Chapter 491: Onoki's Last Gasp
Hearing the casual invitation to "be a guest," the deep wrinkles on Ōnoki's weathered face twisted into a vicious snarl.
The sheer audacity of the remark felt like a physical slap. This was blatant, unfiltered humiliation. Just what did this arrogant brat take the Kage of a Great Ninja Village for?
"Uchiha Akira!" Ōnoki's voice cracked into a shrill, furious roar that echoed across the desolate wasteland. "Drop the hypocritical act!"
Hovering in mid-air, the old Tsuchikage slammed his calloused hands together. As he slowly pulled them apart, a blinding, incandescent white light frantically converged between his palms. The sheer density of the gathered chakra warped the air, instantly forming a transparent, glowing cube.
"Iwagakure only has Tsuchikage who die in battle! We do not breed cowards who live on their knees!" Ōnoki bellowed, his eyes bloodshot. "You want to take this old man with you? Then you will have to drag my corpse back!"
The chakra reserves within his aged body erupted, pouring out without a single shred of reservation.
"Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"
Ōnoki violently thrust his hands forward.
The transparent cube instantly elongated, transforming into a devastating pillar of white light that threatened to pierce through heaven and earth. It shot toward Uchiha Akira with a velocity that surpassed anything Ōnoki had ever unleashed in his long life.
This was the pinnacle of ninjutsu—the Kekkei Tōta. A Bloodline Selection that stood far above any standard Bloodline Limit, fusing three chakra natures into a terrifying killing strike capable of erasing all matter at the molecular level.
The beam moved as fast as a lightning strike. The very instant Ōnoki thrust his arms out, the blinding light was already inches from Uchiha Akira's face.
Down below, the surviving Iwagakure shinobi felt a desperate flicker of hope ignite in their chests. Lord Tsuchikage's Particle Style was absolute. It was invincible. Even a monster like Uchiha Akira could not possibly survive taking such an attack head-on. Surely, this would end it.
However.
The very next second, the hopeful expressions on thousands of faces completely froze.
Facing a destructive force meant to obliterate everything in its path, Uchiha Akira did not even blink. An orb of absolute, ink-like blackness abruptly materialized in the air before him.
The pitch-black sphere instantly shifted, extending and flattening into a flawless, semi-circular shield that intercepted the path of the blinding white light.
The terrifying pillar of Particle Style slammed directly into the black barrier. Yet, the expected scene of molecular decomposition never came. The light simply washed over the dark surface, completely neutralized, unable to leave even a scratch.
"This..."
Ōnoki remained suspended in mid-air, his arms still locked in their thrusting posture. His weathered face slackened in absolute disbelief.
"It... it was blocked?" he whispered, his voice trembling. "How is that even possible?!"
This was Particle Style. The ultimate technique designed to break down any physical object into mere molecules. In the entire history of the ninja world, aside from the Second Tsuchikage Mū, no living being had ever taken this move head-on and survived.
"Are you really that surprised?"
Akira's voice cut through the lingering hum of dissipated chakra, calm and maddeningly composed.
"Particle Style is indeed a decent technique. using the precise fusion of three chakra nature transformations to achieve destruction at the molecular level... In theory, it is impossible to defend against."
A faint, chilling smile touched the corners of Uchiha Akira's mouth.
"But unfortunately for you, what you are facing now is a power belonging to an entirely different realm."
The Truth-Seeking Orb.
This was the ultimate culmination of all things, a divine substance containing the complete integration of all five basic elemental natures, alongside Yin and Yang. Before a power of this absolute dimension, the so-called Kekkei Tōta was nothing more than a crude, low-dimensional parlor trick.
"I refuse to believe it!"
Ōnoki's mental fortitude finally began to fracture. He simply could not accept that the supreme ninjutsu he had staked his entire pride upon was so utterly fragile before this man.
"Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"
Another, even thicker pillar of blinding white light blasted from his palms, fueled by pure desperation.
The result did not change in the slightest.
The black shield of the Truth-Seeking Orb stood like an impossible chasm. No matter how violently the destructive light washed over its surface, the dark barrier remained perfectly motionless, absorbing the impact without a single ripple.
Hovering in the sky, Ōnoki finally tasted the bitter, suffocating ash of true despair. This was not a battle between equals. It was not even a clash of the same magnitude.
"Since you refuse to give up," Akira said, slowly shaking his head. The faint trace of mockery in his dark eyes gradually vanished, replaced by an abyss of cold apathy. "Then I suppose I must show you."
He raised his chin.
"What true power looks like."
A catastrophic surge of deep purple chakra erupted from Uchiha Akira's body, exploding outward with the sheer, violent force of a detonating volcano. The pressure alone cracked the earth beneath him.
Skeletal ribs manifested in the air, rapidly followed by glowing meridians, woven muscle fibers, and finally, heavy, impenetrable armor. In the mere blink of an eye, a colossal purple giant standing hundreds of meters tall materialized within the jagged wasteland.
The Perfect Susanoo.
Its massive, oppressive shadow cast a dark veil over the thousands of Iwagakure shinobi gathered below.
An elite Iwa Jonin slowly craned his neck upward, staring blankly at the armored deity towering into the clouds. The kunai in his trembling grip slipped, hitting the rocky ground with a hollow clatter.
Before a god of this magnitude, they were nothing more than a swarm of insignificant ants. The very concept of resistance was burned away from their minds, leaving only primal terror.
Standing among the ranks, Kitsuchi shook uncontrollably, cold sweat pouring down his broad face as he stared at the apocalyptic avatar.
High above, Ōnoki looked down at his broken, despairing subordinates. The sight twisted something deep inside the old Kage. The madness in his bloodshot eyes flared into an absolute, suicidal frenzy.
"Even if I have to die here! I will tear a piece of flesh from your bones!"
"Earth Release: Golem Technique!"
The ground quaked violently. Countless massive boulders ripped themselves from the earth, flying upward under the magnetic pull of Ōnoki's chakra. The rocks converged and fused beneath the old man, rapidly assembling into a towering behemoth of solid stone.
This was Ōnoki's ultimate defensive ninjutsu—the Rock Golem.
Yet, standing before the Perfect Susanoo, the sight was almost pitiful. The massive stone construct did not even reach the knee of Akira's purple giant. It looked incredibly comical, a child's toy placed before a towering titan.
"This is your grand counterattack?"
Standing securely within the glowing crystal at the brow of the Susanoo, Uchiha Akira folded his arms. He looked down at the clumsy stone figure with utter detachment.
"Too weak."
With a single, dismissive thought from Akira, the Perfect Susanoo slowly raised one massive, armored foot.
And then, it simply stomped down.
There were no complex hand seals. No flashy techniques. Just a simple, crushing stomp.
But driven by the terrifying mass and boundless chakra of the Perfect Susanoo, that single motion became a localized natural disaster.
An devastating boom tore through the wasteland.
The Rock Golem summoned by Ōnoki instantly pulverized, completely incapable of withstanding the sheer weight of Uchiha Akira's power. The construct exploded into countless heavy stone fragments that shot out in all directions, smashing into the jagged landscape like high-velocity cannonballs.
But the devastation did not end there.
After effortlessly crushing the golem, the Susanoo's massive foot did not lose a single fraction of its momentum. It slammed directly into the bedrock.
A catastrophic shockwave erupted outward. A violent hurricane of displaced air, mixed with jagged rock fragments and choking dust, swept frantically across the battlefield.
"Aaaah!"
"Fall back! Help!"
Dozens of Iwagakure shinobi were instantly swept off their feet by the terrifying air currents. Those caught too close to the epicenter were sent flying like broken ragdolls, coughing up mouthfuls of blood as the pressure crushed their ribs.
High in the air, having barely escaped the immediate blast zone, Ōnoki hovered unsteadily. His chest heaved with ragged, heavy pants.
"Cough... cough..."
He was old. Truly, undeniably old.
The frantic retreat had already drained a massive portion of his stamina, and forcing his body into such a high-intensity clash was pushing his limits to the breaking point. If he were still in his prime, Ōnoki might have been able to sustain this fight a little longer.
But now, his aging muscles and strained chakra pathways were screaming in protest. He could not hold on much longer.
From high above, within the brow of the towering purple god, Uchiha Akira's indifferent voice drifted down, cutting through the settling dust.
"Is it over already?" The tone was flat, devoid of even the slightest exertion. "Does the legendary Ōnoki of Both Scales truly only amount to this?"
Ōnoki's weathered face flushed a dark, furious purple.
He could not lose. He absolutely could not fall here.
If he collapsed now, the future of his son Kitsuchi, and the lives of the thousands of Iwagakure shinobi standing behind him, would be completely erased from the earth.
Trembling violently, Ōnoki raised his heavy arms. He forced the dregs of his remaining chakra to the surface, frantically squeezing and refining every last drop of energy within his coils. He pushed past his limits, directly overdrawing his own waning life force to fuel the technique.
"I am the Tsuchikage!" he roared, his voice tearing at his throat.
Blinding white light converged between his palms for the third time. But this time, the shape did not form into a cube. The violently spinning chakra expanded, shaping itself into a massive, devastating cone.
"Particle Style: Boundary Separation Jutsu!"
Ōnoki screamed, his eyes wide with suicidal resolve as he violently thrust his hands forward.
"Go to hell!"
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