Strangulation

Boom—

Deep within the silent canyon, muffled thunder-like booms rose and fell without end. Towering waves of dust surged into the sky, and the entire canyon trembled faintly beneath the tremendous noise!

Crash—

Yan Hong darted and weaved through the green forest. The instant his feet touched the ground, a thunderous roar like flying sand and rolling stones came from his right!

Whoosh—

A fierce gale howled, carrying dirt and broken branches. A thick snake tail gleaming with a sinister light swept toward him with terrifying force!

Yan Hong's pupils contracted. He immediately kicked off and leaped into the air. The massive tail beneath him crushed through the dense forest with a series of cracking sounds. Countless trees were effortlessly flattened, leaving behind a fan-shaped stretch of empty ground!

Ten minutes earlier, when Yan Hong had learned that this giant snake came from Dragon Cave but seemed to have an irreconcilable conflict with the White Snake Sage, he had immediately set his sights on its treasure. If Dragon Cave was not its backing, what the hell did he have to worry about?!

Yan Hong's actions thoroughly enraged the giant snake. Its entire body rose out of the water, and it opened its blood-filled maw to bite down on him!

Yan Hong evaded the snake's bite and soared above its head like an eagle striking the heavens. The long blade in his hand left its sheath, scarlet flames dancing along its edge as he viciously slashed down at the snake's head!

Uchiha Flame Slash!

Smack—

The flaming blade struck the black scales, instantly shattering them and splashing several drops of blood!

The giant snake clearly felt pain, but the wound was only superficial. It shook its enormous head, fury filling its slit pupils. Its rage had plainly been ignited as it opened its huge blood-filled mouth at Yan Hong in midair!

Sage Art: Snake Roar!

Boom—

A ring of air exploded from the snake's mouth. Yan Hong had no way to dodge while suspended in the air and took the chakra cannonball head-on. The immense shockwave instantly sent him flying backward like an arrow released from a bow!

Crash—

Yan Hong smashed through countless trees, bouncing across the ground like a skipping stone before finally driving his blade into the earth and forcibly stabilizing himself dozens of meters away!

Crack, crack—

Yan Hong tilted his head slightly. Fine cracks had actually appeared across the black Susanoo skeleton surrounding him. He could not help but marvel inwardly, As expected of Sage Art. Its power really is far greater than ninjutsu.

"Then how about this move?"

With that, he aimed his right eye at the tiny wound he had cut into the giant snake's head!

Dojutsu: Heaven's Pobei!

Bang—

A cloud of blood instantly burst from the giant snake's head. Its original injury was aggravated fivefold in an instant, causing the snake to thrash wildly and let out a miserable hiss!

"Ah! Damn brat, you've completely enraged me!"

The giant snake roared toward the sky, and an enormous amount of chakra began gathering throughout its body!

"Sage Art, huh? Let me borrow it!"

This time, Yan Hong aimed the Mangekyo Sharingan in his left eye at the giant snake, then activated his dojutsu!

Dojutsu: Kagami no Mitama!

The effects of the medicinal wine had yet to wear off, so Yan Hong could use his dojutsu without restraint. Yet in the next moment, his expression abruptly changed. "Wait? Why isn't there any reaction?"

Crash—

On the other side, the giant snake had no intention of waiting for him to sort things out. It opened its massive mouth, and a red light dragon shot forth at high speed. The light dragon held a black bead in its claws, spinning rapidly around it before a violent explosion erupted!

Sage Art: White Excitation Technique!

The blinding white light and piercing sound from the explosion made every bone in Yan Hong's body cry out in agony, forcibly pinning him in place and leaving him unable to move!

Boom—

In an instant, the enormous snake tail swept over once more. The log-like tail slammed into Yan Hong's waist, and the overwhelming force drew a muffled groan from him as his face instantly turned red!

This time, Yan Hong flew even farther, and an entire row of trees was razed to the ground!

"Pfft!" Yan Hong spat out a mouthful of blood. He felt as though his organs had all been displaced, two ribs had been snapped, and his head was swimming!

Raising one hand, Yan Hong's right Mangekyo Sharingan flashed!

Dojutsu: Heaven's Pobei!

His injuries immediately lessened fivefold, and all the pain instantly dropped to its lowest point!

"Huff..." Yan Hong let out a soft breath. Just as he was about to stand again, the ground beneath his feet began to shake violently!

!!!

Boom—

A massive black shadow burst from the ground. Its enormous mouth, wider than Yan Hong himself, opened and bit straight at him. He could even see its pitch-black throat!

Whoosh—

With his injuries reduced, Yan Hong's speed did not diminish. He kicked off and darted to the right. After the giant snake bit down on empty air, its huge body twisted sharply. Its serpentine form coiled, and its thick tail swept in from behind once more!

"Ha!"

But Yan Hong obviously could not be struck by the same move twice. Blazing black flames erupted around his body. Amid a roar, the Crow Tengu Susanoo descended forcefully. The Susanoo spread both arms, endured a heavy blow to its chest, and directly grabbed the giant snake's tail!

Thud—

With a dull boom like thunder, the entire Susanoo was spun halfway around by the snake's tail before forcibly bringing it to a halt!

"Ha!"

Yan Hong roared, desperately squeezing out his ocular power. The Susanoo exerted its strength, the ground beneath its feet sinking inward. Using its tail as a pivot, the entire giant snake was lifted into the air, then hurled over its shoulder in an earthshaking throw!

Boom—

The entire canyon shook violently, and countless broken stones rained down from the cliffs!

"Huff, huff, huff..." Yan Hong panted heavily. Though the Mangekyo's side effects were gone, the consumption of ocular power was still very real. After taking a brief moment to catch his breath, he felt the snake tail in his grasp suddenly tighten!

Whoosh—

Before he could release the tail, the snake's body ahead sprang up and coiled around him, trapping the Susanoo in the center. Then a crushing force like Mount Tai bearing down on an egg surged in from all directions, as if he were being squeezed between mountains!

Sage Art: Great Snake Strangulation!

Crack, crack, crack—

Under the rapidly tightening snake body, the Susanoo let out piercing cracking sounds. Countless fractures visibly appeared across its armor. Once the Susanoo shattered, Yan Hong would be strangled to death by the unbearable pressure in the next second!

"Brat! Die!"

Murderous light flashed in the giant snake's eyes as it tightened its body with all its strength. The encirclement shrank inch by inch, and the Susanoo was already covered in spiderweb-like cracks, as though it would fall apart at any moment!

"One more minute!"

Yan Hong's eyes were bloodshot as he controlled the Susanoo to force the snake's body apart with all its strength. Heaven's Pobei still had one minute left on its cooldown. Only by holding out for that minute could he worsen the giant snake's injuries again!

"Roar!"

The giant snake discovered that no matter how hard it squeezed, it could not tighten any further. It suddenly twisted its body, using Yan Hong's own method against him to fling the entwined Susanoo high into the air before viciously smashing it into the ground!

Boom—

Yan Hong felt the world spin. Under the enormous impact, blood seeped uncontrollably from the corner of his mouth, his face turning from red to green. The Crow Tengu Susanoo also completely shattered at that moment, turning into remnants of flame that faded into nothingness!

"Brat! Die!"

A trace of delight flashed through the giant snake's eyes as its enormous body rapidly constricted!

Dojutsu: Heaven's Pobei!

Rumble—

A thunderous crash of some enormous object striking the ground echoed through the canyon. After a long while, it sank back into dead silence...