Chibaku Tensei slowly revolved in the sky, compressing the vines into a pitch-black sphere as they let out a shrill, tearing sound. Sasuke stood on the ground, forming hand seals, the veins at his temples bulging as the power of his Rinnegan surged like a tide.
"Come on..." He gritted his teeth, his voice low. "Faster!"
Ino and the others had already rushed to the enormous sapling. Thick black scales covered its surface, and its flower was blood-red, spewing spores nonstop. The spores corroded the soil as soon as they hit the ground, turning even rocks to ash.
"This thing's way stronger than before!" a Jonin shouted.
"Cut the chatter!" Ino barked. "I'll use my secret technique to control it for three seconds. Destroy the core immediately!"
She pressed her hands together and closed her eyes. "Mind Body Disturbance Technique: Modified!"
Her mental energy pierced into the sapling like needles. Though it wasn't a living creature, the sapling contained Momoshiki's Chakra will, and it reacted with a faint flicker of consciousness. Ino grunted, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, but she managed to make the flower close slightly.
"Now!"
Two sensory-type ninja slapped Explosive Tags onto the sapling's roots, while another used Wind Release to amplify the blast.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
Boom!
The explosion kicked up a hundred-meter-high cloud of dust. The sapling snapped at the roots, spraying black sap that instantly evaporated. Its flower withered, and the entire vine turned to charcoal.
"We did it!" someone cheered.
But the next moment, the earth shook violently.
"Not good!" Ino looked up and saw the Chibaku Tensei Sasuke was maintaining begin to crack. There were too many vines; the gravitational force couldn't suppress them all.
"Lord Sasuke!" she cried.
Sasuke dropped to one knee, the patterns in his