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CRACK! Jagged bone spurs erupted from the earth, fanged and jutting, clawing toward Obito's feet!
Obito's eyes darted, suspicion flickering in them. "He's growing the Susanoo's bones… from the ground? What kind of trick is this?!"
He phased through the jagged skeletal forest, weaving between the protrusions, trying to put distance between himself and this deadly terrain…!!
But Sasuke wouldn't allow it.
The towering Susanoo marched forward. With each step, more bone spurs sprouted, spreading the blighted forest farther and farther. No matter how Obito twisted and turned, he couldn't escape the encroaching cage of bone.
This was getting him nowhere. A fierce light flashed in Obito's eyes. He brought his hands together before his chest!!
"My current hardware isn't inferior to yours anymore, Sasuke!!!"
A forest of colossal trees erupted in a violent surge, branches tangling, roots intertwining, forming a crushing, overwhelming arboreal tsunami that slammed into the advancing tide of bones!
CRASH! CRACK!
The wood swallowed the bone. The bone shattered the wood. In the brutal clash, the violet bones didn't diminish. Instead, they grew more ferocious, piercing up through the cracks in the wooden prison…
Obito's face tightened. "The Wood Release can't crush them? Since when are Susanoo bones this damn tough?!"
In a direct clash of power, there was no room for clever tricks. Obito unleashed his chakra without restraint!!
BOOM! BOOMBOOMBOOM…!!
The forest behind him shuddered, rising like a terrifying mountain of wood. The mountain split into distinct, massive trees, and with Obito's roar, they came crashing down in an earth-shattering avalanche!!
THOOOOOM…!!!
The moment they landed, the very earth shook. The rampant growth of the bone spurs was finally, utterly, halted by the overwhelming force of the Wood Release!
Only Sasuke's Susanoo remained standing defiant within the wooden cataclysm. Continuous layers of bone, bearing impossible strength and hardness, forcibly shoved aside the entangling trees, reappearing in Obito's sight.
On Pale Moon Island.
Suigetsu let out a low whistle. "Saw that bone-hardened Susanoo in the eighth match, but damn… that's some hardcore shit."
Orochimaru chuckled. "The truly hardcore part is still to come…"
After that exchange, the two titans stood facing each other once more.
"A technique of that magnitude… and his chakra shows no sign of fading. In terms of pure Senju power, he might already rival Hashirama himself. A protracted fight is still disadvantageous for me…"
For a swift end, was there any technique cleaner than that one?
Gripping his gunbai fan, Obito launched a ferocious charge!!
"Once I grab him, it's over. Even if I take a hit in close quarters, with these Hashirama cells, I'll heal in moments!!!"
Sasuke's mind raced: A sudden aggressive move. Planning to suck me into Kamui? No… doesn't feel like it. Something else. A one-hit kill. With the Rinnegan… that technique?
In that instant, Obito was upon him, phasing directly into the interior of the Susanoo's ribcage, hand reaching out!
Sasuke swung the Kusanagi Sword. Obito parried with his fan. The reaching hand closed in on Sasuke's chest, the veins around Obito's Rinnegan pulsing—the clear sign of an ability activating.
"As I thought… that one!!"
Rip!
Sasuke's back split open as he shed his skin, escaping with the Molting Technique!!
"Don't even think it! You think I wouldn't be ready for this?!"
A branch erupted from Obito's right shoulder, twisting and grasping, nullifying Sasuke's escape!!
At the same time… Obito's hand passed through the discarded snakeskin, clamping toward the real Sasuke's chest!
Sasuke, calm in the crisis, formed a single hand seal with blinding speed.
—Water Style: Wild Water Wave!
Shoooom…!!!
A torrent of water, like a miniature waterfall, filled the interior of the Susanoo's skeleton.
"Is this your last resort? Pathetic."
Obito sneered, his hand pushing against the water's resistance, finally clamping onto Sasuke's chest!!
—Human Path!!
Fwoosh…!!
A wisp of white, ethereal soul-stuff began to pull free from Sasuke's body with Obito's tug!!
"No matter how strong you are, the Human Path ends you without fail…!!!"
Obito ignored the sudden, biting cold seeping into the water around him. He leaned back, putting his full strength into ripping Sasuke's soul out!!
CRACKLE… CRACKLE…!!
But his movements froze, halted by a sudden resistance solidifying around him.
His gaze fell upon the layer of crystal-clear ice now encasing them both. Sasuke, also frozen in place, wore a faint, mocking smile.
"Ice Release…? The purpose of the water was to set up this ice seal?"
The Susanoo was frozen solid from the inside out. A layer of crystalline light glimmered on the bone surface, and an eerie, violet cold mist rose around it.
CRACK…!!
The Susanoo's spine shattered. Sasuke burst free from the ice, flipping backward into the air. His hands flew through seals, and a raging sea of fire descended, devouring the frozen Susanoo statue…!!
CRACK! BOOM!
The combination of raging flames and exploding ice… enough to annihilate anything trapped inside instantly!!
Fwoosh!
Obito's right eye flared. Kamui. He just barely managed to suck himself into the pocket dimension before being ground to dust.
Sasuke landed with a backflip.
Fwoosh.
Obito returned to the battlefield from Kamui, slamming his palms together before his chest!!
Zzzzzt…!
A dark, malevolent light condensed into a foreboding black sphere.
The sphere rose into the sky, blotting out the sun. Then, with a deafening roar, the earth itself rebelled. Trees were uprooted. An indiscriminate gravitational field gripped the entire landscape.
By now, Obito's voice was frayed with desperation. "I refuse to believe even Chibaku Tensei can't handle you!!!"
Sasuke frowned, looking skyward. The ground beneath his feet fractured, carrying him upward toward the gathering maelstrom.
"This Chibaku Tensei… it's several times more powerful than Pain's. It seems the Hashirama cells have truly remade him…"
Obito watched coldly. "I saw your fight against the Six Paths of Pain in Amegakure. You seemed to know the core is the weakness. But… your all-piercing 'arrows' seem unavailable now, don't they? You have no means to break this Chibaku Tensei. Submit to the power of the Rinnegan!!!"
Sasuke murmured, almost to himself. "He's right. No choice…"
The last thing to enter Obito's vision before the converging boulders sealed Sasuke away was… a rising aura of violet light emanating from Sasuke's body.
Obito scoffed. "That hard-boned Susanoo again. Under Chibaku Tensei, it'll be as fragile as a bubble…"
Still… better safe than sorry. Make it bigger!
Obito's pupils blazed!!
BOOM! BOOMBOOM…!!
Beyond the already ravaged forest, several distant mountains were ripped from the earth by the intensified gravity. They soared into the sky, disintegrated mid-air, and rained down upon the forming planetary prison like a meteor storm!!!
KABOOOOOOOOOM…!!!
The cataclysmic rumble lasted for over a full minute. A Chibaku Tensei of unprecedented scale was complete.
"Hahh…"
Obito let out a long breath, lowering his hands from their seal.
"I even accounted for the possibility of him using that 'Wood Golem.' There's no way he's breaking free. I'm certain of it. Now then, Orochimaru… you should be bringing me the Nine-Tails to save your little master, shouldn't you?"
CRACK—
The sound of splitting stone from above froze the expression on Obito's face solid.
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