~ 💎 WEEKLY POWER GOALS 💎🔥 60→1ch | 100→2ch | 200→5ch ⏰ Resets Monday! Thanks!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!
The massive water sphere suspended above Sasuke's head, gurgling and churning, crashed into the White Zetsu front line with a roaring torrent. Explosions of water erupted one after another, lasting a full five minutes before finally subsiding.
Sasuke didn't expect this to kill many. He only hoped to slightly blunt the White Zetsu's advance.
The mist-choked earth was carpeted with Zetsu limbs. Using his Byakugan for a rough estimate, Sasuke guessed that aside from those blasted to nothingness, these remains could be pieced together into roughly three thousand White Zetsu.
"The payoff is smaller than I imagined… The later explosions were likely blocked by their Wood Release."
CRACKLE—!
Sure enough, from the swaying forest shadows, the White Zetsu army surged forth, trampling over the remains of their kin like a tidal wave. The colossal Gedo Statue was nowhere to be seen, completely swallowed by the Zetsus' stretched battle line.
Sasuke's brow furrowed deeply. Fighting Obito had drained over half his chakra. Even if he could hold off 100,000 White Zetsu alone, it wouldn't last long.
But… he had chosen to see this through for a reason. He had a plan to break this deadlock.
CLAP!
He brought his hands together sharply before his chest.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!!
A forest erupted forth without regard for cost, roots and branches tangling, rolling out in a crushing wave.
The White Zetsu, pooling the power of tens of thousands, also unleashed their own Wood Release. The scale was earth-shaking.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!! Two magnificent forests clashed across the landscape, fighting for every inch of ground…!!
The debris left by Obito's earlier Chibaku Tensei became a casualty in this war of ten thousand trees, ground into dust…!!
Nearly a thousand White Zetsu were caught between the grinding woods, crushed into white paste that oozed from the cracks between trunks. No blood painted the scene, yet it was unspeakably brutal.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!
As the Zetsu reinforcements arrived, the stalemate broke. Sasuke's forest began to falter. It was uprooted, swallowed in sections, and driven relentlessly back.
The skeletal ribcage of the Susano'o stood defiant against the crushing tide of trees, groaning and creaking under the strain. Holding its ground was the limit; there was no room to fight back.
GUSH! GUSH! GUSH!
White Zetsu burrowed underground and erupted from inside the Susano'o's protective frame, charging wildly.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! Sasuke's Kusanagi sword danced like rain, harvesting the Zetsu that got too close. But for every one he cut down, ten more took its place. An endless tide.
From atop the Gedo Statue, Obito watched coldly. "This suicidal style… it's not like you, Sasuke. How long can your chakra possibly hold out?"
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!—!!!
Beneath the Susano'o, amidst ten thousand trees, a mountain of White Zetsu corpses piled up.
But compared to the ocean of Zetsu, it was a drop in the bucket.
Fortunately, the path into the Susano'o's interior was now blocked by the mound of Zetsu bodies. The ones outside couldn't find a way in for the moment.
Obito's gaze darkened. "Such a pest. Still… if capturing Sasuke means we can force Orochimaru to hand over the Nine-Tails… then the necessary sacrifices are worth it."
KRRRK—!! The Gedo Statue opened its maw, gathering a Tailed Beast Ball. It aimed directly at that flash of purple amidst the Zetsu horde and fired.
KABOOOOOOOOOM—!!!
The wave of light from the explosion consumed thousands of White Zetsu…
From the shower of splintered wood and debris, a white figure beat its wings and soared.
Obito scoffed. "Finally remembered you have wings…"
Hovering mid-air, an icy chill gleamed deep within Sasuke's white eyes. "Not caring at all about the lives of those who fight for you… just as stubborn and unruly as I once was…"
"Pawns are meant to be used!" Obito retorted coldly. "I gave them their lives! It's only right they serve my purpose!!!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The White Zetsu army shifted formation. Their bodies stacked upon each other, stretching madly towards the sky like giant pitcher plants, forming a closing net around Sasuke…!!!
Sasuke's gaze remained deep, fixed on the distance.
"No. You're wrong. Their lives… were not given by you."
His voice was swallowed as the "pitcher plants" snapped shut around him.
KABOOM—!!!
A deafening explosion. The pitcher plants shattered apart. White Zetsu rained from the sky.
What filled Obito's entire field of vision then… was a white cyclone raging across the heavens.
Obito's brow twitched. "That move… the Hyuga's Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven?"
WHOOSH…!!
The white whirlwind gradually subsided. Sasuke's spinning form solidified from the afterimages.
His white kimono was in tatters. His white cloak was gone, torn away to who-knows-where. Sweat poured down his white skin in rivulets…
Since awakening White Cursed Seal Stage Four… his chakra had never truly touched the brink of exhaustion.
But now… he was there.
At the precise critical point he wanted.
To go further, to truly absorb the power the White Cursed Seal released and make it his own… he needed to push both body and mind to the absolute limit.
"Hah… Hah… Hah…"
In his ragged breaths, the stubborn, unchanging 'white' in the pupil of his left eye finally began to recede. It transformed, gradient by gradient, back into his own natural 'black'.
He closed his left eye gently. When he opened it again, the light of a six-pointed star spilled forth.
"Finally…"
Obito's eyes narrowed. "His left eye… restored the Sharingan?"
On Pale Moon Island.
Sasuke's change caused a stir.
"One eye restored," Itachi noted quietly.
Orochimaru smiled. "The power released by Stage Four is equivalent to the sum of the first three stages. Absorbing it all at once is impossible. Through the seventh and eighth battles, Sasuke shed the twin horn features. His eyes are the gauge of his absorption progress. Restoring one eye means he's only half a step away from perfectly absorbing the White Cursed Seal."
Suigetsu voiced his doubt. "Okay, so absorbing more of Stage Four restored a lot of his chakra, but how does one Mangekyo Sharingan change the battlefield against that?"
"Sasuke never intended to defeat 100,000 White Zetsu by himself," Orochimaru chuckled. "He possesses the clearest mind of anyone on that battlefield. Just watch, Suigetsu. Everyone, keep watching."
…
On the battlefield.
As blood trickled from Sasuke's pupil…
Black flames spread across the earth…!!
The White Zetsu recoiled, avoiding the Amaterasu flames like the plague.
The moment Sasuke's feet touched the ground, purple tentacles of the Susano'o's demonic art speared forth from the earth. In an instant, they skewered hundreds of White Zetsu, hoisting them into the air…!!
On the statue's head, Obito rose to his feet again.
"Just recovering some chakra and gaining a fire-starting eye… what can you possibly do now, Sasuke…?"
"You… will know soon enough."
In Sasuke's murmur, flesh and sinew wove over the Susano'o's skeleton. That long-concealed bow finally manifested once more!!
Obito snorted dismissively. "What's the point of that bow now? Beneath me sits the Gedo Statue and 100,000 White Zetsu!!!"
KRK—!! KRK-KRK-KRK-KRK-KRK…!!!
The bowstring frayed and snapped at its edges. Dark purple threads of demonic art surged forth, coiling wildly around it. They coiled and coiled without end, forming… a spooled wheel!!!
— Modified Demonic Art Threads: Ama no Sakahoko — Composite Bow!!!
"A technique I pondered over for so long… finally, it can be realized."
Under Obito's stunned gaze, the Susano'o nocked an arrow. Yet… the bowstring didn't budge…!!
Sasuke shielded his left eye slightly. "To draw this bow… do you know what's required?"
BOOM!
A Wooden Giant materialized behind the Susano'o. Its gnarled, dragon-like arms reached around, gripping the bowstring… With immense strain, the string was pulled back inch by inch.
KRRRK…!
The friction sound of the turning spool seemed to grate directly from Obito's heart.
"You…" Cold sweat seeped from beneath his white mask.
The Wooden Giant drew the bow. The Susano'o's hand, trembling with effort, steadied the arrowhead. Its target was unmistakable—the Gedo Statue!!!
"NO!!!"
Seeing the danger, Obito desperately drove the Gedo Statue to form and fire a Tailed Beast Ball!!!
KRRRK-KRK-KRK-KRK-KRK…!!! On the distant bow, the spool of demonic threads finally reached maximum tension!!!
KABOOOOOOOOOM—!!!
The instant the arrow left the string, the Wooden Giant's arms, used to draw the bow, shattered and snapped clean off!!!
"Not of the Six Paths, yet rivaling them. My strongest long-range attack… as I am now!"
— Super: Ama no Kagaseo!!!
————————————————————
🔥 This story has reached its conclusion on my P a t. r e o n! 400+ chapters
⚡ Limited-time offer currently running...
👉 Join on -
patreon(.)com/BingeInk