"Tch…"
Uchiha Hikaru clicked her tongue as she was sent flying by Kyūsei's blow, her cold eyes fixed on the golden figure.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
Her hands flashed through seals as she stabilized herself midair. The moment she landed lightly on the sand, the technique was already complete.
Four massive flaming dragons burst from her mouth, roaring viciously as they lunged toward Kyūsei.
Kyūsei didn't even bother to dodge.
Dozens of Adamantine Sealing Chains shot out from his body like lightning, smashing the fire dragons apart in an instant.
The blazing dragons wailed and vanished into the endless desert.
Kyūsei turned into a streak of golden light and rushed straight toward Hikaru.
Seeing him charging forward, Hikaru steadied herself, her beautiful face tense.
She had expected the Nine-Tails jinchūriki's chakra to shrink drastically after using shadow clones.
Yet even in this state—
He was still this strong.
As expected of the strongest jinchūriki…
In a blink, the tall Kyūsei had already reached her.
Kyūsei stood nearly 1.8 meters tall, while Hikaru was barely over 1.6.
The contrast made it look like a grown man bullying a young girl.
Kyūsei showed no mercy.
A massive war hammer slammed down toward her head.
If it landed—
Her skull would burst like a watermelon.
But Hikaru sidestepped lightly.
At the same time, her blade shot forward, stabbing directly toward Kyūsei's chest.
Kyūsei ignored the attack.
His hammer instantly transformed into a nimble short blade.
With a flick of his wrist, he slashed toward her head again.
CLANG!
CLANG!
Two sharp sounds rang out at the same moment.
Kyūsei narrowed his eyes.
A crimson skeletal frame had appeared around Hikaru.
Susanoo.
Meanwhile, Hikaru looked at the golden armor blazing across Kyūsei's chest in surprise.
So he could also shape that weapon technique into armor…
Troublesome.
At that moment—
Sakura arrived behind Kyūsei and unleashed a pink slash toward his back.
Kyūsei immediately dodged.
He could take a stab from Hikaru.
But he absolutely could not take one from Sakura.
Her terrifying strength combined with swordsmanship could punch straight through his armor.
As Kyūsei retreated, Hikaru followed instantly like a streak of red light.
They clashed immediately.
Sakura smashed the ground beneath her feet and joined the attack.
For a moment—
Gold, crimson, and pink lights tangled together.
Every collision produced deafening metallic shrieks and blazing sparks.
Kyūsei fought two opponents alone—
Yet he didn't fall behind.
Every time he clashed with Hikaru, Kyūsei covered the impacted parts of his body with Thunder God armor.
If he was careless for even a moment—
He might end up like Sakura.
Turned from ally to enemy.
Facing Kyūsei's Sage Mode + Kurama Mode, Sakura gradually began to struggle.
She had originally been forced into Hikaru's side after being branded with Yatsuka Magatama and caught in Tsukuyomi.
She had already fought desperately before that, even activating Byakugō, yet still suffered severe injuries.
Now she was thrown into another intense battle before fully recovering.
Her speed began to lag behind.
In a fight at this level—
Even the slightest change could be fatal.
Kyūsei noticed it instantly.
He punched Sakura directly in the stomach.
No hesitation.
No mercy.
Her body flew away like a kite with a broken string, dragging across the ground before coming to a stop.
Life or death unknown.
With one enemy down—
Kyūsei turned his gaze toward Hikaru.
He leapt forward.
A house-sized Rasengan crashed down toward her.
Hikaru remained calm.
A crimson skeletal giant erupted around her.
In an instant—
A towering half-body Susanoo appeared on the battlefield.
The massive crimson warrior punched directly at Kyūsei.
Kyūsei immediately slammed the Rasengan into it.
The Massive Rasengan collided with Susanoo.
A violent shockwave blasted across the battlefield.
"Using this power means your end has come, Nine-Tails."
Hikaru's cold voice echoed from inside the Susanoo.
Kyūsei sneered at the towering crimson giant.
"Don't get ahead of yourself."
At that moment—
Kaoru arrived beside him, looking slightly battered.
"Kyūsei…"
Without Flying Thunder God, fighting had been extremely difficult for her.
Although she was still Kage-level, her strongest technique had been sealed.
Meanwhile, Yūma also moved beside Hikaru.
Seeing the two enemies standing together, Kyūsei's heart sank slightly.
He took out the Box of Bliss he had just obtained.
This was a Sage of Six Paths tool.
And it had survived a Tailed Beast Bomb without a scratch.
Clearly it wasn't made of ordinary material.
More importantly—
It belonged to Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki.
Anything connected to the Sage of Six Paths was no ordinary object.
Kyūsei glanced silently at the Yin–Yang barrier in the distance.
"Heh, the Box of Bliss?"
Yūma sneered.
"Satori inside it is already dead."
"What's the point of that empty box?"
As the mastermind behind this ambush, Yūma obviously recognized it.
But he never expected the three-story prison to shrink into something palm-sized.
"You think that's how the Box of Bliss works?"
Kyūsei laughed coldly.
Golden chains wrapped around the box.
Yūma frowned.
He didn't actually know how the artifact worked.
Wasn't it just a sealing container?
The box began spinning rapidly in Kyūsei's hand.
Then—
Kyūsei suddenly hurled it forward.
The box expanded wildly midair.
Under the influence of Kurama's chakra, it grew into a five-story steel monster—even larger than before when Satori was sealed.
Seeing the massive object crashing toward them—
Hikaru and Yūma's faces changed instantly.
Even Susanoo couldn't withstand something like that head-on.
They instinctively dodged.
Behind them was—
The Yin–Yang barrier.
The gigantic Box of Bliss slammed into it.
Cracks exploded across the barrier.
Just as I thought.
This thing can break Yin–Yang barriers!
Kyūsei's eyes lit up.
Six Paths old man, I love you!
"You two bastards dared to scheme against me?!"
"When I recover, wash your necks and wait!"
The moment the barrier shattered—
Kyūsei gave Kaoru a look.
At that instant, Kaoru felt it.
Flying Thunder God was working again.
Her eyes flashed with understanding.
In the next moment—
They vanished.
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