Underwater.
Makiya clasped his hands together as terrifying chakra brewed around him. Dai and Shisui stood by his side. Countless flames swirled around Makiya. Water and fire are incompatible; waves of fire pushed the seawater away, yet did not harm Dai or Shisui in the slightest.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"
A sea of fire spread from the bottom of the water, and the deep blue ocean was gradually dyed with red light, becoming brighter and brighter. The seawater boiled, cooking everything. A massive amount of water vapor evaporated and drifted into the sky. The sky suddenly darkened, and strong convection triggered a hurricane, looking like the end of the world.
A large number of bubbles floated to the surface and burst, sparks flying in all directions. The thick body of water evaporated completely in a short time, and a thick white mist enveloped heaven and earth.
Liquid flames spread in all directions, like fire dragons galloping between heaven and earth. The soil turned into lava, the earth cracked, and lava splashed. Billowing thick smoke obscured the sun, and the entire plain turned into a boundless purgatory.
Genma and his teammates stood blankly on the mountaintop, staring at everything before them in a daze. The flames passed by the three of them, automatically moving around them, with only a slight heat singeing their hair.
The plain turned into an ocean, then instantly transformed into a hell of flowing lava. The rapid change in terrain left Genma and the others speechless, their mouths agape for a long time.
"Are they... really human?" After a long time, Genma murmured to himself, receiving no response.
The center of the plain.
Lava rivers crisscrossed, with a water column about ten meters in diameter standing in the middle of the lava.
The water column shot straight into the sky, its top obscured by mist, making it hard to see clearly.
A large amount of water fell from high above into the lava rivers, triggering flames and explosions.
At the top of the water column, Fuguki Suikazan, Jinin Akebino, and the armless Raiga Kurosuki stood on the water's surface. A large amount of water spewed from Fuguki Suikazan's mouth, merging into the water column below.
The flames filling the sky gradually dissipated. Fuguki Suikazan immediately stopped the jutsu. Samehada in his hand irritably opened its large mouth; it had lost a large amount of chakra today and desperately needed to eat that Konoha brat to replenish its reserves.
"Finally, it's over. What a terrifying Fire Style." Fuguki Suikazan's expression was grave. Having mastered Samehada for so many years, this was the first time he had fallen into a disadvantage in a pure ninjutsu clash.
Jinin Akebino and Raiga Kurosuki looked at each other and silently gripped their ninja swords. The cold wind from high altitude and the rising heat alternating against their bodies gave them goosebumps.
Losing its support, the water column collapsed with a bang. The collapsing water quickly cooled a small patch of lava, creating a place to land.
Fuguki Suikazan's group of three landed on the ground, facing Makiya's trio from a distance.
There were no pre-battle trash talks. With the battle reaching this point, everyone had only one goal: kill the opponent.
After a short silence, six figures crossed paths. Blade light mixed with kicks, accompanied by constant booming sounds.
Raiga Kurosuki took the initiative to find Shisui, swearing to avenge his severed arm. A Kiba blade drew lightning, and he was bathed in blinding electricity as he controlled ball lightning to attack Shisui.
He had learned his lesson this time. Shisui's clones were hard to distinguish between real and fake, so he stayed far away, waving lightning for large-scale attacks.
The destructive power of a single Kiba blade was still staggering. The hot and cold air high above rapidly convected, and the friction of the clouds accumulated a large amount of electric charge. Raiga Kurosuki raised the Kiba blade high, triggering countless lightning strikes that covered all of Shisui's clones. Earth and rocks shattered, and lava splashed.
The three tomoe in Shisui's eyes spun. He took out all the kunai from his ninja bag, his hands moving so fast they left afterimages. Kunai tied with steel wires collided in mid-air and were accurately planted around Raiga Kurosuki.
Raiga Kurosuki acted as if he didn't see these kunai, putting all his effort into controlling the lightning to crush Shisui's clones, his eyes flashing with excitement.
"Die, die, die! Let's see how you escape now!" Enveloped in lightning armor, Raiga Kurosuki regained his confidence. He harnessed a large amount of lightning from the sky, pushing the power of his ninjutsu to a higher level.
Shisui dodged the attacks while throwing kunai, successfully completing his layout. Then, he pulled two of the taut steel wires, and the screeching sound of metal friction immediately rang out.
Snap!
The suddenly tightening steel wires bound Raiga Kurosuki tightly. The lightning around him was conducted through the wires into the ground, gradually dissipating.
"What?" Raiga Kurosuki was shocked. His arms were tied, and the Kiba blades were pressed against his body. The harder he struggled, the tighter the wires constricted. The blade of the Kiba blade cut his thigh, and blood flowed freely.
As the lightning dissipated, he lost his Lightning Armor defense and was exposed before Shisui.
"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu."
Shisui did not rashly approach. After putting some distance between them, he quickly formed hand signs and spat out dragon-shaped flames that traveled along the steel wires straight toward Raiga Kurosuki.
"Damn it, break for me!"
Raiga Kurosuki struggled desperately, the steel wires embedding deep into his flesh. He turned his wrists with difficulty, the Kiba blades grinding against the wires, finally snapping two of them.
His forearms gained freedom. Raiga Kurosuki was ecstatic. The Kiba blades emitted a dazzling white light, and countless bolts of lightning appeared out of thin air, spinning and converging into a hideous giant dragon. It smashed through the Dragon Fire Jutsu and enveloped Shisui without any hesitation.
"Hey, your companion is about to die. Aren't you going to save him?" Fuguki Suikazan grinned widely. Not gaining any advantage in the fight, he tried to distract Makiya with words to create an opening.
However, the slap in the face came very quickly. Shisui, who was hit by the lightning, vanished in a puff of white smoke. Behind Raiga Kurosuki, white smoke simultaneously appeared, and Shisui stabbed his short blade into Raiga Kurosuki's heart.
The short blade twisted, completely shattering the heart. Blood kept gushing from the wound. Raiga Kurosuki's eyes widened. He dropped the Kiba blades and clutched his chest, but it was all in vain. The strength in his body quickly vanished, his eyes wide open, dying with grievances.
"How is this possible..." Fuguki Suikazan had a look like he'd seen a ghost, his mind full of question marks.
While the others couldn't see clearly, Makiya, who also had his three-tomoe Sharingan active, saw everything.
Shisui first used the Body Flicker Clone Jutsu to hide a Shadow Clone to replace his main body, while the main body transformed into a kunai. He used the Shurikenjutsu to guide the lightning to break the defense, while simultaneously using Genjutsu to hide the kunai-transformed body as it landed near the enemy. Combined with the cover of the Fire Style, it was a one-hit kill.
Before awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, Shisui was always a tactical ninja—in common terms, he fought with his brain.
"You dare to get distracted while fighting me?" Makiya waved the flames, turning them into tentacles that wrapped around Fuguki Suikazan's right hand from behind. The scorching fire spread, and the smell of charred meat filled the air.
"Ah!" Fuguki Suikazan cried out in pain. Samehada spewed a large amount of water to extinguish the fire, but it was too late; his right hand was severely burned.
Samehada immediately fed back a surge of chakra. White smoke rose from the burned right hand as cells divided rapidly, and tender new flesh grew under the charred skin.
"Phew... thank goodness for you." Fuguki Suikazan patted Samehada's head in relief. Samehada's large head nudged him, looking listless.
If his right hand was destroyed, he wouldn't be able to form hand signs, and his strength would be greatly reduced. Fortunately, Samehada could consume chakra to stimulate cell regeneration and heal wounds.
But after repeatedly recovering from injuries and clashing with large-scale ninjutsu, even Samehada's stored chakra was nearing its limit. Fuguki Suikazan had an illusion that the opponent was deliberately draining his chakra.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"
"Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
Flames filling the sky struck again. Fuguki Suikazan had nowhere to hide and could only use Water Style to completely negate it. He knew that once open flames were left on the battlefield, the opponent would manipulate them, making them impossible to guard against.
Makiya's eyes narrowed slightly, feeling that the time was about right.
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