Dance of the Clematis

"Lightning Blade Technique: Thunderbolt."

"Sword Technique: Decapitating Slash."

At the heart of the battlefield, Raiga Kurosuki and Biwa Juzo launched an assault on Taketori Nihi from the left and right.

Facing their pincer attack, Taketori Nihi did not dodge or evade, choosing instead to meet them head-on.

"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Larch."

Driven by the power of his bloodline, bones erupted from Taketori Nihi's entire body. Sharp, ferocious bone spurs covered him completely, providing a massive boost to his defense while making it impossible for his opponents to get close—a technique known as the ultimate shield.

These suddenly manifested bone spurs easily blocked the heavy swing of the Kubikiribōchō.

However, the defensive effect against the Thunderbolt was somewhat inferior; the sharp electrical current surged into his body, and he could feel the sensation of electrocution deep within his internal organs.

This was a classic case of high physical resistance but low magical resistance.

"Hiss, the taste of blood..." Taketori Nihi licked the blood flowing from the corner of his mouth; it was clear he had been injured in the pincer attack.

Yet, this level of injury did not hinder Taketori Nihi's performance; instead, it further ignited his desire for battle.

Sensing that Taketori Nihi's aura was not dropping but continuing to climb, both Raiga Kurosuki and Biwa Juzo wore grave expressions.

"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Extreme." As Taketori Nihi completed the technique, more chakra from his body was injected into the protruding bone spurs. These spurs then shot outward in all directions at a speed difficult for the naked eye to track, leaving Raiga Kurosuki and Biwa Juzo with no time to dodge.

"Ninja Art: Lightning Armor."

"Sword Technique: Back Blade Defense."

In the emergency, Raiga Kurosuki combined his twin blades and summoned lightning to coat his body, using defense as a form of offense to withstand the dense barrage of bone spurs.

Biwa Juzo reversed his grip, shielding his front with the blade while exerting force to spin it rapidly, deflecting the incoming bone spurs.

"Hehehe, now this is interesting." Seeing that both opponents had blocked his attack, Taketori Nihi was not angry but delighted; it meant he could continue to fight them.

"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Willow." Taketori Nihi's mastery of the Shikotsumyaku was clearly far superior to that of Taketori Sankyu. Whether in length or sharpness, the bone spurs he utilized in his Dance of the Willow were far beyond those of his predecessor.

With bone spurs protruding from his shoulders, elbows, palms, and knees, Taketori Nihi closed in on Raiga Kurosuki at extreme speed.

"Just in time." Raiga Kurosuki, still cloaked in his Lightning Armor, raised his twin blades to meet Taketori Nihi's multiple bone spurs. Even where his blades could not defend, the Lightning Armor on his body stood as a barrier between the spurs and his flesh.

"I didn't expect you to have such strength." Taketori Nihi, known for his raw power, was even more excited to find that Raiga Kurosuki could block his frontal assault.

"Today, I will either beat you to death, or be beaten to death by you." For the Taketori clan, fighting to one's heart's content was more important than victory.

"Don't underestimate us."

"Lightning Style: Thunder Ball." Lightning chakra condensed on the twin blades into a thunder ball that flew toward Taketori Nihi, forcing him back.

"Lightning Style: Lightning Dragon Tornado." Raiga Kurosuki then raised his twin blades to summon lightning, spinning his body rapidly to create a dragon-shaped electrical attack aimed at Taketori Nihi.

"Don't forget me." Biwa Juzo exerted a sudden burst of strength, swinging his arms straight to hurl the Kubikiribōchō at Taketori Nihi.

A full-force strike from both men was something even a Kage-level powerhouse would have to take seriously.

Facing this thunderous assault, Taketori Nihi still did not dodge or evade, swearing to crush them head-on.

"Come, come! Let me feel the blood boil!"

"Now, experience my ultimate form."

"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Clematis."

After forming the hand seals, Taketori Nihi tore off his upper garment, revealing his robust muscles.

He lowered his head slightly, and one could see something writhing beneath the muscles of his back, like a long worm replacing his spine, crawling bit by bit toward the nape of his neck.

"Ah..." The pain of his spinal column shifting was enough to make even Taketori Nihi gasp.

As the skin at the nape of his neck reached its limit, a segment of white spine stained with blood tore through the skin and muscle, emerging from the back of his neck.

"Splurt!"

Such a bloody scene made everyone nearby feel a chill down their spines.

Even more shocking was that he reached back, gripped the segment of spine, and pulled it out with a forceful tug.

"Ssssss..." The terrifying sound of bone and muscle tearing echoed in everyone's ears.

Once the entire spine was fully extracted, what Taketori Nihi held in his left hand was a ferocious bone whip, its surface covered in fine, dense bone spurs—it hardly looked like the bone of a normal human.

"Vine!" As Taketori Nihi raised his right hand and swung it with force, the bone whip spiraled around him, the sound of it cutting through the air ringing out.

He then lashed out with the bone whip, striking the incoming Lightning Dragon with great force.

"Zzzzzzt..." At the moment of contact, the collision between the bone whip and the Lightning Dragon sparked a massive discharge of electricity. The blinding light instantly illuminated the entire battlefield, and even the cold mist in the air was melted and dispersed by the heat.

The bone whip continued to coil around the Lightning Dragon, binding everything below the dragon's head so it could not move an inch closer, leaving it to writhe in mid-air.

"Tighten."

Under Taketori Nihi's control, the bone whip constricted violently, the intense friction on the surface of the Lightning Dragon emitting a piercing, screeching sound.

Until the Lightning Dragon could no longer withstand the crushing force, it exploded in mid-air with a thunderous roar.

"BOOM!"

"This damned Shikotsumyaku... how can it have such power?" Raiga Kurosuki watched his strongest attack being dismantled and spoke with bitter resentment.

At this moment, Taketori Nihi's performance on the battlefield had yet to conclude.

After shattering the lightning dragon with his right hand, the bone in his left arm began to proliferate wildly, with twisted white bones continuously piercing through the skin of his arm until the entire limb became completely ossified, forming a massive, spiral-shaped spear.

"Flower."

Once the hardened bone spear took form, his entire left arm began to rotate at high speed, acting like a high-velocity drill as it thrust directly toward the incoming Kubikiribōchō.

"Screech, screech, screech, screech..."

A harsh, grating friction sound erupted in mid-air once again; this time, it was a contest of pure hardness between the two.

"Crack, crack, crack, snap!"

Unexpectedly, it was the Kubikiribōchō that failed to hold up first. Under the powerful drilling force of the bone spear, cracks appeared along one side of the blade, emitting a crisp, shattering sound.

"No way, could it be..." Before Biwa Juzo could finish his sentence, the fissures on the blade expanded rapidly until the entire sword shattered in mid-air.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang..." Fragments of the Kubikiribōchō rained down from the sky, scattering across the battlefield.

This was the strongest dance of Taketori Nihi: the Vine and Flower of the Dance of the Clematis.