As if responding to the emergence of the wondrous spiritual light between the skeletal palms, the sky suddenly grew heavy. The clouds above began to spiral outward, centered directly on Ren Uchiha. Streaks of lightning, hidden within the heavens like ten thousand galloping horses, converged toward the heart of the vortex.
Amidst this stifling atmosphere, and under the horrified gazes of Kitsuchi and Chiyo, the lightning pulled from the skeletal hands slowly solidified. It transformed into a majestic, single-edged straight blade.
The sword was eighteen meters long, composed entirely of azure lightning. Even before it fully manifested, the phenomena it triggered were soul-shaking.
As a sword for a human, the long, thin profile of the Futsunomitama would be impractical and difficult to use. But as a weapon held by a deity—a pure spiritual blade of conquest—it was one of the strongest artifacts in existence! It possessed the ability to manifest as a physical blade, summon celestial lightning, and absorb the majesty of heaven and earth to release its ultimate move:
The Sword of the Thunder God: Izumo National Annihilation!
In the myths of the Kojiki, the god Takemikazuchi-no-mikoto thrust this sword into the waves and sat upon its hilt, demanding the god Ohkuninushi cede the land of Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni. When Ohkuninushi deflected the responsibility to his sons, Takemikazuchi stood in a rage and cleaved the sea into the continent with a single strike, forcing the subordinate gods into submission.
As he gripped the sword, legends of the blade flooded Ren's mind. He raised an eyebrow in admiration, looking at the artifact between his Susanoo's palms. Converting its power into terms he could understand: This thing has innate lightning damage; any swing carries a paralysis effect. Plus, the primary charged ultimate has the destructive power of an Anti-Country Noble Phantasm!
What surprised Ren most was—this sword doesn't consume chakra!
It could autonomously absorb natural energy to enter its fully unleashed state, releasing a final blow stronger than a Tailed Beast Bomb. Although the "wind-up" was a bit long, it was a free artifact—he wasn't going to complain.
As the Futsunomitama grew longer, the sky darkened further. The blade was almost longer than the stone golem now, and terrifying bolts of S-rank lightning felt ready to drop at any second.
Kitsuchi's scalp went numb. He wanted to punch Chiyo, who had just confidently declared that Ren couldn't use the Susanoo again. You call this "impossible"?!
Moreover, wasn't this Uchiha brat supposed to be "crippled"? Why did he look even more terrifying than the reports suggested?
Before, with Chiyo's Three Buddhist Treasures Vacuum Destruction as support, Kitsuchi had found an opening to use natural force to shatter the Susanoo. But now, those three puppets had been pulverized. Trying to repeat that feat was a monumental task.
Kitsuchi glanced at Mifune, who was lying nearby looking like he was on his last breath, being frantically treated by Chiyo with poison antidotes and Medical Ninjutsu. He had to face a grim reality: even if he shattered the Susanoo again, underneath it was a man with peerless taijutsu, rumored to be unkillable, and now apparently covered in a layer of "iron skin."
How do you even handle this guy?
Kitsuchi's expression turned as foul as if he'd eaten a pile of garbage. But there was no time for hesitation; if he didn't act, Ren would.
"I don't know what that sword is... but I can't let him unsheathe it! I have to interrupt him, and then..." Kitsuchi swallowed hard, fighting an overwhelming urge to abandon Chiyo and Mifune and run for his life.
With a snarl, he clapped his hands into the 'Snake' seal!
The twenty-meter-tall stone golem began to move with heavy, thundering steps. One step, two—until the massive giant was in a full sprint, its weight causing the ruins to tremble and dust to billow. Then, with Kitsuchi straining every muscle to control it, the golem leaped!
No fancy maneuvers—just pure weight. It threw itself at Ren's Susanoo in a "Mt. Tai Press" posture!
"Hm? That look on his face..."
Standing inside the Susanoo, Ren had everything in his sight. His expression darkened as "dead memories" began to attack him. Given Ren's vast experience, he recognized Kitsuchi's expression instantly. He had seen that look of desperate calculation too many times.
"Trying to run!?" Ren's face turned savage as he glared at Kitsuchi. Damn it, I finally get an advantage, and everyone starts looking for the exit! Where is that "Will of Stone" you inherited from Ohnoki?!
Ren took a deep breath, his eyes widening as he became a "Gundam pilot." His feet planted firmly on the ground, he clapped his palms together, watching the incoming golem. He counted down in his head. Then, he clenched his fist and swung his right arm back!
The Susanoo followed his movements perfectly. The skeletal hand gripped the shining lightning hilt and ripped the Futsunomitama fully from the light. Blood and muscle tissue instantly sprouted along the skeletal arms as the Susanoo gripped the hilt with both hands, pulling it to its chest, and thrust the sword forward!
"—BOOM!!"
A windstorm erupted. The giant lightning sword tore through the air, creating a sonic-boom cloud. The blade-light flared like a thunderbolt in the dead of night! Compared to this flash, the stone golem's speed was as slow as a crawling turtle.
SQUELCH!
The lightning sword arrived first! Following the law of lightning countering earth, it cut through the golem like a hot knife through butter—or a sharp blade through tofu. It pierced straight through the golem's chest!
Ren thrust his arms upward, and the Susanoo followed with a vertical upward slash!
SHING!!
The stone golem was cleaved perfectly in two, revealing an internal core glowing red from the lightning's heat before it toppled to either side. Lightning arced everywhere as the giant crashed, shaking the earth and kicking up a massive shroud of dust.
Against such power, a chill ran from Kitsuchi's feet to the crown of his head. His legs began to shake uncontrollably.
It's no use. I have to run! I have to! Forget them—I have to stay alive. I haven't become the Fourth Tsuchikage yet! Fighting a guy like this means death!
Kitsuchi stared at Ren with pure terror, swallowed hard, and decisively abandoned Chiyo and Mifune. He turned and bolted toward the city at the base of the mountain!
But Ren, having already read his mind, wasn't about to let him go. His face darkened as he raised his hand high! The Susanoo swept the dust away with one swing, clearing the line of sight, and raised the sword above its head with both hands.
"Run? You think I'm letting you run!?"
Ren's eyes flared as he swung his palm down! The eighteen-meter lightning blade expanded further, glowing with blinding light! It transformed into a forty-meter-long blade of lightning as the Susanoo swung it down!
Screeeeee—
Arcing lightning followed the blade. Using the principles of Uchiha Style: Halo Dance, it transformed into a crescent-shaped wave of lightning! The shockwave leaped eighty meters, screaming down toward the retreating Kitsuchi in a "splitting the mountain" strike!
Kitsuchi looked back, his face twisting in agony as cold sweat drenched his back. He dug his feet in and threw himself to the side with every ounce of strength he possessed. The lightning wave tore past him, obliterating everything in its path for dozens of meters.
Kitsuchi wanted to leave, but Ren refused to let him.
"Since that's how it is... you forced my hand!"
Kitsuchi's skin contorted. He realized that if he didn't deal with Ren Uchiha, none of the three of them were leaving today! He took a deep breath, stood with legs wide, and wove seals at lightning speed before slamming his palms together!
"Earth Release: Great Moving Earth Core!"
This was an enhanced version of the Moving Earth Core taught by the Third Tsuchikage. It could shake the earth and cause massive upheavals. Usually used for traps, a mere auxiliary jutsu wouldn't normally threaten a Susanoo.
But ninjutsu depends on the environment. Just as Water Release is stronger near water, and Kitsuchi's earlier Rock Lodging Destruction was amplified by the existing mountain peak...
Kitsuchi wasn't on a plain. He was in the Land of Lightning—a country where cities were built into the very crags of high mountains. His Great Moving Earth Core wasn't just targeting the ground beneath their feet. By spreading his chakra through the mountain's structure, he targeted its weak points to generate a terrifying force:
The toppling of the entire mountain peak!
He had avoided this move because of the collateral damage to the city below and the fact that it was indiscriminate—he would be caught in it too. But now, it was his only option.
"—RUMBLE!!"
The earth shook with the violence of a magnitude ten earthquake. Even inside the Susanoo, Ren swayed, forced to use chakra to stick his feet to the ground. But before he could stabilize, the world went black. A shadow so vast it blotted out his entire vision loomed over him.
The very foundation of the palace was tilting upward. Bricks, beams, stones, and debris from the ruins were launched into the high heavens! The world seemed to spin; he could see the clouds racing past as the horizon flipped.
Ren's heart hammered as he looked up. Where the sky should have been, there was now an inverted, massive cluster of city buildings and palaces!
No—the city wasn't floating. The mountain beneath him was falling over.
Like a massive pillar of earth torn from the ground, the peak was carrying him as it plummeted toward the most prosperous inner district of Unming City! Ren and his Susanoo were like a nail driven into the top of this falling pillar. The moment it hit, the weight of the entire mountain would crush him into dust!
"Brat, go to hell!"
Hanging nearly upside down nearby, Kitsuchi's face was a mask of savage desperation. Even in this state, he was still weaving seals.
"Earth Release: Mountain Jutsu!"
BOOM!
The ground beneath the Susanoo cracked open. Kitsuchi didn't use the move to crush the Susanoo this time; he used it to hollow out Ren's footing, making him fall through the air as a lone rock! This prevented Ren from using Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole to survive the impact within the soil.
Kitsuchi slumped, gasping for air. Even just tipping a mountain was nearly impossible for a ninja. Only someone with his massive chakra reserves and status as the second strongest in the Hidden Stone could manage it.
Staring at the falling Ren and the mountain following close behind to turn him into a meat pie, Kitsuchi let out a weary, relieved smile. Then, his feet left the ground as he plummeted toward the city below.
In these final moments, Kitsuchi sighed and looked back toward the direction of the Hidden Stone.
"Roshi... maybe you were right. We shouldn't have come here..."
The next second:
BOOM!!
The mountain leaped through the air and crashed into the city!
Note: Support me and get early access to chapters on Pat reon.com/XareonMTL