Between heaven and earth, a heart-palpitating surge of energy abruptly erupted.
Around Takuno's body, his originally invisible and intangible chakra now transformed into a pitch-black color so dense it could not be dissolved, surging continuously from within him, rolling and rising.
This was the core supporting the ultimate ocular technique, Susanoo: a special chakra fused with the unique ocular power of the Mangekyō Sharingan!
It was no longer mere energy, but embodied the substantial power of spirit and will.
Or rather, it had already stepped into the supreme realm of "Yin Release," using spiritual energy to mold form and grant substance to the void!
As soon as this majestic, pitch-black chakra appeared, it impatiently gathered frantically toward the firmament.
In an instant, a massive skeletal phantom consisting only of a pitch-black ribcage manifested out of thin air, like the sturdiest of fortresses, enveloping Takuno's body seamlessly within it.
This was precisely the initial form of Susanoo, and the limit of protection Takuno could barely condense when not fully utilizing his Mangekyō's ocular power.
However, this was not the goal he sought today.
On that pitch-black ribcage framework, an even deeper chakra spread and shaped itself rapidly like a living thing.
Accompanied by the sound of growing bones, two thick skeletal arms thrust out violently; following closely, a complete skull emitting an ominous aura condensed into form amidst the surging chakra.
At this point, a pitch-black skeletal giant standing dozens of meters tall, consisting only of an upper body, stood towering upon the earth, its hollow eye sockets looking down upon the vast expanse, emitting a suffocating sense of pressure.
But this was merely the skeleton of power! It could be considered the First Form of Susanoo.
The pair of Mangekyō Sharingan in Takuno's eyes instantly erupted with an eerie red light, and the Ouroboros patterns in his pupils accelerated their rotation frantically.
An even more intense and viscous pitch-black chakra surged forth from his body once again, wrapping layer upon layer around that massive skeletal upper body.
This pitch-black chakra no longer formed more skeleton for the Susanoo, but instead turned into tough "flesh" and "Tenketsu" covering the bones.
In a brief moment, a giant with even greater momentum and a more complete form rose from the ground!
It possessed solid arms and a chest, with a giant palm gripping a longsword that emitted a dark luster throughout.
The length of this sword far exceeded the proportions of the giant itself; the blade was narrow and long, pointing straight toward the sky.
Fortunately, this divine weapon condensed from pure energy had no scabbard to bind it.
This was precisely the Second Form of Susanoo!
This form had a relatively moderate consumption of ocular power yet high stability, and it possessed an exclusive weapon; while its attack power was off the charts, its defense also far exceeded the initial form.
It was no wonder that in the original work, Sasuke and Madara frequently used this form before obtaining the Power of the Six Paths.
Feeling the sensation coming from this peculiar longsword in Susanoo's hand, Takuno clearly perceived its basic abilities.
It could be used as easily as an extension of his own arm for close-quarters hacking and parrying, or it could trigger incredibly powerful long-range slashing waves.
"Hoo..." Takuno took a deep breath, temporarily pausing the thought of continuing to push toward higher forms.
With a thought, the towering Susanoo raised that dark longsword and swung a strike toward the continuous mountain range in the distance, steady and powerful!
Buzz!
A deep, ink-like condensed chakra wave detached from the blade's edge, silently slicing through the sky and racing toward the target mountain peak.
Visually, its speed appeared unusually "slow," its trajectory clearly visible; if one used this to attack a high-speed moving enemy, it seemed it could be easily dodged.
However, the moment this seemingly "leisurely" sword slash touched the distant mountain body, an abrupt change occurred!
There was no world-shaking explosive roar, nor any piercing light from an energy collision.
The slash was like a hot knife through butter, penetrating the entire mountain peak without any obstruction!
Time seemed to freeze for an instant.
The next moment, that massive and hard mountain top slid downward silently along an absolutely smooth incline!
Only then did a deafening roar follow!
Boulders tumbled, the mountain collapsed, and tens of thousands of tons of rock and soil slammed heavily onto the earth, triggering a violent, earth-shaking tremor!
Dust filled the sky like a furious, earthy-yellow dragon, roaring as it shot upward, instantly obscuring a small half of the sky and refusing to dissipate for a long time.
Its power was terrifying to such an extent!
Standing within the crystal at the Susanoo's brow, Takuno narrowed his Mangekyō Sharingan, calmly gazing at this destructive scene.
He keenly captured an anomaly: the actual time elapsed from swinging the sword to the slash hitting the mountain top was extremely short, forming a sharp contrast with the "slow" flight of the slash he had perceived visually.
"Is it the mystery of time?" He understood in his heart.
"The speed of the slash itself might not be fast, but did it compress the passage of time corresponding to that 'spatial distance' between itself and the target?"
This deduction made a sharp light flash in his eyes.
Such a characteristic greatly increased the threat of this strike!
An enemy encountering this move for the first time, if deceived by that "slow" illusion and slightly careless, by the time they realized the slash was already upon them, wanting to dodge would likely be a matter of 'so near yet so far'—unavoidable!
This was undoubtedly an extremely deceptive and lethal trump card.
"The effect is not bad." Takuno nodded slightly, satisfied with the weapon's ability in this form.
But today's exploration of Susanoo was far from over.
His gaze focused, and an even more vast amount of chakra within his body poured into the Mangekyō of both eyes!
Buzz!
A pitch-black chakra, denser and more violent than before, completely engulfed him along with that Second Form Susanoo once again!
The chakra surged frantically, and a terrifying pressure far exceeding the previous one began to permeate!
Soon, that pitch-black chakra formed the heaviest energy armor on Susanoo's body.
This form was strikingly similar to the fierce deity of ancient legends, the Karasu Tengu, carrying an extremely piercing sense of oppression.
This was precisely the Third Form Susanoo had climbed to!
In this form, Susanoo's already indestructible defense once again underwent a qualitative leap, as if draped in divine armor from mythology.
More importantly, the weapons it could wield were no longer singular, becoming more diverse and rich.
However, this world-destroying form came with a massive price.
Takuno clearly perceived that the ocular power consumption rate had increased several-fold compared to the Second Form!
This form was violent and extremely unstable; an ordinary Mangekyō Sharingan holder would simply be unable to support such a terrifying burden for long.
But a slight arc hooked at the corner of Takuno's mouth.
"The consumption is indeed staggering... but, it is still within tolerable limits!"
His strongest reliance had always been that vast, sea-like spiritual energy.
The degree of this Yin Release power transformed from his spiritual energy had long since reached an inconceivable level.
Furthermore, before opening the Mangekyō—though it was unintentional—his ocular power had already been tempered using that device to the limit that a three-tomoe Sharingan could carry, reaching a peak where "it could rise no further."
It could be said that among ninjas of the same level who had just awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, Takuno's ocular power reserves were peerless in the world!
His sharp gaze swept over this Karasu Tengu Susanoo he commanded.
Aside from that pitch-black longsword emitting a destructive aura that existed since the Second Form, he noticed another eye-catching weapon.
An exquisitely structured pitch-black ring, resembling the "Universe Ring" of mythology.
It was not static, but revolved in a constant, unceasing circular motion around Susanoo's massive body.
This was precisely the brand-new armament derived from Takuno's Third Form Susanoo!
With a slight movement of his mind, Takuno understood the ability contained within this "Universe Ring," and an extremely peculiar expression appeared on his face.
This ring actually possessed a powerful sealing ability!
Once ensnared by it, an enemy would be instantly imprisoned, as if falling into a quagmire of time, losing all ability to act.
If paired with the indestructible slash of the Susanoo longsword, it was almost equivalent to announcing a certain death sentence.
Not only that, this Universe Ring also had the miraculous effect of absorbing and transferring attacks.
It could soak up sustained attacks, and subsequently, it could precisely transfer that energy to any location Takuno had "once existed in" and release it!
"This ability..." Takuno's heart stirred, "has some similarities to my right Mangekyō eye's ability."
The reason he said "similarities" was that its transfer process was not as silent and unpredictable as his right eye's ability.
Before the Universe Ring completed an attack transfer, it would generate obvious fluctuations, like a warning signal, which made it almost impossible to use for a sneak attack.
An enemy would have ample time to react.
"A pity..." Takuno felt a slight regret.
Though he did not fear a frontal confrontation, if he could save time and effort, why wouldn't he?
Suddenly, an even bolder and more strategically valuable thought flashed through his mind like a spark of lightning.
"If I control Susanoo to actively slash a full-power strike at this Universe Ring...
And then, utilize the ring's transfer ability to instantly deliver this peerless slash to any corner of the world I have ever set foot in...
Wouldn't that be equivalent to... a destructive strike that ignores spatial distance?!"
This thought made his heart shake violently.
"It sounds truly peerless and full of deterrent power... however," Takuno quickly calmed down, keenly capturing a fatal flaw, "The core problem lies in how I would know the exact situation thousands of miles away?"
His summoned crows could indeed share his vision, but there was a limit to the distance that could not be breached.
Relying solely on his existing abilities, wanting to achieve precise over-the-horizon strikes was no different from a pipe dream.
"Unless... I can learn the Great Toad Sage's 'Telescope Jutsu'." Takuno thought of the secret technique from Mount Myōboku; that old toad was situated in the Holy Land yet could observe the entire situation of the Fourth Shinobi World War; the range of vision was indeed terrifying enough.
But even so, there was one unavoidable problem.
Enemies are living things; they move!
The obvious energy fluctuations when the Universe Ring transfers an attack are no different from ringing a warning bell in advance.
Facing such an obvious threat, unless they were a fool, who would stand idly in place waiting to die?
"So..." Takuno finally reached a conclusion; this seemingly shocking "thousand-mile strike" ability's truly practical scenario might lie in destroying fixed, unmoving strategic targets that cannot dodge.
As for dealing with flexible and mobile enemies?
Most of the time, its reputation of "being able to launch an attack from any location" would probably serve a greater purpose as a deterrent to opponents.
After completing his thoughts, Takuno did not waste time; maintaining the Karasu Tengu form of Susanoo was violently consuming his majestic yet not infinite ocular power every second.
This kind of waste was absolutely not his style.
"Hoo..." Takuno took a deep breath, as if wanting to pull all the surrounding air into his chest.
The next moment, an unprecedentedly dense, pitch-black chakra exploded out from his body!
This violent energy instantly and completely swallowed the originally majestic Karasu Tengu Susanoo.
Accompanied by this earth-shaking energy explosion, Takuno's body also seemed to lose weight, buoyed by this majestic power as he slowly floated upward.
Time seemed to stretch during this transformation of power.
Finally, the evolution was complete!
A sky-propping pitch-black Martial God, carrying a world-destroying pressure, abruptly descended upon this battlefield between heaven and earth!
Its form was towering and ferocious:
The spine extended, and a pair of massive wings that obscured the sun snapped open, churning the wind and clouds.
Armor covered the body; the pitch-black, abyss-like surface was covered in complex, cold, and exquisite armor plating, every piece of mail shimmering with an ominous cold light.
An evil spirit manifest; its face was shrouded by a pitch-black demonic mask carved with fierce patterns, leaving only those two scarlet eyes emitting bloodthirsty light beneath the mask's holes, like the abyssal depths of hell gazing upon the human world.
Armed to the extreme; the right hand tightly gripped a giant longsword as tall as the Martial God itself, its sharpness fully revealed;
Behind its back, two other cold and shimmering standard swords were crossed and slanted;
Especially astonishing was that what surrounded its body was no longer a single Universe Ring, but three pitch-black rings slowly rotating, its defense and prestige doubling instantly!
In the center of that demonic mask's forehead, a diamond-shaped crystal area glowed faintly; Takuno's figure stood steadily upon this "throne" symbolizing the core of power.
Standing at the apex of Susanoo, Takuno looked down at everything that had become tiny beneath his feet.
Even for himself, feeling the absolute power contained within this Armored Susanoo, a deep sense of shock could not help but flicker in the depths of his eyes.
This was... the ultimate form of Susanoo, the Perfect Susanoo!
Takuno had chosen the most direct path, skipping the awkward transition stage where a conventional Susanoo, after obtaining legs, actually has its defensive power temporarily drop below that of the Karasu Tengu form.
Though that form had the mobility brought by legs and stability comparable to the second stage, and its basic power far exceeded the second form, in Takuno's combat philosophy, it appeared too mediocre with extremely low cost-effectiveness.
To him, the strategy for using Susanoo was clear and efficient: if not necessary, prioritize the Second Form or Karasu Tengu form which consume less ocular power;
If it was necessary to go all out, then without hesitation, manifest this ultimate Perfect form!
Never waste ocular power on that intermediate form where flaws appeared.
At this moment, Takuno carefully experienced the majestic power flowing through every inch of the Perfect Susanoo's energy body.
It did not add any fancy new abilities; however, it possessed one absolute advantage that left all other forms in the dust:
That was: pure numerical values that crushed everything! Absolute mass! Absolute power!
What did "Perfect" mean? It represented "completeness" and "the ultimate"!
Only the posture standing between heaven and earth at this moment deserved to be called the true Susanoo!
The world-destroying sensation of being able to shatter mountains and rivers or change heaven and earth with a simple gesture was like the most mellow wine, leaving Takuno intoxicated, his blood boiling.
This was exactly the ultimate experience he had craved in his lifelong pursuit of power—the most primitive and intense pleasure brought by power itself!
This was something that nothing else could compare to, or even deserved to be compared with!