At this moment, Kiyohara was standing to the side. The spiritual body of Steel Release Kiyohara had already completely dissolved into countless points of light, its power surging into his body like a tidal wave.
He could feel it clearly.
His spiritual energy was increasing.
The range of perception in his mind was expanding, and the speed of his thoughts seemed to have accelerated slightly as well.
His earth-nature and yang-nature talents had stacked again.
His affinity with Earth Release had noticeably strengthened, and the Yang Release chakra within his body that represented vitality had become far more active.
Along with this came an enhancement of his physical energy, and a rise in his life force.
Kiyohara could even feel his muscle fibers subtly reorganizing, his bone density increasing, and the functions of his internal organs becoming stronger than before.
'My chakra has increased too,'
Kiyohara thought to himself.
It had now reached roughly 4.4 chakra.
In terms of chakra reserves, Kiyohara could now be considered well-endowed even among jonin.
If this continued, there might come a day when his chakra reserves would even surpass those of the progenitor of chakra herself, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
Of course, it was still far too early to talk about such things.
'I wonder what the next future will be like,'
Kiyohara sighed inwardly, then refocused his attention on the situation before him.
Every bit of strength he gained now increased his chances of surviving the coming war.
And it also meant having greater ability to protect himself during Madara's actions.
Kiyohara then raised his head and looked forward.
Shinnō ahead of him was already drawing closer and closer.
Kiyohara became alert.
This man, in the movie, was said to be able to open the "Eight Gates" endlessly, without any side effects.
The only reason he was easily defeated there was because Sasuke used his Sharingan to see through the flow of chakra within Shinnō's body and sealed his chakra points in advance with chakra needles.
As a result, Shinnō was unable to deploy his techniques at all, and the battle ended hastily.
Kiyohara glanced at Orochimaru, then at Kurenai and Genma.
It could be said that none of them possessed such methods.
At this moment, Shinnō's well-built muscles glistened with an eerie sheen under the rain.
He took a deep breath and formed a series of complex hand seals.
"Forbidden Technique: Body Revival!"
In an instant, Shinnō's body began to change.
His muscles swelled and reorganized at a speed visible to the naked eye, his skin rippled as if writhing, and veins bulged beneath the surface like coiling dragons.
His aura surged sharply upward, and the fluctuations of his chakra became dangerous.
Orochimaru's expression turned grave.
"I didn't expect you to have completed the 'Body Revival Technique' to this extent."
Back then, he had cooperated with Shinnō for a time, and had obtained some forbidden regeneration techniques from him, gaining no small amount of inspiration.
However, their collaboration had not ended pleasantly, and differences eventually arose between them.
"That's thanks to the experimental data you left behind back then, Orochimaru,"
Shinnō's voice sank lower.
In a sense, the two of them had achieved each other.
"Now, let me show you the ultimate form of physical power."
BOOM!
The ground beneath Shinnō's feet exploded, and his figure vanished in an instant.
Almost simultaneously, Orochimaru formed seals.
"Summoning Technique: Rashōmon!"
A massive gate bearing a demonic face rose from the ground, blocking Shinnō's charge.
However, in the very next second, Shinnō had already responded.
"Eight Gates: Sixth Gate, Open!"
Green steam erupted from Shinnō's body, his speed skyrocketing once more as he threw a punch at the Rashōmon.
Bang!
The thick, heavy Rashōmon was actually pierced straight through by a single punch!
Amid flying splinters of wood, Shinnō burst through the gate and went straight for Orochimaru.
A trace of surprise flashed through Orochimaru's eyes, but his body twisted like a water snake, narrowly avoiding the punch.
At the same time, countless venomous snakes shot out from his sleeves, coiling toward Shinnō.
Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!
"Useless!"
The green steam around Shinnō's body trembled, and all the venomous snakes were instantly shattered into bloody pulp.
He turned and unleashed a flurry of punches, each strike producing a sonic BOOM, tearing the curtain of rain apart into vacuum zones.
Orochimaru weaved through the afterimages of the fists, his hands forming seals at high speed.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!"
The wind fueled the flames, and a massive fireball surged toward Shinnō.
Faced with such a combined ninjutsu, ordinary shinobi would either dodge or defend, but Shinnō did something astonishing.
He charged straight into the fireball, as if completely ignoring the flames!
Green steam collided with the fire, producing sizzling sounds.
Shinnō burst out from the flames. Most of the blackish-yellow robe he wore had been burned away, but his skin was only slightly reddened, recovering to normal in the blink of an eye.
"Such powerful regeneration…"
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.
"It's not over yet!"
After landing, Shinnō exploded forward once more. This time, highly compressed air gathered around his fist.
"Morning Peacock!"
Countless fist shadows turned into blazing projectiles, spreading out like a peacock fanning its tail, sealing off all of Orochimaru's escape routes.
Orochimaru was forced to use the Substitution Technique, his true body appearing on a tree thirty meters away.
The spot where he had just been standing had already been blasted into a crater five meters in diameter.
Watching from the side, Kiyohara felt a chill in his heart.
The power of the Sixth Gate of the Eight Gates, combined with a forbidden technique–enhanced body, gave Shinnō terrifying destructive power and speed.
Kiyohara guessed that Shinnō had already grasped part of the Zero-Tails, but had not completely mastered it.
If he had fully mastered it, there would have been no movie at all.
At the very least, he still needed more than ten years.
"Lord Orochimaru!"
Genma tried to step forward to assist.
Orochimaru licked his lips, an excited gleam appearing in his eyes.
"Interesting… a body like this is worth researching."
Shinnō frowned.
Just as Kiyohara had thought, Shinnō indeed had not fully controlled the Zero-Tails.
After exchanging blows with Orochimaru for a while, Shinnō could feel his chakra being consumed too quickly.
The supply of dark chakra was unstable, and maintaining both the Sixth Gate and Body Revival placed an enormous burden on his chakra.
If this continued, he might be the first to collapse.
He had to end the battle quickly.
Shinnō's gaze swept across the battlefield and landed on Kiyohara.
That young shinobi had been standing still since earlier, his eyes somewhat unfocused, as if he were in a daze.
'That's right… that kid just defeated Kanorou. He also uses hardening-type techniques, so his consumption must be high. If I take him and Kanorou's corpse away together, my Body Revival research will definitely achieve a breakthrough!'
Shinnō's thoughts raced, and he made his decision in an instant.
He feigned continuing his attack on Orochimaru, but midway suddenly changed direction, charging toward Kiyohara at the extreme speed of the Sixth Gate state!
"Watch out!"
Kurenai cried out in alarm.
Several venomous snakes shot out from Orochimaru's sleeves, attempting to intercept Shinnō.
But the green steam around Shinnō's body shook, and after the snakes wrapped around him, they were forcibly torn apart.
Too close!
Orochimaru frowned slightly.
The snakes he used were essentially a form of summoning technique, calling snakes over.
But their physical bodies were naturally no match for Shinnō in his current state.
"Hmph."
Shinnō snorted, not even glancing at Orochimaru as he charged straight toward Kiyohara.
Contrary to what Shinnō believed, Kiyohara had indeed consumed a considerable amount of chakra.
But at this moment, his chakra was recovering rapidly far faster than before!
The chakra he inherited from Steel Release Kiyohara, combined with the recovery ability granted by the "Power of the White Snake," meant that his chakra had already replenished significantly.
And now, he had also obtained the complete inheritance of Steel Release Kiyohara.
At this moment, Kiyohara's understanding of Steel Release had completely changed. He understood how to achieve stronger hardening effects with less chakra, understood the optimal flow paths of Steel Release chakra within the body,
as well as the precise control methods for hardening different parts of the body, allowing the effects to be maximized.
When Shinnō rushed in front of him, Kiyohara's reaction speed, recently enhanced once more allowed him to respond to the sudden attack.
He first used the Leaf Body Flicker Technique to dodge some distance away, but unfortunately Shinnō still pursued him.
With the enhancement of the Eight Gates, Shinnō's speed was terrifyingly fast.
Thus, Kiyohara stacked Steel Release together with "Earth Release: Earth Spear" on his chest.
Shinnō's fist, wrapped in green steam and sonic booms, smashed toward Kiyohara's chest.
If this punch landed solidly, even a jonin would die on the spot.
However—
Clang!
The deafening crash of metal colliding made everyone's ears ring.
Shinnō froze.
His fist had indeed struck Kiyohara's chest, but the sensation was as if he had punched a mountain of metal.
The rebounding force sent sharp pain through his finger bones, while Kiyohara did not move an inch.
At this moment, the skin on Kiyohara's chest shimmered with a black metallic luster.
At the instant of contact, Kiyohara instinctively refined chakra and transformed it into magnetic force, setting the power of a magnetic field into rotation.
An invisible magnetic field formed a second layer of defense on the surface of his skin, dispersing the impact throughout his entire body.
Shinnō's full-powered strike could not even make Kiyohara take a single step back!
"T-This… impossible!"
Shinnō's pupils shrank.
Kiyohara slowly raised his head and let out a breath of turbid air.
According to the "Secret Books," Earth Release: Earth Spear could use the body's energy to repel all things, becoming as hard as diamond and instantly activating upon being attacked, putting on a flawless display of an indestructible body.
TN: This was the book I was talking about and apparently there are a lot of them supplementary guidebooks.
And now, Kiyohara's physical strength had surpassed even Earth Release: Earth Spear!
"Ten Thousand Snakes Formation!"
Seizing the moment of Shinnō's shock, Orochimaru slammed down and vomited forth countless venomous snakes.
Shinnō sensed the danger behind him and tried to pull back.
But it was already too late.
Kiyohara's right hand shot out like lightning, grabbing Shinnō's wrist.
That hand also gleamed with a metallic sheen, its five fingers clamping down like iron pincers.
"You—"
Shinnō tried to break free, only to discover that Kiyohara's strength was terrifying.
This was not just physical strength, but also the augmentation of magnetic force.
The instant Kiyohara grabbed Shinnō, he had already adjusted the magnetic force between himself and Shinnō into a repulsive state but only on his own side creating a one-way "adhesion" effect.
Shinnō felt like a block of iron being sucked onto a magnet, the difficulty of breaking free multiplying several times over.
In the next second, Kiyohara's left fist had already smashed forward.
This punch was plain and unadorned, without flashy ninjutsu or complex techniques.
It simply condensed all of his physical strength, the hardness of Steel Release, the muscle-enhancing power of Earth Release: Earth Spear, and the added force of rotating magnetic fields into a single blow.
Bang!
The fist slammed into Shinnō's abdomen.
(End of Chapter)