Shiki stood there with a calm smile on his face.
Pshhh!
Lava poured over him in an instant.
"Hm? Is he underestimating me—damn it, is this the defensive power Iwagakure and Kumogakure were afraid of?" Mei Terumī's eyes twitched.
She watched as Shiki stood beneath the lava without the slightest change in expression.
Even his clothes remained completely undamaged.
He was unharmed.
Not a single burn.
What kind of joke was this?
Was this really the body of a human?
At this point, even the hide of a Tailed Beast might not be tougher than him.
Whoosh!
Before Mei Terumī could continue her attack, a figure suddenly appeared behind Shiki.
Hikari!
The thin sword came crashing down with enough force to sever everything in its path.
The blade struck Shiki directly on the neck.
Boom!
But the smug look on Hikari's face did not last long.
Because...
Crack!
The blade suddenly trembled violently before splitting apart in countless parts.
Hikari froze, completely dumbfounded.
Shiki only glanced back at him with a faint smile.
Then he flicked him away and slammed him into the ground with a single punch.
The moment Hikari was flattened, Mero descended from above, swinging his sword down with both hands.
But before the blade could even touch Shiki, the Blastsword wrapped in exploding tags was caught barehanded.
Mero reacted instantly and detonated the exploding tags on Shibuki.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The force of a single exploding tag was comparable to an ordinary B-rank ninjutsu.
If they were not so expensive, and if their destructive force could properly stack, most ninja probably would not even bother learning ninjutsu.
Among the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist, the Blastsword: Shibuki was known for having the greatest destructive power.
Except—
"Exploding tags?" Shiki's laughter rang out from inside the blast. "How many can you even stick onto one sword? If you want to make it worth my time, at least dig a pit and bury a million of them in there first!"
Mero's expression changed.
In the next instant, a monstrous force surged through the blade.
Shiki swung his arm as casually as a child throwing away a toy, hurling Mero and the Blastsword: Shibuki straight into Zabuza, who had just been about to attack.
Crack!
The sound of breaking bones echoed from both of them.
Mero and Zabuza spat out blood at the same time as they were sent flying.
Roar!
Off to the side, the Six-Tails Jinchūriki had completely transformed.
The slug-like form of the Six-Tails appeared before everyone.
It let out a roar as a black sphere slowly formed in its mouth.
A Tailed Beast Ball.
Unlike the Fourth Mizukage, who was known as a perfect Jinchūriki, Utakata could not fully control his Tailed Beast, much less release a Tailed Beast Ball at will.
This was a gamble.
He had taken it because ordinary attacks clearly could not break through Shiki's defense.
Whether by luck or desperation, he actually succeeded.
"It seems my luck—"
"Your luck isn't very good."
Shiki's voice rang out from above his head.
Utakata froze and looked up.
Shiki was standing on top of the Six-Tails' head, smiling down at him.
"You—!"
Utakata panicked for a moment, but as a young ninja, he forced himself to calm down almost immediately.
If he could release a Tailed Beast Ball, then maybe he could control more of the Six-Tails' power.
Maybe he could still fight.
The Six-Tails was a Tailed Beast.
A weapon of war.
If he could control its power, then even he could reach the level of a Kage.
He still had a chance.
Just as Utakata's thoughts began to steady, Shiki's amused voice came from above.
"Do you know why you were able to release a Tailed Beast Ball?"
"Huh?"
Utakata was stunned.
Given his age, his control over the Six-Tails was not especially high.
Normally, being able to maintain a partial Tailed Beast transformation was already impressive.
But today…
Not only had he fully transformed into the Six-Tails, he had even managed to condense a Tailed Beast Ball.
"It's simple," Shiki said with a smile.
"You only improved this much because the Six-Tails is cooperating with you."
Utakata's pupils shrank.
"If it weren't helping you, you would have suffered a backlash long ago."
Shiki's smile deepened.
"But can you really not figure out why the Six-Tails is being so obedient right now?"
Utakata froze.
Then, almost without thinking, he asked, "Why?"
Shiki laughed.
Then he slammed his fist coated in Armament Haki, down into the Six-Tails' head.
Roar!
The Six-Tails let out a cry of pain.
The incomplete Tailed Beast Ball was forcibly interrupted.
Shiki did not stop.
His fists fell one after another.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Six-Tails' massive body was hammered into the ground punch by punch.
The earth shattered beneath it.
A giant crater spread outward, growing deeper with every blow.
From the outside, one could barely see the Six-Tails' enormous body anymore.
Its entire form had been beaten down into the pit.
"It's a simple reason."
Shiki stood on the Six-Tails' head and grinned.
"Because it's afraid I might accidentally beat it to death."
"So it's using you Kirigakure ninja to buy itself even the smallest chance of survival."
A Tailed Beast being afraid of getting beaten to death.
If anyone else had said those words, no one would have believed them.
But now…
Mei Terumī, Mero, Zabuza, and the others stared at Shiki's undamaged body and terrifying physical strength, their expressions bitter.
None of them could laugh.
Because at this moment, Shiki's words sounded terrifyingly believable.
And Shiki himself was not joking.
Everyone knew that Tailed Beasts possessed immense chakra, but their growth was extremely slow.
Or rather, they barely had any room to grow at all.
After being sealed for so long and having their chakra drained again and again, the fact that they could still maintain their strength was already a miracle.
From the era of the Sage of Six Paths to the present day, the Tailed Beasts had only accumulated power on the level of Kage-class monsters through time and their unique nature.
Their progress was slow.
Painfully slow.
But while Tailed Beasts grew slowly, that did not mean their Jinchūriki were the same.
By killing Utakata, Shiki would also be killing the Tailed Beast within him and gaining the points that came with it.
As that thought passed through Shiki's mind, a faint trace of malice leaked from him.
And the Six-Tails sensed it.
If Shiki's skill, Primal Instinct, was like the instinct of a wild beast, then the Six-Tails itself was a true beast.
It sensed danger immediately.
That was why it had chosen to cooperate with Utakata and attack Shiki together.
Unfortunately…
A short while later, Shiki smiled.
He lowered his gaze to his feet.
Utakata had already lost consciousness, his massive Tailed Beast form collapsing back into his human body.
Then Shiki looked toward Mei Terumī.
She stood there with despair in her eyes, her strength almost completely drained.
During this period, Shiki had not had many ways to gain experience points.
The little he gained from daily training, from destroying leaves and trees, could not compare to the rewards brought by war.
"What use is your resistance?" Shiki said, looking down at Utakata, who was still staring at him with faint resentment.
"You were the ones who surrounded me."
His voice remained calm.
"You came here to get rid of me without even knowing what I was planning to do."
Shiki's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So don't look at me like you're the victim now."
Swish.
Shiki raised his sword.
Without the slightest hesitation, he brought it down.
Utakata's head was severed cleanly.
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