The Crumbling "Deity"

Screech!

Cloth and flesh tore apart at the same time.

Before the blood could even spray out, Lie Yang forcibly twisted his waist and abdomen.

The third arrow pierced through his left ribs, carving a wound deep enough to expose bone.

The fourth arrow followed close behind, aimed straight for his heart!

Lie Yang stepped forward again with his right foot.

But the muscles in his thigh had already reached their limit.

Large swaths of fibers snapped.

Before his foot could settle, his body tilted slightly.

That tiny deviation left the arrowhead less than half an inch from his heart!

"Not good!"

Kakashi's Mangekyō Sharingan saw it clearly.

He wanted to activate Kamui.

But Lie Yang and the arrow were nearly pressed together.

At such a short distance, the arrowhead would pierce his heart before space could finish warping!

Kurenai Yuhi clenched both fists tightly.

"He can't dodge it!"

Might Guy's pupils contracted.

More than anyone else, he understood Lie Yang's current condition.

This was not a gap that technique could overcome.

His body had already lost its strength.

No matter how powerful his combat instincts were, they could not restore torn muscles out of thin air!

The arrowhead reached his chest.

The shock of death crashed into his consciousness!

Every muscle in Lie Yang's body contracted at that instant.

It was not normal exertion.

He completely disregarded his body's defenses, forcing his already torn flesh to erupt with strength once more!

Crack!

His right leg bones let out a brittle snap.

The wounds on his thigh, waist, and abdomen burst open at once.

Blood sprayed outward in great torrents.

Yet with this power that should not have existed in his condition, Lie Yang forcibly shifted his body half an inch to the left!

Squelch!

The arrow grazed past his chest.

A huge chunk of flesh was torn away, exposing the stark white ribs beneath.

But his heart had avoided it!

"He dodged it?"

Kurenai Yuhi's voice trembled.

"At that distance, he still avoided a fatal wound?"

Kakashi did not answer.

His Mangekyō Sharingan had already seen more arrows.

The first volley was only the beginning.

Dozens more arrows were arriving at once!

Before Lie Yang could steady himself, three more arrows crossed in from his left.

He raised his right arm.

His palm could no longer exert any strength, so he could only slam his forearm into the side of one arrow.

Bang!

Flesh burst apart.

The arrow's trajectory shifted slightly, skimming past his waist.

The second arrow sliced away a large chunk of flesh along his abdomen.

The third swept past the outside of his right leg, tearing open muscle and pinning itself into the ground with a spray of blood!

Lie Yang's body swayed violently.

But he did not fall.

The Mangekyō Sharingan continued to turn.

One arrow.

Three arrows.

Seven arrows!

Every arrow missed by only a fraction.

Every dodge tore apart more muscle.

Dozens of savage wounds rapidly appeared across his shoulders, chest, waist, abdomen, and legs. His clothes were completely soaked in blood, chunks of flesh fell to the ground, and the nearby soil was stained red in an instant.

Standing inside the damaged Susanoo, Shisui could no longer make out Lie Yang's movements.

He could only keep squeezing out what little eye power remained to maintain the arrow barrage.

"It's not over yet!"

The final batch of arrows shot out all at once.

There was no longer any gap before Lie Yang.

His body abruptly curled up. At the cost of tearing his shoulder and back muscles, he forcibly squeezed between two arrows.

Screech!

The flesh on his left shoulder was torn away.

His right leg was struck by an arrow again.

The green arrowhead scraped against bone, leaving a long, narrow crack.

Lie Yang's legs gave out, and he dropped to one knee.

The final arrow passed over his head and shot into the distance.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The arrows struck the ground one after another.

The earth shook violently.

Dozens of enormous craters appeared across the plain in an instant as green chakra and dust surged into the sky.

Kakashi raised an arm to shield himself from the gale.

"Is it over?"

Might Guy stared at the center of the arrow barrage, his breathing nearly stopping.

Kurenai Yuhi could not see what was happening inside at all.

"Under an attack like that, no one could still be standing..."

Before she finished speaking, rapidly expanding wind-nature chakra erupted from the dust!

The Wind Release: Rasenshuriken completely lost control.

Boom!

Wind Release chakra compressed to the limit exploded!

A massive white sphere swallowed the damaged Susanoo.

Countless tiny wind needles scattered in every direction at speeds invisible to the naked eye. Each one vibrated at high frequency, and every cut produced a piercing shriek.

Susanoo's abdomen shattered first.

Its green muscles were ripped apart in an instant.

Then came its ribs, spine, and shoulders.

Dense cracks spread wildly.

Before Shisui could even repair it, the enormous Susanoo collapsed layer by layer beneath the piercing Wind Release needles!

Rumble!

The unceasing explosions shook the ground into waves.

Nearby stone pillars were sliced in half.

Before the thick pillars could fall, a second wave of wind needles carved them into countless fragments.

Kakashi and the other two retreated again and again.

All Kurenai Yuhi could hear was an endless ringing.

Might Guy stood in front of her, yet several bloody cuts were still opened across his exposed skin by the aftershock.

"This range..."

"Lie Yang is still in there!"

Kakashi kept his Mangekyō Sharingan wide open.

Chaotic chakra filled his vision.

He could only barely make out a figure.

At the instant the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken exploded, Lie Yang was also sent flying head-on by the violent aftermath!

Bang!

His body snapped the first stone pillar.

He rolled several times through the air before crashing heavily into a second stone pillar.

The rock shattered on the spot.

Lie Yang continued flying dozens of meters before finally slamming down amid a field of rubble.

Pfft!

He spat out a mouthful of blood.

Tiny fragments of internal organs were mixed into it.

His hands hung limply at his sides.

His ten fingers were completely numb.

His chakra was utterly exhausted.

His right arm had suffered the backlash of the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, while his shoulders, back, chest, abdomen, and legs had been torn into a bloody mess by the arrows. There was scarcely a patch of intact skin left on his entire body.

Yet Lie Yang smiled.

At first, it was a low chuckle.

Then his laughter grew louder and louder.

"Exhilarating!"

Ultimate speed.

Ultimate power.

When the arrows had grazed his heart, death had been right before his eyes.

After the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken exploded, it felt as though his internal organs had been completely shattered.

This feeling of hovering between life and death made every inch of flesh in his body boil!

Elsewhere, the green Susanoo rapidly regressed.

The muscles and fascia covering its bones quickly faded away.

The complete skeleton kept shrinking until only a few ribs remained to protect Shisui.

Shisui dropped to one knee.

Both hands braced against the ground.

Blood dripped from the corners of his eyes.

He could no longer maintain the Susanoo.

Both sides had exhausted their strength at the same time.

At that moment, the Fortune Balance deep within Lie Yang's consciousness tilted violently for the third time!

The tray representing Shisui suddenly sank.

A brand-new weight condensed out of thin air.

Silver hair.

A mask.

A left eye hidden beneath a forehead protector.

Kakashi's phantom appeared clearly!

Lie Yang had pushed Kakashi into awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan ahead of time, then forced out Kamui in this clash. The original path of fate had completely shifted, and the fortune belonging to Kakashi had become a new weight!

The balance trembled without end.

The outline of the second genetic shackle had never been clearer.

The opportunity for a breakthrough had fully matured!

Whoosh!

A figure suddenly rushed out from behind the rubble.

Kakashi gave Lie Yang no chance to recover.

"Gate of Opening, open!"

The first gate of the Eight Gates burst open!

The restraints binding the brain were forcibly released.

All the remaining strength in Kakashi's body erupted. His left Mangekyō Sharingan locked firmly onto Lie Yang, while the lightning in his right hand compressed to the limit.