Weapons clashed and lightning flashed as the threads were destroyed. Kakashi Hatake, drained and wide eyed with his dead fish eyes, raised a final defense. "Earth Release·Earth Style Earth Wall!"
A dog headed earth wall rose, only to shatter instantly. The massive black tentacle continued toward him. In the dust, Kakashi Hatake's Sharingan closed, his breathing heavy as he reached his limit.
A clear whistle cut through the air. A white figure streaked in and grabbed Kakashi Hatake by the collar, lifting him away. His eyes widened in shock before he heard a familiar voice.
"Kakashi Hatake senior, are you alright?" It was Ryuji Hyuga, now bearing huge white wings glowing softly. The dark palace seemed filthy in comparison.
Black threads slammed into the wall where they had been moments before. Ryuji Hyuga hovered in the air, his expression cold as he looked down at Kakuzu. "Filth," he said calmly.
Wind Chakra surged into his wings. With a powerful sweep, countless white feathers shot forward like steel arrows. They shredded the black tentacles on contact, cutting and tearing them apart in an instant.
Ryuji Hyuga had prepared this Ninja Tool for himself, and it suited someone with a high level of Wind Release Chakra nature transformation. The higher the mastery, the sharper those feathers became. It was a weapon that directly reflected the user's control and understanding.
The extremely tough Earth Grudge Fear Black Threads looked fragile before the white Feather Blades infused with Wind Release Chakra. They tore apart like paper, unable to withstand even a brief clash. The contrast was immediate and brutal.
Black threads with a fleshy texture sprayed across the air like rain, covering the space in front of them. Because of this, many of the pure white feathers were also scattered across the ground. The exchange ended almost as quickly as it began.
A brief dead silence fell over the Underground Palace. Everyone was stunned by the sudden scene and its sheer visual impact. No one spoke, and no one moved.
Ryuji Hyuga hovered in the air, holy wings wrapped in white light. The nearby walls reflected a hazy glow onto his flawless face, while his profile was partly hidden in shadow, forming a cold and distant outline. He looked calm and untouched by the chaos below.
In contrast, Kakuzu controlled the twisted Black Threads, and nothing about his body resembled a human anymore. He looked like an ugly monster crawling out of hell. Under the dim light of the Underground Palace, the two formed a shocking opposition.
Light and darkness collided in that space, each seeming to erase the other. The scene was simple, yet overwhelming to witness. It left no room for doubt about how extreme the clash had become.
"Brat, you are looking for death!" Kakuzu shouted.
Hearing the word "filth" from the other side, Kakuzu's dark green eyes sank. Rage surged in his gaze, as if he wanted to tear his opponent apart on the spot. If he were not worried about exposing too much and still failing to kill everyone present, he would have already used compound Ninjutsu.
Damn it, why were all these people getting such powerful items? The thought burned in his mind as he fought to restrain himself. His anger had nowhere to go.
"Go." This body was only a Wood Clone, and Ryuji Hyuga had no intention of getting entangled with Kakuzu. The wings behind him closed and then beat outward in an instant.
With a loud rush of air, his body turned into a streak of white light. He ripped through the murky air of the Underground Palace, shredding the blocking Black Threads tentacles like rotten cloth. The path in front of him was cleared in a blink.
He grabbed the Konoha Ninja holding the broken sword and flashed straight toward the entrance. The white wings traced two elegant arcs in the air, leaving behind faint white sparks and fragments of falling Black Threads. The motion was clean and decisive.
At the instant he flew out through the entrance, Ryuji Hyuga's eyes tilted slightly downward. He met a scrutinizing pair of Rinnegan head-on. There was no hesitation at all.
Without giving Nagato any chance to act, his figure vanished from sight. He followed the thousand-meter Abyss and rapidly ascended upward. His presence disappeared completely.
At the same time, the others also rushed out of the gate of the Underground Palace. They ran toward what they believed was their only way to live. None of them slowed down.
They had expected attacks from those waiting outside. Instead, what greeted them was air far thicker than inside the Underground Palace. It pressed down on their bodies and senses.
The air was no longer air, but a heavy, stagnant blood mist. It carried an intense sweet stench mixed with death. Breathing became difficult almost immediately.
"What is this?" A Kumogakure Ninja instinctively took a breath, and the smell rushed into his skull with icy force. His stomach churned violently, and his face turned pale.
Under their feet was no solid ground, but a deep red swamp that covered their soles. It was warm and slick, and every step pulled up sticky blood mixed with chunks of flesh. The feeling made it hard to keep balance.
Farther away, countless severed limbs were piled into small hills. Blood flowed slowly down those piles and gathered into crimson pools beneath their feet. The sight was unbearable.
Blood flowed against its natural course and gathered like rivers. In the short time they had been inside the Underground Palace, this entire area had turned into a slaughter ground. It crushed flesh and erased lives without mercy.
It looked like a mad artist had painted with lives themselves. The scene told of the Zetsu Wang and struggle at the moment death arrived. Every detail screamed of despair.
What shook their souls was not the scene alone. At the center of this hellish picture, two figures stood quietly. They did not move at all.
As the ones who had created this scene, there was no heavy breathing and no twisted smile of victory. There was only a cold calm that came after everything was finished. That contrast sent a freezing chill straight up their spines.
Then, someone made a move. The first to act was not the seemingly deranged Zhe Long. It was the man in black robes who had stayed low-key the entire time.
The familiar bloody sight seemed to stimulate him. His eyes turned blood red, and his pupils narrowed into a straight line. His presence changed instantly.
"That is…" Watching this, 'Shadow' showed a trace of interest for the first time. His previously bored gaze sharpened slightly.
"The Blood Pool clan, the Blood Dragon Eye?" It was a Kekkei Genkai that appeared in Sasuke Shinden: Book of Sunrise, and like the Sharingan, it could awaken through intense emotional stimulation. It was known as a hypnotic eye and excelled in the field of Genjutsu.
It could turn people into living bombs and use blood as a medium to activate various Ninjutsu. However, the Blood Pool clan had already been wiped out. Like Itachi Uchiha, they were destroyed by their own people, and those who needed extreme emotions to awaken their eyes often had serious problems.
There should only be two members of the Blood Pool clan left now. The man in front of them was likely the clan killer, Chinoike En. The thought itself was unsettling.
"Interesting." 'Shadow' did not expect his setup to draw out such an unexpected catch. His mood lifted slightly.
"How about it?" he turned to Nagato with a smile. "Interested?" Before Nagato could answer, Chinoike En raised his bow and aimed at them.
His fingers pulled on an invisible bowstring, and the muscles in his arm bulged like cords. The blood mist around him was drawn in and condensed into a crimson arrow made entirely of blood. It formed in an instant.
He released it. With a sharp whistle, the blood arrow shot out, turning into a red streak of light that was hard to see clearly.
"A fool who cannot tell the gap in strength," Nagato said calmly. His voice held no emotion.
As his words fell, 'Shadow' threw out a blade formed from black shadow. It tore through the blood mist in the air. The motion was smooth and precise.
It was like drawing with black ink across blood-red paper, forming a full crimson circle. The image lasted only a moment. Then it shattered.
With a heavy impact, the blood arrow was smashed apart midair. It burst into pure blood that splashed across the sky. The force behind it was overwhelming.
The blade did not slow down. It cut straight through Chinoike En's body. Blood bloomed from his chest as he was sent flying backward.
No one spared even a moment of silence for him. The battlefield was taken over immediately by the Hannya group.
A masked figure appeared behind 'Shadow' in his blind spot. Staying low, he drew the blade from his waist and slashed toward 'Shadow' with full force. The sound of steel rang out clearly.
Wind wrapped around the blade, forming chaotic currents like white patterns along the edge. The strike was so fast that the blade itself could not be seen, only the arc of light. The shrill sound cut through the air like a wail.
He was a very strong swordsman and warrior. This was especially true after obtaining that Chakra blade. His timing and execution were nearly perfect.