Han crouched low, his knees bent. His armor emitted a piercing screech as steam billowed from special vents across his body. The ground beneath him shattered, and a deep-red figure shot into the sky.
"Boil Style: Unrivaled Strength."
In one breath, he raised his chakra to the boiling point, his physical strength surging massively in an instant. His fist tore through the air, expanding in Makiya's vision.
"Heh, barbarian."
Flames scattered behind Makiya. Like the nozzles of a booster rocket, the blazing fire shot toward the sky. The immense thrust transformed him into a meteor, plummeting toward the earth.
The flaming longsword clashed with the fist. An intense white light brewed between the two before violently exploding. A shockwave, mixed with golden flames and steam, rapidly expanded.
The collapsed cliff was devastated once again. Rubble was blown into the sky by the steam, passing through the golden flames and turning into lava.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Two figures shuttled across the earth. The fire blade and steam-powered iron fist collided countless times. Each impact was like an aerial bomb exploding, further ravaging the already battered battlefield and hollowing out the ground.
Makiya was fast, but Han, shrouded in high-temperature steam, was just as quick. Their figures briefly overlapped before separating in another violent explosion.
Han flew backward, his legs digging deep into the soil. Because the explosion had softened the ground, his legs plowed two long, narrow furrows, only coming to a stop at the very edge of the battlefield.
"Such hot fire. A truly terrifying enemy."
Han extended his arms. His full-coverage gauntlets were charred black. This was despite him using high-speed steam mixed with chakra to coat his body. The temperature of the opponent's flames was extraordinarily high; if he continued to clash like this, he wouldn't gain any advantage.
However...
Golden flames swept across the battlefield. Makiya swung his longsword, slashing downward.
Han dropped onto all fours. Dark red Tailed Beast chakra seeped from his body, enveloping both his flesh and armor. Five thick tails grew from behind him, swaying back and forth.
"I am a Jinchuriki, you Uchiha brat! Die!"
Han let out a non-human roar and vanished the moment Makiya's blade fell.
'A partial Tailed Beast transformation? He's gotten faster!' Makiya's blade hit nothing. The three tomoe in his Sharingan spun continuously, a massive amount of ocular power echoing in his mind as his dynamic vision was pushed to the limit.
"Found you!" A red shadow was caught in the corner of Makiya's vision. He leapt into the air, swinging his longsword in the same motion.
CLANG!
The flaming blade clashed with the claws. Golden flames and Tailed Beast chakra eroded and neutralized each other.
Han was shocked and beat a hasty retreat.
'What's going on? My speed clearly exceeds his.'
"It's those eyes!" The voice of Kokuo, the Five-Tails, echoed in Han's heart.
"Eyes? It's just a three-tomoe. It's not like I haven't killed an Uchiha with the three-tomoe before." Han looked directly into Makiya's eyes, completely fearless.
Jinchuriki were not afraid of genjutsu. Shinobi and Tailed Beasts could send chakra to each other to break control. Only Mangekyo-level genjutsu would be effective.
"Those eyes... something is wrong." Kokuo's voice was extremely solemn. "Han, be careful. There's something strange about him."
Makiya's eyes sent Kokuo's thoughts drifting back to the era before the Warring States period. He seemed so much like that person... It shook its head, inwardly mocking the impossibility.
This was the first time Han had heard Kokuo speak in such a tone. He felt a bit irritable; he was short-tempered by nature. Since he couldn't figure it out, he would just throw a punch!
The deep-red beast struck again. Makiya was not a high-speed ninja who traversed space like Minato after all, and his speed was gradually falling behind. However, his eyes saw everything clearly; Han's movements had nowhere to hide.
Makiya blocked with the sword in his right hand while condensing a blade in his left to slash behind him. The next second, a dark red tail appeared where there had been nothing, only to be pinned to the ground by the blade.
The armor wrapped in the Tailed Beast Cloak was very hard. With the flaming longsword in his right hand locking Han's arm, Makiya delivered a flying kick to Han's broad chest. The dark red beast used the momentum to fly backward, taking the opportunity to pull away.
The opponent's eyes could predict attacks. Han prepared to release a Tailed Beast Bomb.
Thump, thump, squelch, thump!
Crashing through rocks and trees all the way, Han suddenly heard a strange sound. He stabbed his hands into the ground to stop his body. Looking up, he saw that his Tailed Beast Cloak was covered in blood.
"Lord Han!"
A group of ninjas from the Explosion Corps appeared in the woods. The forced march had left them gasping for breath. Just as they arrived at the battlefield, two unlucky souls were instantly crushed by the partially transformed Han.
"Lord Han actually activated this mode? Just who is the enemy?"
"Damn it, even Lord Han..."
"Shut up! Get far away!" Han roared. He crouched down like a beast, his dark red jaws opening wide as a massive surge of chakra erupted.
Buzz!
The air vibrated. A purple light sphere condensed in front of Han's bloody maw. Countless dark red and azure chakra spheres merged into it, and the purple sphere grew larger and larger.
The Tailed Beast Bomb!
Makiya recognized this move. Minato's inspiration for the Rasengan came from this. High-density Tailed Beast chakra was mixed and compressed at a ratio of 2:8 (Yin to Yang), forming a dark purple energy ball of terrifying power. It was the ultimate secret technique of the Tailed Beasts.
The surrounding Iwagakure Explosion Corps ninjas looked at each other and began to retreat desperately, wishing their parents had given them two more legs.
Lord Han was actually using the Tailed Beast Bomb. This battle was no longer something they could intervene in. Weak shinobi didn't even have the right to spectate; only by staying far away from the battlefield could they survive.
Makiya rose into the air and pressed his hands together. A hundred-meter-long flaming sword instantly condensed above his head, whistling toward Han's position.
The power of the Tailed Beast Bomb was immense. He wasn't sure if he could withstand it. The best way was to prevent him from firing it. In the partial transformation state, it took a significant amount of time to condense the Tailed Beast Bomb.
The longsword struck the ground. Golden flames spread, the soil melted, and the earth split open.
Two seconds later, a terrifying surge erupted. It was as if a second sun had risen from beneath the earth. The brilliant light sphere illuminated the land, resembling Hiroshima in '45.
BOOM!
The golden flames were scattered by the massive amount of chakra. A giant shockwave spread in all directions. Makiya brandished his longsword and quickly dove deep underground to escape the continuous impact.
In the distance, on the broken cliff.
With a clatter, the kunai in Hamaki Mimura's hand slipped and hit the ground.
"This kind of... jutsu? Is this really ninjutsu?" Swallowing hard, Hamaki Mimura's expression was dazed. Faced with the ultimate secret technique of a Tailed Beast, the ninjutsu released by ordinary shinobi seemed like children's play.
"Let's retreat a bit further."
"Is Lord Makiya... still alive?" a subordinate nearby asked softly.
The shockwave expanded rapidly. In just a few seconds, it reached the broken cliff, sweeping up the entire forest connecting to the precipice and hurling it into the sky. With the forest acting as a buffer, the shockwave quickly weakened.
Hamaki Mimura and the others clung desperately to tree trunks to avoid being blown away by the gale. When the turmoil finally subsided, they looked out to see the forest in disarray. Below the shattered cliff, a massive crater had appeared.
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