The invisible energy field was like a viscous swamp, not only restricting Ling's movements but constantly eroding his chakra. Dark purple corrosive energy tried to bore into his chakra pathways. Heize stood at the end of the passage, the purple markings on his pale face writhing like living things, his expression coldly smug as though everything was under his control.
"It's useless. This 'Bone-Eroding Barrier' is a secret art bestowed by Lord Sacred Lord, designed specifically for shinobi with special chakra like yours. Your pure water will only be slowly contaminated and devoured here." Heize's voice held a trace of twisted pleasure.
Despite being trapped, Ling remained calm. The moment the barrier formed, he had unleashed his senjutsu perception at full strength. Like an exceptionally precise scanner, it rapidly analyzed the barrier's structure, energy nodes, and connections to the necklace in Heize's hand and the phantom crystal behind him.
[The barrier draws energy from the necklace in his hand and the crystal projection behind him. It has seven core nodes operating in a continuous cycle. Breaking through by force would require at least Kage-level power, at enormous cost.] Tobirama's voice delivered a rapid analysis. [But the barrier isn't perfect. Its defense against purely physical impacts is slightly weaker, and... it seems connected to the entire building's energy system. Its fluctuations aren't completely stable.]
Purely physical impacts? Energy fluctuations?
Ling's gaze shifted slightly. Overwhelming finesse with brute force certainly wasn't his specialty, but that didn't mean he had no options.
"Pure water has more than a gentle side," Ling said evenly. The suppressed azure senjutsu chakra around him surged again, but this time, instead of spreading outward to defend him, it drew inward and compressed to the utmost! He brought his hands together before his chest, and an immense amount of