"Soul Absorption Technique!"
The Human Path, clad in a Tactical Vest, made his move, drawing in vast numbers of translucent souls.
"Summoning Technique: Hell King Yama!"
The Hell Path performed the technique and summoned Hell King Yama, with the character for "king" etched onto its forehead.
Crack!
Nearly two stories tall and consisting of nothing but a head, Hell King Yama opened its mouth and swallowed every soul gathered by the Human Path.
Yes, this was Asuma's solution.
He used the special abilities of the Six Paths to draw all the souls trapped within the Earth Release. Dead Soil Technique into Hell King Yama.
That way, the forbidden technique would collapse on its own.
Without even souls, the mud dolls naturally could not appear.
The Human Path maintained the Soul Absorption Technique, continuously extracting the souls from the surrounding mud dolls.
Against normal living people, the Human Path would never have been able to achieve this.
However, the mud dolls had poor compatibility with these souls and were in a state where they could separate at any moment. That was why the Soul Absorption Technique's range and effects were so exaggerated.
Normally, when the Human Path dealt with shinobi, he had to seize them with his hands first. It was not that the Soul Absorption Technique was overwhelmingly powerful, but rather that it was a perfect counter.
Moreover, without Hell King Yama to contain the absorbed souls, they would return to the mud dolls the moment he let go. Neither could function without the other; only together could they produce this effect.
Naturally, Akatsuki could not simply stand by and watch.
On high ground not far behind the battlefield.
A group of figures wearing Black and Red Cloud Robes stood there, with the White Zetsu Army, which had regrouped, farther