Even the two Great Sages were rendered silent.
The technique Ryou performed was no longer Ninjutsu, but a divine ability.
The most shocking part of the Thousand-Armed Kannon was the thousand arms on its back—
They weren't neatly arranged, but extended from its back in dense, overlapping layers, each arm as thick as a giant pillar.
The number of arms seemed to be a thousand, but it was actually the effect of countless overlapping arms.
Visually, it was like a forest of wooden hands blotting out the sky, each hand exuding a sense of oppression as if it could crush a mountain peak at any moment.
Once the Thousand-Armed Buddha statue was fully formed, the entire battlefield was instantly shrouded in shadow.
The Buddha statue sat cross-legged on the ground, its knees pressing out huge hollows, while the thousand arms behind it spread out like a fan, covering half the sky.
"If in the future I am able to benefit and bring peace to all sentient beings, let me immediately be endowed with a thousand hands and a thousand eyes."
Jiraiya muttered this passage of scripture regarding Guanyin Bodhisattva.
Jiraiya was a descendant of the Taoist tradition.
His titles like Immortal and his Sage Arts were all part of Taoist culture.
Jiraiya never expected to see the Thousand-Armed Kannon in his lifetime; if it were those monks from the Fire Temple, they would surely be weeping bitter tears right now, their very souls trembling.
The myths were real.
Even those who weren't monks, but had simply worshiped Guanyin Bodhisattva before, were driven into a frenzy by it.
In the distance.
Where the Takigakure villagers and Shinobi were evacuating.
The villagers knelt down immediately upon seeing the Bodhisattva manifest.
"It's the Thousand-Armed Kannon! The Bodhisattva has manifested! The Bodhisattva has manifested!"
"Guanyin has manifested! The Great Merciful and Compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva has come to save us!"
The Shinobi also knelt down, not out of excitement, but because they were dumbfounded, bewildered, and terrified.
The appearance of the Thousand-Armed Kannon completely exceeded all their understanding; their minds went blank, and their legs knelt to the ground uncontrollably.
"By my Sage of Six Paths! Even the Guanyin Bodhisattva has appeared!"
Underground, Kakuzu obtained the corpse of a Takigakure Shinobi and devoured his heart to be resurrected.
He poked his head out, preparing to deal with Shisui, who was even attacking his own teammates, but as soon as he emerged, he saw the mountain-like Thousand-Armed Kannon.
Sorry, excuse me!
Kakuzu shrunk back and then fled Takigakure at his maximum speed.
Move fast!
This was no longer a duel between Shinobi; this was the start of a battle between Immortals, a contest of divine abilities.
Ryou—he's not even pretending anymore!
Ryou sat cross-legged atop the head of the Thousand-Armed Kannon, his heart becoming as still as water, as if he had attained enlightenment and become a Buddha.
"In life, I never cultivated good karma, only loved killing and arson. Suddenly, the golden rope is snapped; here, the jade lock is torn asunder. The Kannon arrives at Takigakure; only today do I know that I am truly myself!"
"Hahaha..."
Ryou suddenly opened his eyes and laughed like a true Uchiha: "Jiraiya, Minato, do you see? I have already become a Buddha!"
This time he didn't become a dragon, but became a Buddha directly!
"Since you have seen the Future Buddha, why do you not bow—"
Ryou let out a great roar that pressured the mountains and rivers, causing the souls of Jiraiya and the others to tremble.
Ryou's Thousand-Armed Kannon was Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands, not Senjutsu: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands.
Compared to Hashirama's Thousand-Armed Kannon, there was still a gap.
Hashirama's Thousand-Armed Kannon was augmented with Sage Arts, and its Buddha hands could easily grab a full-powered Nine-Tails.
One must know that the full-powered Nine-Tails is 60-70 meters tall, and the hundred-meter-tall Wood Golem was merely an accessory on the Thousand-Armed Kannon.
Hashirama's Thousand-Armed Kannon must have been nearly a thousand meters tall.
That was the true power of gods and Buddhas.
But then again, can one perform the Great Buddha without relying on Sage Arts?
Yes!
In the original work during the Fourth War, Tobi possessed Yamato and summoned a low-spec version of the Thousand-Armed Kannon.
It was only a hundred meters tall, but with this technique, he held back the Five Kage and the Shinobi Allied Forces.
The Thousand-Armed Kannon Ryou performed was a low-spec version of Hashirama's Buddha, just like Tobi's.
However, because Ryou used the Nine-Tails's chakra, it was over ten times stronger than Tobi's Buddha.
If he had summoned the true Senjutsu Buddha, Jiraiya and the others would have been scared senseless on the spot, kneeling and begging for mercy.
Fukasaku looked at the Thousand-Armed Kannon that pressured everything, cold sweat dripping from his forehead: "This kid, if he ever learns Sage Arts, he'll definitely be a second First Hokage."
Shima's face looked grim: "Old man, this kind of technique has already surpassed Ninjutsu, Forbidden Jutsu, and even Sage Arts; this belongs to the realm of divine abilities."
"We are no match for this kind of technique. What should we do?"
What to do? Escape, of course!
Fukasaku said to himself.
From a distance, Jiraiya shouted to Ryou, trying to negotiate: "Ryou, this isn't fun anymore. I apologize on behalf of Minato and the two Sages for their rudeness to you earlier."
"How about this, I'll give you the 'Icha Icha Paradise' I recently wrote. Just let us go, okay?"
Jiraiya threw a book toward the position where Ryou stood on the Thousand-Armed Kannon.
Ryou caught it but gave an evil smile: "I want the smutty book, and I'm going to kill you too!"
Ryou formed a seal: "Veritable 1000-Armed Kanon!"
The thousand giant wooden arms behind the Thousand-Armed Kannon below Ryou moved simultaneously.
Over a thousand arms smashed down like a meteor shower toward the ground where Jiraiya and the others stood. Every punch that landed sent out a shockwave, instantly shattering the ground into massive craters.
Rumble—
The thousand wooden arms attacked exactly like meteors striking the earth!
First, a blindingly white light flared up, and the giant wooden arms, accompanied by rolling gales, smashed toward the earth.
Before reaching the ground, the gale had already swept in all directions, blowing away sand, stones, grass, and trees.
After the heavy impact, the earth trembled violently, and a terrifying shockwave exploded outward. Soil and rocks flew everywhere, and dust soared into the sky, instantly swallowing the entire world.
After the storm lasted for a dozen breaths, the area was filled with dust and thick smoke.
The Wind Release Buddha Statue on the head of the Thousand-Armed Kannon released a Wind Release, blowing away the debris from the battlefield.
The ground had been smashed into a massive deep pit. Everything had vanished under the impact of the Thousand-Armed Buddha's arms, leaving only the aura of destruction and despair.
At this moment, the Takigakure, waterfalls, high mountains, and forests had all turned into ruins.
Not even the bones of Jiraiya and the others remained!