Bibi Dong, who was just about to rise, froze in place.
"Every Spirit Master has a different physique and a different-quality Martial Soul. Shouldn't the number of years a Spirit Ring can withstand vary from person to person?"
Naruto furrowed his brow slightly and slowly turned his head. His calm voice gradually became taunting. "Are the so-called Spirit Ring limits really accurate? Or does our esteemed Pope only know how to parrot other people?"
"Hmph!"
Bibi Dong let out a cold snort.
As she slowly sat back down on the Soul Power sofa, a chilling smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
"I dare say it. Do you, little brat, dare to bet?"
"What wouldn't I dare?"
The instant Bibi Dong finished speaking, Naruto answered without changing his expression.
The smile on Bibi Dong's face slowly vanished. Her brow furrowed, and she had to raise a hand to her forehead to suppress her irritation.
This brat was serious!
After a brief silence,
Bibi Dong said nothing. She merely glanced up at Naruto, and he sensed a wisp of Spiritual Power drifting out of the Sealing Space.
Rather than stop it, Naruto closed his eyes and relaxed completely, letting the Spiritual Power slowly travel through his meridians and examine him carefully.
A moment later,
the Spiritual Power withdrew, and Bibi Dong finally spoke after a long period of thought.
"Your training over the past six months has worked better than I expected. With a body built like a bull's..."
Bibi Dong paused and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her expression was tangled with indecision, but that lasted only a few seconds before she forcefully suppressed it. "Five hundred years! Anything under five hundred years will definitely be fine!"
Bibi Dong sounded certain.
But that still fell short of Naruto's goal.
From the real world, Naruto peered through the bushes at the largest of the four giant turtles and drew a deep breath.
"So you're saying anything over five hundred years is worth a gamble?"
"You really are a newborn calf that doesn't fear the tiger!"
Bibi Dong could see exactly what Naruto was thinking and immediately grew restless.
"Five hundred and seventy years?"
After repeating the Soul Beast's age aloud, Bibi Dong warned him again. "Little Ming, listen carefully! The Spirit Ring limit was tested with the lives of countless Spirit Masters!"
"Your body is stronger than that of a Spirit Master at the same level, but there's no precedent for me to consult. I don't know just how strong your body would have to be to bridge that 150-year gap..."
"I..." Bibi Dong let out a quiet sigh. "I can only guarantee anything under five hundred years! Do you understand?"
"I understand."
Naruto nodded firmly.
"With our esteemed Pope's words, the original 150-year gap has already shrunk to seventy. I've got plenty of confidence now."
"Don't die."
Bibi Dong folded her arms and offered her concern in a chilly tone.
Naruto was used to it by now. Soul Power began circulating through his body as he readied himself. "Of course. But first... lend me some of your Soul Power."
Naruto took a deep breath and formed Hand Seals.
Multi Shadow Clone Technique!
Poof!
A tremendous boom suddenly rang out through the forest!
The Pure Water Turtles, which had been looking around, all turned toward the sound. In the bushes by the pond, a thick cloud of smoke had appeared. Before the giant turtles could make sense of it,
dozens of figures burst out of the smoke!
The four giant turtles' pupils narrowed to slits. In the Soul Hunting Forest, humans and Soul Beasts had long been locked in a fight to the death. Without hesitation, they gathered azure water cannons in their mouths and blasted them out with a roar!
Four water cannons traced graceful arcs through the air and fell among the crowd!
Boom!!
The water spheres exploded.
On any other day, those two-legged beasts would have fled.
But now, amid the spray, dust, and shattered stones, a surging mass of figures swarmed forward like a black tsunami, unstoppable!
With no time to consider why, the giant turtles could only roar on instinct, then strain to move their legs and charge headlong into the oncoming tide!
Deep in the Soul Hunting Forest,
the forest, which should have been sparsely populated, had somehow become eerily lively. Countless people darted through the trees at high speed. An outsider might have thought a great battle had broken out.
But a closer look revealed that they were just hunting Soul Beasts.
Several Pure Water Turtles staggered along in a sorry state, their bodies covered in countless fresh, red wounds. They fired a water cannon with all their strength, taking out several people before them, but it was a drop in the ocean.
Everywhere they looked, there were two-legged beasts, and their numbers didn't seem to dwindle at all. The full-grown giant turtle could only roar in greater fury.
Clatter!
Perhaps seeing its resistance weaken,
the crisp sound of chains rang out, and countless chains shot from the hands of the Spirit Masters!
In an instant, they formed a huge black net, which swarmed around and bound the central Pure Water Turtle's limbs. Everyone grabbed their Martial Souls and pulled together. The chains went taut, and the enormous Pure Water Turtle at the center threw its head back and let out a resentful groan!
"Roar!!"
Its roar echoed through the forest. Its massive body no longer managed to break free of the chains as before. At last, it could no longer hold itself up and crashed heavily to the ground.
Thud!
At the edge of the crowd,
the three giant turtles that heard the commotion answered with mournful cries and made one last charge, only to be blocked by the Shadow Clones standing guard around the perimeter. They could only retreat in frustration.
Naruto watched from afar.
Standing at the edge of the battlefield, he formed Hand Seals, replenishing the Shadow Clones that were lost in the fight.
The Multi Shadow Clone Technique truly lived up to its reputation as a Ninjutsu tailor-made for a Jinchuriki. From the moment Naruto got his hands on Dong Trumpet and learned the Multi Shadow Clone Technique, victory had been assured.
Naruto swept his gaze across the battlefield and looked at the five-hundred-year-old Pure Water Turtle surrounded by his clones.
The Shadow Clones around it still clung to the chains, but none of them approached. A wide-open space had formed in the middle of the packed crowd.
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
Now all that remained was to wait...
Boom!
A sudden change!
Naruto frowned as several Shadow Clones were blasted to pieces on the spot.
Before him, the giant Pure Water Turtle glared at the people around it with blood-red eyes. The azure patterns on its shell had turned crimson, as if they were burning. Surging Soul Power poured out of its body and pressed in every direction!
The nearby Shadow Clones were immediately forced down, dropping to one knee. They could only grit their teeth and struggle to hold on. It was only a matter of time before the pressure crushed them into Soul Power.
Suppressing the jumbled memories sent back by the Shadow Clones, Naruto's eyes nevertheless lit up with delight.
Finally!
Pure Water Turtles.
A rare Soul Beast found in the southern part of the continent.
The thirty-seventh volume of the Spirit Hall's Spirit Beast Chronicle stated that their Spirit Rings, whether a hundred or a thousand years old, usually granted water-cannon-type Soul Skills suited to the vast majority of water-related Martial Souls. But in certain special circumstances, a furious Pure Water Turtle would burn its life to create a gravity field.
If killed at that moment, the Spirit Ring it yielded would transform into an auxiliary Soul Skill that suppressed opponents. Take note, take note: when hunting a Pure Water Turtle, one must act quickly!
According to the records, from the moment a Pure Water Turtle released its gravity field in a last-ditch effort until its death, no more than half an incense stick's worth of time would pass.
Feeling the pressure released by this five-hundred-year-old Soul Beast as it fought for its life, Naruto let a few drops of cold sweat run down his forehead. At the same time, he turned his awareness toward the Sealing Space, beaming.
"Dear sister, lend me another Martial Soul!"
Before you continue