Tempering the Origin Through Pain

"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"

The Earth-Style Wall stood over ten meters tall and nearly five meters thick.

The explosive flames slammed heavily into the wall.

The outer layer of rock and soil quickly charred and cracked.

Boom!

The first layer of the earthen wall shattered.

The thicker rock layer behind it continued to hold.

More and more cracks spread across it.

Large amounts of blackened rubble sprayed backward.

By the time the flames fully dissipated, less than half of the oversized Earth-Style Wall remained, yet Lie Yang stood steadily behind it.

Shisui did not hesitate.

The Susanoo Spiral Spear pierced through the damaged earthen wall!

Pff!

The heavy rock layer was pierced through in a single thrust.

Countless shards of stone exploded in every direction.

The spearhead swept past Lie Yang's front.

As Lie Yang twisted aside to evade it, his right hand had already raised a ball of rapidly spinning chakra.

There were no hand seals.

Nor were there any complicated transformations.

The chakra compressed rapidly in his palm as fine arcs of lightning continuously burst from within.

Rasengan!

And it was a Rasengan infused with Lightning Release nature transformation!

Lie Yang flicked his wrist.

The fist-sized Lightning Release Rasengan flew from his hand, following the narrow passage carved through the Earth-Style Wall by the Spiral Spear and striking Susanoo's abdomen with perfect accuracy!

Crackle!

Blinding lightning suddenly erupted.

The Lightning Release Rasengan did not explode immediately. Instead, it resembled a high-speed drill, frantically grinding away at the muscles and bones on Susanoo's surface.

Large amounts of green chakra splattered everywhere.

One inch.

Three inches.

Half a meter!

The spinning lightning continued boring deeper, forcibly drilling a meter-deep hole into Susanoo's abdomen!

Shisui's pupils contracted sharply.

"Rasengan?"

"The Fourth Hokage's ninjutsu!"

Kakashi also snapped his head up.

Lie Yang had not only mastered the Rasengan, but had also integrated Lightning Release nature transformation into it, allowing a ninjutsu originally meant for close combat to be thrown from a distance!

Before Shisui could recover from his shock, Lie Yang's real body had already used the Earth-Style Wall as cover to rush to Susanoo's abdomen.

He raised his right hand.

A fresh sphere of chakra spun rapidly in his palm.

A piercing shriek instantly rang across the battlefield.

Massive amounts of Wind Release chakra extended outward, rapidly condensing into four sharp leaf-like blades!

Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!

Lie Yang directly pressed the completed ninjutsu into the hole drilled by the Lightning Release Rasengan.

Boom!

The high-frequency vibrating Wind Release chakra erupted completely!

Countless fine wind needles crazily burst through Susanoo's interior.

Layer upon layer of green muscle was shredded apart.

Dense cracks appeared one after another across the surface of its ribs.

Shisui could even feel the agonizing pain as those wind needles pierced through Susanoo and rebounded onto his body and chakra pathways.

"Genjutsu!"

Ignoring the fact that his eyes were already nearing their limit, he unleashed the Mangekyō Sharingan's ocular power.

An invisible spiritual force crossed through the damaged Susanoo and crashed directly into Lie Yang's consciousness.

Darkness swiftly enveloped his five senses.

Countless whispers rose from the depths of his mind, trying to distort his judgment and disrupt his movements.

Yet Lie Yang did not pause in the slightest.

Under the first stage of the Gene Lock, his five senses had long been independently separated from chakra interference.

Sound was sound.

Images were images.

The false perceptions created by chakra could not shake the spiritual origin tempered by the Gene Lock.

The Mangekyō Sharingan genjutsu was like something separated by an impenetrable barrier.

The moment any intrusion approached, it was crushed by his utterly condensed will.

Lie Yang had already repeatedly verified this with Shadow Clones while traveling.

Ordinary genjutsu could not control him.

Even if Mangekyō Sharingan genjutsu was more powerful, it could only cause brief mental stimulation.

Lie Yang continued forward.

The Rasenshuriken kept tearing apart Susanoo.

Large numbers of Wind Release needles rebounded onto his arm as well.

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

His sleeve instantly shredded apart.

Dense wounds split open across his skin.

Even finer wind needles burrowed into his muscles, slicing through his nerves as excruciating pain surged up his arm and slammed into his brain.

Yet Lie Yang did not loosen his grip.

The scorching current within his body rose once more.

It could not heal his wounds.

Nor could it stop the bleeding.

But amid the pain and mental assault, it continuously surged into the depths of his consciousness, tempering the origin of his spirit again and again.

By now, Lie Yang's consumption had also been immense.

More than twenty Lightning Body Flickers.

Several ninja blades and kunai had been destroyed in succession.

His chakra, stamina, and mental strength were all nearing their limits.

His arm had also been mangled into a bloody mess by the Rasenshuriken's backlash.

But Shisui was in even worse condition.

His face was pale.

Blood stained the corner of his mouth.

His eyes had been completely dyed red with blood.

Susanoo's abdomen had nearly been pierced through, while its chest cavity and ribs continued to collapse beneath the high-frequency wind needles.

Lie Yang had mastered the Rasengan.

He had also completed nature transformations for both Lightning and Wind Release.

This was a path even the Fourth Hokage had failed to complete while alive!

"Monster..."

Shisui bit through his tongue, forcibly keeping himself conscious.

If he kept defending, he would only be completely torn apart by the Rasenshuriken.

Genjutsu could not affect Lie Yang.

Kotoamatsukami was even less likely to activate accurately in his current state.

He could only stake everything on one desperate effort!

Shisui poured all of his remaining ocular power into Susanoo.

Its damaged chest cavity abruptly opened wide!

Several orange tomoe spun rapidly in its chest.

Massive chakra was frantically compressed, transforming into solid green arrows as hard as steel.

Ten!

Twenty!

Dozens of green arrows filled Susanoo's chest cavity, their sharp arrowheads all locking onto Lie Yang at once.

Blood streamed from Shisui's eyes as he launched his final counterattack with all his strength.

Dozens of green arrows shot out with a thunderous roar, instantly sealing off every possible path of escape!

Dozens of green arrows tore through the air.

The Mangekyō Sharingan in Lie Yang's right eye spun wildly.

The angles, speeds, gaps, and subtle fluctuations in chakra flow of every arrow were all captured by those eyes.

They were too dense!

Before him, Susanoo was continuously crumbling apart. Behind him and to both sides, arrows sealed every route. Every one of them could pierce through a rock wall, and there was not even a complete space between them to dodge through.

Kakashi's expression changed drastically.

"Fall back!"

He grabbed Kurenai Yuhi and retreated rapidly into the distance.

Might Guy dragged his severed foot tendons as he leaped sideways on one foot.

The three had barely withdrawn several dozen meters when the first arrow reached Lie Yang!

Time seemed to be forcibly stretched out at that moment.

The compressed air before the arrowhead slowly split apart.

The arrows behind it crossed closer along different trajectories.

One targeted his brow.

Two sealed off his throat and heart.

Several more aimed at his waist, abdomen, legs, and shoulders, forcing Lie Yang to take a direct hit.

Lie Yang could even see every wisp of Wind Release chakra flowing across the arrowheads.

Being able to see them did not mean he had enough time to evade them all.

His chakra was nearly depleted.

His hands had suffered the Rasenshuriken's backlash, their muscles and nerves shredded by high-frequency wind needles until even clenching a fist had become difficult.

He could no longer use Lightning Body Flicker.

His physical speed had also declined after the consecutive battles.

Any other ninja could only shut their eyes and await death at this point.

Yet the blankness in Lie Yang's eyes swiftly deepened.

The first stage of the Gene Lock compressed his remaining mental strength to its absolute limit.

All pain, exhaustion, and distracting thoughts were forcibly pushed away.

Only the arrows remained in his consciousness.

The first one—tilt his head right.

The second—drop his shoulder.

The third—twist his waist.

The fourth—forward!

His body moved.

His right foot stepped half a pace forward.

The first arrow grazed his cheek, its sharp wind blade tearing away a large patch of flesh.

Lie Yang did not stop.

His left shoulder suddenly dropped, and the second arrow skimmed past his collarbone.