"Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands: Buddha's Heavenly Hand—Initial Manifestation!!!"
Duanmu Ci's roar was like a divine decree that split heaven and earth, scattering the Nine-Tails' savage howls! Behind him, the enormous phantom Buddha statue, with only its upper body and dozens of arms taking shape, radiated magnificent divine might! Golden-green light—the fusion of Sage Arts and Wood Release—tore through the dark crimson sky beneath the Blood Moon like a rising sun, making Duanmu Ci look like a god descended upon the world!
Though the phantom Buddha statue was far from reaching the scale of the legendary complete True Several Thousand Hands, it already towered far above the rampaging Nine-Tails Fox! Its indistinct yet solemn face looked down below, its enormous eyes formed from pure Chakra holding compassion for all living things and judgment upon brutality! Surging life force and majesty capable of suppressing all things intertwined, forming an invisible domain that actually caused even the Nine-Tails' violent hatred-fueled Chakra to stagnate slightly!
"Roar—?!" The Nine-Tails abruptly halted as it formed its Tailed Beast Bomb! Its beastly eyes, filled with the desire for destruction, stared fixedly at the massive Wood Release Buddha Statue. An instinctive terror of the First Hokage Hashirama Senju's Wood Release surged up from the depths of its bloodline like a tide! That fear even temporarily overwhelmed the fury imposed by the Sharingan's control, making its colossal body shudder involuntarily! The huge dark crimson Tailed Beast Bomb forming in its mouth flickered unstably!
"W-What is that?!" On a distant rooftop, Tsunade, who was urgently feeding Chakra into Kushina to keep her alive, looked up at the shocking sight, her golden eyes full of utter disbelief! She could feel the miraculous power within that phantom Buddha statue, power far beyond ordinary Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence! Was this Duanmu Ci's true trump card?!
"Wood Release... can actually reach such heights?!" The Masked Man's face twisted violently beneath his vortex mask! The Mangekyō Sharingan controlling the Nine-Tails sent stabbing pain through his eye, as though it had been scorched by the Buddha statue's gaze! His shock was beyond measure! Duanmu Ci's power had shattered the limits of his understanding again and again! This was no longer merely "approaching the First Hokage"! The aura emanating from that phantom Buddha statue reminded him of the power projection of the Sage of Six Paths from ancient legends...
"Suppress!!!"
Standing within the phantom of the Buddha statue's palm—actually a high-energy connection point—Duanmu Ci formed hand seals, his gaze as cold as eternal ice. Facing the Nine-Tails and the Tailed Beast Bomb in its mouth, he delivered his final judgment!
At his command, the massive Wood Release Buddha Statue moved!
Dozens of arms composed of pure Sage Art Wood Release Chakra, wrapped in golden-green runes and resembling pillars that held up the heavens, moved with terrifying force capable of crushing space itself! They did not attack chaotically, but followed some profound trajectory—some clenched into fists, some opened into palms, and some held their fingers together like swords!
Some of the arms—around a dozen—instantly intertwined and overlapped before Duanmu Ci, Minato, Kushina, and Tsunade like the sturdiest of bulwarks, forming an incomparably massive golden-green wooden shield, so thick it inspired despair! Ancient runes flowed across its surface, radiating an indestructible aura!
The other arms—also around a dozen—carried the will to purify and suppress. Some spread enormous Buddha palms, while others formed mysterious Buddhist seals. Like hammers of heavenly punishment, they slammed, grasped, and pressed down upon the Nine-Tails' massive head and the Tailed Beast Bomb gathering in its mouth from every direction!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
An indescribably terrifying collision erupted in an instant!
The Buddha statue's giant palms crashed fiercely into the Nine-Tails' head, enormous claws, and the Tailed Beast Bomb on the verge of firing! Space itself seemed to twist and collapse at that moment! Visible shockwaves spread madly from the collision point like ripples of destruction! Wherever they passed, the already crumbling buildings shattered and vanished like sandcastles! The earth was lifted and torn apart layer by layer, leaving behind bottomless ravines!
"Roaarrr—!!!" The Nine-Tails let out an earth-shaking roar of pain and fury! Its supposedly indestructible body was battered by the Wood Release giant palms empowered by Sage Art intent and Rinnegan Eye Power, its scales cracking as sparks flew! Its massive body staggered, nearly toppling over! The Tailed Beast Bomb in its mouth, nearly complete, was forcibly compressed by several Buddha palms and struck by sealing power. Its light flickered violently, and its structure became extremely unstable!
What terrified the Nine-Tails even more was that the immense life force and suppressive will contained within those Wood Release giant palms seeped into its Chakra like maggots burrowing into bone! Though they could not suppress it instantly like the First Hokage had, they greatly disrupted the gathering and output of its power! Its instinctive hatred, forcibly suppressed by the Sharingan, showed faint signs of struggling under the stimulation of this external force!
"Damn it! Hold steady!" The Masked Man's face twisted beneath the mask, his Sharingan spinning madly as he pushed his Eye Power to its limit, forcibly suppressing the Nine-Tails' resistance and the erosion of Duanmu Ci's Wood Release! Rage and alarm churned within him. The power of Duanmu Ci's Buddha statue far exceeded his expectations! It could not only withstand a Tailed Beast Bomb head-on, but even shake his control over the Nine-Tails!
"Now, Senior Minato!" Duanmu Ci's voice reached Minato clearly through the deafening roar of clashing energy! He maintained the Buddha statue's suppression, his face slightly pale from the immense expenditure! But the opportunity he had created would vanish in an instant!
A sharp light flashed in Minato Namikaze's eyes! He had been waiting for this moment! The instant the Nine-Tails staggered under the Buddha statue's giant palms, the Tailed Beast Bomb went out of control, and the Masked Man focused everything on suppressing the Nine-Tails' resistance!
"Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder!"
Minato vanished instantly! He did not attack the Nine-Tails or the Masked Man. Instead, he appeared directly above the massive Tailed Beast Bomb, which was being forcibly compressed by several Buddha palms and was on the verge of structural collapse! Spreading both hands, he instantly unfurled a huge, mysterious technique formed from spatial runes!
He was going to transfer away the source of disaster capable of destroying half of Konoha!
Bzzzz—!!!
Space twisted violently! The unstable dark crimson Tailed Beast Bomb was forcibly captured and pulled by Minato's technique, instantly vanishing into the distorted Spatial Vortex!
The next second, above an uninhabited mountain range dozens of miles from Konoha, space rippled like water, and the massive dark crimson Tailed Beast Bomb appeared out of thin air!
Rumble—!!!!
A world-destroying explosion bloomed above the wilderness! Blinding light illuminated the night sky, and a massive mushroom cloud rose into the air! Terrifying shockwaves swept across the entire mountain range! But in the end, that destructive power did not fall upon Konoha!
"Success!" Minato's figure looked especially small against the light of the explosion, yet he was filled with heroic resolve. He had successfully transferred away the deadliest threat, but had nearly exhausted all his Chakra. His face was pale as paper, and he swayed in midair as though he might fall at any moment.
"Nicely done, Minato!" Duanmu Ci was reinvigorated! The greatest threat had been removed! He controlled the Buddha statue's remaining arms and suppressed the Nine-Tails even more fiercely! At the same time, his Rinnegan locked tightly onto the Masked Man, who hovered above the Nine-Tails' head, furious and alarmed by the Tailed Beast Bomb's transfer!
"Now it's your turn, you cowardly rat hiding behind a mask!" Killing intent boiled in Duanmu Ci's eyes! With a thought, an invisible and strange fluctuation from the deepest depths of his Rinnegan quietly spread outward!
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