Shaoyu's hands are shaking.
It was not a tremor of fear, but a tremor of being unable to bear the power.
The confrontation between Cang and He produced an unimaginable load. Even with his body strengthened by Converter, he felt a little strenuous.
And even it was his first time to use this move.
But he didn't stop.
Keep your hands together.
The distance between Cang and He is getting closer and closer, and finally--
They disappeared.
It's not fusion, it's disappearance.
Cang is gone, He is gone, only a transparent dot is left, floating quietly between the palms of Shaoyu.
That's a "nothing".
There is nothing, yet it contains everything.
That's Hollow Technique.
water chestnut.
That is enough power to destroy everything.
Mahoraga's roulette wheel turned to the limit. The roulette wheel turned so fast that it almost burned, and made a harsh scream, as if it was whining, asking for help, or roaring in despair.
It's felt.
I felt the terror contained in that power.
That is a power that it cannot adapt to, cannot analyze, cannot calculate at this moment.
Because that power is beyond its cognitive scope. It is not Cang, not He, or any magic technique it has seen.
It is a brand new existence, something that has never appeared in this world.
Run quickly.
Must run quickly.
Mahoraga had the idea of escape for the first time.
It gave up attacking, giving up cracking, and giving up the victory that was so close at hand.
It turned around suddenly, its huge body burst out at an unprecedented speed, and ran wildly away from Shaoyu.
One step, ten feet.
Two steps, twenty feet.
Three steps, thirty feet.
It was as fast as a black lightning, so fast that even the shadow could not keep up with its speed.
But it can't beat that ray of light.
Shaoyu Flick it lightly.
The transparent dot turned into a bright light and shot out from his fingertips.
The brilliance was breathtakingly beautiful.
It is not as violent as any ninjutsu, nor as sharp as any attack.
It just drifted forward quietly and slowly, like a meteor streaking across the night sky, like an aurora falling on the world.
Wherever it passes, space is cut open, time seems to stand still, and everything becomes slow and quiet.
The color of that radiance was indescribable. It was not white, not gold, not any color in the spectrum.
It seems to be the superposition of all colors, and it seems to be the absence of all colors.
Looking at it is like seeing the origin of the universe, the end of time, and the essence of nothingness.
Mahoraga is running.
It ran as hard as it could, using all its speed and all its power.
Its wheels were shaking, its muscles were shaking violently, every cell in it was screaming to go faster.
But it can't outrun that brilliance.
The light seemed slow, but in fact it was extremely fast. It penetrated the space, ignored the distance, and caught up with Mahoraga in an instant.
Then--
passed through it.
At that moment, time seemed to stand still.
Mahoraga's body froze in place, that huge body, those terrifying muscles, and that deadly Sword of Extermination, all solidified at that moment.
It maintained a running posture, raising one foot and landing on the other, leaning forward, swinging its arms - and then, it froze like that.
It looked down at its own body.
There is a huge hole in the chest.
A round, smooth-edged hole that penetrates the entire body.
Around the hole, there was no blood, no debris, just nothingness.
Not disappearing, not destroying, but being completely wiped out of existence.
There used to be flesh and blood, bones, and meridians there, but now there is nothing there, only a void left. Through that hole, you can see the night sky and stars in the distance.
Mahoraga raised his head and looked at Shaoyu in the distance.
There seemed to be a trace of confusion on the face without eyes.
Why?
Why is there such power?
It is Mahoraga. It is an existence that can adapt to all attacks. Whether it is physical attacks or ninjutsu attacks, whether it is chakra or magic power, as long as you give it time, it can adapt, be immune, and counterattack.
But this...
It had no time to adapt.
It has no chance of finding the answer.
The body begins to collapse.
Starting from that hole, the cracks spread around like broken porcelain.
The cracks became more and more numerous and dense, and finally spread all over the body.
Every crack is expanding, spreading, and devouring traces of its existence.
Then--
Bang.
Mahoraga turned into countless fragments and dissipated in the air.
Those fragments were scattered in the night wind, like black snowflakes, falling into the distance, towards the earth, and into the ashes left behind by those Iwagakure Ninja it killed.
The turntable behind him fell.
It's all over.
Shaoyu stood in place, maintaining the finger-flicking posture, motionless.
His hands were still shaking slightly, which was the aftereffects of enduring the pain. His face was a little pale, which was a sign of physical exhaustion.
He stood there, looking at the direction in which Mahoraga disappeared, looking at the empty night sky, and looking at the bright light that gradually dissipated.
A long time--
He smiled.
The smile started from the corner of the mouth, gradually spread to the entire face, and finally turned into a deep laughter.
"Heh... hehe... hahahaha--!"
The laughter grew louder and louder, echoing on this dead battlefield.
There was ecstasy and relief in that laughter.
He did it.
He really did it.
At the moment when Mahoraga was hit, at the last moment when its existence was about to be wiped out, Shaoyu completed the taming ceremony.
It was not a battle, but a conquest, using absolute power to make that monster surrender.
Now, Mahoraga is his.
Isshiki, the most powerful god among Ten Shadows Technique, has been used by him ever since.
Shaoyu raised his hand and looked at his palm.
Those hands looked ordinary, slender and strong, with smooth skin, no different from any young man in his twenties.
But only he himself knows what kind of power is contained in these hands.
Limitless, has been fully mastered.
I am already proficient in the three techniques of Cang, He and Chu.
Blood Manipulation, can control his own blood as he wishes.
There is also the body strengthened by Converter, which surpasses the physique of Raikage and is powerful enough to fight Tailed Beast with bare hands.
He closed his eyes and felt the raging power inside his body.
That feeling cannot be described in words.
It's like a person who has been carrying a heavy load suddenly has all the burdens lifted.
Powerful.
Unprecedentedly powerful.
He opened his eyes, which shone with golden light in the moonlight.
"Shinobi World is the strongest..." He murmured, his voice was very soft, as if he was confirming something.
"I am now the strongest Shinobi World."