Second Form Beneath the Wind Release Cloak

The most severely damaged rib had nearly been severed in half!

"Shisui can't keep expending himself like this."

Kakashi lowered his voice.

"Every time Susanoo is damaged, it takes ocular power to repair it."

Kurenai Yuhi looked at the blood continuously streaming from the corners of Shisui's eyes.

"The Mangekyō Sharingan will cause blindness?"

"It will."

Lie Yang's voice suddenly came from the center of the battlefield.

"Ocular power does not come without a price."

Lightning flashed around the massive green fist once more.

The Lightning Release Kunai slashed across Susanoo's wrist, leaving behind a long, narrow wound.

"Continuing to overdraw the Mangekyō Sharingan will only make your vision worse and worse."

"Once both eyes go completely blind, Susanoo will become a power you can no longer use."

A stabbing pain pierced Shisui's eyes, and the edges of his vision had already begun to blur slightly.

Yet he did not retreat because of it.

"As long as I bring you back to Konoha before I go blind, that's enough!"

The giant fist swept across.

Lie Yang slipped through the gaps between its finger bones.

"You can't keep up with me."

"Then I'll keep trying!"

Shisui forcibly opened his eyes wider.

The Mangekyō Sharingan's ocular power surged once more!

He no longer focused solely on Lie Yang's position.

Every time the lightning flashed, Lie Yang chose the bone surface best suited for landing.

Before every strike, he had to adjust his waist, abdomen, shoulders, and wrist.

No matter how fast Lightning Body Flicker was, it still had to obey the laws of human exertion.

If he couldn't see it once, then he would see it ten times.

If ten times wasn't enough, then a hundred times!

Shisui's gaze chased the lightning, forcefully committing every movement trajectory to memory.

Left rib.

Right shoulder.

Spine.

Wrist.

Lie Yang's next attack would definitely target the badly damaged left rib!

Lightning flared.

Susanoo's left fist turned in advance.

The instant Lie Yang appeared, enormous finger bones were already blocking the Lightning Release Kunai!

Clang!

A piercing collision exploded.

For the first time, the kunai failed to land where intended!

Shisui's spirits rose.

"Got you!"

Lightning flashed beneath Lie Yang's feet again.

But Shisui's right fist had already smashed toward the other side!

Boom!

Lie Yang barely avoided the punch's edge, and the wind pressure tore apart the ragged corner of his clothes.

Shisui saw it.

He had finally begun to adapt to Lie Yang's speed!

"Kakashi!"

Joy appeared on Might Guy's face.

"Shisui has caught up!"

"Not enough."

But Kakashi became even more tense.

The speed Lie Yang displayed showed no sign of slowing.

His offensive only grew faster and faster.

The wind pressure and lightning tore through his clothing, leaving tiny wounds across his body as well.

But Lie Yang paid them no mind.

An unfamiliar current of heat kept surging from within him.

It spread from his chest and abdomen to his shoulders and back, then flowed into all four limbs.

Every muscle burned.

Every bone ached.

The second-tier genetic shackle, already clearly visible, trembled again and again with the battle!

Just a little more.

The strength and pain brought by Susanoo were pushing his body to a higher level.

This was exactly the pressure Lie Yang wanted.

Boom!

The giant fist grazed his shoulder.

Several wounds split open at once.

Yet the excitement in Lie Yang's eyes only grew stronger.

The kunai in his hand thrust out again.

Sizzle!

Susanoo's rib was cut more than halfway through.

The next instant, the kunai could no longer withstand the strain and shattered on the spot!

Lie Yang casually tossed it aside and replaced it with a new kunai in an instant.

One.

Two.

Three!

In just a few seconds, seven kunai were destroyed in succession.

The wounds on the green bones also grew more numerous.

Shisui's vision had already been stained red with blood.

Pain continuously battered his mind.

But with every clash, he also became more familiar with Lie Yang's movement patterns.

"Just a little more!"

Shisui gritted his teeth.

"Just a little more, and I'll truly be able to keep up!"

Lie Yang slashed toward Susanoo's shoulder bone.

Shisui controlled its arm to block in advance.

The Lightning Release Kunai was stopped head-on by the enormous finger bones!

Boom!

Their powers locked in a stalemate.

For the first time, Shisui accurately intercepted Lie Yang's attack after he completed Lightning Body Flicker!

"He did it!"

Kurenai Yuhi could not help crying out.

Shisui did not relax.

He poured all his remaining ocular power into Susanoo!

Rumble!

The enormous green skeleton shook violently.

Fine strands of chakra began growing from the surface of its bones.

Muscle fibers!

Countless green fibers spread wildly along the ribs, spine, and arms, intertwining with one another and swiftly filling the gaps between the bones.

Susanoo's outline was no longer merely a rigid skeleton.

Its shoulders became broad and thick.

Its arms became powerful.

Layers of muscle and fascia also covered its fists!

Second form!

It was not over yet.

Pale green Wind Release chakra surged from Shisui's body and spread continuously through Susanoo's muscles.

Whoosh!

A violent gale erupted without warning.

A flowing Wind Release Cloak covered the gigantic body.

Countless wind blades, too difficult to see with the naked eye, spun at high speed around Susanoo, instantly grinding nearby flying stones into powder!

The moment the Lightning Release Kunai in Lie Yang's hand approached, the currents on its surface were continuously torn apart by the wind blades.

Sizzle!

Dense sparks burst from the kunai.

Several fine wounds appeared simultaneously on Lie Yang's arm, shoulder, and the side of his face.

The blood had barely seeped out before the gale scattered it away.

Kakashi's expression changed completely as he watched that Wind Release Cloak.

"He merged an elemental ninjutsu into Susanoo?"

"Can't the first stage do that?" Kurenai Yuhi asked.

"Under normal circumstances, you would need to develop Susanoo to a higher level first."

Kakashi's voice was heavy.

"Shisui mastered this transformation ahead of time."

Wind Release chakra could counter Lightning Release.

The invisible wind blades could cut down any enemy that came close.

If Lie Yang wanted to continue attacking at high speed along Susanoo's bones, he would first have to endure that Wind Release Cloak!

Shisui raised his head, panting.

"Now I can keep up."

As Lie Yang looked at Susanoo after its evolution, undisguised delight appeared on his face for the first time.

"Very good."

The pressure was still rising.

Shisui's potential was even greater than he had expected.

Lie Yang did not activate the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Much less summon his own Susanoo.

Lightning exploded beneath his feet again as he charged directly into the Wind Release Cloak!

Screech! Screech! Screech!

The invisible wind blades cut through his clothes, leaving dozens of tiny wounds across his body.

The Lightning Release Kunai also wore down violently in the high-speed clash.

Yet Lie Yang did not slow down.

The blade thrust straight toward Susanoo's chest!

The giant green hand shot up.

Its five fingers closed.

This time, Susanoo's movements were no longer stiff.

After being covered in muscle and fascia, the way its arm exerted force had become extremely similar to that of a real human body.

The shoulder turned.

The elbow dropped.

The wrist twisted.

The massive palm blocked before its chest from the most suitable defensive position!

Clang!

The Lightning Release Kunai pierced the surface layer of muscle, but could no longer advance.

Shisui's ocular power surged wildly, and excitement finally appeared on his face.

For the first time.

For the first time, he truly kept up with Lie Yang's fighting rhythm!

Shisui held nothing back.

All his ocular power erupted at once, pushed beyond its limits.

The giant palm blocked the Lightning Release Kunai.

Susanoo's other massive fist swept in from the side!

Yet Lie Yang showed no trace of panic.

The second-stage Susanoo surpassed the previous one in strength, defense, and agility.

But it still had one unchangeable weakness.

It was too big.

A body dozens of meters tall, no matter how agile, could never execute every movement as fluidly as a human.

Lie Yang released the damaged Kunai.

He formed seals with one hand.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!"

The ground beneath Shisui exploded with a roar.

A thick stone pillar burst from the earth without warning, striking Susanoo's raised right arm with perfect precision!

Boom!

The enormous arm was forcibly thrust into the air.

The pillar's tip pierced through the green muscles and fascia, driving deeper and deeper until it brutally penetrated Susanoo's bones!