It looked like a massive wooden Buddha, yet the power radiating from it was far beyond anything Red Hulk could comprehend.
At first, he could still swing his fists, smashing the giant palms crashing toward him.
But as the number of strikes multiplied and their force grew stronger, Red Hulk had no choice but to go on the defensive.
His body was battered beneath the countless blows until he finally crashed to the ground, curling up with his arms shielding his head.
But the strikes never stopped.
The relentless barrage made his arms ache so badly that they dropped helplessly to his sides.
Then the blows hammered his chest, his face, his arms, his legs.
Every inch of him became the target of Senju Haruto's True Several Thousand Hands.
The inhuman assault lasted several long minutes without pause.
By the end, Red Hulk was on the verge of death, his gamma energy completely drained.
Only then did the True Several Thousand Hands begin to subside.
Yet Red Hulk's form was far smaller than Uchiha Madara's colossal Susanoo.
And unlike the Nine-Tails, he had no tailed beast to absorb the damage for him.
By the time the massive Buddha stopped, dozens of wooden hands still clung to his back, preventing him from mustering any strength.
Exhausted, Red Hulk's body rapidly shrank, reverting before their eyes into General Ross.
His military uniform had been torn to shreds during his transformation. Now only a pair of shorts clung to him, their elasticity long gone.
Looking down at Ross sprawled on the floor, Senju Haruto couldn't help but grumble to himself.
The underwear in the Marvel universe really must be made of something else.
But Haruto had no intention of killing Ross outright.
He had considered it—ending Ross here and having White Zetsu impersonate him to issue commands within the military.
But on second thought, Ross, with the Chief's help, could transform into Red Hulk. That alone made him a valuable force.
Killing him now would be a waste.
It would be far better to use the genjutsu of Kotoamatsukami, seizing Ross completely and turning him into a puppet under his control.
Having someone with authority in the military could prove invaluable for Haruto's upcoming plans.
With that thought, Haruto abandoned his earlier idea. Forming a one-handed seal, he flicked a crow from his sleeve.
Thanks to his system rewards, he now possessed the most perfect Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Stronger even than Shisui's Kotoamatsukami.
And besides, Susanoo required two matching Mangekyō eyes to activate. There was no need for him to keep Shisui's eye implanted in his body at all times.
So, like Uchiha Itachi, Haruto had placed Kotoamatsukami within a crow, to be released when necessary.
The drawback was that, without Hashirama's cells, the cooldown period for the technique couldn't be shortened—it would remain more than a decade.
"Still," Haruto muttered under his breath, "I always thought Danzo's Kotoamatsukami on Mifune felt different from the one Itachi used to free himself from Kabuto's Edo Tensei."
Since crossing into this merged world of Naruto and Marvel, he no longer had the chance to review the original series. His memory of certain details was hazy.
He only vaguely recalled that Danzo's control over Mifune had lasted for a time, but it hadn't been a complete rewriting of his will.
"Whatever. No point overthinking it now."
Shaking his head, Haruto strode toward Ross.
The general was half-conscious, lifting his head to look up at Haruto.
There was no fear in his eyes now—no dread, no despair.
He believed Haruto would not spare him.
He was certain he would be killed here.
And as a soldier who had fought in countless battles, he felt his story was ready to end.
A fitting close.
"Kill me."
Ross's voice rasped out, rough and broken.
"I've always wanted to eliminate you, Haruto," he admitted, "but I have to say… dying at your hand isn't something to be ashamed of."
"Do it."
On screen, Ross often came across as stubborn, unable to accept that Banner—or Hulk—could ever be called a hero, or that such beings could come and go as they pleased.
But in truth, he was a hardened man.
And in this moment, facing death with dignity, he had no regrets.
"What if I gave you a chance to live?"
Haruto smiled faintly at the look on Ross's face.
Without waiting for a reply, he cast a healing spell, mending Ross's injuries and even easing his exhaustion.
Ross's eyes widened in disbelief.
What was Haruto playing at?
Hadn't he stormed in here with the sole intent of killing him?
Why heal him?
Was this some kind of twisted cruelty—restore him just to cut him down again?
As Ross wrestled with his confusion, the crow perched on Haruto's shoulder gave a sudden, piercing cry.
The sound drew Ross's gaze at once.
He froze, staring as his eyes locked on the crimson Sharingan spinning in the bird's socket.
The pattern was different, but he could feel it—this eye was kin to the ones in Haruto's own face.
Before he could make sense of what it meant, the strongest genjutsu of them all was unleashed.
Kotoamatsukami.
The crow's Mangekyō dissolved, reverting to its three-tomoe state.
Ross, meanwhile, sat there blankly, his expression hollow.
Haruto observed quietly, waiting.
Without Hashirama's cells, the cooldown for Kotoamatsukami was more than a decade—unless he implanted the eye back into himself. Otherwise, this was a once-in-a-lifetime cast for now.
"Come to think of it, I've never really seen what happens when Kotoamatsukami changes someone's will."
In the original story, it had only been shown twice.
Once when Danzo used it on Mifune—looking no different from standard genjutsu control.
And once when Itachi overrode Kabuto's Edo Tensei—a very different use altogether.
So what would happen now?
Would Ross suddenly worship him beyond reason?
"Haruto."
Ross suddenly straightened, his eyes clear, his entire demeanor transformed.
"You're right."
Haruto: "???"
He blinked, utterly baffled. He hadn't said a word.
Was this also part of Kotoamatsukami? Did it make Ross imagine words that had never been spoken?
Or had the genjutsu shown him visions beyond Haruto's knowledge?
"Before, I only thought of strengthening the nation," Ross continued. "I believed making America stronger was the greatest duty—that this country was humanity's beacon."
"But now… I see how shallow that was."
"Our true path…"
"…is to the stars and the sea of the cosmos!"
...
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