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Chapter 74: Lightning Release: Kirin!
Crack!
High in the sky, another series of electrical flashes. The dark clouds were filled with a spiderweb-like network of dense lightning. The rain poured down, and the massive roar of the thunder made eardrums throb. Alex, curled up in Konan's chest, felt the air pressure growing lower and heavier, and the ominous feeling in his heart intensified. He looked at Sasuke on the hillside. His figure was enveloped in blue-white light under the flashing lightning, making him indistinct. The poser would never let such a perfect opportunity pass!
The reality was just as Alex had thought. Sasuke looked up at the sky, and the connected raindrops dripped from his chin. His eyes were cold as he laughed loudly, "Hahaha! A heaven-sent opportunity! Even the heavens are helping me! How can you win, White Tiger?!!"
Crackle! Lightning flashed in his right palm. The thunder in the high sky rumbled, seeming to echo in response. Sasuke raised his right arm, and a pillar of lightning shot from his hand, straight into the dark clouds. The pillar of lightning completely disappeared into them. The dark clouds roiled as usual, as if nothing had happened. But it also seemed as if something extremely terrifying was brewing.
The air pressure below became heavier, almost suffocating. Konan subconsciously raised her hand, her gaze fixed. The fine hairs on the back of her white hand were all standing on end, standing straight even as raindrops pelted them. Every cell in her body was warning her: an immense sense of mortal danger enveloped her entire body. In the empty air, arcs of electricity began to dance. As if drawn by the lightning high above, they grew more and denser.
This was bad... very bad.
Alex was alarmed and quickly controlled a piece of paper to fly in front of Konan.
[Konan! This is Sasuke's Lightning Release: Kirin! It's the pinnacle of Lightning Release ninjutsu!]
[It uses the power of natural lightning! Its power is terrifying!]
[It's impossible to dodge! The range is immense! Immediately prepare your defenses! I will assist you!!]
The speed of lightning is far faster than that of a ninja. The Kirin would be under Sasuke's control. Wherever he pointed, it would strike instantly. It couldn't be dodged. This was the divine might of nature.
Konan nodded, her expression grim. The intelligence Alex provided, combined with the intense sense of mortal danger she felt as a Kage-level powerhouse, all indicated that the coming attack would be terrifying. It couldn't be dodged. She could only defend with all her might.
Konan suddenly spread her arms. Chakra surged from her entire body, and her Akatsuki robe flapped wildly. Alex simultaneously activated his chakra. Whoosh! In the next instant, a boundless sea of paper gathered around Konan. Dense, layered, an absolutely massive amount. They didn't attack outward. Instead, they flew toward her, connecting and adhering to each other. One sheet after another, one piece after another, stacking together, forming a snow-white paper ball.
It expanded rapidly, enveloping Konan and protecting her within. First, it was ten meters in diameter. In the next instant, it expanded to a hundred meters in diameter, and it was still growing. The density was extremely high, almost solid!
In the distance, Honoka looked at the battlefield with a worried expression. Even though she didn't know what Lightning Release: Kirin was, seeing Lady Konan respond so gravely, she knew the attack she was about to endure would be terrifying. She didn't know if Lady Konan could withstand it.
"Lady Konan, you must be safe..."
"Hahaha! That woman is dead for sure!" Karin laughed loudly. "That's the Kirin, which gathers the thunder of heaven and earth! Besides that man's absolute defense, who else can withstand it!!" Although she hadn't personally participated in the battle between Sasuke and Itachi, she had witnessed the horrifying scene of Kirin's descent from a distance. That was true heavenly might, the true power of thunder that could destroy everything!
"Eh..." Honoka cried out in alarm, suddenly finding her body moving backward uncontrollably. It was the wings on her back. Under Alex's control, they were carrying Honoka in a rapid retreat, along with Karin, who was chained by the Adamantine Sealing Chains, who was also pulled away from the battlefield, shouting. The impact of the coming attack would be enormous. He had to prevent Honoka from being caught in the crossfire.
On the hillside, Sasuke held his right arm high. The lightning in his hand was so bright it was impossible to look at directly. He looked down on the "white ball" that was still expanding below, full of arrogance, and said with disdain: "It's just paper. No matter how much you have, it's still useless..."
The lightning in his right hand suddenly flashed. The dark clouds in the sky roiled even more violently.
"Come forth, Kirin!!"
The world suddenly fell silent.
In the next instant, a white light blazed, illuminating the entire sky. From the depths of the thick cloud layer, a massive monster's head emerged. Silver serpents of electricity cracked. It was formed entirely from dense lightning. A dragon's head, deer's antlers. Two long whiskers of lightning drifted freely. It was vivid and lifelike. It was the Kirin!
"How..." Honoka looked up in terror at the Kirin's head. Such a massive creation, made entirely of lightning. Was this still Lightning Release? Was this still ninjutsu? Was this a technique that human power could truly unleash?? Its pressure was so strong that even from several kilometers away, it made her feel as if a giant stone was pressing on her chest, making it hard to breathe. She was terrified.
Karin, on the other hand, was so excited her face was flushed, and she was panting: "Hahahaha! This is the feeling! This is the scene! It's exactly the same as the last time I saw it! Kirin!! Hahaha!"
"Lady Konan!! No!!"
Amidst Honoka's desperate cry, Sasuke swung his arm down forcefully: "Remnant of the old era, be scattered in the thunder!!"
He shouted: "Lightning Release: Kirin!!!"
The world bizarrely fell into an absolute silence. No sound could be heard. But soon... in the blink of an eye, or perhaps a thousandth of a second, or even a hundred-thousandth of a second. An extremely short amount of time. The Kirin fell. It was as if heaven and earth were instantly connected by a thick pillar of lightning.
A "BOOM" of thunder roared, shaking the heavens. Blue-white light flashed violently, so blinding that Honoka and the others couldn't open their eyes. Even with their eyes tightly shut, their vision wasn't dark. It was still a vast expanse of white. With the "white ball" at the center, an area of over a thousand meters was completely transformed into a sea of lightning. "Crackle!" Blue-white lightning, like spiritual serpents, leaped and danced, filling every inch of space.
Even from several thousand meters away, Honoka could still feel a stinging and numbing sensation on her skin. Those were electrical arcs leaping. To be affected from such a distance, the power of Lightning Release: Kirin was truly terrifying. It was worthy of its evaluation as the pinnacle of Lightning Release.
Half a minute later, the blue-white light that had illuminated the world dimmed. The sea of lightning gradually shrank and then completely dissipated. It left behind a giant crater over a thousand meters wide. The ground had sunk by a full three meters. The bottom of the crater and its surrounding walls were all a fiery red. The rocks had been melted by the extreme temperature of the lightning, forming a magma-like molten state. At the bottom of the crater, at its very center, a completely carbonized, black paper ball, less than three meters in diameter, stood on the red-hot ground...