Compared to the disdain and smugness from Rōshi and the others, things were far worse on Akashō's side.
In just a few short minutes, Akashō had already endured thousands of consecutive explosions, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.
His limbs had long since been blown who-knows-where, and even half of his head was gone. Only a shattered torso remained, tossed around in the blasts—constantly dying from the overwhelming damage, then reviving, only to exceed his injury limits again, repeating the cycle of death over and over.
Especially under such high-frequency explosions infused with flames, the regenerative immortality of his Demon Body was heavily suppressed by the intense heat, making full recovery nearly impossible.
This won't work. If this continues, I'll hit my limit again. And with the Explosive Tags in play, these Hidden Stone Village ninja won't even leave behind corpses. Even if I wanted to replenish myself later by devouring bodies, I wouldn't be able to.
And yet, even now, that guy Rōshi still hasn't made his move.
This is bad...
"Boom—"
After an unknown amount of time, the storm of explosions finally subsided somewhat. Akashō—now little more than half a charred, broken body—lay on the cratered ground ravaged by blasts, feeling as though he were already approaching heaven.
"Heh, just as expected. Kokushibo's immortality has its limits. Once it's reached, he can only recover by devouring humans. As long as we use Explosive Tags to leave him without even a corpse, he has no way to break out of the encirclement."
Using the last of his strength, Akashō prioritized restoring his eyes, ears, and nose. Immediately, he heard footsteps and mocking voices approaching. Shifting his gaze, he saw Rōshi walking over with over a hundred ninja. Beside him stood another leader of this Hidden Stone Village operation—somewhat familiar-looking, probably a minor but known figure.
"Heh, how does it feel, Moon Sword Demon? Being wrapped in explosions—not bad, right?"
The Explosion Release ninja Gari crouched down with a cold smirk.
"According to Lord Tsuchikage's calculations, these Explosive Tags shouldn't have been enough. Your regeneration is weaker than I expected."
Akashō's eyes darkened. A battle plan specifically designed to counter Kokushibo? Aside from not knowing that high temperatures were especially effective against the Demon Body, everything else was practically flawless.
But these scheming old bastards… thinking a mere fatal injury means they've already won!?
At this critical moment, Akashō quickly came up with a solution—he reverted directly to his true body. And with that transformation, the physical state under the Kokushibo template was carried over as well.
His true body remained just as broken and charred as before, with no visible difference at all. This prevented Rōshi and the Hidden Stone Village ninja from noticing anything unusual.
But in the next instant, countless threads suddenly surged out from his ruined body—wrapping, weaving, and restructuring themselves. In the end, they formed a layer of crimson armor over his flesh, like a second skin.
More importantly, these threads reconstructed his missing limbs—forming complete arms and legs. Within them were thread-formed bones, connected through strands that drilled into the torso's skeletal structure.
Just like that, relying on this newly formed body of threads, Akashō stood up once more!
"W-What is that!?"
Rōshi and the others' previously relaxed, triumphant expressions instantly froze, their bodies stiffening in place.
"You've done well."
From beneath the crimson armor, Akashō's voice was icy, filled with killing intent. Strictly speaking, this was his first time using his true body to engage in a high-level battle against opponents like Rōshi.
Thinking of this, he pulled up the personal interface he hadn't checked in a long time and glanced at it.
Name: Akashō
Age: 9
Skills: Eight Gates (Seven Gates), Sealing Techniques, Moon Breathing, Transparent World, Crimson Blade, En, Observation Haki (Intermediate), Armament Haki (Beginner), Shadow Clone, Chidori, Wind Release, Lightning Release, Rasengan…
Special Abilities: Uzumaki Constitution, Demon Body, String-String Fruit ability, Malice, Terpsichora
Villain Templates:
Kokushibo
Bertholdt Hoover
Neferpitou Donquixote
Doflamingo
Total Reputation: Over five million.