68The Four Symbols SealAI Model: kimi-k2-instruct-0905Chapter 68 – Reverse Four Symbols Seal
The next instant, under Kakuzu and Deidara's stunned gazes
A wooden giant dozens of meters tall burst from the ground
Danzo's torso was completely devoured by the rampaging Hashirama cells
The once-aged face now surfaced on the colossal tree-man's chest, grotesquely twisted
Between the rough bark's crevices, five crimson Sharingan spun haphazardly across different parts of the trunk
'For Konoha… even if I fall into the Animal Path, I'll eradicate you hidden threats!'
Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands Forest!
Boom—boom—boom!
Countless huge wooden branches shot out of the tree monster like octopus tentacles
Every branch coiled with the slicing power of high-pressure Wind Release
An assault on this scale had long surpassed ordinary Ninjutsu
It was the final mad power Danzo gained by abandoning his human dignity
'Hey hey, you've gotta be kidding me…'
Deidara's pupils shrank as he hurriedly raised his clay dragon higher
But the tree monster was faster
A single wind-edged branch swept past the dragon's flank, cleanly slicing half its clay body away
'That's the First Hokage's strength?!'
As someone who had personally seen Hashirama's mighty Wood Release, Kakuzu's eyes suddenly contracted
'No—this is just a rampaging monster!'
Four Earth Grudge Fear Clones were frantically spitting elemental techniques
Wind Release: Pressure Damage
Lightning Release: False Darkness
Fire Release: Head Mower
Water Release: Water Curtain
Every attack struck the tree monster, only to be patched in an instant by wildly growing wood fibers
Kakuzu's face darkened to its limit
His Chakra was draining fast in this pointless war of attrition
Just as he hesitated between fighting on or fleeing, Naruto in mid-air made his move
Two Shadow Clones were summoned at once
Cursed Seal Sage Mode had only ninety seconds left; every second counted
Sage Art: Goemon!
The air was instantly sucked away as a blinding white-hot light bloomed overhead
Coordinated by the Clones, an orange-red wave hot enough to boil seas poured from the sky, completely submerging the towering tree monster
A sea of flame blanketed the earth, stench and smoke billowing skyward
The giant treant writhed in agony, letting out an inhuman shriek
The wildly flailing branches charred and crumbled under the sage flames
When the roaring blaze finally died, the scorched earth glowed dark red
At the center, the huge tree monster had shrunk by a full size, black smoke still rising from its body
Kakuzu sharply noticed that one of the Sharinganembedded in the trunk lost its luster and slowly closed
It worked!
The next instant the tree monster's body began to grow and swell again
'Deidara! Hit it with your strongest jutsu—it's only got four lives left!'
Kakuzu's jade-green eyes flashed with unprecedented ferocity as he roared skyward
'Don't need to tell me!'
Back atop his clay bird, Deidara plunged both hands deep into his tool pouches
Since things had come this far, he would sacrifice the trump card he'd saved for Uchiha Itachi
'Behold the apotheosis of ultimate art!'
C4: Garuda!
A perfect clay replica of Deidara leapt from his palm
It wasn't just a simple bomb
Silently it descended, and in the next heartbeat it dissolved mid-air
No explosion, no flash
Only countless clay particles, too tiny for the eye to see, drifted like pollen and spread soundlessly on the wind
The instant Garuda activated, Naruto vanished from where he stood
Kakuzu, meanwhile, was still busy fending off the tree monster's frenzied counterattack
The white clay mist—an invisible death-shroud—had already blanketed the battlefield, sparing neither friend nor foe
Kakuzu had just recalled an Earth Grudge Fearmask when a sharp pain flared in his chest
'…Hmm?'
He glanced down to see the skin on the outer side of his left arm cracking like dry mud
The next moment
The entire arm began to erode and disintegrate
'Deidara—!!!'
Kakuzu jerked his head up. 'You bastard—counted me in your blast radius?''
High above, Deidara stood on his clay bird and gave him a sideways glance
'Huh? Of course. C4: Garuda is ultimate art—perfect disintegration from every angle.'
'Besides…'
Deidara looked Kakuzu up and down as his body slowly reknit itself
'You've got, what, five hearts? Losing one or two won't kill you, hmm?'
Veins bulged on Kakuzu's forehead
Black Earth Grudge Fear threads writhed, weaving a new arm from the stump—but far slower than before
Those clay particles had already invaded his Chakra network
Even an aberrant body like Earth Grudge Fearcouldn't claim full immunity.
Below.
The colossal frame of the tree-human monster began breaking apart as well.
Branch after branch crumbled into dust.
Its torso collapsed layer by layer.
In the chest cavity, the face belonging to Danzo Shimura twisted violently, mouth stretched wide, yet no sound would come.
Pfft—!
Another Sharingan burst inside its body.
Then a second.
A third.
As the white particles drifting through the air slowly dispersed, the former tree monster finally re-coalesced.
Only one Sharingan remained; at this moment Wood Release's frenzy and might reached their peak.
The entire ground sank sharply.
The earth beneath the monster's feet caved in.
Hundreds of wooden roots pierced the rock strata, spreading in every direction and madly devouring anything that could be converted into life force.
The air was drained dry.
For the first time, Kakuzu's expression truly changed.
'...Not good.'
This wasn't an attack—it was mutual annihilation.
His Earth Grudge Fear hearts began to pound violently, as if seized by something from afar.
With every beat, a chunk of Chakra and life was forcibly siphoned away.
The tree monster threw its head back and roared.
The sound was no longer human speech, but a grinding cacophony of wood fibers tearing, Chakraflowing backward, and flesh collapsing.
'Damn it!'
Kakuzu watched in horror as his four hearts began to wither simultaneously.
High above, Deidara was not spared either.
The clay bird carrying him had its moisture instantly sapped, crumbling into parched rubble.
He tried again and again to mold another clay bird, only to fail each time.
Seeing himself plummet closer to the countless wooden tendrils below.
Deidara's skin quickly shriveled; his once-golden hair turned bone-white in seconds.
'Trying to drain even my art...'
'An ugly death like this—I won't accept it!'
With his last ounce of strength he stuffed clay into his own mouth.
C0 • Self-destruction!
His body dissolved into translucent black threads, then rapidly shrank into a single pitch-black point.
The mindless tree monster, sensing that terrifying Chakra, reacted on instinct.
It ceased its outward plunder and began contracting frantically inward.
Countless millstone-thick branches layered over Deidara's detonating core.
Danzo knew that if this blast were not contained, all of Konoha would suffer.
With Deidara's crazed laughter, a white light intense enough to blind every living creature erupted across the land.
The whole village quaked violently.
The thunderous shock rippled through the earth, shattering the wooden cage that had pinned Hidan.
When the suffocating light finally faded, only a crater a kilometer wide remained.
Kakuzu's mighty Earth Grudge Fear body was charred through; all five hearts were extinguished, reduced to a heap of stinking ash.
Deidara left not even a single hair, fully merged into his 'art.'
At the crater's center, the thick wooden sphere was completely blackened and cracked.
Danzo's barely human remains rolled out of the charcoal.
The last crimson Sharingan on his arm let out a faint crack, lost its luster, and slowly closed.
Izanagi stock: zero.
'Uz... Uzumaki... Naruto...'
Not far away.
Naruto arrived beside Hidan via Flying Thunder God.
'The old man's finished.'
He clapped Hidan's shoulder. 'Go finish him.'
'You bastard!!!'
Seeing all three comrades dead at their hands.
Hidan raised his scythe and charged the dying Danzo.
'I'll rip out your guts and hang them on Konoha's gate for Lord Jashin!'
Hidan roared in fury.
To him, Sasori, Kakuzu, and Deidara had been annoying, but this near-total wipeout was unbearable.
'Even if I die... I'll... take you... with me...'
'For Konoha... this is my... final will of fire!'
Naruto gave a cold laugh, activated Flying Thunder God, and vanished.
He didn't need to watch the rest.
A pitch-black Seal formula spread from Danzo's chest, forming a huge black sphere that expanded instantly.
Reverse Four Symbols Seal.
Space itself seemed gouged away.
Hidan, Danzo, and everything within dozens of meters were erased.
All was still.
Only silence and emptiness remained on the deserted battlefield.