There was no pattern whatsoever to the shifts between shrinking and enlarging. When shrunk, the black rods were practically invisible; when enlarged, they appeared as abruptly as long spears from utterly unexpected angles.
For Shihōin Naraku, this move posed no threat.
But Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki found themselves in rather worse straits.
Naruto gritted his teeth and dodged, but the black rods controlled by Sukunahikona came at far too tricky angles. One suddenly enlarged beneath the ground and thrust upward, piercing his thigh from below.
He grunted, lost his balance, and staggered back several steps before steadying himself.
Sasuke was not faring well either.
The Kusanagi Sword danced in his hand, forming an impenetrable curtain of sword strikes, but the threats he faced came from even more dimensions.
Cubes pressed down continuously overhead, while black rods could enlarge and stab at him from every direction at any moment.
A black rod suddenly appeared behind his right shoulder. The instant he twisted aside to dodge, another sprang from the ground directly in front of him and pierced his left arm.
Sasuke's brows knitted tightly. Blood gushed from the wound, staining his sleeve red.
Yet even as Naruto and Sasuke fell into a bitter struggle, Naraku's movements never paused.
The shrinking and enlarging black rods that were enough to leave Naruto and Sasuke scrambling could hardly have been clearer to his senses.
He did not need his eyes to track the position of every black rod.
His Observation Haki remained spread over the entire area.
Naraku flowed like water through the black rods flying everywhere. His blade's tip did not waver in the slightest, pointing straight toward Isshiki all the while.
Rather than slowing, he abruptly accelerated the instant Naruto and Sasuke were injured!
Naraku left an almost indistinct afterimage behind