On the battlefield—
Crack! Crack!
A mountain-like force suddenly surged from the base of the Adamantine Staff, making the entire weapon shudder violently and throwing Isshin's balance off.
Beneath him, the Three-Tails' fully transformed body was gathering terrifying power. At any moment, it could overturn the colossal pillar pinning it down.
Feeling the overwhelming strength building below him, Isshin had no intention of matching it head-on.
The Three-Tails' enormous size alone gave it a natural advantage. Besides, forging so many golden lightning swords by hand had already drained a considerable amount of his chakra.
So just as the Three-Tails jinchūriki's accumulated power reached a terrifying peak, moments before it exploded into action—
With a flick of his wrist, the Adamantine Staff instantly shrank back to its normal size, returning to his hand.
At the same time, Isshin leaped lightly off it and landed gracefully on the ground.
And the very instant his feet touched down—
Boom!
The Three-Tails jinchūriki's mountain-sized body lurched upward.
But because the opponent it had been struggling against had suddenly vanished, all the force it had gathered was like throwing a full-powered punch into empty air.
The enormous body immediately lost its balance under its own momentum, stumbling forward as its footing became wildly unstable.
And in that split second—
Plant his foot!
Twist his waist!
Raise his arm!
The three movements flowed together seamlessly.
Eyes blazing like lightning, Isshin thrust the Adamantine Staff straight toward the staggering beast.
The staff instantly extended, its tip surging forward with unstoppable penetrating force like a bolt of black lightning, striking the opening created by the Three-Tails jinchūriki's loss of balance.
Boom!
A deafening metallic crash rang out as the staff slammed into the giant's shell.
The mountain-like beast was blasted backward, skidding across the ground for over a kilometer while carving a bottomless trench through the earth. Every ruined wall and shattered structure along its path was crushed into dust.
After sending the Three-Tails jinchūriki flying, Isshin swept his gaze across the battlefield, preparing to turn back and reinforce Konoha's forces.
But the moment Yagura saw him land, it was as if he had spotted his mortal enemy.
His eyes instantly turned bloodshot.
With one swing of his coral staff, he forced back the opponent in front of him before charging at Isshin like a madman.
"Not a chance!"
Koharu shouted sharply.
Her katana swept through the air like a gale, firmly intercepting Yagura's advance.
Blade and coral staff collided again and again, each impact sending sparks flashing briefly through the torrential rain before they were snuffed out.
Without even looking back, she shouted, "Don't worry about us! Focus on your own fight!"
Isshin hesitated no longer and nodded.
But at that very moment—
A sudden change erupted from the direction where the Three-Tails had been blasted away.
The howling wind and endless rain were drawn toward a single point by an invisible vortex.
In the blink of an eye, they condensed into a massive chakra water sphere dozens of meters across.
Its surface spun at incredible speed, twisting the surrounding rain into flowing veils before launching forward with explosive force, carrying enough power to shatter mountains as it hurtled straight toward Isshin.
Water Release: Gunshot!
Isshin neither dodged nor retreated.
Gripping the Adamantine Staff with both hands, he twisted his hips and swung with all his strength.
The staff expanded rapidly against the wind as he brought it crashing sideways into the incoming chakra sphere.
Bang!
The enormous water sphere exploded on impact, erupting into a sky full of water.
The rain that splashed onto the surrounding ruins struck with such force that it blasted countless tiny craters into the ground.
Even Isshin himself was driven backward more than a dozen steps by the tremendous impact, the Adamantine Staff humming violently in his grip.
Though they shared the same name, the Three-Tails' Gunshot was incomparably more powerful than the one Gamabunta had fired.
Before Isshin had even caught his breath—
Boom!
The earth trembled violently with a deep groan.
The Three-Tails' mountain-sized body had already curled into a ball.
Its massive shell completely enclosed its body, transforming it into a gigantic pale wheel that crushed every ruined wall and shattered structure in its path as it thundered toward Isshin with earth-shattering momentum.
Shadow Stroke.
Isobu curled its entire body inward, encasing itself within the massive shell on its back—a defense bordering on absolute—and rolled forward like an enormous wheel, using its terrifying size and weight to pulverize everything in its path.
The Three-Tails was already famous for its overwhelming physical strength and defensive power.
Now, with the ever-increasing momentum from its relentless charge, the spectacle could only be described as utterly awe-inspiring.
Behind Isshin lay the battlefield, where Konoha's shinobi were still locked in fierce combat against Kirigakure.
He could dodge.
The Konoha shinobi behind him could not.
Clearly, that had been the Three-Tails jinchūriki's plan all along.
Seeing this, Isshin drew a deep breath and stopped holding anything back.
His entire body suddenly glowed with a scorching crimson hue.
The rain evaporated into white mist before it could even touch him.
The Adamantine Staff in his hands rapidly turned red-hot as well.
The staff emitted a deep hum while its blazing heat vaporized every drop of rain nearby, creating a constantly churning barrier of steam around it.
Using Fire Release techniques in a torrential downpour like this was no different from defying heaven itself.
But he had no choice.
Fire Release Nintaijutsu was the field he knew best and the one that benefited the most from his Entries.
Only by borrowing the power of Fire Release could he push every aspect of his physical abilities—especially his strength and explosive power—to their current limit.
That remained true even though this clone couldn't equip attribute-type Entries.
Whoosh!
Isshin swung his arm and hurled the now completely crimson Adamantine Staff straight ahead.
As it streaked through the curtain of rain at incredible speed, the blazing-hot staff carved a dazzling white trail across the sky.
The rain was instantly vaporized, leaving behind a perfectly straight vacuum corridor.
Adamantine Prison Wall!
Just before colliding with the massive rolling shell, the Adamantine Staff suddenly split apart.
It became dozens of equally red-hot staff phantoms that crisscrossed through the air, leaving countless scorching afterimages as they completely enveloped both the Three-Tails' colossal body and the violent shockwaves surrounding it.
Dozens of Adamantine Staffs slammed down simultaneously, assembling into a massive cubic prison that firmly locked the Three-Tails jinchūriki inside.
The Three-Tails' charging momentum came to an abrupt halt.
The enormous pale wheel was forcibly brought to a complete stop!
Crack!
But it lasted only for a moment.
The chakra surrounding the imprisoned Three-Tails faltered ever so slightly before erupting skyward once again, becoming even denser and more ferocious as it twisted the torrential rain around it.
Under the impact of that vast, overwhelming power, the Adamantine Prison Wall began trembling violently.
The crimson glow running along each staff flickered in the downpour as shrill metallic screeches echoed through the air.
But Isshin had never expected to hold it for long.
Just before the Three-Tails jinchūriki could break free, the Adamantine Prison Wall exploded apart.
Dozens of staff projections scattered into the sky like afterimages.
The gigantic pale wheel came crashing forward once more!
This time, the momentum it had built up was even more violent than before.
Yet the instant it broke free at the height of its charge, Isshin had already turned sideways and gathered his strength.
His right fist shot forward.
Vermilion Heaven Purge!
A colossal wave of blazing fire, dozens of meters wide, erupted from his fist.
The torrential rain instantly vaporized into thick white mist the moment it touched the blazing wave, while even the surrounding air warped from the intense heat.
The attack struck the side of the spinning giant wheel with pinpoint precision.
The enormous shell, which had been barreling straight toward Isshin—and Konoha's battle line behind him—was knocked violently off course by the sudden side impact.
Instead, it veered directly toward Kirigakure's own formation.
The dozen or so Kirigakure shinobi standing at the front instantly shrank their pupils in terror.
But the giant wheel was already upon them.
There was no time to dodge.
Damn it!
Sōsuke roared inwardly, desperately trying to force the out-of-control momentum to stop.
The sickening sounds of bones shattering and flesh being crushed rang out one after another.
Despite pouring every ounce of strength into stopping himself, the edge of his enormous body still swept across the front ranks, crushing more than a dozen Kirigakure shinobi to death on the spot.
Fortunately, the brief delay gave the troops behind them enough time to scatter, preventing any further casualties.
Before Sōsuke could even recover from the backlash of that emergency stop, a gigantic staff swept toward him with a piercing howl, blasting him away once again.
His massive body slammed into a crumbling hill in the distance.
Dust and shattered stone exploded into the air, temporarily separating him from the battlefield.
Standing where he was, Isshin let out a slow breath before quickly glancing toward the sky.
Almost...
Originally, his clone had already spent quite some time gathering power deep within the thunderclouds.
But the Three-Tails jinchūriki's Tailed Beast Ball had ruined all of those preparations.
Now his real body had no choice but to begin charging the technique again, while this clone stalled the enemies on the ground.
Fortunately, with all the boosts from his Entries, his real body could prepare far faster than the clone ever could.
And once the attack was complete...
Its power would be even greater.
Before Isshin could think any further, a savage aura like that of a primordial beast locked onto him.
"ROOOAAARRR!!!"
Accompanied by an earth-shaking roar, a ferocious beast with three crimson tails tore through the curtain of rain like a bolt of scarlet lightning, lunging straight at Isshin.
Partial Tailed Beast Transformation.
Clearly, after realizing that the complete Tailed Beast form possessed tremendous power but was far too cumbersome, Sōsuke had decisively switched forms.
He had abandoned his mountain-sized body in exchange for far greater speed and agility.
"So you've come for me."
Seeing this, Isshin neither dodged nor retreated.
With a powerful stomp, he charged forward to meet him head-on.
If this had been the fully transformed Three-Tails, he might have fought more tactically.
But against a partial transformation...
He had nothing to fear.
BOOM!!!
The two crimson figures collided head-on amid the raging wind and torrential rain.
A visible circular shockwave exploded outward from the point of impact, blasting away every gust of wind and sheet of rain around them.
Man and beast.
For a single instant, two pairs of eyes burning with the same fighting spirit met at point-blank range.
The next moment—
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The two crimson figures repeatedly crossed paths, collided, separated, then clashed again amidst the storm.
Every collision was like two meteors smashing together with overwhelming force.
The ringing of metal against metal merged with the sounds of flesh crashing against flesh, sending enormous ripples spreading through the rain itself.
"ROAR!"
In the midst of the relentless exchange, the Three-Tails jinchūriki unleashed another earth-shaking roar.
An even more violent surge of chakra erupted from within him.
His three crimson tails lashed through the rain with ear-splitting whistles as both his strength and speed skyrocketed once more.
His body transformed into a berserk crimson bolt of lightning.
With a thunderous crash, he slammed Isshin into a crumbling hill.
Shattered rock flew everywhere as the hillside split apart, while rain and dust mixed into a hazy gray cloud.
"Higashino Shinichi!?"
Hyakume Sōsuke's two gigantic crimson chakra hands pinned the young man firmly against the shattered cliff face.
A savage grin spread across his face, now barely recognizable as human, exposing rows of gleaming white teeth.
Rain hammered against the chakra shroud surrounding him, producing billowing clouds of steam.
Yet nothing could conceal the naked killing intent burning within his crimson eyes—
Or the faint trace of regret hidden deep beneath it.
"I have to admit... in all my sixty-plus years, you are the most astonishing genius I have ever seen. Even Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara were nowhere near your level when they were your age."
He paused.
The crimson chakra hands tightened their grip even further as his voice rumbled like distant thunder, drowning out the howling storm.
"But that's precisely why! You're far too dangerous as an enemy! No matter what... someone like you should never be allowed to exist!"
Pinned beneath the broken rocks, Isshin stared at him expressionlessly.
Sōsuke didn't seem to expect any response.
Crimson chakra surged wildly around him, causing the half-bestial features of his face to flicker in and out of the red glow.
"I've heard the ninja world calls you Crimson Flame Shinichi. But do you know something? No matter how fiercely a flame burns, it will always be extinguished before the depths of the sea. No matter how violently it rages, it will ultimately fade before the sea's endless murmur."
At this point, Sōsuke's voice became unnervingly calm.
Yet it carried even greater resolve.
"Higashino Shinichi... even if it costs this old man his life today—"
"Are you finished?"
Isshin finally spoke.
Sōsuke froze.
"Hm?"
"Old man."
Isshin raised his eyes, staring expressionlessly at the hideous face only inches away.
"How long has it been since you brushed your teeth?"
"Your breath reeks."
Before the words had even finished leaving his mouth, Isshin lashed out with a powerful kick, slamming his foot straight into the Three-Tails jinchūriki's abdomen.
Boom!
The tremendous force blasted Sōsuke away.
His crimson figure shot backward through the rain before crashing heavily into the muddy ruins in the distance.
Sōsuke flipped to his feet amid the rubble.
His furious roar hadn't even left his mouth—
Boom!
A crimson blur crashed down in front of him like a falling meteor.
Adamantine Staff in one hand and a hammer-like fist in the other, Isshin unleashed a relentless barrage.
Staff strikes and crushing punches rained down without giving Sōsuke even a moment to breathe.
The two figures became entangled once again.
The staff swept in wide arcs.
The three tails whipped wildly through the air.
Every punch landed solidly.
Every claw strike drew blood.
Wherever they clashed, ruins shattered and the rain itself was blasted upward.
Another thunderous explosion rang out.
A crimson figure flew backward.
But this time...
It was the Three-Tails jinchūriki.
Isshin immediately closed the distance.
The Adamantine Staff shot forward and slammed into his opponent's abdomen.
The savage impact instantly shattered the Tailed Beast chakra cloak surrounding Sōsuke.
The crimson chakra rapidly collapsed like a receding tide.
"What a pitiful beast."
Isshin looked impassively at the twisted, ferocious face before him.
"You've spent decades as a Tailed Beast jinchūriki. Looks like you've completely forgotten how a shinobi is supposed to fight."
"All you know on the battlefield is charging around like some mindless animal."
"What a disappointment."
Before the last words had even fallen—
His boot came crashing down onto Sōsuke's face.
The tremendous force twisted the already grotesque features even further as the ground beneath him caved in, forming a massive crater.
Rainwater and mud immediately poured into it.
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