But that momentary hesitation was just that—momentary.
Driven by its inherently berserk nature and the lingering obsession from its former master...
ROAR!
The Shiromari disregarded all risks and charged forward recklessly once again.
"Heh!"
Menma sneered coldly.
He neither dodged nor retreated, adopting a stance to meet the attack head-on.
Bang!
The two collided directly.
While Menma felt a massive force impact him, the Shiromari on the opposite side felt as though it had slammed into an impregnable wall of iron and copper. This huge disparity was jarring as it stared at Menma's comparatively tiny figure right in front of it.
A look of confusion and disbelief appeared in the Shiromari's massive pupils.
But Menma didn't hesitate for a second.
His hands firmly gripped the Shiromari's gigantic head.
"Hah!"
Chakra exploded further, surging through his entire body.
With a sudden heave...
The Shiromari's massive form was abruptly lifted by Menma. Immediately after, giving the beast no time to react, he viciously hurled it to the left.
Whoosh!
A piercing whistle cut through the air.
The Shiromari flew backward.
Bang!
It smashed heavily into the ground.
"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"
Confirming that the Shiromari used Earth Style jutsu, Menma unleashed another Lightning Style technique.
Accompanied by the full release of a massive amount of chakra...
A thick, long arc of lightning manifested in mid-air and, with extreme speed, slammed heavily into the Shiromari's colossal body once again.
Zzzzt-zzzzt-zzzzt!
ROAR!?
The power of lightning coursing through its entire body caused the Shiromari to cry out in pain once more.
But even an attack like this...
Couldn't make the Shiromari submit. Its aura became even more tyrannical, its blood-red pupils emanating a fierce, defiant pressure.
ROAR!
With a furious roar...
The ground shook.
Crack!
Centered on the Shiromari, the surrounding ground shattered, and massive boulders were lifted into the air one by one.
The moment they floated up...
Under the Shiromari's control...
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
They shot towards Menma with extreme speed and ferocity.
"This guy!"
Its resilience and ferocity exceeded expectations.
Most importantly, its defense was incredible. It had taken two direct hits from Lightning Style jutsu, and although it was visibly injured, it hadn't been completely crushed yet.
Facing the incoming boulders...
As Menma dodged rapidly, his pupils gradually transformed into vertical fox slits.
Hum!
He flipped his right hand.
In his palm, chakra gathered, spun, condensed, and compressed at extreme speed.
As the brilliant blue color manifested...
Influenced by his intent...
Following a sudden impulse...
Under Menma's almost unconscious control...
Nine-Tails chakra was rapidly infused into the sphere.
Different colors appeared—the brilliant blue and crimson intertwining. The moment they slowly merged...
It took on a deep purple, almost pitch-black hue.
A dark red halo bloomed from the core.
This aura and pressure far surpassed that of a normal Rasengan.
Boom!
Whoosh!
His figure exploded forward.
Charging straight up.
He arrived directly above the Shiromari.
ROAR!
Seeing Menma's reflection in its massive pupils, the Shiromari instinctively upheaved the earth again, sending layers of giant rocks flying.
"Spiraling Ring (Rasenyū)."
As Menma whispered these words...
He thrust downward violently.
Rumble!
After effortlessly crushing rock after rock...
With the massive figure filling his vision...
Menma deliberately avoided its vitals.
With a twist of his body...
He slammed the Spiraling Ring heavily into the Shiromari's side.
Bang!
An explosive roar.
The beast's body trembled violently.
The moment the impact caved in its side...
Whoosh!
The force of the second heavy blow erupted.
The Shiromari's body was sent flying backward at high speed.
It plowed through the earth, toppling countless large trees, accompanied by layer upon layer of terrifying shockwaves.
Rumble!
Bang!
A dull thud as it hit the ground again.
Thud!
As it dragged a ridiculously long trench into the earth, the Shiromari let out a mournful cry far more miserable than before.
Its body trembled violently.
Its defense had been completely broken.
Even though the Shiromari's defense was incredibly strong, faced with the Spiraling Ring—a jutsu even more intense than the Rasengan—it couldn't hold up. Its aura was noticeably weaker.
Menma withdrew his Nine-Tails chakra and began walking slowly towards the Shiromari not far away.
His approach clearly agitated the beast further.
Hiss!
It growled low.
Forcing its body to struggle up...
Bang!
It slammed its forelimb heavily onto the ground again, causing the earth to tremble. Although it tried to maintain an imposing posture, its trembling limbs were enough to show that the summoning beast had been severely injured by Menma.
Seeing this...
A look of regret and awkwardness appeared on Menma's face.
After all, he only wanted to beat the Shiromari into submission, not actually kill it.
He had underestimated the damage of the Spiraling Ring. A normal Rasengan in the original story nearly killed Kabuto, a medical Jonin. Not to mention the Spiraling Ring, a special jutsu infused with Nine-Tails chakra.
In terms of destructive power, it definitely reached S-rank.
The Shiromari, already lightly injured, naturally found it hard to withstand such a blow. Conversely, if it were any ordinary ninja or a summoning beast with weaker defense, that single strike would have been fatal on the spot.
There would have been no room for negotiation.
"Can you calm down a little now? Are you willing to have a proper talk with me? If you're still not convinced, I can keep fighting you."
Looking at the hostile Shiromari...
Menma snorted coldly, still releasing a powerful aura. With a flip of his hand, a sphere of blue chakra appeared once again.
Nine-Tails chakra re-emerged.
Taking on a dark form as if about to merge into the sphere.
Seeing and clearly sensing this dangerous aura...
The Shiromari shuddered instinctively.
But only for a moment. The Shiromari returned to its previous demeanor, closing its eyes directly and completely ignoring Menma.
It looked as if it were simply waiting for Menma to slaughter it.
This reaction caused Menma to furrow his brow.