The Curtain Falls? A Desperate Counterattack! Sasuke's Obsession! Piercing Resonance Form!

It was precisely this immense exertion from desperately avoiding fatal damage that caused a brief lapse in his senses, preventing him from immediately noticing that Sasuke still had a breath left and was lurking beneath the thick layer of scorched earth and ruins.

His neat black outfit was torn to shreds by the lightning, the hem charred and curled, covered with burn marks, and his skin was covered with fine cracks from the lightning. Wisps of pale golden Chakra kept leaking out and drifting away, and his aura weakened significantly.

But it remained standing firmly.

Even after being subjected to the extreme onslaught of world-destroying lightning, the collapse of all three layers of defense, and a significant depletion of the main body's combat power, this clone, which embodies Natsu's ultimate combat strength and fighting will, still did not fall.

His posture was as upright as a pine tree, standing amidst the scorched earth. His cold Mangekyō Sharingan slowly scanned the surroundings, the remaining killing intent firmly locking the entire battlefield. However, deep in his eyes, there was a trace of exhaustion that was not easily detected.

On the cliff, everyone's gaze instantly focused on the center of the ruins, and their hearts sank.

The sea of lightning completely dissipated, and the battlefield became clear, but the young figure belonging to Uchiha Sasuke still hadn't appeared.

A deathly silence spread, fermented, and piled up layer by layer in the valley.

Uchiha Fugaku's pupils dilated slightly, and his extremely tense mind suddenly relaxed. What followed was an indescribable sense of powerlessness and loss that spread throughout his body.

His shoulders slumped involuntarily, his tense back slowly relaxed, and the anxiety and anticipation in his eyes faded away, leaving only a deep sense of melancholy.

"Sasuke is still too young after all..."

He muttered to himself in a low voice, hoarse and dry, filled with endless sighs and helplessness.

He had anticipated this outcome.

At the age of thirteen, despite possessing unparalleled talent, unmatched resilience, and a hundred times the effort of ordinary people, he was still inexperienced, lacked a solid foundation, and had insufficient Chakra reserves.

Facing Natsu's clone, which combines top-tier combat experience, is both offensive and defensive, and has no flaws, to be able to fight to the last drop, detonate Forbidden Technique, and force the clone to suffer damage is already an extreme and heaven-defying breakthrough.

To expect a complete victory is ultimately too much of a stretch.

In Fugaku's view, Sasuke must have been exhausted and unconscious at this moment, lying heavily under some ruins and scorched earth, having completely exhausted all his strength and fighting spirit.

With this thought in mind, he could no longer suppress the worry in his heart. He disregarded the composure of a strong person and the demeanor of a clan leader. He moved and prepared to leap off the cliff and rush into the ruins to search for Sasuke's figure and confirm his son's safety as soon as possible.

Just as Fugaku was about to Setsuna, in the center of the ruins, Natsu's clone, who had barely survived the lightning catastrophe, suddenly narrowed his eyes.

The clone was still calming the surging lightning-attribute energy within its body, and its Chakra flow was sluggish. Only now could it detect the faint, almost extinguished life signal beneath the ruins.

The hand gripping the sword tightened slightly, the tip of the blade lifting slightly, and a sharp, murderous aura locked onto the void once more, subtly revealing a sense of vigilance.

Before it could make any further predictions about offense or defense, a sharp, piercing thunderclap that tore through the clouds suddenly resounded over the entire silent valley!

Crackle--!!!

This thunderclap was not an echo of nature, but the sound of Lightning Release Chakra erupting with extreme concentration, purity, and boundless fighting spirit!

The deathly silence was shattered in an instant!

A slender yet incredibly sharp young figure burst forth from the swirling black and scorched earth, like a peerless blade breaking free from its shackles and piercing through the heavens and earth, suddenly breaking through layers of smoke and dust and arriving in the sky!

No one expected that, just when everyone thought the outcome was decided and the boy had already lost, Sasuke still had a last bit of fighting power and a last bit of determination, and he did not fall!

The boy was covered in charred dust, his clothes were tattered, and his body was covered in mottled bloodstains, with his skin turned inside out and his body riddled with wounds. His breath was weak and faint, and he was already on the verge of his limit.

Yet his posture remained sharp, his hand gripping the sword as steady as a rock, his eyes burning with a scarlet fighting spirit that could incinerate everything, and his body surrounded by a pale white lightning of condensed to the extreme.

"Lightning Release: Piercing Style!!"

A hoarse, broken roar, yet brimming with the power of his very soul, exploded from the boy's cracked, bleeding throat, echoing throughout the valley and causing the remaining dust to fall in a flurry.

Buzz--!!!

The violent and condensed lightning instantly enveloped Sasuke's entire body, with strands of lightning flowing and surging through his limbs and bones, eventually converging and wrapping around the sword in his hand.

The cold, sharp blade was enveloped, tempered, and enhanced by layers of lightning. The originally black sword body was completely covered by pale lightning, with sparkling lightning and sharp edge, carrying an indomitable and resolute momentum as it sped through the air!

There was no probing, no maneuvering, and no way out.

With his body already exhausted and on the verge of death, Sasuke charged straight toward Natsu's clone standing in the center of the ruins with the most resolute and fierce attitude, ready to die and fight for victory!

Faced with this extremely frantic, desperate counterattack, the already exhausted clone had no energy left for elaborate defense and could only raise its hand and swing its sword to meet the attack.

It remained as utterly ruthless as ever, its eyes devoid of any emotion. In an instant, it raised its sword, the blade imbued with the remaining, immense Chakra, and drew it sharply, charging straight and viciously toward Sasuke's body.

Just as the blade was about to strike, the clone, following Natsu's pre-arranged instructions, subtly deflected its wrist by half an inch—avoiding the vital heart and aiming at the side of the chest cavity.

Two figures, two sharp blades, rushing in opposite directions, clashing at lightning speed!

At this moment, time and space seemed to freeze completely.

The three people watching from the cliff clearly foresaw the outcome of the next moment—no chance of survival, no retreat, they would all perish together.

If either blade completely pierces the body, the result will be the death of both and complete disintegration.

There is no room for luck, no buffer, and no chance of reversal; it is a truly dire and unavoidable predicament.

Facing this certain death and certain annihilation, Uchiha Sasuke no fear, no hesitation, and no regret.

His face was slightly contorted from extreme exhaustion and excruciating pain, revealing a hint of ferocity and madness, yet his sword-wielding arm remained unwavering, and his charging posture showed no sign of hesitation.

Every crushing defeat, every serious injury, every all-nighter of grueling training, every desperate situation under pressure, and every crushing defeat over the past few months—all of it erupted at this moment.

What he wanted was never just to survive, but victory! To break free from constraints! To prove himself! To never admit defeat!

Facing the oncoming deadly blade, Sasuke fiercely swung his sword, his thunderous blade charging forward relentlessly, plunging wildly!