Boom, boom, boom...
The tremendous explosions could be heard clearly several kilometers away, and flames scattered down from the sky, as beautiful and brilliant as fireworks.
Fortunately, this place was not too close to Konoha, or it would have alerted the people in the village long ago.
Even so, the battle had to end as soon as possible, or it would draw people from the village sooner or later.
Perhaps Konoha had already noticed something was wrong and was heading this way.
Shihōin Naraku held Kurikara, no longer suppressing his strength but truly going all out. Chilling flashes of his blade reduced the forest to ruins, and dazzling flames erupted with greater intensity each time.
Although Naraku was controlling Akame too, fighting himself, the Doll's strength was still far below Shihōin Naraku's, so Akame had already begun to lose ground.
This had nothing to do with anything else. It was simply a difference in strength.
That vast, chasm-like disparity could not be bridged through control alone.
Wind fed the flames, and fire rode the wind!
Gales swept across the land and sky as the flames unleashed their crushing power.
Whether it was the God Tree or Wood Release, neither had the slightest chance of resisting such terrifying might.
Still, Naraku held something back. He could not actually cut Akame to pieces, or the Doll would go to waste.
Mind, soul, chakra, and the God Tree intertwined, and under the mounting, terrifying pressure, a change finally came.
Crack!
As though an invisible shackle had been torn apart, the chakra inside Akame began circulating faster, without the slightest sluggishness.
Whoosh!
Cold light flashed, and the black blade let out a mournful whistle. The air parted like flowing water as Kurikara slashed diagonally downward.
At that crucial moment, one breakthrough opened the way