Chapter 177: Bursting Katsuyu's Stomach
Endless black particles surged skyward with Yuto at the center.
However, since Yuto was currently inside Katsuyu's body, these rising black particles stopped when they hit the slug's flesh walls, then spread outward in all directions.
From Yuto's perspective, his surroundings had become an ocean of black particles.
The Ajin Flood Phenomenon, also known as the "Flat" phenomenon.
This occurs when an Ajin's consciousness enters a special state.
Hidden in the shadows, Uchiha Madara couldn't help but frown.
The combined attack just now had been a sure-kill strike while Yuto was defenseless. Even with Yuto's terrifying absorption ability, he couldn't absorb all the attacks at once.
Although Yuto possessed immortality, his body lacked powerful regenerative abilities—this intel had been confirmed during their previous battles.
As long as Yuto was injured, Madara's chances of victory would increase several times over, especially since Yuto had nowhere to escape here.
"He's hiding other powers? To actually repel all four shadows at once."
Madara thought to himself, though his expression remained calm.
It was normal for Yuto to have hidden trump cards. It would be stranger if he had none.
Since they had already made their move, there was no need to hold back. After all, opportunities like this might never come again.
Madara emerged from the shadows, rushing directly toward Yuto.
Simultaneously, his Rinnegan glowed faintly as he controlled the remaining four shadows to attack Yuto again.
But the moment Madara moved, he felt a strange energy surrounding his entire body.
So this is the force that repelled my shadows?
*Outside!*
Katsuyu's two giant eyes trembled slightly.
For the slug sage, this movement was minimal, but for Hashirama sitting atop her body, it was significant.
"Katsuyu, what's wrong? Is there a problem?" Hashirama asked with a puzzled expression.
Katsuyu remained silent for a moment before her soft voice entered Hashirama's ears:
"I underestimated these two. While they cannot resist my corrosive abilities, both may have methods to escape my body."
Hearing this, Hashirama paused, though he didn't look surprised—only letting out a soft sigh.
"I see. It seems both have grown much stronger than before."
"Madara and Yuto should be fighting inside your body now, correct?" Hashirama asked with certainty in his voice despite the questioning tone.
"Yes, these two youngsters have indeed begun fighting. That's how I can be certain both have escape methods," Katsuyu responded, causing a sharp glint to flash in Hashirama's eyes.
Madara's resurrection had disrupted Hashirama's original plans, but it seemed this wasn't entirely without benefits.
As Hashirama prepared to speak, Katsuyu's voice came again:
"Little Hashirama, I know what you want to say. The Rinnegan is the Six Paths Sage's eye—its threat is greater in my view."
Hashirama fell silent for a moment before speaking firmly:
"I believe Yuto is the greater threat!"
"Very well, I understand."
Hearing Hashirama's determined voice, Katsuyu spoke softly.
*Inside Katsuyu!*
Madara's eyes had grown grave. Though he didn't understand what was happening, there was no time to delay.
Limbo: Border Jail!
The four shadows attacked Yuto again.
Four violent forces crashed down simultaneously. Though Yuto was surrounded by dense black particles, even Madara's Rinnegan couldn't see these particles.
The shadows' attacks pierced through the black particles toward Yuto, as if the particles didn't exist.
Yuto suddenly realized—these black particles likely existed between the planes of reality and illusion.
On the other side, Madara moved simultaneously, approaching Yuto at extreme speed while his Susanoo expanded again. Thunderous lightning began crackling around the Susanoo's hands.
Splash!
Suddenly, a sound like flowing water rang in both Yuto and Madara's ears.
Corrosive liquid sprayed from every direction of Katsuyu's flesh walls, all converging toward Yuto.
Their expressions differed—Madara showed understanding; Hashirama clearly wanted to eliminate Yuto first.
Yuto's face turned ugly.
His worst fear had manifested!
Just as Yuto and Madara had teamed up against the weakest Hashirama, now the tables had turned.
Hashirama was using Madara's power to restrain Yuto while borrowing Katsuyu's strength to kill Yuto once more, then trap him permanently inside the slug's stomach.
As for Madara, he likely had the same idea.
When interests align, some things require no discussion.
Yuto's eyes turned sinister, emitting an icy aura.
Then—
Hiss! Hiss...!
Various subtle chaotic sounds suddenly appeared in Yuto's mind, along with faint sensations.
"You really think you've got me?"
Feeling the converging forces attacking him, Yuto's mouth split into a wide grin.
*"Come forth! Ghosts!"*
As Yuto's words fell—
Step!!
A ghost stepped out from the black particles!
Then ten... one hundred... one thousand... ten thousand...
In the blink of an eye, countless ghosts surged forth from the black particles existing between reality and illusion.
The moment these black ghosts appeared, they blocked Yuto's surroundings.
Madara and the four shadows' attacks all slammed into these suddenly manifested ghosts.
Facing Madara's attacks, the ghosts instantly dispersed into particles and vanished, but more ghosts immediately appeared to fill the gaps.
Before Madara could react, he found himself surrounded by countless ghosts.
Though Madara couldn't see the black particles, he could see the ghosts emerging from them.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Madara shouted, attempting to repel all nearby ghosts.
But as soon as the ghosts were shattered, more surged forward to replace them.
Madara's face showed astonishment, clearly confused about what was happening.
Not just Madara—even Yuto, the instigator, was somewhat stunned.
The Flood Phenomenon continued. With the first ghost's emergence, it was like a dam breaking—ghosts poured out endlessly.
Even as Katsuyu's corrosive liquids continuously destroyed the ghosts, their manifestation speed far exceeded the destruction rate.
Within moments, Katsuyu's stomach was filled with ghosts.
Both Madara and Yuto were completely compressed between the masses of ghosts.
*"Keep going!"*
Feeling the pressure from all sides, Yuto—while continuously absorbing the crushing force—spoke with bright eyes.
As if responding to his words, the Flood Phenomenon erupted again inside Katsuyu's stomach, and the ghost numbers increased several-fold.
In Yuto's eyes, massive amounts of black particles continuously attached to the summoned ghosts, constantly strengthening their physical forms.
Crack! Crack!
Under the pressure of countless ghosts, cracks began appearing on the Susanoo's surface, changing Madara's expression.
Madara also understood what Yuto intended to do!
*Outside!*
Katsuyu's body suddenly trembled, her two giant eyes swinging about.
Hashirama watched in shock, preparing to ask, when he saw Katsuyu's stomach rapidly expanding.
"What a bizarre ability!" Katsuyu's pained voice reached Hashirama, changing his expression.
Boom! Boom!
A massive muffled explosion erupted from Katsuyu!
Her stomach suddenly burst open, and dense black figures poured out from the ruptured abdomen.
Two familiar figures shot skyward in Hashirama's sight.
Madara looked somewhat disheveled, even with blood at the corner of his mouth. The pressure that burst Katsuyu's stomach had injured him as well.
Yuto beside him showed little physical change, only appearing mentally exhausted.
The Ajin Flood Phenomenon likely has a strong connection to mental strength.
Feeling the mental fatigue, Yuto landed on a tall rock, thinking to himself.
For unknown reasons, along with the mental exhaustion, the Flood Phenomenon on Yuto began to fade.
All the ghosts simultaneously turned to black particles and dispersed.
Katsuyu, with her burst stomach, began rapidly regenerating. However, her originally powerful aura had weakened significantly.
"My apologies, Little Hashirama. I'm afraid I cannot help you this time," Katsuyu's weak voice entered Hashirama's ears.
"Katsuyu has already helped immensely. Leave the rest to me."
Hashirama stood up with a solemn expression, his voice apologetic.
"With your current strength, you are no match for these two," Katsuyu said worriedly.
"This battle may not continue at all," Hashirama replied seriously, then added:
"Katsuyu, should Yuto ever be defeated, I hope you can seal him inside your body here, keeping him in the Shikkotsu Forest forever."
Hearing this, Katsuyu paused briefly before responding softly:
"Of course, though preferably dead."
Hashirama scratched his head, letting out a foolish grin, then his tone turned serious:
"Leave the rest to me."
Katsuyu nodded. She knew that every moment she remained here consumed massive amounts of Hashirama's chakra.
Katsuyu focused, and a meter-tall smaller slug appeared beneath Hashirama's feet, attaching to him to help rapidly heal his injuries from the initial battle.
"Be careful," Katsuyu whispered to Hashirama.
Simultaneously, Katsuyu's two large eyes glanced toward Yuto and Madara's location, flashing with an inexplicable light.
The next moment, Katsuyu dissolved into massive white smoke.
Unnoticed by anyone, in the instant before disappearing, Katsuyu's giant eyes revealed a shocked expression, as if sensing something unbelievable.
*Shikkotsu Forest!*
Accompanied by massive white smoke, Katsuyu reappeared in the Shikkotsu Forest—filled with dense natural energy and scattered rocks.
Katsuyu's two giant eyes held confusion and astonishment.
Just as she prepared to leave, she suddenly sensed an extremely hidden chakra in the void!
That chakra gave her a familiar feeling, yet she couldn't recall where or when she had sensed it before.
*The Battlefield.*
As Katsuyu vanished, Hashirama landed gracefully from the air, looking toward Yuto and Madara standing in two separate locations.
The three stood in a triangular formation, facing each other.
Yet a strange phenomenon existed among them.
The weakest Hashirama appeared completely at ease, while the stronger Madara and Yuto both wore cautious expressions.
The three silently observed each other, and for a moment, the air itself grew still.
---
Chapter 178: Three People, Each With Their Own Calculations
The silent atmosphere made the air itself feel frozen.
Hashirama gazed calmly at the two. Both Madara's resurrection and Yuto's escape from Katsuyu's stomach had surprised and frustrated him—developments had indeed strayed from his original plans.
However, the situation hadn't deteriorated completely.
Hashirama's peripheral vision first swept across the injured Madara, then glanced at Yuto beside him.
Though Yuto showed no obvious wounds, Hashirama could keenly sense that Yuto's aura had weakened.
Clearly, escaping Katsuyu's stomach hadn't been as simple as imagined.
Thinking this, Hashirama felt slightly relieved.
Madara's expression was somewhat ugly. He hadn't expected Yuto to have a solution even in that situation.
Now, the *tacit cooperative understanding* between him and Yuto had been destroyed. In this situation, even though Hashirama was currently the weakest party, Madara dared not act rashly.
Though there had been *tacit coordination* with Hashirama inside Katsuyu, that was merely because their interests had temporarily aligned.
Now it was different. While Hashirama usually appeared single-minded, he wasn't stupid.
Both he and Yuto had surpassed Hashirama in strength—meaning if either died, Hashirama couldn't resist the other.
The credibility between him and Yuto was now zero. As for teaming up with Hashirama against the other, Hashirama might not exert full effort then, making it even more dangerous.
This restriction frustrated Madara, yet left him helpless.
The plan cannot be delayed any longer—it must accelerate! Madara thought to himself.
Yuto, on the other hand, was currently furious!
He trusted neither Hashirama nor Madara.
Not only did Madara feel restricted, but Yuto felt the same.
Among the nine Tailed Beasts, excluding the Two-Tails (Matatabi) and Four-Tails (Son Goku), he had already gathered the chakra of seven.
As long as he absorbed the chakra of the remaining two beasts, he could fuse the power of all nine Tailed Beasts and master the Ten-Tails' chakra.
This power might not match a true Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, but mastering Six Paths-level strength would be no problem.
Yuto's greatest advantage was that neither Black Zetsu nor Madara knew he was collecting Tailed Beast chakra.
Yet he clearly knew what Madara planned to do. As long as Yuto possessed Tailed Beasts, Madara could never become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.
And by then, having mastered Six Paths-level strength, Yuto could easily eliminate both Madara and Hashirama.
Once these two were dead, no one in the entire shinobi world could stop him.
Yuto's eyes suddenly narrowed—perhaps there were two more.
Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto.
As the current reincarnations of Asura and Indra, these two weren't enough to make Yuto wary.
What truly concerned Yuto was the Six Paths Sage behind the Asura and Indra reincarnations.
This was also the most important reason Yuto hadn't killed Sasuke and Naruto. Before reaching Six Paths-level, Yuto didn't intend to provoke the Six Paths Sage.
However, Yuto naturally wasn't without preparations. Itachi Uchiha's eyes had already been transplanted into Nagato Uzumaki.
Unless Sasuke could reclaim his eyes, this so-called Indra reincarnation would be essentially crippled.
As for Naruto, the Asura reincarnation, he was somewhat troublesome to Yuto.
But only somewhat. After all, Yuto had been setting plans in motion on Naruto since the very beginning.
The three stood silently facing each other. Though their expressions remained unchanged, each plotted their own schemes.
As time passed, the atmosphere between them grew increasingly *subtle and charged*.
Hashirama reached up to scratch his hair, instantly attracting Yuto and Madara's attention.
"My resurrection time hasn't been as long as you two. If we're not fighting, I'll head back—I still have much to handle."
Hashirama looked at the two with a faint smile, speaking casually.
Hearing this, both Yuto and Madara's expressions darkened simultaneously, letting out cold snorts!
Though both knew the chances of continuing the battle were slim, Hashirama's casual tone displeased them both.
Especially Yuto. Clearly Konoha was the weakest party, yet the final beneficiary had become Hashirama.
Thinking this, Yuto turned his gaze to Madara, sneering coldly:
"Truly worthy of Konoha. Even as a missing-nin, you still care for the village."
"I heard that during the Valley of the End battle years ago, someone lost. Did you hold back? No, wait—I almost forgot. Someone who was beaten to death couldn't possibly have held back."
As Yuto's words rang out, Madara's face instantly darkened.
A terrifying aura suddenly erupted from Madara, crashing down toward Yuto.
Yuto maintained his faint smile, simultaneously erupting with an equally terrifying aura, crushing toward Madara.
Their auras collided continuously in the air, causing the atmosphere to hum with muffled vibrations.
Seeing this, Hashirama's casual expression vanished. His eyelid twitched slightly, his body tensing instinctively.
Yuto is provoking Madara!
It seemed Yuto wasn't satisfied with ending things here.
As for Madara, he likely harbored similar thoughts.
Thinking this, Hashirama began mobilizing his Senjutsu chakra.
For a moment, the originally suppressed atmosphere grew tense again.
Yuto's mouth held a cold sneer. Though his current condition wasn't optimal, the other two's conditions were likely similar.
Even if they fought again, there wasn't much downside for Yuto.
The worst-case scenario was Hashirama and Madara teaming up against him again, though this time Hashirama might not exert himself as fully as before.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh...!
At this moment, several breaking sounds suddenly reached the three's ears.
Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Might Guy, and other famous Konoha ninja appeared first in their sight.
Behind Tsunade and the others, numerous clan jounin and ANBU ninja rapidly approached from all directions of Konoha.
With several leaps, the Konoha forces landed behind Hashirama.
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