Boom—
Crack!!
The explosion lasted only an instant. Then the chaotic torrents of energy annihilated one another, and spacetime stuttered with a piercing screech.
Ōnoki dropped his hands and panted, staring fixedly at the heart of the chaos.
The sudden surge of Storm Release carried a strangely familiar presence: cold and deadly.
He had no idea what Kamizuki was doing. He could not understand why Kamizuki had let Dust Release through, or why he had attacked his own Summoning Beast.
The terrifying currents tore at one another, twisting spacetime into a frenzy of colors that belonged in a dream.
Kamizuki stood atop the murky torrent, swaying as though on a boat. His hands seemed to be weaving something.
"What is he trying to do...?"
Tsunade was the one asking.
Orochimaru's pupils contracted. "When we created Mahoraga, Kamizuki suggested using his flesh and blood. I was curious too..."
"The flesh of someone under Heavenly Restriction is slightly darker than an ordinary person's. At the cellular level... unlike the First's extraordinary rate of cell division, what makes Kamizuki's cells frightening is their resilience under pressure."
"To put it simply, it's the difference between algae and reef rock. Rock can't reproduce like algae, and algae can't match the hardness of a reef."
Orochimaru was so engrossed that he unwittingly revealed he had studied Tsunade's grandfather's cells.
Tsunade paid it no mind. She had no time to think about it.
"But no matter what I did, I couldn't make Mahoraga's body as strong as Kamizuki's."
"He's one of a kind!"
"So I substituted quantity for quality, using ninjutsu to give Mahoraga the rapid regeneration Kamizuki lacks."
"Mahoraga is already powerful. It can hold its own against several jōnin and even take part in a Kage Level battle."
"But it isn't truly alive. It's an