The Kikaichū instantly enveloped Garaga and the monster, and began to devour them frantically.
The scales of the Garaga are incredibly hard, and ordinary attacks can hardly damage them in the slightest. However, the Kikaichū, with its powerful devouring ability, managed to bite small holes in its scales.
The monster's black tentacles were not spared either. After being entangled by the Kikaichū, they twisted and struggled, and some tentacles were even bitten off, turning into black residue that fell to the ground.
roar--
Garaga, in pain, twisted his body frantically, trying to shake off the Kikaichū.
The powerful force sent many of the surrounding Kikaichū flying, but more Kikaichū quickly filled the gap.
The monster let out a painful roar, and its black tentacles began to release eerie black smoke, attempting to poison the Kikaichū.
The Kikaichū struggled in the smoke; some of the more vulnerable ones died instantly, but most, with their tenacious vitality and rapid evolutionary ability, gradually adapted to the toxicity of the smoke and continued to attack.
That's it?
It seems the Council of Elders' so-called trump card isn't all that impressive after all.
But thinking about it, Kikaichū are world-destroying creatures; their adaptive evolution alone is enough to wipe out everything.
Hoshino hovered in the air, coldly watching Garaga and the monster below being Kikaichū.
I had assumed that this combination of beings, secretly nurtured by the Council of Elders and infused with the power of Senjutsu, would be incredibly troublesome.
The Kikaichū ' initial attack went so smoothly that he couldn't help but underestimate them.
Just as Hoshino was thinking that the battle would soon be over, Garaga suddenly changed.
Its scales shimmered with an eerie light, and the small holes Kikaichū healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Immediately afterwards, a powerful and unfamiliar energy surged from his body, his deformed head suddenly swelled, and Senjutsu Chakra gathered into a ball in his mouth.
"Celestial Art: White Rage Technique!"
Hoshino's prosthetic eye started alarming, and he didn't hesitate to activate his bone wings with all his might.
The six pairs of metal blades operated under overload, shooting out like cannonballs towards the outer edge of the mining area just before the Senjutsu attack arrived.
boom--
A blinding white light engulfed half of the southern mining area.
Although Hoshino avoided the direct impact, the shockwave still slammed him into a building. The concrete walls shattered like paper, and he rolled several times in the ruins before regaining his balance.
"Cough cough..."
Hoshino spat out a mouthful of blood; his prosthetic body was damaged in multiple places, and alarms blared in his mind.
What a bad start! We really shouldn't underestimate anyone.
At this moment, the southern mining area was completely transformed into a hellish wasteland under the impact of that Senjutsu.
After the flash of intense light, the buildings, already ravaged by war, were completely reduced to dust. The ground was scorched black, and the scalding sand and stones churned and surged like boiling lava.
The air was thick with the acrid smell of gunpowder and burning, and the thick smoke obscured the sky, making it almost impossible to see anything in front of you.
The Kikaichū were severely damaged by this sudden Senjutsu attack.
The parasitic Kikaichū that absorbed the Senjutsu Chakra were quickly covered with a layer of grayish-white stone shell, and in the blink of an eye, they petrified into hard little stone figures that fell from the sky.
Even with the Kikaichū's powerful adaptive evolutionary ability, it was completely useless against this Senjutsu Chakra, and didn't even have a chance to adapt.
Hoshino slowly rose from the ruins, looking at the Kikaichū, his heart filled with solemnity.
I underestimated the power of Senjutsu, and at the same time, I discovered a major flaw in the Kikaichū.
The Kikaichū has always been invincible in battle, killing anyone who gets in its way, thanks to its powerful ability to devour and evolve.
However, the Senjutsu Chakra is completely different.
Senjutsu Chakra is a special power that incorporates Natural Energy; its structure and properties are extremely complex and stable.
The Kikaichū ' ability to devour is essentially the dismantling and reorganization of Chakra structures, but the stability of Senjutsu Chakra exceeds their capabilities.
It's like trying to disassemble an incredibly sophisticated instrument with a rudimentary tool.
Not only will it fail, but it will also harm yourself.
This is also the fundamental reason why Kikaichū cannot absorb Senjutsu Chakra and are instead petrified.
It seems Kikaichū.
Hoshino took out a sealing scroll from his pocket and threw it out.
With a flash of light, four or five people who looked exactly like Hoshino emerged from the scroll.
These people are puppets that Hoshino meticulously crafted. Each puppet possesses the power of multiple Kekkei Genkai and is his secret weapon prepared to deal with extreme situations.
"Go, keep Garaga and that monster occupied!"
At Hoshino's command, the puppets immediately Hand Seals, unleashing a torrent of Ninjutsu upon Garaga.
Ice Release: Snowstorm!
" Magnet Release: Iron Sand World Method!"
" Explosion Release: Explosive Ball!"
" Steel Release: Steel Transformation!"
"..."
A biting wind, carrying icy blades, howled in; Iron Sand formed a cage; explosive balls of Explosion Release detonated one after another; and Steel Release strengthened the puppet itself.
Caught off guard, Garaga was thrown into disarray by the tremendous impact, losing many of its scales and revealing bloody wounds.
roar--
Garaga struggled fiercely, opening his mouth to spew out raging Senjutsu flames that spread out in a fan shape, scorching the ground until it cracked.
The puppets reacted quickly; the Ice Release puppet waved its hands, and a thick ice wall rose from the ground to block the flames.
The ice wall crackled and popped as it came into contact with the flames, melting rapidly and releasing a large amount of steam that enveloped the battlefield in a white haze.
The Magnet Release puppet manipulated the surrounding metallic matter, condensing it into several enormous Magnet Release spears, which pierced towards Garaga from different directions.
The Explosion Release Puppet seized the opportunity and hurled a barrage of powerful explosive balls at Garaga.
Boom boom boom--
A series of explosions rang out, Kakkō and smoke mingled, and Garaga was pushed back by the force of the explosions, sustaining new injuries.
Taking advantage of the brief moment, Hoshino quickly retrieved spare parts to repair the damaged prosthetic body.
Thanks to his regular practice and in-depth research on mechanical prosthetics, he performed this series of complex operations with great fluency.
The critical parts of the prosthetic body were repaired in less than a minute.
The indicator lights that had been flashing malfunction warnings went out, the mechanical prosthetic eye regained a clear field of vision, and the mechanical bone wings once again emitted stable energy fluctuations.
Garaga had just recovered from the shock of the explosion, and his already fierce vertical pupil in his single eye was now filled with endless rage.
roar--
It raised its enormous head and let out a roar powerful enough to shatter eardrums. The sound waves spread out like a tangible force, shaking the surrounding buildings that had not yet collapsed.
At this moment, the monster perched on Garaga's head also let out a sharp, piercing cry.
Its entire body began to twist violently, and black liquid seeped continuously from its surface, rapidly spreading throughout Garaga's body.
In the blink of an eye, the monster and Garaga became completely one, their symbiotic relationship deepening further, transforming them into an even more terrifying fighting machine.
Garaga suddenly swung its tail, which swept out like a giant iron rod, creating a gust of wind.
This force swept away several puppets in the vicinity. One of the Explosion Release Puppet was hit by the tail, causing the explosive ball on its body to detonate prematurely, blooming into a huge spark in mid-air.
Hoshino was startled and stared intently at Garaga through his mechanical eye.
"Celestial Art: Water Dragon Bullet!"
Garaga opened his mouth and spewed out a huge water dragon formed from Senjutsu Chakra, roaring as it charged out.
Its impact caused visible vortexes to form in the surrounding air.
The Ice Release puppet quickly concentrated its remaining power and built an indestructible giant ice wall in front of it.
boom--
The water dragon crashed violently against the ice wall, producing a deafening roar that seemed to shake the heavens and earth.
The ice wall instantly developed countless cracks under the powerful impact, and the sound of cracking echoed continuously.
The ice wall only held for a few seconds before collapsing with a deafening roar, sending countless shards of ice flying in all directions like projectiles, further disrupting the battlefield.
But that's not all.
Garaga opened its blood-red maw once more, this time not with Water Release Senjutsu, but with Fire Style Senjutsu.
A massive fireball erupted, its temperature so high that it ignited the surrounding air, creating distorted waves of heat.
The Steel Release Puppet crossed its arms in front of its chest and, with its enhanced, sturdy body, rushed forward to try and block the fireball.
boom--
The fireball struck the Steel Release Puppet, creating a deafening explosion. The Kakkō and heatwave instantly engulfed the Steel Release Puppet.
Under the powerful impact, the Steel Release Puppet's body was pushed backward and slid dozens of meters, carving two deep trenches into the ground.
Although the Steel Release Puppet's body withstood the direct impact of the fireball, many cracks appeared in its steel armor, and in some places it even began to melt.
Seeing this, the other puppets did not hesitate at all and quickly rushed forward to engage Garaga in combat.
Garaga, on the other hand, went completely mad, unleashing a series of Senjutsu of various attributes.
The high-temperature flames of Fire Style spread everywhere, Water Release stirred up surging waves, Wind Release whipped up a gale, Lightning Release brought down lightning, and Earth Release altered the terrain.
Amidst this chaotic melee, the southern mining area became increasingly terrifying.
The ground was riddled with craters, and burning building debris was everywhere. The fire spread rapidly with the help of the strong winds, and thick smoke obscured the sky, plunging the entire battlefield into darkness.
Puppet after puppet was devoured and destroyed under Garaga's Senjutsu attacks, its parts scattered on the ground.
The puppets that were initially able to put up a fight gradually became overwhelmed, with only a few remaining struggling to hold on. They were covered in damage and scorch marks, and their movements became extremely slow.
Now Hoshino believed that Garaga was indeed qualified to be the Council of Elders ' trump card.
If they maintain this level of fighting strength, they can indeed destroy Sunagakure. Even if Rasa came, he would still die here.
Through the battle between Garaga and the puppet.
Hoshino gradually understood why Garaga was able to unleash so many different types of Senjutsu in succession without suffering any damage himself.
This is completely different from Garaga in the original work.
It turns out that the monster was like a sophisticated Chakra distribution device, reshaping Garaga's energy circulation system during the symbiotic process.
When Garaga mobilizes his Senjutsu Chakra, the black slime left by the monster forms a rune matrix on his body, directing the Senjutsu Chakra to different meridians and forcibly separating and amplifying it according to the characteristics of the Five Elements.
This allows Garaga to break through his own limitations, enabling him to freely unleash immortal Senjutsu with the five elements attributes.
It has to be said that the Council of Elders is quite talented and imaginative; they can come up with such a method. No wonder Garaga is willing to cooperate with them and even willingly follow their lead.
boom--
With a fireball, the last Kekkei puppet twisted and deformed in the flames, its reinforced shell melted into molten iron by the high temperature.
Meanwhile, Garaga's gaping maw continued to spew scorching air waves, and the aftershocks of the Five Elements Senjutsu ravaged the battlefield, tearing the remaining ground into countless holes.
The sky over the southern mining area was dyed an eerie purplish-black, and the energy concentration around Garaga had exceeded the critical value.
Hoshino suddenly accelerated into the air, the metal gears roared, and the prosthetic core emitted a blinding light.
The final form of a full-body mechanical prosthetic body.
Six pairs of metal blades unfold layer by layer, like a blooming steel lotus.
The armor that originally covered the body began to split and recombine, and hundreds of miniature cannon muzzles emerged from the gaps.
Huge triple-mounted energy turrets extend from its shoulders, rotating ring beam emitters encircle its waist, and even slender laser tubes extend from its fingertips.
Silvery-white energy surged through the patterns on the armor's surface, outlining intricate geometric designs, making the person feel as if they were enveloped in a flowing cocoon of light.
The wings on its back unfolded to their limit, forming a huge energy matrix that continuously emitted purple energy arcs.
When the final form is fully formed, Hoshino floats in the air like a war angel descended to earth, his entire body covered with deadly weapons from every angle, capable of launching a devastating attack from any direction.
" The Council of Elders ' masterpiece... let me put an end to it."
Hoshino's voice, mixed with mechanical distortion, echoed above the ruins.
Sensing the threat, Garaga stopped unleashing his Five Elements Senjutsu, his one eye fixed intently on his prey in the air.
Meanwhile, in the Council of Elders residential area.
Gaara, with a sand gourd hanging from his waist and Sand Core floating beside his head, was at full power, having just suppressed the last remnant of the elder's faction under quicksand.
With this, the battle in the residential area has come to a complete end.
Not far away, Rasa hovered in mid-air and came to Gaara's side. Judging from the expression on his face, the battle on the main street was also going very smoothly.
Now all that's left is the battle between Hoshino and Garaga in the southern mining area.
Suddenly, Temari's urgent shouts came through the earpiece.
" Gaara, Father! The energy intensity in the southern mining area has exceeded the detection limit; all the mechanical devices are overloaded. This is very wrong!"
Before the words were even finished, the dark purple clouds churned with bizarre vortexes, and some kind of power beyond common sense was boiling deep within the clouds.
As Gaara looked into the distance, he saw Hoshino's mechanical prosthetic body transform into an incandescent ball of light, with the triple-mounted turret on his shoulder and hundreds of cannons around him simultaneously illuminating the scene with blinding light.
Within Garaga's gaping maw, an energy sphere condensed from the Five Elements Senjutsu emitted a destructive aura, its five-colored rays intertwining to form a vortex powerful enough to tear space apart.
"Run! Make everyone run!"
Temari's scream almost pierced the earpiece, her voice trembling like never before.