Chapter 6: A Technique That Harms Both Sides
The bombardment lasted for dozens of minutes before it finally ended.
Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara stopped at the same time, their eyes fixed on the place they had just attacked.
Where the earth had once been flat, there now lay a massive crater stretching several dozen kilometers across, its depths bottomless and shrouded in thick smoke and dust.
The battlefield fell into silence. Both Hashirama and Madara stared intently, waiting for any sign of movement within the pit.
"With Yuto's strength, even after such a barrage, he won't be dead," Madara said solemnly.
Hashirama nodded, closing his eyes slightly to sense carefully. In Sage Mode, his perception was amplified several times over.
Inside the crater, Yuto lay on the uneven ground, his clothes torn to shreds. For once, bruises and purplish marks dotted his body.
The combined assault from Hashirama and Madara had been too sudden and overwhelming. Even with his absorption ability, Yuto could not take in all of that energy at once.
He had been forced to absorb part of it while enduring the rest head-on.
Now both Hashirama and Madara were in their peak states, fighting with full power. It was nothing like the cautious, reserved battles seen in the anime. Yuto fully understood the terrifying might of these two men.
So he waited.
Suddenly!
A subtle fluctuation of chakra brushed against Yuto's perception.
It's here!
Yuto's eyes snapped open. Slamming his hands against the ground, his body shot upward like a streak of light, leaping out of the crater straight into the sky.
"Sage Art—Torii Seal!"
Hashirama roared, his hands forming seals.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Massive torii-shaped structures descended from the heavens, crashing down toward Yuto. Each enormous gate was inscribed with countless sealing talismans.
Seeing them, Yuto twisted his body sharply and threw a powerful punch into the air. The blast of force produced a deafening sonic boom, propelling him backward at incredible speed.
The Torii Seal was the technique Hashirama had once used to restrain the Ten-Tails, even suppressing Madara himself when he was revived.
If Yuto were struck by it, breaking free would be extremely troublesome.
But he failed to notice that the direction he had retreated toward was exactly where Madara was waiting.
Boom!
"Bijūdama!"
The Nine-Tails roared. A terrifying mass of black chakra gathered at its mouth, condensing into a sphere dozens of meters wide.
With a thunderous cry, the Tailed Beast Bomb shot straight at Yuto.
"Madara, I know how draining this is. Thanks for the energy gift!"
Instead of fear, Yuto's face lit with joy. He thrust both hands directly into the oncoming sphere.
There was no explosion. The Bijūdama shrank at a speed visible to the eye, and in an instant, the enormous sphere had been fully absorbed.
But at the exact moment Yuto finished absorbing it, a wave of killing intent surged into his heart.
From the front—where Yuto had thought there was still distance—Uchiha Madara had already closed in, using the Tailed Beast Bomb as cover, and now stood right before him.
Uchiha Madara's eyes widened, the eerie pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan locking directly onto Yuto's gaze.
Not good—genjutsu!!
By the time Yuto realized what was happening, it was already too late. His body froze in place in that instant.
At the same time, the Black King's energy absorption faltered for a heartbeat.
Hashirama and Madara's eyes lit up together. Their guess had been correct!
Boom! Boom!
Without holding back in the slightest, their terrifying attacks rained down all at once.
Blood splattered through the air!
Yuto was injured. Since obtaining the Black King's powers, this was the first time he had ever been wounded—and these wounds were enough to threaten his very life.
The instant he realized he had fallen into Madara's genjutsu, Yuto summoned his ghost and forcibly disrupted the flow of chakra within his body.
Of course, summoning the ghost was not to block the attacks of Madara and Hashirama.
In the Ajin's world, the ghost's combat ability was indeed terrifying. But this was the shinobi world—in this place, the ghost's strength at best reached the level of a chunin.
If it tried to block the attacks of Hashirama and Madara, it would be smashed into pieces instantly.
Yuto had summoned the ghost for one reason only—to attack himself!
Slash!
The moment it appeared, the ghost's claws pierced straight through Yuto's body. He had rehearsed this countless times for the sake of countering illusions.
The searing agony jolted his mind awake. With his chakra flow completely disrupted, Yuto forcibly tore himself free from Madara's genjutsu.
This kind of method—hurting the enemy by a thousand while injuring oneself by eight hundred—was something no one but Yuto would dare to use.
Though the Black King's absorption had only stalled for an instant, for masters like Madara and Hashirama, a single instant was enough to launch dozens or even hundreds of strikes.
Blood gushed endlessly from Yuto's mouth. Half his body was already gone.
"Yuto, you've lost."
Hashirama's tone was calm, his words indifferent as he looked at Yuto's broken figure.
"The moment you revealed your weakness, your hope of victory was gone."
Madara crossed his arms, his voice carrying a trace of sigh.
At their level, even the smallest weakness was magnified infinitely.
Their eyes fell on Yuto, carrying not only respect but also unmasked killing intent.
The era of Yuto was about to end—
(End of Chapter)