"A type of Dojutsu, perhaps?"
A slightly distorted, hoarse voice slowly emanated from that seemingly young neck.
But Uchiha Megumi, standing before him, not only showed no joy of victory but instead widened her eyes, gazing at the young man in front of her with an almost horrified expression.
The pale-skinned young man still stood calmly in place, but his neck was twisted more than a dozen times to the right, like a wrung-out cloth, even his cheek facing backward.
Yet, he still managed to speak as if nothing was wrong.
'What kind of monster is this?!'
This thought suddenly popped into Uchiha Megumi's mind.
However, after breaking free from this horrifying sensation, she did not pause immediately but decisively charged towards Yamishibai.
"Hiss––"
The dark blade sliced through the air, faintly revealing the dark red flames ignited from the blade's surface. The high-temperature Crimson Blade tore through the air, emitting sharp hissing sounds, its target directly the young man in front of her.
Almost at the same moment she moved, Yamishibai also moved.
His neck, twisted more than a dozen times, spun back to its original position like a windmill amidst a series of rapid 'cracks.' His entire neck seemed to have stretched a bit, then slapped back onto his chest.
Before Uchiha Megumi could reach him, a section of a dark, slender tube with a sharp, slanted tip suddenly slid out from his wide sleeve.
He lightly lifted it upward.
"Clang—!"
The collision between the dark blade and the dark tube unleashed a surge of destructive ripples. High-density air swept across the surrounding ground like a tidal wave, causing the soil beneath Yamishibai's feet to roll as if boiling, and he himself seemed to sink dozens of centimeters.
As early as these past seven years, Orochimaru had already completed the bloodline and objectification application of Senju cells, successfully integrating them into her bloodline. The powerful physique and massive Chakra characteristics possessed by the Senju bloodline were naturally partially absorbed by Uchiha Megumi, becoming a part of her formidable combat strength.
She could now also apply the monstrous strength technique that originally belonged solely to Tsunade.
However, the young man in front of her did not seem to be affected in the slightest by this heavy blow.
After taking Uchiha Megumi's full-force strike head-on, he stepped forward, the dark tube in his hand sparking against the dark blade, deflecting the blade's edge diagonally, allowing the exposed tip of the tube to thrust forward, accompanied by a fierce whistling sound.
"Hinokami Kagura: Scorching Sun Red Mirror!"
In this brief exchange, Megumi showed no intention of retreating. She actually withstood the thrusting tip of the tube and continuously swung two blades.
The ignited flames, like mirrors, tore open crimson cracks on both sides in a left-right symmetrical direction. The extremely high temperature even caused the surface of the dark blade to appear molten, like lava.
"Clang! Clang!"
However, at the moment she swung these two blades, her Mangekyo Sharingan couldn't help but narrow.
After two consecutive slashes, the opponent's weapon did not shift in the slightest.
This power...
The thought that flashed through her mind was instantaneous. Almost at the moment the opponent's tube tip was about to pierce her shoulder, Megumi had already ducked, and highly condensed Mangekyo ocular power suddenly poured into the opponent's eyes.
"Amaterasu"
"Stop!"
Under this angry roar, Yamishibai's movements noticeably paused for a moment, but then he instantly broke free.
However, this momentary shift in movement was already enough for Megumi to create distance between them.
Uchiha Megumi's Mangekyo Sharingan meticulously observed his every move, her apprehension growing even stronger.
'The duration of the Dojutsu is shorter than before.'
'Has he already developed some resistance after only one exposure?'
'If that's the case...'
The thoughts in the young girl's mind gradually settled.
In contrast, violent Chakra, like flames, surged from her body.
A gigantic figure, like a demon god, gradually formed along with the dark and profound ocular power, quickly bypassing the process from bones to muscles, donning a thick layer of armor overall. The long blade in its hand appeared vaguely ethereal, wrapped in dark flames that seemed to ignite from the depths of hell.
"Susanoo: Third Stage"
Unlike Uchiha Hikari's colossal physique, which was entirely accumulated from others' Chakra, Megumi's Susanoo, combining both Uchiha and Senju bloodlines, was noticeably smaller in size. However, the sharp horns attached to the Susanoo's armor surface, soaring skyward, gave off an even stronger sense of deterrence.
The young girl raised the dark blade in her hand, pointing it forward.
Consequently, the Susanoo outside her body also raised its giant blade, whose tip alone exceeded the size of an ordinary person's body.
It was aimed directly at Yamishibai.
"Oh?"
The pale young man gazed at this suddenly burgeoning dark demon god, and the curiosity in his Byakugan immediately intensified.
"Projection... is it?"
He was becoming increasingly interested in these new things that these lower beings had stumbled upon and developed from the essence of Chakra.
It seemed that the one worth paying attention to was not just that one guy.
While Uchiha Megumi was engaging Yamishibai, the surrounding Konoha Ninja were not all just watching.
They indeed had no direct influence on this level of combat.
However, they still had things they could do.
A team after team of Anbu Sealing Squad Ninja, led by various Sensor Ninja, arrived in batches at pre-arranged locations, unrolled their scrolls, and jointly performed hand seals using a combined Ninjutsu method.
If one were to look down from a high vantage point at this moment, they would see that these Ninja had already formed a encirclement around Megumi and Yamishibai.
With the center of the battlefield as the core, a super-large combined seal was deployed at ten points on the outer perimeter.
From their positions, they could even clearly see the aftershocks stirred up at the center of the battlefield.
However, everyone maintained full concentration on their Ninjutsu, not a single person averting their gaze.
"We ordinary people are truly underestimated."
Orochimaru stood on the Hokage Building, looking at the Ōtsutsuki youth through sensing Ninjutsu—a youth who clearly possessed the Byakugan and could clearly see the surrounding movements—and murmured with emotion.
However, from the slight curve of his lips, his mood at this moment seemed to be precisely the opposite of his words.
Minato, standing beside him, couldn't help but inwardly complain.
If even you are considered an ordinary person, then what are we?
Nevertheless, he still asked earnestly, "Orochimaru-sama, are we not making our move yet?"
"Wait a little longer."
Orochimaru continued to quietly watch the images transmitted by the sensing Ninjutsu, his voice gentle: "Based on the conclusions Kiri and I deduced, the Ōtsutsuki Clan's ability to perceive danger is extremely keen."
"By the time the barrier is almost complete, it should be about time..."
He was halfway through his sentence when his golden snake-like eyes suddenly narrowed.
In his sensory vision, the small figure, who had been leisurely dealing with Susanoo as if strolling, suddenly turned his head towards the outer perimeter.
Orochimaru's voice immediately shifted from relaxed to urgent:
"Minato! Sakumo!"
"Yes!"
Almost the instant he heard the voice, Namikaze Minato realized something was wrong.
He immediately grabbed Sakumo, who was quietly watching nearby, and vanished from the spot.
"A boring trick."
Yamishibai's voice remained as calm and composed as if he were taking a stroll. He merely shifted his foot to the side, and his figure suddenly flashed more than ten meters away.
The giant blade, ignited with dark flames, was surprisingly fast despite its immense size, whistling with a violent gust of wind as it landed on the ground where Yamishibai had just stood.
The heavy blade, with wind aiding the fire, shattered dozens of meters of ground in front of it, carving a deep gully and causing large sections of the earth to crumble.
The instant this blade fell, Uchiha Megumi's movements did not pause in the slightest. Like a massive human tank, she roared as she piloted Susanoo and crashed towards him.
It was as if she intended to crush him there using Susanoo's immense size and Third Stage defense.
However, Yamishibai merely raised his hand forward.
"Boom—!"
The raging wind howled, tearing through dozens of meters of dust in front of him, like an air cannon, smashing open circles of stone-shattering, water-rippling waves within the visible range of this distance.
However, that massive figure abruptly froze before the small young man, and even the terrifying impact, like a collapsing mountain, split to both sides along his rock-solid palm, tearing up large sections of dirt behind Yamishibai.
The young man's pale palm remained in a forward-pushing motion, then he lightly clapped forward.
"Thud!"
Within that seemingly light movement, there seemed to be an impact powerful enough to tear the sky. An explosive force erupted violently within this short distance, actually causing a circular, penetrating hole to bloom on the surface of the dark Susanoo armor.
Under the immense force, Uchiha Megumi felt her entire body being pulled by a storm, retreating at high speed. Her figure tumbled and crashed into the armory behind her, crushing large sections of factory buildings and walls, stirring up swirling dust.
Yamishibai glanced at her, then turned away, seeming a little bored.
The direction he faced was precisely a barrier node.
Just then, Uchiha Megumi seemed to suddenly receive some news through her earpiece. She didn't even care about her aching body, scrambling up from the rubble and pointing her Mangekyo Sharingan directly at Yamishibai's location:
"Stop!"
Yamishibai's brow suddenly furrowed.
Immediately after, as if discovering something, he swept his Byakugan to another spot beside him.
"Clang—!"
Amidst the howling hurricane, two figures, appearing out of thin air, suddenly stood on either side of him, maintaining a charging posture.
Namikaze Minato and Sakumo, one holding a Kunai, the other a short blade.
Space and Wind Release Chakra fluctuations wrapped around the weapons in their hands.
Their target was his brain.
Their eyes were filled with killing intent.
However, facing this almost certain-kill situation by the three of them, Yamishibai, briefly frozen in place, merely watched quietly.
He slightly tilted his head.
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
Minato and Sakumo's pupils had already constricted to a single point an instant before these sounds rang out, staring blankly at the scene before them.
Both the Kunai and the short blade, in that brief struggle, had simultaneously struck the bone armor covering half of his head, like a helmet.
Then, two crisp sounds rang out.
'How could it be this hard?!'
This thought suddenly flashed through Minato's mind.
However, his ultra-high-speed neural reaction left him no time to continue thinking. He instantly raised his other hand, blocking his abdomen.
"Thud—!"
Two heavy blows sounded almost like one continuous impact to outsiders.
In less than a second just now, this seemingly small young man had already broken free from the Mangekyo Dojutsu's restriction and delivered a punch and a kick.
The next moment, Minato and Sakumo's figures shot out in two directions, one after another, like thrown shuriken.
They were so fast they were almost afterimages.
"Hmm?"
However, Yamishibai seemed to sense something, looking an extra glance in Minato's direction, his gaze seemingly carrying a hint of surprise.
Namikaze Minato struggled to stand up, the arm he used to block already fractured at the forearm under the immense force.
But a smile of unknown meaning played on his face.
"Retreat!"
The moment this command fell, both the fallen Uchiha Megumi and the almost immobile Sakumo activated a piece of paper they carried.
Suddenly, the three figures simultaneously vanished from their spots.
Yamishibai looked into the distance, then suddenly narrowed his eyes.
He decisively took a step, charging directly towards one of the nodes.
But the next moment, roars echoed from all four directions almost simultaneously.
"Barrier: Four Red Yang Formation!"
Highly condensed Chakra erupted simultaneously from four points, forming a gigantic, dark-red barrier that suddenly enveloped a large area of soil centered around this Konoha armory.
Faintly, one could also see the Tailed Beast Chakra glow around Kushina.
Yamishibai's expression finally showed a hint of seriousness. He fiercely clenched his small hand and slammed it towards one side of the barrier.
The sudden burst of turbulent wind, like a tsunami, engulfed dozens of meters of ground in front of him, striking the barrier surface of the Four Red Yang Formation on one side with a direct air impact.
A massive indentation immediately appeared on the dark-red barrier wall.
However, it still stood firm.
Watching this scene, Orochimaru's face finally revealed a smile of a successful scheme.
Immediately after, strong Chakra reactions, appearing deep and dark, erupted from the various pre-arranged Sealing Squad barrier points.
The lengthy hand seal process was finally complete.
The Sealing Squad members located in all eight directions simultaneously completed the final seal, shouting in unison:
"Super Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique!"
The next moment, eight dark traces extending from different points simultaneously pointed towards Yamishibai's location, leaving a heavy stroke on the ground.
"Om—!"
Amidst this dull hum, the eight dark sealing traces, connected with the gigantic Four Red Yang Formation, together formed a colossal hemisphere.
It engulfed everything.