Wood Release? Majestic Attire Susanoo

On the deserted island, everything changed in an instant.

Just as Yagura Karatachi's consciousness was invaded by the Sharingan genjutsu and his body went rigid at the critical moment, a black shadow burrowed out of the darkness behind him like a ghost—it was Black Zetsu! Its bizarre half-black, half-white body was like a flowing swamp, instantly wrapping around Yagura's petite frame. A powerful sealing formula activated at once alongside cold, sinister chakra, completely restraining the Three-Tails jinchuriki, who had temporarily lost control of his body after his mind was wounded.

"Mm...!" Yagura only managed a short, muffled grunt before his vision went black and he completely lost consciousness. His body went limp as Black Zetsu dragged him underground, and he vanished. The entire process was lightning-fast; from Uchiha Narong casting the genjutsu to Black Zetsu completing the capture, it took no more than one or two breaths.

It all happened so quickly that Utakata, not far away, had no time to react. He had been fully focused on guarding against Yagura, preparing to deal with this newly appointed Mizukage's questioning or attack. He never would have expected a sudden change! The ANBU "Crow," who had been standing silently behind the Mizukage all along, had suddenly struck at the Mizukage, and there was even such a bizarre creature there to assist him!

"Yagura!!!" Utakata's pupils shrank, and he roared in shock and fury. Though he had defected, he had no personal grudge against Yagura. He even held a complicated sliver of hope for this young Mizukage who was trying to change the village. Now, seeing Yagura abducted, a blaze of rage at being deceived and betrayed instantly overwhelmed his reason. "Who the hell are you people?!"

"Heh..." Uchiha Narong slowly removed the cat-faced ANBU mask from his face and tossed it aside, revealing the specially made silver ninja-tool mask beneath. It exposed only his hard-lined jaw and a pair of eyes that had already turned scarlet, with three tomoe slowly rotating within them. "Who are we? That isn't important. What's important is that you, Utakata, an S-rank rogue ninja of the Hidden Mist Village, not only returned to the village without permission, but even had the audacity to attack Lord Fourth Mizukage. Your crimes are unforgivable!"

Narong's voice came through the mask, carrying a deliberately crafted mockery and chill. He needed to give this battle a "reasonable" excuse, while also provoking Utakata and disturbing his state of mind.

"Bastard! Uchiha, you're the ones who ambushed Yagura! What the hell are you trying to do?!" Utakata was shocked and furious. Dense Tailed Beast chakra instantly surged from his body, forming a dark-red Tailed Beast cloak. A tail made of bubbles swayed behind him, giving off a dangerous aura. His hands formed seals rapidly as he watched Narong and the surrounding ground warily, guarding against another sneak attack from Black Zetsu.

"Trying to do?" Narong sneered, his Sharingan locking firmly onto Utakata. "Capturing you, a rogue ninja and jinchuriki who endangers the village, is exactly what I'm trying to do! As for Lord Mizukage, naturally, I'll take him back and 'protect' him properly! Utakata, you and your master Harusame are both traitors to the village! Today, I'll clean house myself!"

He deliberately mentioned Utakata's master, Harusame. That was the deepest scar in Utakata's heart, and the one thing he could not tolerate!

"Shut up! You're not allowed to mention my master!!" Sure enough, Utakata instantly flew into a rage, his reason swallowed by fury. Harusame had died in the darkness of the Bloody Mist's policies; it was the root of his defection and suffering! "It was the village! It was you high-and-mighty bastards who got him killed! You're the traitors! You're the executioners!"

"Stubborn fool!" This was exactly the effect Narong wanted! He needed Utakata to lose control of his emotions. That would make it easier for him to reveal openings, and also make him easier to influence with the Sharingan. Moreover, an enraged Utakata was more likely to use the Tailed Beast's power without regard for the consequences. That was precisely what Narong wanted—a perfect Kage-level sparring partner to test his own strength and force out his own potential!

"Move!" Narong barked, not at Black Zetsu, but at the White Zetsu clones hidden in the surrounding environment. At the same time, his own figure abruptly blurred!

"Body Flicker Technique!"

An afterimage remained where he had been, while his true body shot toward Utakata like an arrow loosed from the string! His speed was astonishing, displaying taijutsu skill far beyond that of an ordinary elite jonin!

"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

Narong launched the first attack. His hand seals were so fast they dazzled the eye, and a massive, solid, scorching fire dragon roared out, opening its huge jaws to devour Utakata! This was no probe, but a powerful B-rank Fire Release!

"Bubble Mirror Reflection!"

Though Utakata was furious, his battle instincts were still intact. He instantly blew out a large number of special bubbles, which quickly formed an enormous wall of bubbles in front of him, shimmering with rainbow light. When the fire dragon struck the bubble wall, it was bizarrely refracted to the side, crashing into a distant rock wall and blasting out a huge pit.

"Interesting!" Narong's gaze sharpened. His Sharingan precisely captured the chakra flow and structural weak point of the bubble wall. "But it's not enough! Wind Style: Vacuum Great Sphere!"

He instantly changed tactics, spitting out a highly compressed air cannonball that shot accurately toward the most unstable point in the bubble wall's structure!

"Bang!" The bubble wall shattered at once. But Utakata had already used the chance to retreat, his hands dancing rapidly. "Ninja Art: Bubble Chaos Wave: Sorrowful Prison!"

Countless bubbles containing acidic and explosive chakra shot toward Narong like a torrential rain, covering an extremely wide area!

"Sharingan: Manipulated Shuriken Technique!"

Narong neither dodged nor avoided. His hands swept out rapidly, and countless shuriken tied with explosive tags shot forth at extremely tricky angles, accurately intercepting one bubble after another in midair and setting off a chain of explosions! Deafening booms rang out without end as firelight and bubble residue splashed everywhere. The Sharingan's dynamic vision and insight allowed him to easily see through the bubbles' trajectories and pick them off with precision.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!" Utakata seized the chance to summon a water dragon from a nearby puddle, coordinating it with the remaining bubbles in a pincer attack.

"Lightning Style: Earth Walk!" Narong reacted extremely quickly. He pressed both hands to the ground, and electric currents instantly spread along the damp earth to Utakata's feet, trying to paralyze his movements.

Utakata hurriedly leaped up to dodge, but his movements were slightly sluggish. Narong seized the opportunity and charged in again!

"Wood Release: Rampaging Spear Tree!"

He finally used the power of the Hashirama cells! His right arm instantly turned wooden, then rapidly grew and branched, becoming countless sharp wooden spears that stabbed toward Utakata in midair from every angle like living things! This was the Wood Release secret technique of the First Hokage!

"What?! Wood Release?!" Utakata was shocked. He never would have imagined that this mysterious masked man could use the legendary Wood Release! That was the power the First Hokage had used to pacify the chaotic era! In this moment of crisis, he could no longer afford to hold back. The Tailed Beast cloak instantly became even denser, and a second bubble tail suddenly stretched out!

"Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique!"

Combining it with his own kekkei genkai, he spewed out high-temperature acidic mist in an attempt to corrode the incoming wooden spears. At the same time, powerful Tailed Beast chakra erupted, forming a shockwave that blasted away part of the attack.

Hiss, hiss, hiss! When the wooden spears came into contact with the acid mist, they let out an ear-piercing sound of corrosion. But Wood Release contained powerful life energy and had a certain resistance to corrosion. Though their tips were corroded, their momentum did not lessen!

"Pfft!" Despite Utakata's desperate dodging, one wooden spear still grazed past his ribs, drawing a spray of blood. Even a piece of his Tailed Beast cloak was torn apart!

"Urgh!" Utakata cried out in pain. After landing, he staggered a few steps, the shock in his eyes growing even stronger. He could clearly feel Wood Release's suppressive effect on Tailed Beast chakra!

As expected... Wood Release is a weapon made to deal with Tailed Beasts. Narong's mind settled, and he became even more confident in the fusion of his own power. But he also sensed that after Utakata was injured, the Six-Tails' chakra inside him had become even more violent.

"Unforgivable... you bastards... all of you are unforgivable!!" Utakata clutched his wound and growled. His voice began to turn somewhat hoarse and overlapping, as if another consciousness were awakening. His eyes began to redden, and his reason was rapidly corroded by the Tailed Beast's hatred. "I'm going to... kill you! Avenge my master! Saiken! Give me your power!!"

"Boom—!"

Even more enormous dark-red chakra erupted from Utakata like a volcano! A third and fourth bubble tail extended one after another! His body began to swell, his skin turning dark red like magma, his face twisting, and his mouth splitting open to reveal sharp teeth. Partial Tailed Beast transformation!

"Bubble: Oblivion Bubble!" Utakata—or rather, the Six-Tails—roared, spewing out a large number of huge bubbles capable of sealing memories. They were faster and covered a wider range!

"Troublesome!" Narong did not dare take them head-on. His Sharingan spun madly, and his figure moved like a ghost through the sky full of bubbles, weaving and refracting as his hands formed seals. "Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!" A sea of fire swept out, colliding with the bubbles, evaporating and exploding. The scene became utterly chaotic.

"It's not over! Tailed Beast Bomb: mini version!" The partially transformed Utakata opened his huge mouth, and a highly compressed purple-black chakra sphere radiating destructive energy rapidly took shape!

"Not a chance!" Narong's pupils shrank. He knew very well how powerful a Tailed Beast Bomb was! He pushed his chakra with all his strength and clasped his hands together. "Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"

A wooden dragon even larger and more lifelike than the previous Rampaging Spear Tree burst from the ground, roaring as it charged toward Utakata! The wooden dragon opened its huge mouth, not to attack directly, but to try to coil around him and absorb Utakata's chakra!

"Roar!" The mini Tailed Beast Bomb and the wooden dragon collided with a thunderous impact!

Rumble—!!!

An earth-shaking explosion rang out! The berserk shockwave once again leveled the entire depression, sending dust and smoke towering into the sky! The wooden dragon was blasted to pieces, but Narong also successfully disrupted the Tailed Beast Bomb's full condensation and direction, causing most of its power to detonate at close range. Utakata himself was also sent flying by the aftermath of the explosion, and even his partial Tailed Beast transformation became somewhat unstable.

"Cough, cough..." Narong was also thrown back by the shockwave. He smashed into a boulder before stopping, sweetness rising in his throat as a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. Taking the aftermath of a mini Tailed Beast Bomb head-on, even with the wooden dragon offsetting most of it, still gave him some internal injuries. The Hashirama cells began rapidly repairing his wounds.

"Looks like... I can't get by without getting serious." Narong wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, but the battle intent in his eyes rose even higher. He needed greater power to suppress a completely berserk Tailed Beast!

On the other side, Utakata, who had been blasted away, had completely lost his reason. The image of his master's death, his hatred from being hunted by the village, and the new and old grudges of now being ambushed and suppressed by a "Konoha ninja"—he thought Narong was from Konoha—completely ignited the hatred of the Six-Tails Saiken!

"Roar—!!!"

A roar that sounded nothing like a human voice, filled with endless desire for destruction, resounded across the deserted island! Utakata's body swelled wildly like an inflating balloon! The dark-red chakra armor completely covered his entire body. In the end, a terrifying creature more than thirty meters tall, like a giant slug, appeared amid the ruins! It had six milky-white tails, and its entire body was covered in slick, highly corrosive bodily fluid, radiating suffocating evil chakra!

Six-Tails Saiken, complete Tailed Beast transformation!

"Target... complete Tailed Beast transformation! Chakra volume... impossible to estimate! Warning! Warning!" White Zetsu's voice rang in Narong's mind with a trace of panic.

"It's finally... here?" Narong was not alarmed, but delighted. This was exactly what he wanted! Facing this terrifying existence like a mountain, he felt unprecedented pressure, but it also stirred the excitement and desire to conquer buried in his bones!

"Ordinary ninjutsu and Wood Release... aren't enough anymore." Narong took a deep breath. The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes began spinning, connecting, and transforming at a speed they had never reached before! They became more complex and profound, radiating an ominous yet majestic aura!

Mangekyo Sharingan, open!

"Then... let's try this! This is something I prepared especially to deal with big guys like you..." Narong clasped his hands together again, perfectly combining the Mangekyo's ocular power, the vitality of the Hashirama cells, and his own chakra!

"Wood Release: Creation! And... Majestic Attire Susanoo: fusion!"

Wood Release • Susanoo

Rumble, rumble. The earth trembled violently! A wooden structure even larger and more solid than the previous wooden dragon burst from the ground! But this time, it did not form a dragon shape. Instead, it quickly condensed and shaped itself into a giant humanoid skeleton! Immediately after, vast chakra surged out like something solid, building muscles and meridians over the skeleton, and finally covering it with a set of heavy armor as black as ink, flashing with cold metallic light!

A twenty-five-meter-tall giant clad in black armor, like a martial god from the underworld, stood towering before the Six-Tails Saiken! It had no facial features; its face was only a patch of deep darkness. But in the position of its eyes burned two ghostly blue flames—the projection of Narong's Mangekyo Sharingan!

This was the unique form Narong had developed by combining the life-creating power of Wood Release with the Mangekyo Sharingan's ultimate ocular technique, Susanoo! Wood Release formed a sturdy internal frame and core capable of growth and repair, while Majestic Attire Susanoo energy constructed the outer armor and weapon system! It possessed both Wood Release's suppression and vitality against Tailed Beasts, as well as Susanoo's absolute defense and powerful offense!

"What... kind of monster is this?!" Saiken, now completely dominated by the Tailed Beast's consciousness, felt from that black-armored giant a pressure born from instinct, similar to facing the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju! And... a deeper, colder malice that belonged to the Sharingan!

"Roar! (Die!)" Saiken roared, opening its huge mouth and once again beginning to condense a Tailed Beast Bomb! This time, it was a complete Tailed Beast Bomb, one powerful enough to destroy mountains!

"I won't give you the chance!" Narong, inside the black Susanoo, barked coldly! The huge black-armored giant moved! It raised its right arm. In that enormous hand, with a frame made of Wood Release and armor covered in Susanoo energy, a gigantic tachi wrapped in black lightning rapidly condensed!

"Wood Release: Shackling Stakes! Lightning Release: Lightning Blade!"

The black Susanoo took a step forward, and the ground split apart! The enormous lightning blade tore through the air, carrying the momentum to destroy everything as it slashed viciously down at the Six-Tails Saiken, which was condensing its Tailed Beast Bomb!

And Saiken's Tailed Beast Bomb was also about to be completed!

The two colossal beings, each tens of meters tall, began the ultimate clash on this desolate sea island! A creation born from the fusion of Wood Release and the Sharingan, VS the complete Tailed Beast!

Boom!!!!!!!!!!!

An explosion ten times more violent than before shook the entire sea!