Lightning flared, and energy surged.
The Chidori of Sasuke's Shadow Clone locked against Gyokko's scale-covered fist in a fierce stalemate.
Rings of white air blasted outward from the two, scouring a layer off the ground.
"Hahahaha! Useless! Useless!"
Seeing his fist actually stop that terrifying Lightning Release, Gyokko laughed even more maniacally.
"My scales are invincible! They're the hardest substance in this world! Your sorcery can't hurt me in the slightest!"
The muscles in his arm swelled again, his strength surging as he actually began to press Sasuke's Chidori slowly backward.
"Do you see now? This is the absolute difference in our strength! Shatter!"
He brimmed with confidence, certain of victory.
Yet he failed to notice the almost imperceptible flicker of mockery in the Shadow Clone Sasuke's cold Mangekyō Sharingan.
Hard?
Against absolute penetrating power and annihilation, what did mere hardness matter?
While Gyokko laughed wildly, the Shadow Clone Sasuke silently moved his other hand, hidden behind the fist.
A small cluster of black flames ignited in his palm.
Kagutsuchi.
But these black flames did not turn into a shield or spear as they had before.
Instead, under Sasuke's exquisite chakra control, they were continually compressed, condensed, and elongated.
Finally, they became a spike of black flames, only as thick as a finger and about half a meter long, pitch-black from end to end, seemingly capable of absorbing all light.
The spike gave off no heat at all, yet carried an air of such extreme danger that it could freeze the soul.
Gyokko's laughter cut off.
His intuition, his instincts as an Upper Rank Demon, screamed frantically at him, shouting for him to dodge!
He finally saw the black spike.
His pupils instantly shrank to pinpoints.
"What is that..."
The Shadow Clone Sasuke did not answer him.
He simply looked