"Blood Bone Pulse?" Neji's eyes narrowed. The white light in his palm shot forward, but just as it was about to hit the man in red, his body partially liquefied, dodging the terrifying impact of the Mountain Shattering Strike.
From Neji's chakra cloak, two glowing white giant hands emerged, firmly grasping the bone spikes Neji's opponent had in his palm.
"Blood Bone Pulse, combined with the abilities of the Hozuki clan... Who exactly are you?" Neji asked coldly.
"Who am I? Neji, I'll let you know before you die."
The man in red's large hat covered half his face. He let out a low chuckle and suddenly swept a whip kick towards Neji. After colliding with Neji's arms, both of them were sent flying backward by the resulting force.
"Eight Trigrams: Cloud Palm!"
"Blood Bone Pulse: Ten Fingers Bullet!"
Neji and the man in red extended their fingers simultaneously. Countless white lights and finger bones instantly swirled everywhere, colliding with each other. In an instant, sparks flew, and the entire area was covered by a series of explosions.
Bang!
They closed in for close combat again. The man in red was undoubtedly sent flying by Neji, but at the same time, the burly man finished gathering his power. He swung his hands violently, and two terrifying black lightning bolts surged from his hands.
"Earth Release: Multi-Layered Earth Wall!"
Neji quickly landed, creating high walls to block the burly man's attack. The black lightning lashed out, shattering wall after wall.
"Before I carry out my plan, I have to defeat you first."
At this moment, Zetsu suddenly emerged from behind Neji. Countless branches surged around him, attacking Neji like a dancing horde of demons.
"Lowly minions shouldn't butt in." Neji passed straight through the branches, grabbed Zetsu by the head, and slammed him into the ground.
However, Zetsu's interference caused Neji's defenses to be broken by the burly man. Two black lightning bolts struck Neji successively, knocking him down.
Bang! Bang!
Neji took two heavy blows and slid backward, only stopping after skidding dozens of meters.
At this moment, his whole body was burning with pain, and he felt like his internal organs were about to be dislocated.
It was chilling to think that even he, with his perfect Sage Body, felt incredibly sore after being defended by multiple earth walls. If it were someone else, they might have been killed instantly!
Suddenly, a shiver ran down his spine. The pale white man had silently appeared behind him again, just like before.
His silver dagger glinted. Even in broad daylight, it gave off a chilling sense of death, like a deadly weapon from the depths of hell, meant to suppress all living beings.
Even Obito and the man in red shivered inwardly at the sight and instinctively began to move away from him.
As for Zetsu, he had already merged most of his body into the earth, as if that was the only way to feel safe.
"He's even using this kind of killer weapon? Isn't that a bit overkill?" the burly man frowned, showing slight dissatisfaction.
The Blade of Annihilation was one of his intrinsic weapons since his "birth." Any being killed by it, unless they possessed power at the Six Paths level, would have their souls completely scattered, losing even the chance for reincarnation, truly disappearing from the world.
"Never mind, let him do as he pleases. After all, there's more than one super-Kage level in this world," the burly man thought to himself.
Just then, the silver dagger slashed down.
Neji initially wanted to evade the silver dagger using his phasing ability, but seeing the intense cold emanating from the dagger, he subconsciously abandoned the idea.
"Heh, a wise decision."
"In that case! Petrification! Sky Pain Kick!"
Neji gritted his teeth and forced his body to twist, putting unimaginable strain on himself. However, this barely allowed him to dodge the pale white man's first attack.
Then, bracing himself on the ground, as the pale white man was about to slash with his dagger again, Neji pushed off with his legs, his powerful force sending him soaring into the sky.
"Now's our chance!"
Neji flipped and slammed his foot down on the ground, causing it to crack. He had already rushed in front of the pale white man.
"Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists!"
"Brute Force!"
"Ah!!!"
Neji threw his powerful punch with all his might. The terrifying force of the punch passed directly through the pale white man's body, creating a huge crater in the ground and stirring up a fierce wind.
"Pfft..." The pale white man spat out a mouthful of blood. His emaciated body, as if under the weight of ten thousand jin of iron, was sent crashing towards the ground by inertia.
At this moment, a large number of wooden branches suddenly burst from the ground and shot into the sky, forming a palm-like shape that caught the pale white man, slowing his descent.
"Well done, Zetsu," Obito said.
"Summoning vast swaths of forest anywhere, anytime? How convenient," the man in red smirked. "Regarding your body's structure, would you allow me to study it?"
"Hmph, even without your help, this kind of injury is just a scratch to us," the burly man said disdainfully.
Black Zetsu chuckled without a word. Others might not know, but he certainly did. These two people were his mother's enemies. If it weren't for the fact that he needed their power to revive his mother right now, he wouldn't bother helping them.
As he slowly began to retract the branches controlling the pale white man's descent, Neji reappeared above the pale white man.
"Don't celebrate too early!"
"Eight Gates, First Gate, Open!"
"Second Gate, Gate of Rest, Open!"
The simultaneous opening of two gates caused Neji's power to surge instantly. He gathered power in his hands, and countless giant fists gradually solidified with the change in chakra in his palms.
"That's!!" the burly man stared blankly at the immensely large fists and took a step back.
Compared to the Corpse Bone Drain, he was more terrified of this move. He could never forget the painful experience of being brutally beaten by this move a thousand years ago. The nightmare of being dominated by the fists of Sage Mode still haunted him.
"He must die!!!"
The burly man gritted his teeth, blood energy churning in his palms, emitting wisps of malevolence. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from his original spot.
"Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack!"
At the same time, Neji had gathered enough powerful chakra. Countless pale purple fist energies surged upwards, engulfing the pale white man and Black Zetsu in an instant.
Bang bang bang…
Boom boom boom…
The forest was shredded, dust and smoke billowed, and as the fist energies rained down, the area was filled with dazzling light that took a long time to subside.
When everything settled, a bottomless pit had appeared in the ground. Only Neji stood alone in the center, supporting himself with one hand and panting lightly.
After such a long battle, he was also a little tired.
"Now, there are only three people left... Where are they?" Neji looked up and realized the most troublesome burly man had vanished.
Suddenly, his gaze sharpened as he looked towards the sky.
"Up there?"