Natsuki ignored Madara's wild laughter and instead changed his method of attack.
He had the massive wooden hands stop trading blows with Susanoo's fists, and instead abruptly coil around Susanoo's arms, clamping both of them in place.
The rest of the wooden hands seized the opening and launched a frenzied assault, hammering down on Susanoo's head.
In barely two seconds, Susanoo's head was smashed to pieces.
"Not bad at all! But I'm not going to lose to some youngster!"
Madara poured even more power into his eyes. Susanoo's head regenerated in an instant, and its arms tore free of the wooden grip. In both hands, it formed a pair of gigantic swords. One swing cleaved through a cluster of wooden hands; the twin blades then stabbed straight through the Kannon's abdomen.
Rip—! A jagged, ugly hole was torn through the wooden Kannon's midsection.
Madara shouted crazily, "Hahaha! Your Mokuton (Wood Style) is nothing compared to Hashirama's!"
"Oh, really? That Susanoo of yours is nothing but a paper tiger."
Natsuki refused to back down verbally. With a sharp clap of his hands, the wooden Kannon not only regenerated, but the mass of wooden hands on its back twisted together into something like a huge rope. In the next second, that rope coiled into a colossal wooden dragon.
The massive wooden dragon shot out from behind the Kannon, instantly wrapping itself around Susanoo's entire body and squeezing tighter and tighter.
It looked ready to crush Susanoo into scrap by sheer force.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
As the wooden dragon kept constricting, the Susanoo giant let out ominous creaking sounds, and more and more fractures became visible along its armored surface.
Madara only chuckled, forming hand seals before unleashing Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku (Fire Style: Majestic Flame Destroyer), igniting the wooden dragon in an instant.
But Natsuki was not dead or stupid. He immediately countered with Suiton: Suichōha (Water Style: Water Surge Wave) to extinguish the flames, giving Madara no time to press the advantage.
Madara responded with a surprise move. His hand seals shifted again, and from the ground erupted several thick vines that snaked up and coiled around the wooden dragon's head and tail. With a brutal yank in opposite directions, they ripped the dragon in two, allowing Susanoo to break free.
Then, the twin swords dropped in a vicious downward arc, cutting the wooden Kannon cleanly into three huge pieces.
To be fair, Hashirama's Mokuton was absurd. It was best not to compare yourself to that guy.
Even so, Mokuton was not all Natsuki had.
He ignored the shattered Kannon, slapped his hands together again, and poured out chakra. The ground surged and solidified into a towering stone giant, which immediately thrust out its arms and clamped down on Susanoo's wrists.
Madara remained unfazed. "Heh. Even if you swap Mokuton for Doton (Earth Style), it's pointless. In front of Susanoo (Guardian Deity Avatar), those giants of yours are just hollow shells."
"Is that so? I guess you already forgot how your Susanoo's head got smashed into paste just now."
Natsuki had no intention of losing on the level of trash talk either—and he still had a new "Gundam" to field.
He suddenly pulled out a scroll and unsealed a massive quantity of iron sand. Under the control of Jiton (Magnet Release), the iron sand rapidly gathered into a colossal iron giant.
The stone giant was sturdier than the wooden Kannon, and the iron-sand giant was tougher than the stone giant.
With both giants attacking together, could Susanoo really hold out?
"Hmph! Petty tricks." Madara was not impressed.
"In that case, I won't be polite."
Natsuki let out a low chuckle as he formed a gigantic iron sword in the iron giant's hand. Raiton (Lightning Style) chakra crackled along the blade as he drove it straight toward Susanoo's abdomen.
Crack! One thrust, and Susanoo's defenses shattered.
The sword pierced right into Madara's body, the Raiton discharging and frying his spiky hair into a full-on explosion afro.
The stone giant seized the moment, heaving with both arms and tearing Susanoo's arms clean off. It then drove a massive punch straight into Susanoo's torso, blowing the entire giant avatar apart in one strike.
Madara was still being ravaged by the lightning-charged iron sword, his Edo Tensei body gradually crumbling under the onslaught.
Then, his Mangekyō Sharingan suddenly changed, transforming directly into the Rinnegan (Samsara Eye).
Of course. He had awakened the Rinnegan before he died, and now in this Edo Tensei state he could fully exert it. A single pulse of that power blasted the coffin away, and even the stone giant and iron-sand giant were crushed to dust by the repulsive force.
Natsuki had already fled to safety with Arashi Shunshin (Storm-Style Body Flicker).
He had failed to seal Madara yet again.
After the first failed attempt with Mafūba (Demon Sealing Wave), Natsuki had known the odds of success the second time were low.
Even so, he had still given it a try. Forcing Madara to bring out the Rinnegan was not exactly a waste of effort.
But if things went on like this, it would never end.
Killing Madara was impossible—he was an Edo Tensei body. Sealing him was out of reach as well. There was nothing they could do.
As for killing Kabuto, would Madara just stand there and let them do it?
Perhaps feeling Natsuki's gaze on him, Kabuto's heart gave a sudden jolt. He instantly cast Kawarimi no Jutsu (Substitution Technique), vanishing from where he stood.
That guy was sharp. He had clearly sensed the killing intent.
Natsuki ignored him and turned his eyes instead to the Gedō Mazō (Outer Path Golem), which had not moved at all this whole time.
Now that Madara had once again unleashed the power of the Rinnegan, and Kabuto had taken the chance to slip away, the only target left was the Gedō Mazō. In any case, Natsuki had no intention of coming here for nothing today.
By this time, Madara had already regenerated.
His expression was feral and imperious. "What's wrong? Out of tricks already? Come on, use more. Make this more fun for me!"
Natsuki snorted. "Madara, do you even have any shame? If you weren't in an Edo Tensei body, you'd already be dead twice over. By rights, that means I've already won. The only reason you can strut around right now is because you're a corpse."
"Hahahaha, well, you might have a point."
Madara's interest clearly piqued. "But I can't help it. How about this—figure out a way to bring me back to life so we can really fight. If you can still kill me then, I'll admit defeat."
Heh. Keep dreaming.
Natsuki had no desire to keep bantering. He shot the Gedō Mazō a subtle glance, then raised a single finger. "I've still got one more trump card."
Madara's curiosity flared. "Oh? A trump card? If you've got the guts, use it. I, Madara, will not lose."
"Then you'd better watch closely."
Natsuki lowered his gaze so Madara could not see exactly where he was aiming.
He took up the stance for Kamehameha (Turtle Destruction Wave), a glowing electromagnetic sphere forming between his palms. "Ka—me—ha—me—"
"Ha!!!"
He thrust both hands forward—aimed straight at the Gedō Mazō!
(End of Chapter)
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