Before the sun could sink below the horizon, it had already vanished behind the renewed clouds.
Three figures silently flashed through the dim tree canopies.
Having traveled this far, the original and his two clones had temporarily sealed their chakra using a superior technique derived from the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, relying solely on physical prowess and cursed energy reinforcement to press forward.
This forest, located southeast of Moon Lake, was currently one of the main battlefields between Sunagakure and Konoha. Passing through the forest, a town beyond marked one of Konoha's more important strongholds.
Thus, the density of Konoha's surveillance ninjas here was unprecedented.
"This is the limit. Any further, if we encounter ninjas, we might not have time to switch to combat mode."
'Yorozu Kōkichi' rolled his neck, estimating based on intelligence gathered from both the information squeezed out of Kōrin and Sunagakure's own sources. He then jumped down from the canopy and unsealed his chakra.
'Gojō Satoru' and 'Fushiguro Tōji' likewise reverted to combat readiness, prepared to strike.
With the full liberation of his Yin Release, the cursed energy flames within Hii Kōri, once restrained by logic and processing power, once again burned with self-abandon.
That gnawing, bone-deep gloom would likely be perceptible even to ninjas lacking sensory abilities. Since it was impossible to completely conceal no matter what, and he was already intent on raising hell in this state, why not take it to an even more extreme degree?
Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram: Summoning Technique ;Shukaku Zero!
The moment the ten-meter-tall giant puppet appeared, it crushed vast swathes of surrounding trees. The calamitous roar and colossal figure were enough to seize anyone's attention.
'But that's exactly why it's good. Whether it's "Yorozu Kōkichi" sitting in the cockpit or "Gojō Satoru" and "Fushiguro Tōji" perched on the puppet's shoulders, at this moment, the expressions on their faces likely hold not a shred of fear. Instead, they wear the grins of model citizens, like 'The three of us can combine with our eyes closed!.'"
"My ship's gonna be a rough ride!"
Crudely tapping even more external neural wires into his body, 'Yorozu Kōkichi' shoved the control lever to its maximum, his bloodshot eyes widening as he let out an almost frantic roar.
The massive tail, designed to mimic Shukaku's tail and composed of dozens of stacked structures, now unfolded segment by segment, revealing numerous concealed nozzles. The steel beast's limbs adjusted their stance, then violently leaped forward!
Restrictions: All lifted. Machine damage: ignored. Thrust output: Maximize!
"Everyone in Konoha, obediently sink with me into the shining abyss!"
Soil flew skyward as the dense cluster of propulsion nozzles erupted with scorching tail flames. Propelled by this immense force, the behemoth achieved terrifying speed, crashing toward Konoha's stronghold like a missile, pure brute force overwhelming.
The heavy G-forces at this moment weren't a burden—they were the perfect antidote, stimulating the dulled nerves paralyzed by 'logic.'
Feeling the pain coursing through his body, 'Yorozu Kōkichi' laughed and punched the panel before him. Shukaku Zero's limbs, spine, even the beast's head slowly unfolded amidst the howling gale, revealing dark cannon muzzles.
The vast cursed energy and extremely gloomy chakra—which proliferated too quickly to be fully converted and stored in the pendant—were continuously drained by the mimetic neural pathways, transformed into thick, rough scorching beams.
Then, searing beams that could sear the eyes of any onlooker carved elegant arcs through the air, slicing everything in their trajectory to shreds. It was like cutting tofu with a red-hot knife, no hesitation whatsoever.
Anything touched instantly vaporized, not even leaving time to burn.
No matter how slow, Konoha couldn't remain unresponsive after witnessing this. Earth-Style Wall, Water-Style Wall—barrier ninjutsu after another rose in succession, followed by layers of advanced barriers.
As true allies of the Uzumaki Clan, the barrier techniques mastered by Konoha were absolutely not something Sunagakure could match, despite Hii Kōri's instruction over these past few years.
Among those barriers, there were even several that Hii Kōri himself couldn't immediately identify.
"Just crush through with firepower!"
Clenching his jaw until his gums bled, 'Yorozu Kōkichi' tapped into even more neural lines, furiously venting cursed energy and chakra that had nowhere to go.
However, the cannons—originally designed as test weapons—couldn't withstand this level of output. Before completely shattering those barriers, they melted and collapsed in the blazing rays themselves.
"See! This is why materials science—!"
Just as he was complaining, a massive two-headed dog seized the moment to leap from Shukaku Zero's flank.
It was a combined transformation technique performed by the Inuzuka Clan working in tandem with their ninja hounds. When the Sanin's summoned animals weren't available, it was often them who stepped in to intercept Hii Kōri's Shukaku Zero.
Judging by their positioning, they were probably jōnin who had been performing reconnaissance in the forest.
"What an eyesore, you stray dogs!"
Fushiguro Tōji's pupils, contracted to their limit, seemed to take on a bloody gleam. He had no leisure for data collection right now.
"Disappear!" Before the beast-like roar had even fully left his mouth, 'Fushiguro Tōji's' figure vanished from Shukaku Zero's shoulder.
Wreathed in nearly tangible black flames, the figure streaked through the air like a living meteor. In the next instant, the massive two-headed dog shattered into fragmented pieces of flesh, falling limply from midair to become meaningless gore.
Unable to withstand such intense chakra and mana 'reinforcement,' 'Fushiguro Tōji's' limbs simultaneously disintegrated into masses of iron sand, then were immediately reconstituted.
Without returning to Shukaku Zero's shoulder, the Heavenly Restriction Tyrant grabbed his three-section staff and charged forward, using compressed air footholds to propel himself onward. Simultaneously, 'Gojō Satoru' also roared from another direction, wrapped in swift gale force.
Hii Kōri's iron sand clones could partially replenish energy using natural magnetic fields, coupled with a steady stream of magical support, this was naturally the optimal approach.
"Fine! If you're so unwilling to trade firepower with me, then let's do close combat!"
He swiftly switched output modes, covering Shukaku Zero's exterior with cursed energy to construct a barrier similar to a Tailed Beast Chakra Cloak, then crashed into the remnants of the barriers with a thunderous impact.
Amidst the grinding, bone-chilling sounds of shattering that made Konoha's ninjas' blood run cold, Shukaku Zero forcibly burst through the layers of barriers and landed before them with a ground-shaking boom.
Its outer shell was scorched black from the intense friction, but those green eyes—which should have held no emotion whatsoever—clearly conveyed the pilot's killing intent.
***
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