A wall of Gold Dust suddenly rose in the path of the Lightning Ball.
Crackle!
The Lightning Ball struck the golden wall and exploded, unleashing a powerful current that blasted a deep hole through it.
Fortunately, the wall was thick enough. The Lightning Ball's power was spent after blasting through it, leaving only wisps of electricity that bounced and flickered across its surface, as if unwilling to give up.
Black Hoe Raiga held the two Thunder Blades upright and plunged them into the ground. Then he formed Hand Seals with both hands and shouted, "Lightning Burial: Lightning Feast!"
Crackle, crackle!
A massive surge of silvery-white electricity burst across the Thunder Blades' surfaces. The currents intertwined, rapidly spreading outward.
At last, they merged into a river of electricity with astonishing force, shooting toward Souya.
Souya held both hands out as if gripping something. Gold Dust erupted from underground, as if a volcano had erupted.
Whoosh!
The surging Gold Dust climbed into the air, forming a vast wave that crashed down on the river of silvery-white electricity.
Boom! Boom! Boom...
The moment the lightning touched the Gold Dust, it exploded, sending the fine, densely packed grains billowing into the air as dust.
After all, much of the Gold Dust here had only undergone an initial conversion. Against a powerful Lightning Release technique, it was bound to struggle.
But what it lacked in quality, it could make up for in quantity. More Gold Dust continued to gush from underground, like a golden fountain.
The silvery-white lightning began to falter, gradually being swallowed up by the Gold Dust waves. The golden tide moved slowly but steadily toward Black Hoe Raiga.
Seeing this, Black Hoe Raiga furrowed his brow. His expression was grave. He pulled up the two Thunder Blades, brought them together, and twisted hard where their hilts met. The two swords merged into a single long blade!
He raised the long blade above his head and swung it in a forceful spin. The blade pulled his body along, and he began turning rapidly in place.
Zzzzt!
Streaks of dark-silver lightning appeared across Black Hoe Raiga's body. As he spun, the lightning appeared faster and faster.
The lightning quickly intertwined and twisted together, eventually forming a dense, dark-silver cocoon around his body!
Faint white bolts flickered inside the cocoon, making it look utterly terrifying.
By then, the Gold Dust waves had swept away the silvery-white current. The golden tide surged forward and rose high, ready to swallow Black Hoe Raiga whole!
But at that moment, the lightning cocoon exploded, and a cylindrical bolt of dark-silver lightning shot into the sky.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon Tornado!"
The lightning shot more than ten meters into the air, then suddenly expanded and stretched out, forming a dark-silver Lightning Dragon!
Two crimson bolts of lightning formed its eyes, giving it a menacing look!
Halfway along its body, it even grew two remarkably lifelike dragon claws, a testament to the technique's impressive shape transformation.
The fearsome dragon head showed no hesitation. The dragon plunged downward, trying to bypass the Gold Dust waves and attack Souya, who stood behind them.
Souya's expression changed slightly. His enemy had brought out his trump card, so he couldn't afford to hold back either.
He gave a low shout, and his aura surged in an instant! Gusts of wind appeared around him, circling.
Souya's hands suddenly began to move. His Hand Seals came so fast they blurred, a testament to his solid fundamentals.
As Souya completed the final seal, a golden dragon rose from the middle of the surging Gold Dust waves!
The gleaming golden dragon looked lifelike, its entire body seemingly cast from pure gold. Sunlight made it shine brilliantly, and an air of opulence radiated from it.
The golden dragon roared at the sky, then opened its cavernous jaws and bit down hard on the Lightning Dragon's neck!
The two dragons, each more than ten meters tall, clashed fiercely in the air.
Lightning blazed across the Lightning Dragon's body. As the golden dragon lunged to bite, it instead surged forward and coiled its massive body around the golden dragon.
Crackle, crackle!
The lightning around the Lightning Dragon blazed even brighter. Silvery-white currents poured out like floodwaters bursting through a dam, flooding into the golden dragon without mercy.
In an instant, silvery-white currents filled the golden dragon's body, their fierce electricity rampaging through it.
But the golden dragon had been formed with a tremendous amount of Souya's Chakra, and the Gold Dust that made it up was far denser than ordinary Gold Dust.
So the golden dragon didn't break apart outright. Instead, its two razor-sharp golden claws seized the opportunity to plunge into the Lightning Dragon's body and rip it open.
The Lightning Dragon split in two. Its lower half fell helplessly toward the ground as its lightning scattered.
But a fierce glint flashed in the Lightning Dragon's head. It jerked upward, slamming its skull into the golden dragon's jaw.
Crack!
The Lightning Dragon's head suddenly burst apart. A torrent of lightning surged out, forming a perfect sphere that engulfed most of the golden dragon's body. The heat within the lightning seemed to bake the air, and a strong scorched stench filled the air.
Blinding light flashed again and again. Half the sky was filled with silvery-white radiance, as if the enraged God of Thunder were unleashing his fury upon the world. Souya couldn't help covering his eyes with one hand.
A moment later, the light faded, leaving the sky clear. The Lightning Dragon had vanished, and only a small section of the golden dragon's tail remained. The part that had been engulfed by the giant Lightning Ball had melted away.
"Hah... hah..."
Black Hoe Raiga panted in the distance, still gripping the Thunder Blades that had become one. His eyes were filled with gravity—the look of someone facing a formidable opponent.
Fine beads of sweat had appeared on Souya's forehead too. After all, this body didn't have the boost of "red hair," and his Chakra reserves weren't exceptional.
Moreover, he hadn't replenished the Chakra he'd spent in the morning's battle before rushing here to help. His Chakra was already running dangerously low.
As the two faced off, Souya's expression suddenly changed, and his body instinctively leaped backward.
Several strands of wire, woven into a net around the spot where Souya had been standing, suddenly tightened.
The cold gleam along the wires left no doubt about their sharpness. If Souya had been even a little slower to dodge, he would have lost both his feet!
"Ah! This kid's battle instincts are pretty sharp! I can't believe even that ambush failed!"
Suikazan Fuguki's regretful voice came from underground.
Then a fountain suddenly burst skyward from the Gold Dust-covered ground. Suikazan Fuguki and Kushimaru Kuriarare stood atop the crest of the surging wave. They looked a little worse for wear, but still radiated menace as they looked down at Souya.
Facing three of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen was clearly too much for Souya in his current state!
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