The First Tailed Beast Transformation

Blue flames darted across the battlefield as the Two-Tails displayed speed unseen before, piercing through the encirclement of twelve summoning beasts. Its massive blue-flame claws, accompanied by a howling gale, slammed toward the human standing before it.

The beast's claws descended, kicking up a cloud of dust and revealing twelve paper talismans inscribed with black characters on a white background. The talismans formed a circle, with the center being exactly where Onmyo Seimei had stood moments ago.

"Cunning human."

The Two-Tails spoke in a cold voice. Its plan to hide its strength and aim for a one-hit victory had been sound in principle.

However, the Onmyo Clan had once been a great clan that had weathered many wars. Their opponents had long since helped them identify their weaknesses, and they had never lacked life-saving measures to counter such problems.

Ninja Art: Onmyo Chain

The patterns on the talismans were triggered, unleashing chains of black and white. The white chains whipped out to entangle the Two-Tails, while the black chains pierced into the bodies of the twelve summoning beasts.

The twelve beasts let out miserable cries, their massive forms swaying, yet they struggled to remain in place without moving.

The binding effect of the chains reached its peak amidst the beasts' cries. The talismans began to burn, and the black and white chains fused into a single entity, though their colors remained distinct.

The Two-Tails felt a sense of weakness wash over it; its Chakra was continuously flowing through the chains to the other end. Although it could slowly recover as long as its source Chakra remained unharmed, being pushed to this extent ignited its true fury.

Blue and purple-black Chakra condensed in its mouth, mixing in a 2:8 ratio to form a massive sphere before being launched.

Tailed Beast Bomb

This technique had various methods of release in anime: some swallowed it to spit it out, some condensed it into a giant form to throw, and some spat out a miniature version while condensing it...

Regardless, this was the trump card of a Tailed Beast, and its power went without saying.

Under the force of this attack, the Onmyo Chain shattered after only a moment of resistance. Seeing the situation turn dire, Onmyo Seimei immediately released his summons, yet three of the beasts were unable to evade in time due to the Onmyo Chain and were directly struck, exploding upon impact.

The Two-Tails panted heavily, not pursuing, and began to recover its Chakra.

It was not the Nine-Tails; its Chakra reserves were not so terrifying as to be "endless."

Moreover, Onmyo Seimei's ninjutsu had not been ineffective. The twelve chains themselves had already consumed a significant amount of its Chakra, and combined with the subsequent Tailed Beast Bomb, there was little left in its body.

Onmyo Seimei's face turned ashen. Ancient texts had recorded this technique, but they had not detailed it thoroughly. Stereotypes from the battlefield still lingered in his mind—that powerful ninjutsu must inevitably have a long wind-up. He had not expected such a powerful technique to be unleashed so easily...

Paper talismans appeared around him one after another. The true ninjutsu of the Onmyo Clan was released in combination with specific Chakra-infused talismans.

However, the trees capable of producing such paper were rare. If every ninja in the Onmyo Clan used them, they would be exhausted in no time.

Therefore, this technique was known only to the clan head, and only the clan head could use it.

Ninja Art: Wind Sun Prayer

Cast without hand seals, the talismans tore apart one by one in the air, and a hurricane dozens of meters wide instantly appeared, trapping the Two-Tails.

Onmyo Seimei performed rapid hand seals, and the surrounding temperature began to plummet, causing the nearby talismans to freeze and turn into ice shards.

Just as the Two-Tails tore through the hurricane, Onmyo Seimei pointed his index and middle fingers together at a single point. A blue-white light shot from his fingertips. The light did not appear powerful; on the contrary, it looked quite weak, but upon hitting the Two-Tails, it expanded rapidly, directly freezing it into a block.

"It's over."

Onmyo Seimei exhaled and stepped forward, intending to claim his "trophy," only for the ground beneath the Two-Tails to suddenly rise.

Earth Style...

Onmyo Seimei's own aura pressed down on the surroundings, forcing Senju Zhenyang to release his own aura to resist, which directly exposed his position.

Onmyo Seimei glanced at the clan emblem on his armor, recalling the message his clansmen had sent him earlier:

"So you are the Senju Zhenyang I 'killed'?"

"Yes."

Senju Zhenyang drew a kunai, not daring to relax for even a second.

In contrast, Onmyo Seimei, who had just finished a great battle, said with a detached expression:

"Judging by your aura, you have only just broken through to the peak of Jonin. As long as you come back with me, I can overlook your interference just now."

Senju Zhenyang remained silent, coating his kunai in a layer of water blades before throwing it.

Onmyo Seimei dodged by turning his head, while spikes of earth erupted from the ground beneath his feet.

Already in a foul mood from the Two-Tails, and now being provoked repeatedly by someone weaker than himself, his remaining patience vanished.

Onmyo Seimei's face turned murderous:

"Then don't blame me. I already gave you a chance."

Before the words had even faded, his entire figure vanished.

Body Flicker Technique

Senju Zhenyang's Body Flicker was performed almost simultaneously with Onmyo Seimei's, but as a clan-head-level fighter, Onmyo Seimei was clearly faster. After Senju Zhenyang appeared, he used the technique again to arrive right in front of him, pressing down with a giant horn manifested from lightning.

Senju Zhenyang's armor shattered instantly, blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, and he was pinned directly to the ground.

Onmyo Seimei said, puzzled:

"You came too hastily. Your internal Chakra is still at the elite Jonin level; you haven't converted it into corresponding strength, otherwise, you wouldn't have been defeated in a single move."

"You risked your life just to stop me? Is a beast worth a ninja of your great clan throwing his life away?"

Senju Zhenyang gritted his teeth: "It saved my life."

"A ridiculous reward. Rest assured... you are still of use. I will only cripple you, so you can never be a ninja again."

Onmyo Seimei's gaze turned cold; he intended to sever his opponent's hands first.

At this moment, red Chakra began to surge continuously from within Senju Zhenyang's body, forming a tail behind him that lashed out toward Onmyo Seimei.

After being swatted away, Onmyo Seimei watched Senju Zhenyang with vigilance; this unique situation was something he could not comprehend for the moment, having never seen its like throughout the Warring States period.

The only certainty was that this Chakra was by no means human, exuding an unsettling aura.

Senju Zhenyang stood straight, feeling his physical state constantly recovering; the injuries he had sustained earlier were already more than half healed.

"Kid, you'd better be quick; there isn't much Chakra left inside you."

The Two-Tails' voice rang in Senju Zhenyang's ears.

Senju Zhenyang cast his gaze toward the frozen main body of the Two-Tails on the stone pillar, leaped toward his target, and performed hand seals to exhale a fireball.

Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique

This was the signature ninjutsu of the Uchiha Clan, already recorded in history by the Senju, and it was the only Fire Style ninjutsu Senju Zhenyang possessed.

Fire Style was the most effective way to melt ice; no matter how skilled Senju Zhenyang was in other ninjutsu, he could not handle the current situation otherwise.

Onmyo Seimei performed hand seals, causing the earth pillar to shatter with a roar, and the fireball naturally missed its mark; his eyes stared straight at Senju Zhenyang, gradually growing fervent as he said:

"A bit interesting. I truly want to study you properly."

The red Chakra Senju Zhenyang had manifested demonstrated excellent recovery and protective capabilities—precisely what the Onmyo Clan lacked—and judging by Senju Zhenyang's aura, his strength had also been bolstered.

The Two-Tails' Chakra sensed the gap between the two and realized it could not be bridged by its own intervention, so it sighed softly: "Kid, leave quickly. With your current strength, you cannot defeat this guy."

"Senior, I will definitely save you," Senju Zhenyang said earnestly.

"Just run; the main body has a way to escape."

"Really?"

"Do I need to lie to you?"

Senju Zhenyang was half-convinced, but he had no choice but to retreat first.

"Running away?"

Onmyo Seimei hesitated for a moment; he had no intention of pursuing, planning to deal with the frozen Two-Tails first, but the moment he turned his head, he noticed the look of absolute resolve revealed within those beastly pupils.

The next second, a pillar of blue flame shot straight into the clouds...