[Earth Style: Earth Mountain Technique]
An Earth Release ninjutsu with a learning difficulty of only B-rank.
Just look at its name and rank.
It seemed like an ordinary Earth Release technique, nowhere near as powerful as those mighty A-rank and S-rank ninjutsu, right?
Yet this very technique, in the hands of a strong shinobi like Kitsuchi,
had displayed tremendous power!
It was effective not only against shinobi, but could even suppress enormous creatures on the level of Tailed Beasts. It was arguably the ultimate technique for stopping an opponent in their tracks!
Its power was almost on par with Madara's [Majestic Destroyer Flame].
Once, when a Jinchuriki in [Iwagakure] went berserk and transformed into a Tailed Beast,
Kitsuchi had used this very technique to suppress it all by himself!
Against an ordinary shinobi,
getting caught in this technique would probably mean being crushed flat by its terrifying pressure!
Its power was even comparable to the ordinary version of [Planetary Devastation]!
Clearly, Kitsuchi had been pushed into a corner by Natsume, forced to use even this trump-card technique.
At that moment, the majestic, hundred-meter-wide hemisphere of earth and stone closed in around him.
Its sheer might was truly astonishing!
A mere Iwagakure Jonin could suppress a Tailed Beast and hold off the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path for a moment with his ninjutsu alone.
He was truly extraordinary!
And with rocks this massive, once they closed around you, there was no time to dodge.
No wonder [Iwagakure] had kept Kitsuchi so well hidden.
If the other villages knew [Iwagakure] had such a ruthless fighter who could suppress a Tailed Beast at any moment, they would have been on edge long ago.
Of course, as domineering as this technique was,
it was no challenge for Natsume as he was now.
[Eight Inner Gates]
[Flying Thunder God Technique]
And so on...
Any of them would be enough to break through or evade this technique.
But Natsume, his excitement piqued, still chose to take it head-on!
The next instant,
"Boom!"
The two enormous earthen spheres slammed together with a deafening sonic boom. The crash echoed for several kilometers.
"Huff, huff—"
In the distance, Kitsuchi panted heavily after completing the technique.
Releasing a ninjutsu on such a massive scale all at once had taken a serious toll on him.
But at least he had finally trapped his enemy!
He just didn't know if he had crushed him into a meat patty...
Still, considering how terrifyingly strong this enemy was, and that he had a divine weapon at his side, he probably wouldn't die so easily...
Even so, once someone was trapped by his 'Mountain Earth Jutsu,'
even a Tailed Beast wouldn't be able to break free for a while!
Kitsuchi let out a sigh of relief, loosening the taut nerves in his body.
But the next moment,
before he could catch his breath,
another tremendous whoosh rang out!
"Whoosh—"
A brilliant, razor-sharp beam of deep blue light suddenly shot out from the enormous earthen sphere ahead.
It slashed outward from within, carving a circle through the sphere.
The incredibly hard ball of rock and earth was as fragile as tofu before that dazzling blade of light.
With a single effortless slice, it split in two.
The next second,
an even more brilliant blue light burst through the crack in the sphere.
Then a towering, broad-shouldered azure demon phantom wielding a giant blade burst into view.
Natsume had clearly anticipated this from the start.
He had deliberately disguised his Susanoo's color to resemble a certain "Runtu," passing it off as something else.
"Slash, slash, slash—"
The spirit weaponized [Kunwu Blade] swung in Susanoo's hands like a world-ending blade from the heavens.
In an instant, it hacked the earthen sphere into countless pieces.
Kitsuchi stared from afar, dumbfounded, as if he were dreaming.
"Th-this is Susanoo?!"
"How is that possible? Doesn't he only have one Sharingan?"
"And where did that Susanoo get a weapon?!"
In the distance,
countless chunks of rock tumbled to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.
Natsume, with [Susanoo] activated, also crashed down hard, like a demon god falling from the heavens—unstoppable!
"This [Kunwu Blade] is incredible after being spirit weaponized!"
"It's so much sharper than the blade I made out of chakra before."
"Susanoo and a divine weapon really are a perfect match!"
"All right, time to put an end to this farce..."
Natsume's expression hardened, and he strode forward.
The towering Susanoo gripped its enormous divine blade and swung in a mighty horizontal slash, aiming straight for Kitsuchi in the distance!
The boundless gale raised by the giant blade alone
made Kitsuchi's scalp tingle and his heart pound with terror.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
"Earth Release: Moving Earth Core!"
"Earth Release: Hardening Technique!"
Kitsuchi hurriedly performed his ninjutsu.
Several layers of earthen defenses rose up around him, nearly draining the little chakra he had left.
But the defensive power of the more than ten earth walls that sprang up in that instant
far surpassed the defenses Danzo had once constructed, given his lack of skill in Earth Release.
If Natsume had still been using his chakra-forged blade, he might not have been able to cut through them all in a single slash.
Unfortunately for Kitsuchi,
these thick Earth Release defenses
were utterly helpless before Susanoo's might and the edge of [Kunwu Divine Blade].
They were all sliced apart with ease on the spot.
The cut was even smoother than a knife through butter!
Just as the blade was about to strike Kitsuchi,
Natsume shifted his aim at the last instant, turning the blade aside and striking Kitsuchi with its flat.
He didn't kill him outright.
After all, gravely injuring Kitsuchi and killing him were two entirely different things.
The man was the son of the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki. If Natsume killed him, he would make an irreconcilable enemy of [Iwagakure]!
It wasn't that he feared [Iwagakure].
But right now, his own [Flame Hidden Village] had only just been established, and his greatest enemy was still [Konoha].
Until Konoha was destroyed, making too many enemies among the other villages simply wasn't worth it.
Besides, Kitsuchi was quite strong.
If Natsume could persuade him to attack Konoha one day, he would surely give [Konoha] a huge surprise!
Of course, that blow, heavy as a thousand jun, had struck Kitsuchi with tremendous force.
Though it hadn't taken his life outright,
it left him dazed and battered, with bones broken throughout his body. He flew dozens of meters before crashing to the ground.
He had even activated [Hardening Technique], making his body harder than stone and greatly reducing the damage from physical attacks.
Yet he had still been beaten within an inch of his life, showing just how vicious that blow had been!
Seeing that Kitsuchi had lost consciousness and was completely out of the fight,
Natsume finally dispelled Susanoo and put away the Divine Blade.
He rubbed his aching eyes, grinning from ear to ear.
That settled it. He could be sure now:
with Susanoo active and the Divine Blade in hand, he was practically invincible!
Once he transplanted the 'Hashirama Cells' and gained an inexhaustible supply of stamina,
he would be able to roam freely across most of the Ninja World!
The feeling of having absolute power was truly incredible!
Soon,
once he'd finished enjoying himself, Natsume remembered what he needed to do.
Then he performed another ninjutsu.
"Character Binding Technique: Explosion!"
The 'Explosion' character shot out and landed on the earthen prison Kitsuchi had created to hold his teammate captive.
"Boom—"
The earthen prison burst open, revealing the Iwagakure shinobi inside, who was still groggy.
The genjutsu's hold on him had already been broken. Seeing the terrifying battlefield outside, strewn with wreckage, and Kitsuchi unconscious in the distance, he was stunned.
"Hey, you Iwagakure shinobi over there!"
"Kitsuchi's been defeated. Hurry back and bring reinforcements!"
"Tell that old geezer Ōnoki I'll be waiting right here. When he gets here, I'll smash his head in!"
Natsume shouted arrogantly, murder radiating from him.
The Iwagakure shinobi's knees nearly buckled.
Now that even the powerful Captain Kitsuchi had been defeated, how could he dare hesitate?
He scrambled out of the earthen prison and fled toward [Iwagakure],
ready to go back and ask for reinforcements.
Before you continue