Sent flying by the kick, Kitsuchi tumbled across the ground several times before finally coming to a halt.
Watching this unfold, Kurotsuchi couldn't believe her eyes. Her old man had actually lost.
Even though her dad looked a bit goofy, his strength was the real deal. Plus, he had just stacked two ninjutsu buffs on himself. How could he possibly lose?
Impossible. She had never seen anything like this before.
Hard to believe as it was, her father was lying in the dirt. That was the reality.
She couldn't help but worry.
'Is Dad going to be okay?'
Despite her anxiety, she didn't rush over recklessly.
She didn't have the strength to step into this battlefield.
Having only just become a genin, going over there would only make her a burden.
Right after Ryosuke kicked Kitsuchi away...
Roshi seized the opening to close the distance.
His hands moved in a blur of hand signs. Taking a deep breath, he spat out several more spheres of magma, launching them straight at the White-Masked Man in Black.
'He just clashed with Kitsuchi. There's no way he has time to block this.'
But just to be safe...
His hands flew through another sequence of signs.
Molding his chakra, his entire body was rapidly enveloped in a cloak of scorching magma.
This was his Lava Chakra Mode.
It drastically amplified both his defense and his destructive power.
Anything he touched would be instantly melted away.
Onoki watched Roshi launch his assault.
He felt a twinge of admiration. 'Good combat awareness.'
Naturally, he wasn't just going to stand by and watch.
Forming hand signs to mold his chakra, he slammed his palms onto the ground.
"Earth Style: Moving Earth Core!"
The ground beneath Ryosuke suddenly sank, causing him to lose his footing.
He cast a cold glance at Onoki, then at the incoming Roshi.
'These three are Kage-level fighters. Their combined assault might work on an ordinary person, but against me? Not a chance.'
Even if he could steady himself in time to meet Roshi's magma-dripping fists head-on...
Even as a taijutsu enthusiast, he wasn't about to do that.
Meeting those fists directly would result in injuries, so a head-on physical clash was out of the question.
After all, he was still made of flesh and blood.
Even with his body's regenerative abilities, there was no need to go out of his way to endure that kind of pain. Not that the pain actually bothered him anymore.
Having trained in the Eight Inner Gates, he was long accustomed to agony. Minor injuries meant nothing, but he still didn't want to dirty his hands.
Channeling his chakra, he activated his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
The second state of Susanoo instantly flared to life.
A colossal skeletal ribcage materialized around him, rapidly growing muscles and donning armor.
Not only did it effortlessly block the magma spheres Roshi had fired...
It also swung its massive fist with terrifying momentum, slamming it straight down toward the charging jinchuriki.
Seeing the enemy suddenly summon Susanoo, Roshi was caught off guard.
He never expected the man to manifest it so quickly.
A complete miscalculation.
That gigantic fist was no joke, but charging at full speed, he couldn't stop himself now.
His only option was to block the Susanoo's strike head-on.
Pulling back his arm, he threw a punch directly at the colossal fist.
Bang.
Unsurprisingly, Roshi was swatted away.
Like a fired cannonball, he crashed into the distance, smashing a deep crater into the earth.
Onoki stared at the Susanoo with deep wariness.
This technique once again awakened old memories.
In his youth, he had been physically injured just by the sheer, overwhelming pressure of this very jutsu.
This White-Masked Man in Black was incredibly dangerous.
At that moment, Kitsuchi arrived at his side.
Seeing the blood at the corner of his son's mouth, Onoki asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
Kitsuchi wiped the blood from his mouth and replied, "I'm fine. I narrowly avoided severe internal injuries. The power behind that guy's kick was no weaker than my full-strength strike."
"Thankfully, I managed to mold my Earth Style to block the kick at the last second. Otherwise, I would've been critically injured."
By critically injured, he meant completely immobilized. While his offensive power was immense, his defense wasn't quite on the same level.
Meanwhile, Roshi climbed out of the crater in the distance, a trail of blood leaking from his mouth as well.
He cursed under his breath. "What a monster. How can he have such insane defense and still pack that much physical power? Even with the heavy defense of my Lava Chakra Mode, he still managed to damage my bones. He's like a freakish Tailed Beast."
Onoki didn't feel an ounce of pity for Roshi. If it weren't for him, they wouldn't be facing this monster right now. If Roshi had just listened, they would have returned to the village ages ago.
Against a monster this terrifying, deploying ten thousand shinobi—just like they did against the Third Raikage—wouldn't be an overreaction.
In fact, mobilizing the entire Stone Village to destroy him would be the only logical response.
Who asked the enemy to be this ridiculously strong?
Glaring at Roshi, Onoki snapped, "If you're not dead, get over here!"
Hearing Onoki's words, Roshi felt a flash of irritation at the old man's bluntness. However, he knew it was his fault they had run into such a formidable enemy, so he obediently regrouped with them.
"What's the plan?"
Onoki stared at the distant figure, who had summoned Susanoo but made no further moves. He spoke slowly, "You two will hold him down. I'll deliver the final blow."
No matter how powerful his attacks were, they were useless if they didn't hit.
But if they did hit, he had the power to dismantle even a Susanoo.
"Understood, Father," Kitsuchi immediately replied.
His own offensive power was great, but compared to his father's, it paled into insignificance.
Roshi naturally understood which technique Onoki was planning to use.
He warned, "I'll do my best, but you better not miss."
"That guy is way too calm. He probably still has hidden tricks up his sleeve."
Onoki replied confidently, "Just keep him pinned. No matter what hidden tricks he has, they're useless against my Kekkei Tota."
Roshi didn't argue; deep down, he completely agreed.
He patted his chest to soothe his aching body. He really had taken some internal damage just now.
The next moment, Kitsuchi stared grimly at the man inside the Susanoo.
Activating such a massive jutsu made moving highly inconvenient. It was the perfect time to use that technique to completely immobilize him. Channeling every ounce of chakra in his body, Kitsuchi slammed both hands onto the ground.
There would only be one chance. He had to seize it.
"Earth Style: Mountain Jutsu!"
Instantly, the ground violently quaked. Two colossal, nearly hemispherical boulders erupted from the earth on either side of the Susanoo, slamming inward to crush it between them.
Watching from afar, Kurotsuchi was stunned. It was her first time seeing her father unleash such a devastating Earth Style ninjutsu.
She cheered, "Crush him to death!"
Seeing the two hemispherical boulders—each vastly larger than his Susanoo—closing in on him, Ryosuke honestly felt a brief flash of panic.
After all, these rock formations dwarfed his Susanoo.
But logic told him that he was incredibly powerful now.
The enemy's ninjutsu was still just driven by chakra.
And his chakra reserves were far, far greater than his opponent's. Even though his Susanoo was much smaller than the hemispherical boulders, it could still withstand the crushing force.
The Susanoo threw its arms wide, preparing to catch and hold back the massive boulders about to crush it.