REVIEWS AND POWERSTONES PLSSS!!!!!Chapter 67: Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Seedling Fern
The first time he'd used the Chimera Technique, Ritsu had needed to adjust his physical condition, form hand seals to mobilize chakra, and operate with extreme care. In short, he'd been cautious and treading on thin ice.
But now—
Times had changed.
After successfully using the Chimera Technique, he'd gained deeper comprehension of this forbidden jutsu. Simultaneously, his Physical Regeneration ability had been further enhanced. All this allowed him to execute the technique without such extreme caution—he could abandon the seal-forming step to guide chakra and didn't need to demand his physical condition be optimal.
Of course, these were only part of Ritsu's confidence in daring to execute the Chimera Technique mid-combat.
Another important reason was that when he'd used the Shikotsumyaku's power to pierce through this White Zetsu's body, his body had transmitted an extremely obvious signal of desire to his brain.
His body craved White Zetsu!
That "hunger" was so intense, and within it lay strong confidence that he could rapidly "devour" White Zetsu.
Ritsu didn't completely trust the signals his body transmitted.
He still thought for two seconds, recalling how various future powerhouses had performed all sorts of tricks with White Zetsu bodies. Uchiha Madara had even severed a White Zetsu's arm on the spot and attached it to himself for immediate use without even needing super glue—fully demonstrating that White Zetsu bodies, like the Uchiha's Sharingan, possessed plug-and-play characteristics.
Under comprehensive consideration of these multiple conditional factors, Ritsu immediately used the Chimera Technique on the White Zetsu in his hand. Chakra like countless sharp, tiny blades seeped into White Zetsu's body. No blood flowed out from within.
In just an instant, White Zetsu's disguise was broken. The appearance of Mist ninja Kamaha vanished, reverting to a pale, gender-neutral humanoid form.
Moreover, White Zetsu's body rapidly melted like white chocolate heated in a microwave. The liquefied White Zetsu body, drawn by chakra, quickly climbed onto Ritsu's severely injured left arm, working in tandem with his Level 3 Physical Regeneration ability.
In less than five seconds, the enormous White Zetsu was completely "devoured," leaving only clothing fluttering down. The corroded, dissolved wounds on Ritsu's left arm vanished entirely. Smooth, pale skin showed not a trace of injury—only the corroded clothing could barely prove he'd actually been attacked.
During this time—
The Mist ninja also closed in. Jonin Hiegusa along with two ANBU surrounded him, blade edges slashing, chopping, or stabbing toward Ritsu's vital points.
But without exception, suddenly growing white bones deflected their blades.
In this situation, releasing ninjutsu attacks would be the best choice. But Kirishima Shinya remained in Ritsu's hands. They truly didn't dare employ ninjutsu, fearing they might accidentally injure Shinya if control slipped.
As for genjutsu—
Setting aside that none among them specialized in genjutsu—everyone's genjutsu research basically stopped at how to dispel it—the Hyuga clan's Byakugan also possessed extremely high genjutsu resistance.
Therefore, during the five seconds Ritsu executed the Chimera Technique absorbing White Zetsu, the Mist ninja surrounded him swinging weapons in a flurry of activity, only managing to stab three kunai, seven shuriken, and eleven senbon into his body.
All were minor wounds that didn't touch vital points—completely ignorable to Ritsu.
Moreover, when attacking, the Mist ninja not only tried their best to avoid Kirishima Shinya but also avoided Nohara Rin carried on his shoulder. They didn't dare provoke the Three-Tails jinchuriki. If they provoked the Three-Tails jinchuriki into going berserk here, whether they died or not aside, Shinya-sama's plan would definitely be ruined—something they couldn't bear.
"Thirteen!"
Ritsu suddenly called out a number.
"What?"
Jonin Suiro and Hiegusa first froze, then realized he must be counting their numbers. They'd continuously split their forces along the way—now only thirteen remained.
"How long do you think you can hold me?"
The corner of Ritsu's mouth lifted slightly as he looked at this group of Mist ninja no different from rotting wood.
Perhaps the contempt in his Byakugan was too obvious.
"Bastard, don't look down on Hidden Mist shinobi!"
Hiegusa roared furiously.
But at the same instant—
Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm
Ritsu used his healed left hand to fire sixteen palms in one breath.
Sixteen extremely fast pressure cannons crashed thunderously among the Mist ninja, scattering them in all directions. Those struck head-on ended up shattered into pieces, blood spraying everywhere like fountains.
In the blink of an eye, only jonin Suiro and Hiegusa remained standing among the thirteen Mist ninja. Everyone else had become an indistinguishable hodgepodge.
"As expected of jonin."
Ritsu wasn't disappointed by this result.
Jonin still carried considerable weight, especially the Five Great Shinobi Villages' jonin. Their comprehensive ninja stats all exceeded 50. The so-called eight ninja categories referred to: Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Intelligence, Strength, Speed, Stamina, and Hand Seals—each with a maximum of 10 points for a total of 80.
To instantly kill the Five Great Villages' jonin required some special skill at minimum—at least the level of the Uchiha clan's three-tomoe Sharingan genjutsu control, or techniques like Namikaze Minato's Flying Thunder God.
Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm didn't qualify. Being dodged was normal.
To a greater extent, Ritsu was merely testing how much stronger he'd become after fusing with White Zetsu containing Senju Hashirama's cells.
Previously, he could only fire twelve Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm strikes with both hands in two second. But now, one hand alone could fire sixteen in two breath. This increase was considerable.
Moreover, this wasn't the only area where he'd grown stronger.
Ritsu suddenly stomped his foot.
"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Seedling Fern"
White bones as thick as tree trunks with razor-sharp tips suddenly burst from the earth. In an instant, they filled this entire battlefield, forcibly creating a forest of white bones.
Mist ninja jonin Suiro and Hiegusa were like skewered frogs—each pierced through chest and abdomen by sharp white bones, lifted high!!
This technique, Dance of the Seedling Fern, was a finishing move capable of instantly killing ordinary jonin from the Five Great Villages!
This was also one of the areas where Ritsu had grown stronger after absorbing White Zetsu. His Byakugan abilities received comprehensive enhancement. The Shikotsumyaku abilities likewise experienced massive improvement!
He could now very easily execute the Dance of the Seedling Fern that he'd been unable to successfully use no matter how hard he'd tried before.
"Pretty good luck—caught one."
Ritsu didn't even glance at the two Mist ninja with their miserable deaths. Instead, he stared at a White Zetsu similarly impaled but still struggling thanks to its vigorous life force.
The corner of his mouth lifted in a pleased smile!
He'd released such a technique not merely to deal with trash like Suiro and Hiegusa, but with the idea of beating the grass to catch rabbits. He'd figured other White Zetsu might be lurking nearby—even Black Zetsu could possibly be here observing and presiding over Uchiha Obito's awakening. That's why he'd unexpectedly used this large-area attack method.
Though Black Zetsu hadn't been caught, he'd netted another White Zetsu.
Though useless to himself now, it could serve as a gift for Sensei Hiruko. Hiruko's conception was still missing one element—White Zetsu containing Senju Hashirama's Wood Release cells should be a superior, excellent option.
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