, dense mist.
And then—
"We held it off!"
"Haha~"
"As if some Uchiha brat could ever defeat our village!"
Cries of joy erupted from the front lines.
By sheer advantage of elemental affinity, they had ultimately forced back Uchiha Ci's terrifying attack.
The young A finally relaxed his tensed heart, exhaling heavily and glancing back toward the top of the fifty-meter wall.
There, a massive chakra cannon was being assembled in an orderly fashion.
"Then next—at this rate, if we just keep stalling—"
"That side should be ready soon!
Even though we only have the backup cannon left instead of both, the plan can still go forward."
But just then—
The jubilant cries at the frontlines abruptly ceased.
Silence fell across the battlefield!
Young A's heart skipped a beat—he whipped his head around—
And saw—
Swoosh!
A sudden gust tore away the thick mist, revealing the scene behind it.
There—
A Susanoo, with flesh rapidly growing over its skeletal frame, rose from the ground!
Its glowing eyes blazed like twin torches in the night!
It grew taller—
And taller—
Until the fully-formed, seventy-meter-tall flesh-and-blood titan stood with both feet on the ground, kicking up a storm of dust!
"Boom!" "Boom!"
It was like—
Just a moment ago, the guys had been sitting at a gambling den, playing cards, back and forth with that brat across the table.
He was pinned down by their trump card and couldn't play.
And then—
He suddenly flipped the table, pulled out a divine weapon, transformed into an Ultraman, and stomped the table, the cards, and the whole damn casino into dust—
Screaming, "Screw your trump card! THIS is what I call a trump card!"
The Cloud shinobi could only stare upward, necks craned, mouths agape, as they stood beneath the titanic Susanoo, stunned into speechlessness by its towering presence.
Right then—
"Damn it! Six hundred against one guy—have you no shame?!"
"You think I've got no one on my side?!"
Having transformed into a human Ultraman and mecha pilot, Uchiha Ci took a deep breath, glared down with fury, and gave a mighty stomp as he rose to his full height.
"Take this—!"
"Heaven-Sundering Thunder—Double Kick!!"
Flesh cascaded down his leg bones, forming a complete pair of legs for his half-bodied Susanoo!
Then—
Under the stunned and paralyzed gazes of countless Cloud shinobi,
The humanoid Susanoo bent down, then suddenly jumped high into the air with both infernal feet!
Those two colossal feet, each 42,000 centimeters long, slammed down together into the Cloud army's formation!
"BOOM!!!"
Dust exploded into the sky—the earth shook violently!
The ground buckled into two giant flaming slabs that lifted vertically from the impact—
Countless Cloud shinobi were flung through the air, screaming like children lost in a storm!
With one leap—
He had shattered the supposedly indestructible Cloud formation, carving out a massive crater of death and destruction!
Staring at the scene, young A's eyes nearly burst from his sockets.
He no longer cared that his left arm had been severed by a Universal Pull.
His entire body surged with chakra,
And in a bolt of lightning, he leapt into the air!
Attempting—
To wrap his arms around Susanoo's foot,
To stop Uchiha Ci from continuing his inhuman massacre!