Chapter 195: Byakugan VS Rinnegan, Part Two
The Preta Path's abilities also proved quite troublesome. Sealing Technique Absorption Seal could easily absorb enemy ninjutsu. Non-physical ninjutsu attacks like Fire Release and Lightning Release were most easily absorbed. Physical ninjutsu attacks like Water Release and Earth Release proved somewhat harder to absorb. Additionally, the ability called Chakra Devouring could absorb and seize an opponent's chakra through physical contact.
These two abilities granted the Preta Path incomparable defensive advantages.
For long-range ninjutsu attacks, it could use Sealing Technique Absorption Seal to absorb and digest them. If one planned close-range taijutsu attacks, as long as the Preta Path made contact, it would use Chakra Devouring to let enemies experience just how unpleasant having their chakra absorbed felt.
However—
Its weaknesses were actually quite obvious.
Whether Sealing Technique Absorption Seal or Chakra Devouring, both abilities required using both hands to activate. So theoretically, as long as one avoided its hands, whether ninjutsu or taijutsu could inflict appropriate damage on the Preta Path.
Only accomplishing this wasn't easy. The Preta Path possessed jonin-level physical qualities. Without relying on numerical advantage, for a single person to resolve the Preta Path required speed advantages preventing the Preta Path from reacting!
Of course—
If adopting large-scale offensive ninjutsu similar to Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Seedling Fern or Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees, one could make the Preta Path's abilities difficult to fully deploy. At the start, Hyuga Ritsu had used precisely this move to tear apart the Animal Path, Human Path, and Preta Path completely.
But—
Hyuga Ritsu had new methods available this time.
Wind Release Chakra Mode granted him movement speed as if equipped with aviation engines. The instant after cutting the Asura Path to pieces, he exerted force again. Propelled by violent wind wrapped around his entire body, he instantly closed in before the Preta Path.
Whirlwind Iron-Cutting Fist: Vacuum Wave.
Hyuga Ritsu swung his palm, striking a wind blade capable of vertically splitting large trees toward the Preta Path.
His Whirlwind Iron-Cutting Fist wasn't limited to close combat—it could likewise release wind blades for long-range attacks like this. Equivalent to abandoning hand seals, completely integrating Wind Release techniques with Gentle Fist style. Merely swinging fists and similar motions could use Wind Release techniques like Vacuum Wave for attacks.
Facing the approaching wind blade, the Preta Path immediately extended hands to absorb using Sealing Technique Absorption Seal. This non-physical Wind Release technique was absorbed almost instantly. But Hyuga Ritsu only needed precisely this instant.
At his current speed, an instant sufficed to circle behind.
Whirlwind Iron-Cutting Fist struck toward the Preta Path's neck. This punch, if it landed, would behead the Preta Path.
Summoning Technique.
The Animal Path rescued once again.
As milky white chakra smoke rose, the Preta Path was forcibly summoned back beside the Animal Path, evading the attack the Preta Path absolutely couldn't have dodged itself. Simultaneously, the Naraka Path arrived beside the dismantled Asura Path, beginning to "repair" the shattered Preta Path.
Hyuga Ritsu's punch struck empty air. His lips twitched.
Again like this.
Always unable to thoroughly eliminate these troubles. Always entangled endlessly. Relying on the Naraka Path's repair ability, even if he dismantled the other Path avatars to pieces, they could restore to original condition from flesh scraps.
And the Naraka Path and Animal Path always hid at the rear. The Asura Path, Preta Path, and Human Path held the front, preventing him from finding opportunities to destroy these two fellows—Naraka Path and Animal Path.
He inhaled deeply.
The violent wind wrapped around both shoulders, waist, abdomen, and other positions suddenly accelerated. Wind speed was too fast—even controlling it proved somewhat strenuous. Fine details inevitably went awry or deformed. Clothing already soaked by rain was torn. Along with skin being sliced open with numerous cuts. But before blood could flow, wounds healed again.
Only the pain from being cut clearly remained.
The Physical Regeneration superpower couldn't make him not feel pain.
Hyuga Ritsu's expression didn't change. Movement speed surged once more, even faster than before. To make an analogy—the aviation engine equipped on his body hadn't run at full power for self-protection reasons. Now he'd abandoned thoughts of protecting himself from injury, directly opening power to maximum.
This sudden acceleration caught Nagato completely off guard, even making the attacking replica Uchiha Madara's strikes land on empty space.
Nagato hadn't anticipated Hyuga Ritsu could still accelerate under these circumstances. That fast wind's lethality had climbed to an extremely terrifying degree. Just one small negligence could slice Hyuga Ritsu himself to ribbons!
Unfortunately, the Rinnegan didn't witness the scene of Hyuga Ritsu being sliced to ribbons.
Instead, it saw him instantly break through before the Naraka Path, which had just finished repairing the Asura Path without time to retreat to the rear. The Whirlwind Iron-Cutting Fist that could easily dismantle the steel-boned Asura Path naturally proved devastating against the Naraka Path.
In the blink of an eye—
The Naraka Path became ground meat scattered on the ground.
Saw Penetration.
From the three-headed, six-armed Asura Path's tailbone position extended a long steel saw cable possessing snake-like flexibility. Under the Asura Path's control, seizing the instant Hyuga Ritsu killed the Naraka Path, it viciously stabbed toward Hyuga Ritsu's ribs.
White bone suddenly protruded from Hyuga Ritsu's ribs, blocking this steel saw cable for an instant. Steel and bone ground together. Fine bone fragments scattered. But this saw cable truly proved slippery as a snake. Scraping along the bone, it curved around, avoiding that howling, circulating violent wind. It still tore a deep, bone-exposing wound across Hyuga Ritsu's abdomen. Even intestines fell out along with gushing blood from the abdomen.
Fierce, violent pain made veins bulge at Hyuga Ritsu's temple.
"Hurts like hell!"
Hyuga Ritsu cursed.
Fighting this type of enemy likewise possessing exceptional "vision" truly proved troublesome. His Wind Release Chakra Mode didn't only bring extremely fast movement speed—it likewise possessed quite formidable defensive power.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have playfully called it "Wind King's Barrier." This designation arose precisely because it possessed defensive capabilities.
But the Wind Release chakra's wind wasn't omnidirectional absolute defense.
It had exploitable gaps. Ordinary people simply couldn't find those gaps concealed by violent wind. But the Rinnegan naturally didn't fall into the ordinary category. Having seen the Wind Release Chakra Mode's gaps and using the saw to penetrate through gaps, it had struck Hyuga Ritsu viciously.
If he hadn't used Shikotsumyaku to block, this strike might have sawed him in half at the waist.
But he'd ultimately blocked it.
He turned around, looking toward the three-headed, six-armed Asura Path. Extending his hand, he grabbed the protruding intestines and directly stuffed them back into his stomach. His palm wiped across the long wound on his stomach. Flesh rapidly regenerated and sealed.
This scene actually stunned even Nagato.
Just stuffing intestines back like that?
Was this still human?
Because of Nagato's distraction, his avatars all experienced an instant's daze. However, replica Uchiha Madara, possessing only battle instinct—or perhaps having witnessed the First Hokage's similarly absurd operations in the past—remained completely unaffected.
Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu.
The running replica Uchiha Madara spat out the largest fireball Hyuga Ritsu had ever seen in his life. Blazing bright, releasing astonishing heat—if this thing landed on a person, it could easily scorch all moisture and oil from a human body.
Only—
Hyuga Ritsu didn't dodge.
The Byakugan's omnidirectional vision let him constantly grasp battlefield conditions. Just as replica Uchiha Madara had rushed over to join hands with Nagato's Rinnegan avatars against himself, his own comrades hadn't stood idle either.
Ice Release: Ice Pillar.
Hiruko arrived in time. Hands forming seals, he used the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai. Pale white ice pillars emerged, arranged closely together, constructing an ice wall releasing cold air.
His Ice Release mastery wasn't particularly impressive.
But this was the Land of Rain, moisture abundant to the extreme. Ice Release Kekkei Genkai—formed by mixing Wind and Water nature transformations—also received amplification in this environment. He'd very easily extracted large amounts of moisture from the environment to construct ice pillars, precisely blocking the fireball's advancing route.
The blazing, bright fireball thunderously crashed against ice pillars. Instantly, white water vapor dispersed in all directions.
The ice pillars were completely melted by the fireball.
Hiruko's Ice Release technique, even with geographical advantage, ultimately proved inferior to replica Uchiha Madara's Fire Release technique.
However, the residual flames had little power left. Hyuga Ritsu raised his hand with a Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, easily extinguishing the residual flames.
Speaking of which, this Fire Release technique was his Wind Release Chakra Mode's greatest nemesis. Once struck by Fire Release technique, wind fuels fire—in an instant, it could burn him to charcoal.
However, considering that even without this wind, normally being struck by Fire Release technique also meant being burned to death, this weakness actually wasn't really a weakness. No one would stupidly stand in place passively taking hits. If truly trapped in a situation where dodging was impossible and one could only endure enemy attacks, whether or not this weakness existed, death was inevitable.
Immediately after—
Uchiha Shisui's figure appeared beside replica Uchiha Madara. The short sword in his hand, wrapped with blazing firelight, slashed toward replica Uchiha Madara.
Uchiha Style: Solar Halo Dance.
The firelight-wrapped short sword left scorched wounds on replica Uchiha Madara's body. Such injuries naturally meant nothing to replica Uchiha Madara. But this was after defending and dodging that they meant nothing. Without dodging or defending, he couldn't withstand Uchiha Shisui's slashes either.
For a time—
Replica Uchiha Madara was temporarily restrained by Uchiha Shisui and Hiruko.
Hyuga Ritsu didn't waste time. Again moving at full-power extreme speed, his abdominal wound had already healed. Though residual pain still lingered, this didn't prevent him from continuing to act.
The Asura Path was once again frontally crushed by Hyuga Ritsu.
The Animal Path didn't use Summoning Technique to save the injured Asura Path. The Naraka Path had already been destroyed. Now pulling the Asura Path back using Summoning Technique was useless. So no need to waste chakra on the Asura Path.
Summoning Technique.
The Animal Path used Summoning Technique, summoning an extremely bizarre-looking, spear-sharp-beaked large bird.
And this was just the beginning.
Next came crabs, rhinos, centipedes... All these summoning beasts were equally massive in size. Without exception, all possessed the same style of Rinnegan.
At this moment, the Human Path and Preta Path also successively followed the Naraka Path and Asura Path's footsteps, both dismembered by Hyuga Ritsu.
Then—
Hyuga Ritsu turned his gaze toward the numerous summoning beast army the Animal Path had summoned.
He clapped his hands together, preparing to cast technique.
But stopped at the last moment.
Three-pronged kunai were thrown skyward. Immediately, yellow flashes flickered at extreme speed in his vision. Even his Byakugan could only vaguely see a rough outline. Namikaze Minato was using Rasengan to attack these summoning beasts.
With each yellow flash, a massive summoning beast's head would develop a hole nearly one meter in diameter. Imposing summoning beasts became still-warm corpses.
Within just a few breaths—
Except for the strange bird carrying the Animal Path that had flown skyward, all other summoning beasts had been slaughtered completely.
"Sage Mode?"
Hyuga Ritsu murmured softly.
"That's right, precisely Sage Mode."
Minato appeared ghost-like behind Hyuga Ritsu. Hearing Hyuga Ritsu's self-talk, he smiled and spoke.
His current posture had become quite distinctive. Pupils had become yellow with horizontal slit pupils. Orange-red eye markings appeared at the corners of his eyes. This was merely ordinary appearance changes.
In Hyuga Ritsu's Byakugan vision, he could clearly see Minato's senjutsu chakra fused with natural energy, possessing a somewhat more magnificent, violent aura.
If previous chakra was clear water, Minato's current chakra was mercury.
Minato walked to Hyuga Ritsu's side. "If I remember correctly, Hyuga Clan Head, you signed a summoning contract with Ryuchi Cave, right? All three great sanctuaries have Sage technique transmissions. Hyuga Clan Head, you can also learn this Sage Mode from Ryuchi Cave."
Hyuga Ritsu raised an eyebrow. "I previously also sought Sage techniques from Ryuchi Cave. But the White Snake Sage refused, saying my training was insufficient. Once this mission concludes, I'll try again."
Minato nodded upon hearing this. "Sage technique training indeed contains countless dangers. During Sage technique training at Mount Myoboku, one careless mistake turns you to stone. Ryuchi Cave's Sage technique reportedly poses even greater danger than Mount Myoboku's. But consequently, Ryuchi Cave's Sage technique also doesn't have such great limitations as Mount Myoboku's."
After finishing and pausing for breath, he looked up at the sky, continuing, "Hyuga Clan Head, help me out. Let's work together to first eliminate that troublesome one in the sky. This state of mine truly can't be maintained long."
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