After all, anyone with even a little sense knew that the next battle was no longer something ordinary people could take part in.
Ignoring Koharu's horrified expression, Shiki studied her with interest for a moment before suddenly laughing out loud.
"I have to say, you look a lot better now than you did before. Hahaha!"
The moment those words came out, even Kurenai Yūhi and Kakashi, who had both been keeping serious expressions until now, could not help but laugh.
Koharu looked better now?
With that grotesque face and those dense, iron-like muscles covering her body, no matter how anyone looked at it, she no longer resembled a human being at all.
Shiki's words were obviously not praise.
"You...!"
Koharu glared at Shiki in fury.
How could she possibly not know what she looked like now?
"Don't think I'm still the same Koharu I was before!"
Koharu's roar echoed across the Land of Demons.
"Hm?"
Shiki raised an eyebrow slightly, as if he had not expected Koharu to still have the nerve to shout at him.
How interesting.
"I'm not weaker than anyone now!"
As soon as those words left Koharu's mouth, an even greater aura burst from her body.
And the truth was, she really had become far stronger than before.
Feeling that special power coursing through her body once again, Koharu could not help but lose herself in it.
I'm invincible.
No one can stand against me.
Everything in this ninja world will be mine for the taking!
The more she thought like that, the stronger the pressure spilling from her body became.
At the same time, the contempt in her heart toward everything around her only deepened.
"Lord Shiki!"
"Shiki!"
Kushina and the others immediately grew serious.
They all looked toward Shiki at the same time.
It had been one thing before, but now Koharu's transformation was making even them feel threatened.
"Don't worry."
With a casual wave of his hand, Shiki rested one hand on the hilt of his sword, then calmly stepped forward to face Koharu.
"Shiki...!"
Koharu roared, her voice trembling with rage.
"I'm not afraid of you anymore!"
The ground beneath her feet cracked apart with a violent rumble, and in the next instant, her figure vanished.
"What—?!"
She moved so fast that even Kushina and Kakashi failed to catch her clearly.
And by the time everyone realized what had happened, Koharu had already appeared behind Shiki.
That monstrous arm of hers tightened into a fist as she swung it straight at him.
"Be careful!"
The Priestess, who did not fully understand Shiki's strength, cried out in alarm.
But Kakashi, Kushina, and the others showed no real panic.
The title of the strongest swordsman in the ninja world had not been earned for nothing.
"Die!"
Koharu screamed as her fist came crashing down.
Boom!
Shiki calmly raised one arm.
Jet-black Armament Haki flashed over it as it met Koharu's fist head-on.
Bang!
Shiki himself did not move an inch.
But the shockwave from that clash alone forced everyone nearby to stagger back several steps.
"How is that possible?!"
Koharu froze in disbelief.
That had been a full-power strike.
Even if it had not been enough to defeat Shiki, there was no way he should have been able to block it so easily without even budging.
"Are you underestimating me that much?"
Shiki asked with a smile.
"Nani—?!"
Bang!
Before Koharu could react, Shiki threw a punch.
He did not even need to strike her directly.
The sheer force generated by that blow sent Koharu flying dozens of meters away.
Her body slammed straight into the wall in the distance, leaving a massive crater behind.
"Agh—cough!"
It looked serious, but for someone whose body had already been strengthened to this degree, that level of damage was far from enough to bring her down.
"You...!"
Her eyes locked onto Shiki with vicious hatred.
And the more this continued, the more that hatred only deepened.
It was all because of him.
Because of him, her former position as an elder was gone.
Because of him, she had been turned into this monstrous thing, something neither human nor demon.
No...
Koharu's gaze turned fierce.
No matter what happened today, she would never let Shiki leave alive.
"Fire Release: Great Flame Bomb!"
Since taijutsu was not working, Koharu immediately switched to ninjutsu.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Basic techniques like these were still well within her ability.
With Wind Release amplifying it, the power of the Great Flame Bomb surged even further.
"In that case... let's test the power of the Mystic Eyes of Death."
Thinking that, Shiki narrowed his eyes slightly.
His gaze shifted, transforming into the state of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.
With one hand, he raised his Ō Wazamono sword, and held it horizontally in front of him.
The moment the Mystic Eyes activated, the world before Shiki changed completely.
The seemingly whole and intact world around him was suddenly filled with countless "lines."
These were the lines of death.
Whether living things or lifeless objects, anything that existed possessed death.
And with the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, Shiki could see those lines clearly.
Naturally, that included Koharu's Fire Release.
Then—
"Lion Might: Severance!"
A strange gleam flashed through his eyes.
Shiki swung Deadwood directly along the line of death running through the incoming flames.
Bang!
With a single slash, the Great Flame Bomb—enhanced by Wind Release—was instantly extinguished.
It vanished without a trace, as though it had never existed in the first place.
"This...!"
Kurenai and Kakashi were not surprised that Shiki could cut through fire.
After all, they had already seen him slice apart something even more terrifying, like a Tailed Beast Bomb.
But this was different.
This was not just cutting through it.
The flames had been erased so completely that it was as if they had never existed at all.
That ability was far too strange.
"Shiki-nii has gotten even stronger..."
Kurenai's thoughts were simple.
She did not care whether Shiki had hidden abilities or not.
As long as Shiki-nii kept growing stronger, that alone was enough to make her happy.
Kakashi's gaze, meanwhile, grew even firmer.
It was the look of someone who wanted to follow Shiki and learn every one of those abilities.
As for Kushina, her reaction was even simpler.
Other than surprise... there was only more surprise.
"That feeling again... what exactly is going on with that eye?"
Sealed away within the seal, the Nine-Tails was stirred awake once more.
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