Chapter 45
A cannonball of compressed air streaked toward Liuyun, trailing a thick plume behind it!
The Ice Giant raised the shield on its right arm before its body!
Crystalline ice spread across it, gleaming like diamonds beneath the moonlight!
Clang!
An earth-shaking collision rang out for a thousand meters!
The terrifying impact of the Air Bullet forced the Ice Giant backward!
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The ground shook, and then came a deafening roar!
Boom!
A dense surge of wind enveloped the Ice Giant!
The ground erupted, and soil swept up by the howling winds became a vast cloud of dust that swallowed the Ice Giant whole.
"Hahaha! Dead already? You really can't take a hit!"
Seeing his ultimate attack strike head-on, Shukaku burst into delighted laughter.
Whoosh!
A white blur shot out of the dust and appeared before Shukaku in an instant, shaking the ground as it came.
The Deep Blue Spear swept toward Shukaku's belly!
"Hahaha! You brat, you're way out of your depth!"
Shukaku caught the spear in both claws, his vicious triangular eyes darting about.
Grains of sand fell from his body and spread across the ground like a plague.
In moments, the land behind Shukaku had become the Sea of Sand!
Fine sand gathered behind Shukaku, forming Sand Tentacles that bound the Ice Giant's limbs!
"Brat! I have to admit, your strength has impressed me!"
"But!" Shukaku's voice turned vicious. "You're still going to die! Hahaha!"
A boundless tide of golden sand surged skyward behind him, like a Golden Galaxy hanging upside down in the heavens!
It came crashing down on the Ice Giant like a raging sea.
"Sand Waterfall Funeral!"
"Is that so?" Liuyun sneered.
At his command, a torrent of ice rose behind him like a rushing river, soaring into the sky to meet it!
"What? This brat? How could he have so much Chakra?"
Shukaku's triangular eyes narrowed, shock creeping into his voice.
Even the Sand Tentacles wrapped around Liuyun's limbs loosened slightly.
The crescent moon hung high, shining more brilliantly than ever!
The entire Shinobi World seemed brighter beneath its light.
At the Sand Ninja Camp, Chiyo sat inside a tent, her face grim as she listened to her subordinates report that night's losses.
The next moment, Ebizo hurried in, horror filling his eyes.
"Sister! Something's happened! Come outside and look!"
Chiyo frowned. Her younger brother was a grown man, yet he was still so impulsive.
Still, she followed him out of the tent.
The surviving Sand Ninja were all staring toward the same spot. Chiyo followed their gaze!
Under the brilliant moonlight, two figures stood at the edge of the world.
This time, they faced each other.
One was her village's Jinchūriki, the One-Tail Shukaku! The other was Uchiha Liuyun, who had caused everything that had happened tonight, with Princess Tsunade!
Bathed in moonlight, vast waves rose behind the two figures, cloaking them in different colors.
One side was golden; the other was crystal-clear with a hint of pale blue.
The two figures stood apart as though they had divided heaven and earth between them!
Then, before Chiyo's stunned eyes,
The golden sea of sand and the crystalline waves of ice slammed into each other.
Crack! Creak!
They surged back and forth, twisting and mingling like two kinds of waves upon the sea!
Boom! Boom!
Deep, thunderous impacts shook heaven and earth!
Under Liuyun's and Shukaku's control, the ice and sand took the shapes of all manner of weapons and struck at each other!
It was as though two Ancient Divine Beasts had awakened from their slumber. Even from a great distance, their overwhelming presence and terrifying power filled onlookers with dread!
"Sister! Should we go help?"
Watching the distant clash of titans, Ebizo spoke without thinking.
"Let's go!"
Chiyo gritted her teeth without a moment's hesitation.
Whatever happened today, she had to stop Uchiha Liuyun. Otherwise, she was certain that within a few years, he would become another Hashirama Senju.
On the battlefield!
The Ice Giant and Shukaku stood facing each other, while roaring sand and surging ice churned and crossed between them!
Together, they formed a beautiful scene of intertwined gold and blue.
Neither man nor beast could gain the upper hand, and the battle fell into a stalemate!
Liuyun narrowed his eyes. Damn it. Looks like I'll have to use the Mangekyo!
"Brat! Of everyone I've fought besides the Kazekage of past generations, you're the strongest!"
Shukaku gave a vicious grin. "But let's see if you can survive this!"
He opened his enormous jaws. Yin and Yang Chakra gathered in his mouth, forming a small purple-black sphere!
That's a Tailed Beast Bomb! Liuyun's pupils contracted.
With no time to consider anything else, he emerged from the ice crystal. The three tomoe in his Sharingan spun rapidly, transforming into the Mangekyo!
He glared at Shukaku, sending a dense surge of Mental Energy through his Sharingan and into Shukaku's mind.
Shukaku froze. His eyes lost focus, and the Tailed Beast Bomb forming in his mouth immediately dissipated.
"D-damn it! Those eyes... you're from that clan! I won't accept this!"
Shukaku roared in defiance, but soon his ferocious eyes took on a pinwheel pattern!
Liuyun breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Then he checked the Chakra remaining in his body and gave a wry smile.
Great. Just those few moves, and my fifty Kakashi-level reserves of Chakra are already at rock bottom.
He ordered Shukaku to destroy the Sand Ninja Camp.
Then Liuyun dismissed the Ice Giant and fled with Tsunade.
Without Chakra, I can't keep showing off. What am I supposed to do, stick around and get caught?
Not long after Liuyun left, Chiyo and Ebizo arrived!
They spotted Shukaku at once!
Before either of them could speak, Shukaku unleashed a barrage of attacks!
"Wind Release: Air Bullet!"
Huge blasts of compressed air, each brimming with Chakra, poured from Shukaku's mouth without pause!
Chiyo's and Ebizo's faces turned grim.
Both were nearly fifty. How could they fail to see that Shukaku was under a Genjutsu?
"I thought that brat had already mastered Ice Release to its peak. To think his Genjutsu is terrifying enough to hypnotize Shukaku, too."
Chiyo's face was dark with anger.
"Go find the Third Kazekage and the Sealing Squad. I'll hold him here. Forget about that brat! Shukaku is what matters most!"
"Got it, Sister!"
In the Land of Rivers, Liuyun and Tsunade changed into merchants' clothes. After fleeing for two hours, they stopped to rest at a shabby inn.
They washed up, took some food from a Sealing Scroll, ate, and fell straight into bed.
They had spent the day rushing to the Land of Wind's camp and then fought a fierce battle that night. Neither of them was made of iron.
Before long, they were both snoring.
The moment Liuyun fell asleep, the system's voice sounded quietly: "Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing option three. Reward: Chakra increased by ten percent."
A gentle warmth appeared in Liuyun's Dantian and was quickly absorbed and refined by the Chakra within it.
But Liuyun slept through it all.
After an unknown amount of time, Liuyun woke with a full bladder and reluctantly opened his weary eyes.
He went to the bathroom to relieve himself, then glanced outside. The sky was still dark; it looked to be around three or four in the morning.
Liuyun returned to Tsunade and lay against her. Surrounded by her intoxicating scent, he closed his eyes in contentment.
No rush. It's still early. I can sleep a little longer.
"Ding! The host is sharing a room with his future wife! Please choose, host!"
"1. While Tsunade sleeps, give your future wife a good-morning kiss. Reward: one Junior Genetic Potion!"
"2. Stay in this position until your future wife wakes up. Reward: Jiraiya's version of Sage Mode!"
"3. While your future wife sleeps, gently undo her clothes... and sleep like this for a while! Reward: one Intermediate Genetic Potion!"
Looking at the three options in his mind, Liuyun instantly lost all desire to sleep.
Tears even welled in his eyes. It hasn't been easy! You damned system, you finally did something decent for once!
Do you know what I've been through these past few years?
Do you know what it's like to look but never touch?
"System, can you explain what the Gene Potions do?" Liuyun asked silently, with a trace of caution.
As for the second option, Jiraiya's Sage Mode, Liuyun dismissed it outright!
With something this good on offer, who cared about Sage Mode?
"Ding! The Junior Genetic Potion accelerates the host's physical development, giving him the body he would have three years from now."
"The Intermediate: six years!"
Liuyun understood at once. The Junior, Intermediate, and Advanced potions each added another three years!
"Then what about my age?"