Chapter 220 : Kaleidoscope: Heaven's Kaku
From the moment they engaged the enemy, most of the traps had already been triggered or rendered ineffective, making it inevitable for Inuzuka Tsumes Squad to be exposed under the Sand Ninja's noses.
They relied on mechanisms, traps, and terrain advantage, fighting and retreating, stubbornly eliminating many enemies.
However, human strength is limited; even with all their might, facing the surging, relentless Sunagakure forces, Inuzuka Tsumes Squad, who had stubbornly held on until now, could not reverse the decline of the front line and retreated step by step to the mountainside.
If it weren't for the elite squad stationed at Mount Kikyo fighting valiantly nearby, sharing most of the pressure, they probably would have collapsed long ago.
When Naraku saw them, Inuzuka Tsume and Kuro-Maru were at the very front, half their bodies soaked in blood, desperately protecting Shiranui Genma, whose combat power had sharply dropped after running out of senbon needles and who had accidentally injured his left ribs.
Might Guy's Eight Gates had already opened to the Third Gate: Gate of Life, his skin flushed crimson from congestion, faint green Chakra flowing around his body, and his black hair standing on end.
At this moment, two puppets were attacking from left and right. Might Guy, prepared for injury, dealt with the one on the right first, only to see a streak of light fly by, and the one on the left also shattered and fell to the ground.
"Naraku!"
A familiar shadow appeared from the gaps in the trees, and Might Guy couldn't help but grin widely.
But when he saw how bad Naraku's condition was, his joy turned into worry.
"Are you alright?!"
"I'm fine."
Naraku cut the Chakra threads of several puppets and threw two special soldier pills, which could replenish Chakra to the maximum extent without harming the body, towards Might Guy.
Might Guy swiped his right hand in front of him, catching the two pills, and explained, "I still have some myself..."
Then, under Naraku's disapproving gaze, he quickly threw them into his mouth, "I'll eat them, I'll eat them."
After watching Might Guy eat the soldier pills, Naraku then gave all his senbon to Shiranui Genma and healed his wounds with Mystical Palm Technique, finally restoring some of his self-preservation ability.
After learning the current situation from Inuzuka Tsume, new enemies surrounded them, and the four continued to retreat up the mountain.
As the defense line contracted, more and more comrades began to converge.
Naraku first encountered Hyuga Hizashi's squad, which seemed to have lost two members; now only Hizashi and that Jonin remained.
Later, he saw an Uchiha Jonin who had been stationed there for a long time. He was carrying his unconscious comrade, and three tomoe spun distinctly in his Sharingan.
Seeing those eyes, identical to his own, filled with sorrow, Naraku still allocated a bit of Chakra to heal the other person, even though his lips were tinged with cyan.
The green light of the Mystical Palm Technique was much weaker than before, even a bit intermittent.
Fortunately, it was enough to keep the injured person alive.
Two pairs of Sharingan glowed with a faint red light in the dim rock cave, alternating between bright and dark like breathing, as if quietly recounting their mutual pain.
No one cared where this cursed power of the Uchiha came from.
Nor did they care that the color of those eyes was actually blood overflowing from a broken heart.
Except for the relatives and close friends who would never wake again, no one understood why they went mad.
After a brief respite, Naraku and the others were met with an even fiercer counterattack from Sunagakure. By dusk, the entire western side of the mountain had been occupied by Sand Ninja.
The setting sun, doing its best to cast its afterglow, shone golden light directly on the faces of every Konoha Ninja, yet brought not a shred of warmth.
Enemies, dense as an ant colony, spread upwards, their shadows layering, exuding a bone-chilling killing intent.
Might Guy struggled several times to stand up, but his severely overdrawn body had no strength. Even though he bit his teeth until they bled, he could only barely prop up his upper body, just to make his death less pathetic.
Whoosh... A rustling sound like a tide came from far to near. He turned his head to look at the distant main peak.
A golden sand wave, nearly a thousand meters long and growing ever higher, rose from the ground like a giant beast, proudly overlooking the mountain range, its massive body shimmering with fragmented light in the sunset.
It seemed to be declaring to everyone that Sunagakure was the ultimate winner of this war.
— Konoha, is it going to lose?
Might Guy stared blankly at the natural disaster formed by the condensed sand, his arms falling limply.
Crack.
A crisp, loud snap broke the silence. Might Guy suddenly awoke from his trance, seeing Naraku's cheek twitch, his throat make a slight sound, swallowing something.
Half a second later, those dark eyes once again turned blood-red. Chains of sealing wrapped around his body and face in circles, but this time they were more numerous and intricate in shape, trembling slightly as if reaching their limit.
A crescent moon condensed deep within Naraku's eyes, its interlocking and interwoven trajectories both eerie and beautiful, exuding a soul-shaking chill as it spun.
Naraku endured the searing pain in his right eye, as if it were being consumed by flames, bathed in agony and bloody tears, and through myriad causes and effects, glimpsed the sight belonging to a god.
[Mangekyo: Ama no Kaguhiko]
The moment the ocular Ninjutsu activated, the void emitted a mournful sound of shattering glass, and countless black-mist-shrouded cracks spread wildly as far as his gaze could reach.
Those were the death marks etched by the Shinigami on the surface of all things, like pronouncements of fate, the ultimate end of the lifespan and spiritual annihilation of everything in the world.
He slowly formed hand signs, his speed so slow that several Sand Ninja nearby sneered softly. Even though Lightning Release: Thunder Needle had already covered half the sky, they did not believe the prey's dying struggle was of any use.
Only Chiyo, who was leading them, stared at those Thunder Needles, feeling a certain fear from the direction of the spikes in the depths of her being.
This terror did not even come from Ninjutsu or Naraku himself, but from the gaze and malice of this magnificent heaven and earth.
"Retreat quickly!"
She hastily ordered her subordinates to defend, retreating a few steps and firmly blocking herself with puppets.
The next instant, Naraku's left eye was filled with heavy blood shadows. [Mangekyo: Tenmei Gyokumei] responded to its master's wish.
— Hit.
The Thunder Needles instantly streaked across, flying rapidly into the crowd, splashing up puffs of blood.
"Hahahaha— ugh..."
After the initial surprise, the Sand Ninja realized that most of the Thunder Needles had only grazed some harmless parts. One of them, unable to hold back, burst into loud laughter, but halfway through, he saw his body turning into dust inch by inch.
"What is this—"
"My body, I—!"
"Ah ah ah..."
He widened his eyes and looked around in horror, discovering that all his comrades who had been pierced were suffering the same fate, vanishing completely without even leaving half a word, as if their very existence had been forcibly erased.
Within the Thunder Needle's range, the only surviving Ninja was Chiyo, at the cost of her Ox-Head puppet suffering the same fate as the others.
There were not a few Sand Ninja who witnessed the entire process nearby. Before they could react to what was happening, they watched their pierced comrades vanish without a trace.
The eerie nature of everything before their eyes far exceeded any limit. Boundless fear solidified into a large hand, gripping their throats tightly, leaving only the sound of their teeth gnashing.
"What... is this...?"