Li Yu saw that the Wood Man had served its purpose. He made it straighten up, then, with two muffled "poofs" beside him, it vanished into two clouds of white smoke.
Sage Art: Big Ball Rasengan Shuriken
He put all his strength into hurling it toward the Iwa ninja. In Sage Mode, the Big Ball Rasengan Shuriken was enormous, with a wider attack range and greater power.
"Look out! That Konoha ninja threw something!"
"Two Shuriken glowing white!"
"It's a jutsu! Defend yourselves!"
"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"
"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"
"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"
Although the Iwa ninja had just suffered a crushing loss, there were plenty of elite shinobi among their ten thousand troops. The squad leaders directed them to use jutsu to block the attack. On two sides of the formation, more than forty earthen walls suddenly rose in rapid succession.
Looking down at the ten-thousand-strong formation, Li Yu saw nearly a hundred Earth Style Walls rise from the ground. It was a spectacular sight; even on an ordinary battlefield, one rarely saw so many shinobi unleash the same jutsu at once.
"I've been lucky enough to see this several times, but this time it's the biggest by far."
"Rumble! Rumble!"
Two deafening explosions became a pair of enormous spinning spheres of white light. One after another, more than a hundred earthen walls crumbled into dust, swallowed by the whirling light. Whether it was the dust kicked up or the sheer volume of blood, the white light took on a murky red hue. When the storm and the glare finally faded, all that remained in the hundred-meter-wide crater was sticky, reddish-black mud.
"An S-rank jutsu backed by Sage Mode isn't something a few B-rank jutsu can stop."
Even the Great Fire Annihilation, a B-rank jutsu Uchiha Madara had used against the Allied Shinobi Forces, had been blocked by only a few dozen shinobi. Li Yu's Sage Art: Big Ball Rasengan Shuriken was incomparably more powerful. It swept through the enemy ranks, leaving them no chance to even think of resisting.
"When you've got chakra to spare, you can go all out!"
Li Yu stopped using the Wood Man to bluff his opponents. It bent its knees, crouched, then leaped straight into the mass of Iwa ninja. It towered over them, and with every punch and kick, it sent nearby shinobi flying.
The scene was brutally violent. No one could withstand a single blow from the Wood Man. It rampaged through the enemy ranks, allowing Li Yu to vent all the frustration he'd felt during his fight with Third Raikage A.
"Go on, block this!"
"Who's next?"
"Ever seen a fist as big as a hill?"
The more he fought, the more fired up Li Yu got. He couldn't keep his mouth shut as he reveled in the satisfying, exhilarating battle.
But the fun didn't last long. Fighting one punch and one kick at a time was simply too slow. Before long, many of the Iwa ninja were dodging and retreating, making it impossible to take out more than a few with each blow.
"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"
"Earth Style: Rock Bullet!"
"Lightning Release: Lightning Ball!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
"Wind Release: Wind Blade!"
The Iwa ninja weren't pushovers. Seeing Li Yu's Wood Man wreaking havoc, they immediately organized an attack, launching their strongest jutsu from every direction in an attempt to kill him in one strike.
"Oh, your willpower's not bad. Even after taking so many losses, you can still mount an effective attack."
Li Yu didn't seem concerned. He continued forming Hand Seals, looking ready to fight to the death, without making the slightest attempt to defend himself.
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"
The Wood Dragon on the Wood Man sprang to life and continued its attack on the Iwa ninja. Under Li Yu's control, it charged through the ranks, whipped its tail around, and swept everything before it.
The Iwa ninja watched eagerly, expecting their elemental jutsu to hit the Wood Man. But then a shocking sight unfolded.
Every jutsu passed through the Wood Man as if it were nothing but air—as if it were an illusion. The attacks flew through it and struck the ground and trees, even hitting the Iwa ninja's own ranks and causing widespread chaos.
"How is this possible?"
"Why are all our attacks missing?"
"We used up so much chakra for this perfect chance, and still we missed!"
"That Konoha ninja is so strong! Can we win? Can we really win?"
Many Iwa ninja began to lose heart. They'd been fighting for so long without landing a single effective attack. They'd only been slaughtered, utterly unable to fight back.
"Don't be afraid! We outnumber him. We can wear him down!"
"That's right! As long as we don't give up, we can kill this Konoha ninja!"
"That's right!"
"That's right!"
The Iwa ninja steeled themselves and charged at the Wood Man, ready to die if necessary. They were determined to wear Li Yu down and kill him there.
Li Yu watched as the Iwa ninja still refused to give up.
"Do the desperate really win? Not necessarily. It looks like you still don't understand the situation."
"If you Iwa ninja aren't afraid to die and are all charging at me, then that's exactly what I wanted."
The Wood Dragon returned to the Wood Man. In the Kamui Dimension, there was a "poof" as his second clone turned into a cloud of white smoke. Li Yu maintained Sage Mode and formed Hand Seals.
Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands!
A thousand-foot-tall Buddha rose from the earth, seated on a cushion with its hands clasped together. Behind it, more than a thousand enormous hands fanned out in layered rows like a peacock's tail.
Li Yu stood atop the hundred-meter-tall Wood Man, which sat cross-legged with its hands clasped as well. Its fierce, glaring expression had given way to one of solemn devotion as it sat atop the giant Buddha's head.
This was the true Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands. The Wood Man sat cross-legged atop the giant Buddha's head. It was nothing like the knockoff White Zetsu had used against the shinobi forces. The difference in size between the figures—and between the Buddha and the hands behind it—was like night and day.
Standing atop the thousand-meter-tall Buddha, Li Yu looked down at the Iwa ninja below. A moment ago, he'd thought of them as grasshoppers. Now they seemed like ants, no more than little black dots in his eyes.
"This is what Beyond Kage Level looks like. It's my first time using this—tremble, Earthlings!"
The Iwa ninja below were stunned. Many dropped to the ground, trembling uncontrollably, their eyes wide with terror. Despair spread through their ranks.
"What... what is that?"
"Is he even human? Is this a miracle?"
"It's all an illusion! It's all an illusion!"
"Hahaha! You're all going to die! Every one of you! Hahaha!"
Again and again, they'd summoned the courage to fight, only to have reality crush them again. Unable to withstand the shock, some Iwa ninja were driven mad by the giant Buddha's overwhelming presence. They had no fight left in them.
Li Yu was using this jutsu for the first time, and even he couldn't help marveling at the Buddha's immense size and the crushing pressure it exerted.
"That should do it. Time to finish this."
"Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands!"
At once, the hands behind the giant Buddha began to move. They clenched into fists and rained blows down on the Iwa ninja.
"Rumble! Rumble!"
The rumbling never stopped, and the earth shook. Thousands of Iwa ninja were crushed beneath the assault. Their screams were drowned out by the endless thunder of the blows, while great clouds of sand, rocks, and dust concealed the area ahead being pummeled by the Buddha's fists.
Li Yu took a deep breath. After five straight minutes of striking, he'd used up quite a bit of chakra, so he made the giant Buddha draw back its hands.
"Damn, that's brutal!"
As the dust cleared, the several-hundred-meter-wide area that had been struck was revealed. The ground had sunk seven or eight meters and was as flat as if a road roller had gone over it.
The several thousand Iwa ninja who remained were stunned by Li Yu's attack. They stood frozen in place, forgetting even to turn around and run.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Four Deep Forest Emergences came without warning, giving the Iwa ninja no time to think. Closing in from all sides, they were meant to wipe out the remaining Iwa ninja in one fell swoop.
"Run!"
"Run!"
"Retreat!"