Susanoo with Divine Artifacts, Invincible

[Earth Style: Mountain Earth Jutsu]

An Earth Style ninjutsu with a learning difficulty of only B-rank.

Judging by the name and the rank, it would seem that such an Earth Style technique should be quite ordinary. It could hardly compare to those powerful A-rank or S-rank ninjutsu, right?

Yet, in the hands of a powerhouse like Kitsuchi, this very technique displayed immense power!

It was not only effective against ninjas, but it even had the means to suppress massive creatures on the level of Tailed Beasts! It could be called the highest-level immobilization technique.

Its might was almost on par with the Majestic Destroyer Flame in the hands of Madara.

Once, when a Jinchuriki in Iwagakure went berserk and transformed into a Tailed Beast, Kitsuchi had used this very technique to suppress it single-handedly!

As for ordinary ninjas, once caught by this technique, they would likely be crushed flat by the terrifying pressure!

Its power was not even inferior to a standard version of Chibaku Tensei!

Clearly, being forced to use such a trump card, Kitsuchi had indeed been pushed into a corner by Natsume.

At this moment, the majestic, hundred-meter-wide hemispherical rock formation closed in from both sides.

The momentum was truly astonishing!

For a mere Jonin of Iwagakure to be able to suppress a Tailed Beast single-handedly with ninjutsu and hold back the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path for a time was truly extraordinary!

Moreover, once enveloped by such massive boulders, there was simply no time to dodge.

It was no wonder Iwagakure had kept Kitsuchi hidden so deeply.

If other ninja villages knew that Iwagakure had such a ruthless character capable of suppressing Tailed Beasts at any time, they would likely have been sitting on pins and needles long ago.

Of course, although this technique was overbearing, it was not difficult for the current Natsume to deal with.

Eight Inner Gates

Flying Thunder God

And so on...

All were sufficient to break through or evade this technique.

However, Natsume, whose interest had been piqued, still chose to meet it head-on!

The next moment.

"BOOM!"

The two massive earthen hemispheres slammed together, erupting with a heaven-shaking sonic boom that carried for several kilometers.

"Hah... hah..."

In the distance, Kitsuchi, having finished the technique, was panting heavily.

Releasing such a large-scale ninjutsu all at once was quite a strain on him.

But fortunately, he had finally trapped the enemy!

It was just unclear whether the enemy had already been pressed into a meat patty...

Still, he reasoned that since this enemy possessed terrifying strength and divine artifacts, he shouldn't die so easily...

Regardless, as long as he was trapped by this 'Earth Style: Mountain Earth Jutsu', even a Tailed Beast would not be able to break free for a while!

Kitsuchi let out a sigh of relief, slightly relaxing his tense nerves.

But, the next moment, before he could finish catching his breath, another massive sound of something tearing through the air rang out!

"SWISH--"

A brilliant, sharp, deep-blue light suddenly shot out from the massive earthen sphere ahead.

From the inside out, it violently carved a circle.

And that incredibly hard, massive rock sphere was as fragile as tofu under the blade of that brilliant light.

With a gentle tear, it was sliced into two halves.

The next second.

An even more dazzling blue light erupted from the cracks in the giant sphere.

Following that, a hulking, towering phantom of a sky-blue demon god wielding a massive blade suddenly exploded into existence.

Clearly, Natsume had calculated this from the start.

He had intentionally disguised the color of his Susanoo to look like that of a certain "Obito," passing off fish eyes as pearls.

"Swish, swish, swish--"

The spirit-weaponized Kunwu Divine Blade swung in the hands of the Susanoo, resembling a world-ending blade from the heavens.

In an instant, it hacked the giant earth sphere into countless pieces.

Kitsuchi, watching from afar, was left dumbstruck, as if in a dream.

"This is... Susanoo?!!"

"How is this possible? Doesn't he only have one Sharingan?"

"And where did this Susanoo get a weapon?!!"

In the distance.

Countless boulders and fragments plummeted to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.

Natsume, encased in his Susanoo, slammed heavily into the ground like a demon god falling from the sky, unstoppable!

"This Kunwu Divine Blade is incredible now that it's a spirit weapon!"

"It's far sharper than the longsword I used to condense with chakra."

"Susanoo plus a divine artifact—truly a perfect match!"

"Alright, it's time to end this farce..."

Natsume's heart tightened as he took several steps forward.

The towering Susanoo gripped the massive divine blade, swung it out once more in a magnificent arc, and slashed horizontally, aiming straight for Kitsuchi in the distance!

For a moment, the sheer gale force whipped up by the giant blade alone made Kitsuchi's scalp tingle and his heart race with terror.

"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"

"Earth Style: Earth Core!"

"Earth Style: Hardening Technique!"

Kitsuchi hurriedly unleashed his ninjutsu.

He extended multiple layers of rock and earth defenses around himself, nearly draining the last of his remaining chakra.

However, the defensive power of these dozen-plus earth walls raised in an instant was far stronger than the defenses Danzo, who was not skilled in Earth Style, had once constructed.

If Natsume were still using his previous chakra blade, he might not have been able to cleave through them all in one strike.

Unfortunately for him.

This time, these thick Earth Style defenses, under the might of the Susanoo and the edge of the Kunwu Divine Blade, were simply pathetic.

They were shattered with ease on the spot.

It was even three times smoother than a knife cutting through butter!

Just as the blade was about to strike Kitsuchi, Natsume shifted in an instant, angling the blade away to strike Kitsuchi with the flat of the sword instead.

He did not kill Kitsuchi outright.

After all, severely wounding Kitsuchi and killing him were two entirely different concepts.

This guy was, after all, the son of the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki. If he really killed him, it would mean a blood feud with Iwagakure!

Although he did not fear Iwagakure, his own Flame Hidden Village had just been established, and their greatest enemy remained Konoha.

Before destroying Konoha, it was not cost-effective to forge too many blood feuds with other hidden villages.

Moreover, Kitsuchi's strength was decent.

If he could incite him to attack Konoha in the future, it would surely bring a big surprise to those in Konoha!

Of course, this strike, heavy as a thousand jun, slammed fiercely into Kitsuchi's body.

Although it did not take his life directly.

It still left Kitsuchi battered and bruised, his bones shattered as he flew backward for dozens of meters before slamming heavily into the ground.

One must know that he had activated the Earth Style: Hardening Technique, hardening his body to be tougher than rock and significantly reducing the damage from physical attacks.

Yet, he was still beaten to the brink of death, which goes to show just how ferocious the power of that blade was!

Seeing that Kitsuchi was unconscious and had completely lost his ability to fight.

Natsume finally deactivated his Susanoo and sheathed his divine blade.

He rubbed his slightly sore eyes while chuckling to himself.

With this, he could basically confirm one thing.

With his Susanoo active and his divine blade in hand, he could already be considered half-invincible!

Once he turned back to transplant the Hashirama Cells and gained infinite stamina.

He would basically be able to walk sideways across most of the ninja world!

As expected, the feeling of possessing absolute power was truly fantastic!

Soon.

After finishing his chuckle, Natsume remembered the task at hand.

He then began to perform a ninjutsu.

"Character Binding Technique: Explosion!"

The character 'Explosion' flew out in an instant, landing on the earth prison that Kitsuchi had used earlier to trap his teammate.

"BOOM--"

The earth prison shattered, revealing the dazed Iwagakure ninja inside.

Having already been released from the genjutsu control, he looked at the chaotic and terrifying battlefield outside, as well as the defeated and unconscious Kitsuchi in the distance, and couldn't help but be stunned.

"Hey! You Iwagakure ninja over there."

"Kitsuchi has already been defeated, hurry back and bring reinforcements!"

"Tell that old geezer Ōnoki. I'll be waiting right here, and when he arrives, I'll smash his dog head in!"

Natsume roared arrogantly, his body radiating a chilling killing intent.

The Iwagakure ninja was so frightened that his legs went weak.

Seeing that the powerful Captain Kitsuchi had been defeated, how could he dare to hesitate?

He scrambled out of the earth prison in a panic and fled toward Iwagakure, preparing to go back and seek support.