Smith's Wood Release had always been limited by his personal strength, never reaching its full potential. It was essentially a weakened version of what it could truly become.
Even with the boost provided by Sage Mode, his spiritual energy had a ceiling—and as long as that limit existed, the power of his Wood Release remained capped as well.
But now, all of that had changed.
The energy Shukaku provided him seemed boundless. It flowed into him continuously, without interruption, like a never-ending river.
With this immense supply of energy, Smith's Wood Release was about to ascend to a level it had never reached before.
"Wood Release: Advent of the World of Trees!"
BOOM!
Massive, ancient-looking trees erupted from the earth like awakened dragons. Their thick trunks twisted upward, winding together with terrifying speed and force, surging toward the Thunder Bull King.
The trees overlapped and swelled like the rising waves of a tsunami. They crashed forward with unrelenting momentum, their size and pressure shaking the land beneath them.
"A Wood Release can actually possess this much overwhelming power?"
Thunder Bull King—Lei Xun Niu Wang—gazed at the advancing sea of trees in shock. He felt a crushing sense of pressure descend upon him and dared not act carelessly.
"Thunderous Surge!"
All of the purple lightning on the Thunder Bull King's body surged together, condensing into a single massive sphere of blinding electrical energy. Then, with a roar, he launched it forward.
BOOM!
The huge sphere of lightning exploded outward in a devastating blast, its violent energy ripping through swathes of trees, shredding them into fragments.
But despite the destruction, Smith's forest kept growing, the trees spreading out again, stronger and denser. They consumed the lightning relentlessly, as if they were feeding on its power.
With Shukaku acting as his power bank and the enhancement of Sage Mode, Smith had no fear of a prolonged battle.
As expected, Thunder Bull King's energy was finite. His thunder sphere lasted less than a minute before flickering out and vanishing completely.
Meanwhile, Smith's Wood Release showed no signs of slowing down.
More and more thick, iron-hard trees burst out of the ground, spiraling toward the Thunder Bull King and tightly wrapping around his limbs and torso like iron chains.
The moment he was entangled, the Thunder Bull King felt a surge of panic.
He could feel it—his spiritual energy was being drained, pulled from his body at an astonishing rate.
"You… you can absorb my spiritual energy?!"
The Thunder Bull King's voice trembled with disbelief. He thrashed violently, trying to rip himself free from the tightening vines and trunks.
But it was too late.
The power of Smith's Wood Release was overwhelming—not only physically, but spiritually. It drained and suppressed. Since Thunder Bull King failed to break free in the first few seconds, he would never get the chance again.
More trees climbed and bound him tightly. Layers upon layers piled over his massive body, burying him under an endless canopy of wood, sealing him in a natural prison.
His spiritual energy was rapidly depleted, and his body became weaker with each passing second.
"How… could this king… fall into your hands…"
Those were his final words before his massive frame was completely buried, his breath vanishing inside the living forest.
---
Thunder Bull King—defeated.
But that was only part of the problem.
The beast tide wasn't over.
Thunder Bull King had merely been a commander, the spark that initiated the invasion. But once the beast tide had begun, it would not stop on its own—even his death would not halt its advance.
There was only one way to end it:
Destroy the beast tide itself.
Smith turned his gaze toward the dark horizon, where thousands of demonic beasts charged toward Tai'an City like a black flood.
"Shukaku," Smith said coldly. "Take care of them."
The enormous tailed beast let out a booming laugh. "Hahaha! Fighting is what I live for!"
The One-Tail smashed its massive tail on the ground, kicking up a blinding wall of dust.
"Wind Style: Sand Shot!"
A violent stream of wind filled with razor-sharp sand surged out, cutting down dozens of beasts in its path like a massive scythe.
---
Aside from Thunder Bull King, most of the remaining beasts were of Level Two or Level Three. Only a few Level Four beasts were scattered among the tide.
But even the strongest among them were powerless against Shukaku.
With the city's powerful cannon fire raining down from the walls and the tailed beast tearing through the enemy ranks from within, the beast horde was quickly thrown into disarray.
Surrounded on both sides, the monsters panicked and began fleeing.
Half an hour later, the beast tide had been shattered completely.
The once-ferocious army now limped away in scattered groups, their morale broken and formation collapsed.
The battlefield was littered with thousands of monster corpses. The air was thick with the iron scent of blood. Black smoke still drifted into the sky, creating a somber gray mist above the ruined plains.
"The battle is over," someone muttered.
One of the support ninjas who'd been assisting disappeared in a puff of white smoke—just a clone.
Smith stood alone outside the city gates, silent, as the city defenders began to emerge.
---
Kong Changxing and Xu Yue led the charge from within Tai'an City. They quickly organized teams to clean up the battlefield and recover the most critical spoils—monster cores.
These cores were invaluable.
Tai'an City's most powerful weapons—the charged energy cannons atop the city walls—relied entirely on monster cores to operate. Without them, the weapons were useless.
So every core mattered.
Wasting a single monster corpse would be a luxury Tai'an City could not afford. They needed everything they could salvage to replenish their rapidly depleting resources.
"Mr. Su, thank you so much for your help this time," Kong Changxing said as he approached Smith, his tone deeply respectful.
Xu Yue nodded as well, her eyes filled with emotion.
What shocked them most was Smith's contribution.
Not only did he eliminate the terrifying Thunder Bull King, but he also disrupted the flow of the beast tide entirely.
Although there were casualties within the city, the damage was far less severe than anticipated. Without Smith's intervention, the city would likely have been destroyed.
"Sometimes, predictions of the future aren't always accurate," Smith said, his eyes glancing meaningfully at Xu Yue.
"My prophecy couldn't have been wrong!" Xu Yue blurted out, clearly rattled by his doubt.
She quickly caught herself and lowered her voice. "In my vision… it was only you who could save Tai'an City. And that part was correct, wasn't it?"
But in her vision, Smith wasn't supposed to help.
In reality, he had chosen to act.
"Haha," Kong Changxing chuckled, trying to ease the tension. "There's an old saying—'Man can conquer the heavens.' Perhaps sometimes, prophecies simply give us the motivation to change the future."
He definitely didn't want an argument breaking out now.
"Mr. Su, you've done more than we could've asked for. If there's anything we can do to help you in return, just say the word," he said, pounding his chest. "Tai'an City will stand with you, through fire or flood!"
Smith looked at him seriously.
"There's no need for fire or flood. But I do want a reward."
"Oh?" Kong Changxing blinked. "Just tell us. As long as it's within our power, we'll make it happen."
Smith nodded.
"I want half of the monster cores you collect from this battlefield."
Nothing else mattered to him—not fame, not gold.
Only the cores.
Kong Changxing was stunned by the request. Of all the things Smith could have asked for, this wasn't what he expected.
But he quickly recovered.
"No problem," he said. "You've earned it."
Even though he didn't understand why Smith needed so many demon cores, it was a fair exchange.
"Good."
With that, Smith turned and walked back toward Tai'an City, leaving the rest of the cleanup to the professionals.
---
On the road back, a familiar voice echoed in Smith's mind—the cold, mechanical tone of his system.
[Ding! Mission completed: Protect Tai'an City]
[Reward: 5,000 Energy Points, Mangekyō Sharingan (Uchiha Sasuke's version)]
[Ding! Congratulations! You now possess two different Mangekyō Sharingan. You are now eligible to redeem: Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan!]
A slow smile spread across Smith's face.
It was time to evolve again.
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