In the blink of an eye.
Accompanied by a deafening roar, a two-tailed demon cat over tens of meters long, its entire body composed of high-density, deep-blue chakra flames, appeared on the snowy plains.
Perfect Tailed Beast Transformation: Two-Tails Matatabi.
"Roar—!"
A terrifyingly high temperature instantly swept across the battlefield.
The snow within a radius of several hundred meters was vaporized in an instant, sending billowing steam into the air.
Even the permafrost beneath was forcibly melted into a boiling quagmire.
"Ants!"
The Two-Tails let out a low growl, its massive feline mouth snapping open as countless balls of extremely compressed blue fire sprayed out like a Gatling gun.
Fire Mouse Ball: Rapid Fire!
Boom, boom, boom, boom—
A dense barrage of blue ghost fire rained down like a meteor shower, covering the entire battlefield.
"Scatter!"
"Evade!!"
Urgent shouts rang out across the Destroyer Squad's communication channel.
Although these armored warriors did not have chakra exhaust ports like Jugo, they relied on the animal instincts awakened by the first stage of the Gene Lock.
Erupting with astonishing speed, they attempted to scatter and evade the carpet bombing.
However, the surviving Kumogakure ninjas displayed a desperate madness at this moment.
"For the Raikage!"
"Even if we die, we must drag them down with us!"
Several severely injured Kumogakure jonin lunged forward with sinister smiles, tightly hugging the three nearest Destroyer warriors to restrict their movement with their flesh and blood.
The next second, the blue fireballs descended.
Those Kumogakure ninjas didn't even have time to scream before they were instantly vaporized by the high temperature, leaving no bones behind.
The three Destroyer warriors they had held back also suffered heavy damage.
One warrior was struck directly in the head by a fireball.
The specialized alloy helmet and the skull inside were instantly melted, and the headless steel body crashed to the ground.
Another warrior's left arm was ignited by the deep-blue flames, which were impossible to extinguish, clinging to him like maggots on rotting bones.
Without hesitation, he drew his greatsword and severed his own left arm.
The third man suffered the worst; his abdomen was hit directly by a fireball.
Half of his armor was burned through, and his internal organs were roasted to the point of smelling charred.
"Quick!"
"Sever the burning part!"
Shin, who had become a member of the Destroyer Squad, quickly rushed over.
With a swift strike of his blade, he severed the warrior's burned lower body along with a portion of his chest.
"Cough, cough—"
What was truly hair-raising was that even after sustaining injuries that would have killed an ordinary person ten times over, the warrior, who was now only half a body, still didn't die.
At his wound, countless white granulations were frantically wriggling to stop the bleeding.
This was the terrifying vitality bestowed by the White Zetsu cells, forcibly maintaining his life.
"Don't worry, you won't die."
Shin offered a word of comfort before dragging him to a safe zone.
"Just go back, soak in some nutrient solution, and replace your lower body with a White Zetsu's."
Watching the mangled remains of his comrade, the muscles at the corner of Jugo's eyes twitched slightly.
But the absolute rationality brought by the third stage of the Gene Lock forced him to suppress the rage in his heart as his brain operated at lightning speed like a computer.
He couldn't tank the attacks; the size difference was too great.
"Hmph, your vitality is certainly tenacious."
The Two-Tails snorted coldly, its massive beast eyes filled with a hint of mockery.
"Since you don't die even when cut in half, then I shall incinerate you all!"
It raised its massive paw, bringing with it a suffocating wind pressure as it intended to instantly finish off this group of "tin cans."
Swish!
At the critical moment, Jugo's afterimage, accompanied by the sound of air jets, forcibly cut into the Two-Tails' blind spot.
A blade coated in high-density chakra slashed fiercely at the Two-Tails' joint.
Although it failed to sever the limb completely, the massive impact caused the Two-Tails to stumble.
Its giant claw swung into empty air, leaving a deep claw mark on the ground.
Jugo did not hesitate to discard the greatsword tainted by the blue demon fire, his figure retreating rapidly once more.
"Roar!"
The Two-Tails let out an angry roar and turned to pounce on Jugo.
The moment the Two-Tails' giant claw descended, the chakra exhaust ports on Jugo's back erupted with a lateral thrust.
He was like a dancer weaving between blades.
Utilizing the perfect body control granted by the second stage of the Gene Lock, he had created numerous chakra exhaust ports all over his body.
Combined with the terrifying computational ability of the third stage of the Gene Lock, he constantly utilized the reaction force of the exhaust ports to perform strange, physics-defying maneuvers.
If the previous battle was pure numerical suppression, then at this moment, Jugo was using extreme micromanagement to toy with the Two-Tails Matatabi, a beast known for its agility.
The giant claw fell, and the earth shattered.
Jugo narrowly grazed the edge of the blue flames.
The terrifyingly high temperature instantly scorched his armor's paint, but he didn't care at all.
Opportunity!
Counterattack!
Taking advantage of the brief stiffness following the Two-Tails' missed attack, Jugo utilized the terrifying acceleration provided by his exhaust ports.
His right arm, which had already mutated into a huge, sharp cone, smashed fiercely into the Two-Tails' hind ankle.
Pfft!
The tough chakra shroud was instantly pierced.
Although this was just an insignificant superficial wound for the massive Tailed Beast, the pain still caused the Two-Tails to pause.
After landing the hit, Jugo did not get greedy.
The exhaust ports on his back erupted again, and he flew backward fifty meters in an instant, creating a safe distance once more.
His right hand, tainted by the demon fire, automatically shed the burning layers of keratin before growing a brand-new sharp cone.
His left arm had also finished deforming and restructuring, turning into a biological cannon barrel that was currently condensing chakra.
He was charging up an attack.
"Slippery rat!"
The Two-Tails was growing sick of this ankle-biting tactic and was about to lose its mind.
As a proud Tailed Beast, when had it ever been subjected to such mockery?
It roared in anger, its giant tail sweeping horizontally and its sharp claws swiping repeatedly as it opened its mouth to spray another dense barrage of fireballs.
But Jugo displayed terrifying technique that was completely at odds with his massive size.
Relying on the chakra exhaust ports all over his body, he seamlessly executed sidesteps, ducks, emergency stops, and rapid direction changes.
It was just like a video game protagonist soloing a massive boss.
Facing the storm of attacks, he could always find the single safe blind spot within a hair's breadth.
Unable to land a hit after a long time, the Two-Tails finally lost its last bit of patience.
It retreated abruptly, creating distance as its giant mouth, burning with blue flames, opened wide.
"Since I can't catch you—"
This time, its target was no longer the slippery Jugo, but the ordinary warriors who were relatively less agile.
Terrifying Yin-Yang chakra gathered in its mouth, and a pitch-black, high-density energy ball rapidly took shape.
A Tailed Beast Ball.
It was going to carpet-bomb the area and raze everything to the ground!
"Now!"
A flash of light appeared in Jugo's eyes as he captured a fleeting opportunity.
His left arm cannon was about to finish charging, and the thrust from his back reached its limit.
The moment before the Tailed Beast Ball was about to be fired, he turned into a meteor, rushing directly under the Two-Tails' chin in a strange arc.
Axe Slash: Jaw Breaker!
A full-power rising dragon punch slammed solidly into the Two-Tails' lower jaw.
The massive impact forced the Two-Tails' head upward, and the Tailed Beast Ball that was forming in its mouth went completely out of control, firing off into the sky.
Boom!!!
A massive explosion rang out above the clouds.
The terrifying, intense light illuminated the entire Northern Territory as if a second sun had risen in the sky.