As Jūgo swung his fist, the color of his right arm had already shifted—dark, marked by the curse seal's power.
The natural energy he absorbed surged through him, granting him a terrifying burst of strength.
Shigure's Ice Release: Freezing Moment had failed to restrain him.
He's not slowing down at all…
The high-pitched sound of wind breaking around a massive blow rang in his ears. Shigure reacted instantly—raising his arm and gathering snow and chakra into a thick ice wall before him.
Boom!
The impact landed squarely.
For a split second, Shigure was stunned.
It shattered…?
Despite being reinforced with chakra, the ice wall broke apart under Jūgo's raw strength. He had underestimated just how overwhelming this guy's power really was.
But his mind was already accelerating again—Great Sage assisting his perception.
Shigure twisted his body and dodged, narrowly avoiding Jūgo's next strike.
Cursed chakra… it's technically a type of senjutsu chakra. The curse marks used by Orochimaru's subordinates might be diluted, but Jūgo's original cursed transformation—his body's natural state—isn't necessarily any weaker than true Sage Mode.
After all, Orochimaru's Curse Seal was reverse-engineered from Jūgo himself.
"Hahahaha! Nice reflexes! You actually dodged me. But your ice—too brittle!"
"You're nowhere near strong enough to block my punches, brat!"
Crack!
Jūgo twisted, stomped, and charged again—each step explosive.
Chakra poured out of his body in visible steam, leaking from every pore. The sheer volume of chakra released was mind-boggling.
No tricks. No technique. Just pure, overwhelming power.
Only someone who could passively absorb nature energy at any time could afford to use chakra so recklessly.
Shigure's eyes narrowed.
He swept his arms through the air—snow surged in response, saturated with his chakra.
Ice Release—Ice Spikes!
In an instant, sharp glacial spears formed around him. This time, he didn't hold back.
The durability of ice created through Ice Release depended heavily on the chakra infused into it. And now, Shigure was channeling a lot.
With a wave of his hand, dozens of sharpened spears hurtled toward Jūgo in a deadly barrage.
But Jūgo didn't flinch. He didn't even try to dodge.
He's charging through it?!
One of the spikes pierced his shoulder. Cold chakra surged into Jūgo's body from the wound—and for a moment, surprise flashed across his face.
More spikes followed, raining down relentlessly.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The repeated impacts echoed across the battlefield. Several ice spears missed and embedded themselves into the nearby boulders—shattering stone like it was paper.
Shigure stared in disbelief.
He's like a damn hedgehog…!
Dozens of icy projectiles were lodged in Jūgo's flesh, yet he still kept moving.
He charged head-on into an Ice Release attack and didn't even try to dodge... Is his brain frozen or what?!
From the sidelines, Guren—still engaged with Kakashi—glanced over at the chaos.
Her eyes widened.
"Impressive. His ice crystals are stronger again… He's pouring even more chakra into them!"
"It seems this kid's Ice Release has great potential for growth…"
"Who are you? Why are you targeting Konoha's ninja?"
Kakashi's voice cut through the chaos.
Hearing him, Guren shifted her focus entirely back to Kakashi—she no longer had time to watch Jūgo's movements. As far as she was concerned, there was no need to worry about him.
Suddenly—
"Aaaah!!"
"Bastard! You actually hurt me!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A terrifying chakra explosion erupted from Jūgo, sending shockwaves through the valley. The violent fluctuations rattled the snowy peaks, even threatening to trigger an avalanche.
The ice spikes embedded in Jūgo's body were blasted away like twigs.
At the same time, his transformation accelerated—this was Jūgo's full cursed transformation, his Sage-like state.
His skin began to mutate, hardening and darkening, while twisted chakra jets sprouted from his hands and back—raw, unstable power spewing from them.
Excess chakra vented wildly into the air.
"Good! Since you dared to hurt me, now it's my turn!"
"Hahaha!"
Crack!
With his transformation complete, Jūgo's strength and speed surged to a whole new level.
Shigure's eyes flicked toward the analysis window from Great Sage.
Only 20%? His expression darkened. Why is the calculation taking so long?!
Jūgo lunged forward, chakra bursting from every pore as he swung his massive fists.
Shigure raised his arms, commanding ice and snow to form a sturdy ice crystal shield in front of him.
Boom!
The shields shattered instantly, cold mist exploding out uselessly. The cursed chakra radiating from Jūgo neutralized the freezing air completely.
Shigure leaped backward to evade, but Jūgo's sudden acceleration caught him by surprise. A barrage of punches came so fast they blurred, each strike carrying the weight of a sledgehammer.
If even one of those hits… I'm done!
With a swift motion, Shigure drew his ninja sword, Zangetsu, slashing at Jūgo's fists mid-air.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Sparks burst from the clashes. Zangetsu's keen blade couldn't cut through Jūgo's reinforced arms. Worse yet, each collision sent shockwaves rippling out, tossing Shigure back like a ragdoll.
He twisted mid-air and landed deftly—but Jūgo was already closing the distance again.
Gripping Zangetsu tightly, Shigure exhaled in frustration.
"Great Sage—how much longer until the analysis is done?!"
[Great Sage: Estimated time remaining—three minutes.]
Three minutes!
He clenched his jaw. Alright, just three minutes. I'll hold him off until then!
Shigure's eyes sharpened with resolve.
"Boiling Release—Unparalleled Strength!"
Boom!
Steam exploded from Shigure's body, rolling out in waves. In the next instant, he and Jūgo collided head-on, trading blow after blow.
Thunderous roars echoed through the snow-covered mountains.
Farther away, Kakashi—still bound by Guren's Crystal Release—turned toward the source of the deafening clashes.
That power… is it Shigure's?
A wave of intense heat washed over him. Kakashi's mind reeled—Shigure was suddenly releasing power that rivaled Jūgo's monstrous strength.
It was beyond belief.
"Hahaha! This is great!" Jūgo shouted, fists blurring as they pummeled forward. "You're the first to push me this far—impressive, kid!"
His fists crashed against Shigure's defenses again and again, each strike rippling with chakra strong enough to crack boulders.
Shigure didn't respond. He focused on every movement—timing his counters, deflecting where he could—aware that even Boiling Release's tremendous boost consumed chakra at an alarming rate.
I can't keep this up forever…
[Current analysis calculation progress: 85%]
Almost there…
"Since you're so strong, let's see how you handle this!"
Jūgo's chakra surged as he gathered energy into his hands. His cells pulsed and twisted grotesquely, morphing his arms and shoulders.
Bang!
He shot forward like a bullet, closing the distance with terrifying speed. At point-blank range, his body warped even further—flesh twisting as a massive cannon-like barrel formed over his shoulder, pointing straight at Shigure's face.
Jūgo's eyes burned with madness.
"Go to hell… boy!"
...
TN:
🔟 Pa-treon-com/LordMerlin