A White Zetsu suddenly emerged from the tree trunk beneath Yōkō's feet, grabbing his ankles.
The White Zetsu violently shoved, pushing Copper Fox down.
Copper Fox fell from the tree branch.
The White Zetsu crawled out of the trunk, looking at its own hands in confusion, then at Copper Fox, who had fallen to the ground and finally landed in a half-crouch.
It had found the blind spot!
"He's been chasing us non-stop for so long! Copper Fox is tired too! He's reached his limit!"
Hearing this White Zetsu's shout, more White Zetsu emerged from the surrounding tree trunks.
These White Zetsu were eager, seeing Copper Fox's weakness as their chance to take his life!
One White Zetsu on the ground punched Copper Fox, sending him flying.
This White Zetsu shouted: "6 hours? I think I can last a whole day!"
Hearing this, Yōkō understood – the transplantation would take 6 hours.
On the tree trunks, in the grass, within the canopy – a single glance revealed at least a thousand White Zetsu.
Better to save some strength for dealing with Uchiha Kirika after the transplantation is complete.
Wooden vines sprouted from his right hand, forming into a wooden spear, while five Iron Vines drooped from his left hand.
His right hand stabbed and killed one White Zetsu, the wooden spike blossoming into a thorny flower from the Zetsu's back.
His left hand whipped out, the tips of the Iron Vines hardening into wooden spikes that shot forth, impaling several White Zetsu.
Spear in his right hand, whip in his left, Yōkō dodged and weaved among the horde of White Zetsu.
The White Zetsu seemed endless. At first, Yōkō fought them in a half-hearted, performative manner, but soon realized he couldn't keep up the act.
Uchiha Madara was placing extraordinary importance on Uchiha Kirika, to have sent so many White Zetsu.
It was predictable that wave after wave of White Zetsu were still traveling underground from the Land of Rain to the Land of Rivers.
Yōkō began to employ hit-and-run tactics, forced to fight while moving, to fight while retreating.
Several hours later, the forest was littered with White Zetsu corpses.
In the distance, Uchiha Kirika suddenly stood there, his posture relaxed.
Yōkō's heart tightened. That stance... it's frighteningly powerful.
It was clearly the composure of someone whose power had greatly increased.
Yōkō stood ready, on high alert. I must test out what Uchiha Kirika's two Mangekyō Dōjutsu abilities are.
I am his brother's killer. If Uchiha Kirika doesn't die, I'll never sleep soundly again.
Uchiha Kirika stared at the panting Copper Fox in the distance and said:
"I want you to be buried alongside my brother! I will use my brother's eyes to witness your death!"
Tobi wanted to say something, but kept his mouth shut.
Both brothers, Mahiru and Kirika, became somewhat arrogant upon suddenly obtaining power.
The Copper Fox opposite them was someone who could exchange blows with Lord Madara. Even if Kirika now possessed the Eternal Mangekyō, he couldn't claim certain victory easily.
Uchiha Kirika moved first, charging towards Yōkō.
Yōkō formed hand signs with both hands and slammed them onto the ground.
"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!"
Thick maple tree trunks suddenly sprouted from the ground and existing trees all around.
The trunks creaked and groaned densely as they surged towards Uchiha Kirika.
Uchiha Kirika remembered the gruesome death of his teacher, Uchiha Michi, and knew he absolutely must not be trapped by these wooden branches.
He closed his eyes, then immediately opened them.
"Mangekyō: Yono Shima!"
Yōkō breathed a slight sigh of relief. One of Uchiha Kirika's ocular techniques was the same as his brother Uchiha Mahiru's.
Having intelligence is good.
A large tree was growing wildly, and near its roots, a fingertip-sized black dot appeared silently.
The black dot expanded violently, transforming into a Yono Shima black disc over five meters in diameter.
Any tree trunk touched by the Yono Shima black disc instantly collapsed, compressed into a sheet of paper.
Seeing this technique again, Yōkō analyzed its principles carefully.
Yono Shima possessed extremely high destructive power. Anyone caught by the Yono Shima black disc would undoubtedly die.
However, the flaw of this technique was also obvious: it required a certain amount of time to expand from a fingertip-sized black dot into the full Yono Shima black disc.
If detected early, there was a brief window of opportunity to evade.
Yōkō thought this technique was very similar to Ōnoki's Dust Release.
Both required a brief 'start-up' time, and both were certain death for anyone they touched.
I must be constantly vigilant and never get caught by Yono Shima.
Yōkō stood on a tree branch arched like a rainbow bridge, giving him a better view.
Since the Mangekyō technique has no side effects, and since you like to collapse things, I'll let you collapse to your heart's content.
Yōkō opened the Cross Seal, pouring massive amounts of chakra into the tree branches. More maple wood sprouted, either breaking through the earth or growing from existing trunks.
The thick branches charged straight towards Uchiha Kirika, who used his dōjutsu again.
One by one, the branches were collapsed, but even more appeared.
Hidden among the red maple leaves were red flowers.
Toxic pollen slowly drifted down from the canopy above.
It was a tactic Uchiha Madara had once used.
The Wood Release was just a smokescreen; the real threat was the poisonous pollen hidden in the treetops.
Who said the strong always fight honorably?
A minute later, Uchiha Kirika suddenly let out a light cough, which quickly turned into violent hacking.
Uchiha Kirika looked up sharply and saw the red flowers concealed behind the red maple leaves.
Watching the poisoned Uchiha Kirika, Yōkō thought: Now, show me your other ocular technique...
Uchiha Kirika swayed unsteadily, struggling to remain standing.
He clutched his head and fell to the ground, his body convulsing in excruciating pain.
Tobi's anxious voice came from within the mask. "How do you counter the poison from the Advent of a World of Flowering Trees?!"
A White Zetsu emerged from the corpse of another White Zetsu and said, "The toxin from the Advent of a World of Flowering Trees varies depending on the user.
Hashirma Senju's flower poison was potent in its sheer volume, Lord Madara's flower poison attacked the nervous system... This Konoha Red Maple's poison seems to cause extreme pain!"
"Antidote!" Tobi yelled. "I'm asking you how to cure it!"
" Forget the cure, I think I'm poisoned too!"
Tobi and the White Zetsu had stronger poison resistance, but even they were beginning to feel the effects of Yōkō's toxin.
Yōkō appeared in a Body Flicker, binding Tobi and Uchiha Kirika with Iron Vines.
The Iron Vines flexed, absorbing massive amounts of chakra from the two.
A wooden spear appeared in Yōkō's hand, and he thrust it violently into Uchiha Kirika's abdomen.
The wooden spike burst forth from Uchiha Kirika's back, piercing all of his internal organs.
If you still hold back your trump card now, you're just looking down on me.
I, Copper Fox, have some reputation. Am I not worthy of you using both your Mangekyō abilities?
Blood gushed from Uchiha Kirika's mouth. From within the deep eyehole of the spiral mask, the Mangekyō in his left eye rotated half a turn!
"Mangekyō: Pillar Leech!"
Yōkō's expression tensed. Here it comes! Uchiha Kirika's Mangekyō technique!
In the next instant, Yōkō spat out a mouthful of blood!
A penetrating wound appeared in his lower abdomen, and more than a dozen holes burst open on his back; all his internal organs were pierced!
What's happening? It feels like I've been hit by the Wood Spikes technique!
Furthermore, he was also poisoned, poisoned by his own toxin! Excruciating pain wracked his entire body.
Why have all the injuries Uchiha Kirika just suffered been transferred to me?
Looking back at Uchiha Kirika, he stood up as if nothing had happened.
Tobi's voice came from within the mask.
"Whoa! So this is your other ocular technique? The Eternal Mangekyō power is different from your brother's?"
Yōkō's mind raced, searching for clues in ancient mythology.
Pillar Leech...
'Pillar' likely refers to Ameno Mihashira, the core ability of the brothers Uchiha Mahiru and Kirika.
'Leech' probably refers to the deformed child born from Izanagi and Izanami.
Izanagi and Izanami circled around the Ameno Mihashira, pretending not to be siblings, and their first union produced a deformed firstborn, Hiruko (the Leech Child).
Later, following the advice of other gods, they circled the Ameno Mihashira in the reverse direction, again pretending not to know each other, and subsequently gave birth to normal offspring.
Mangekyō: Pillar Leech... seems to be some kind of reversal-type ocular technique, transferring one's own injuries onto the enemy?
Yōkō's internal organs were pierced, but relying on his powerful physique, he raised his hand.
A hand seal-less Water Gun Technique materialized, blasting through Uchiha Kirika's shoulder.
The next instant, the Mangekyō in Uchiha Kirika's left eye rotated.
A sharp pain shot through Yōkō's shoulder, as a mysterious, penetrating wound appeared there.
Uchiha Kirika stared at Copper Fox's bleeding shoulder and shouted:
"I wish I could have died in my brother's place! You, Konoha higher-ups, why did you have to kill us? Why can't you just leave us alone?"
Yōkō understood now.
When Uchiha Kirika awakened his Mangekyō, he had witnessed his brother Uchiha Mahiru being killed by Yōkō, powerless to stop it.
His heart's reflection was the desire to die in his brother's stead, to bear those severe injuries for his brother.
Therefore, after awakening, his right eye held Yono Shima, the same as his brother's, while his left eye held Pillar Leech, unique to him.
A technique that used his dōjutsu to alter reality, transferring the injuries he received onto his enemy.
The Mangekyō in Uchiha Kirika's right eye rotated: "Yono Shima!"
A black dot appeared at Yōkō's feet, rapidly expanding into a Yono Shima black disc that touched Yōkō's foot.
Yōkō's entire body collapsed into a thin layer of flesh and pulp.
--
Yōkō's vision shifted. He had returned to the night of the full moon, two days prior.
He felt as if his very bones were brittle, worse than being disassembled; even raising a hand felt like it could cause a fracture.
The sensation of being collapsed into pulp before death was utterly horrific.
[Mochizuki's Arc activated!
The host has only one resurrection opportunity per month, reviving on the previous full moon night after death.
Reward: One lottery draw opportunity:
1- Uchiha Bloodline (Pure, Stackable);
2- Eternal Mangekyō: Pillar Leech;
3- Eternal Mangekyō: Yono Shima.]
This is too much, System, Yōkō thought. You're giving me three such good options, how am I supposed to choose?
Shouldn't you mix in some garbage Fire Release jutsu to make the decision less agonizing?
Option one, Uchiha Bloodline, Pure grade.
If he obtained a Pure-grade bloodline, it would be easier for him to awaken his own unique Mangekyō abilities in the future.
For autonomous development, Option One was undoubtedly the best.
Options two and three were both Eternal Mangekyō techniques.
They skipped the Mangekyō stage entirely – no side effects, no damage to the eyes, only chakra consumption – true Eternal Mangekyō.
Pillar Leech, reversing injuries, transferring one's own wounds onto the enemy using the dōjutsu.
With this technique, he could be even more resilient.
But the problem was, it seemed he didn't need to be quite so resilient right now.
Yōkō's most pressing issue at the moment was killing Uchiha Kirika.
If he stabs Uchiha Kirika, Uchiha Kirika uses Pillar Leech to transfer the injury back, and then he uses Pillar Leech to transfer it again... wouldn't that become an infinite loop, a contest of mutual stabbing?
Yono Shima, as Yōkō had analyzed, was a technique with rule-like destructive power on par with Dust Release.
After much internal debate, Yōkō chose Eternal Mangekyō: Yono Shima.
No matter what I choose, it feels like a loss. So I'll choose what I urgently need right now: a top-tier killing method in the shinobi world.
With this technique, I can pretend to be Uchiha Kirika and continue to shine brightly in my career as a rogue ninja.
***
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(End of Chapter)