Naruto had only just regained his freedom when, as the two of them set off to support Sasuke, a piercing scream suddenly rang out. In Sage Mode, Naruto sensed that someone had abducted Sarada!
"Leave this to me, Naruto. Go to Sarada!" Even while fighting, Sasuke noticed his daughter's situation and immediately told the freed Naruto to go.
But it seemed they had both underestimated the cloaked man's strength. His limits clearly went far beyond this. Under Sasuke's horrified gaze, the cloaked man pressed his hands together and, after a brief pause, actually entered Sage Mode!!
—Sage Art: Wood Release: Top Transformed Buddha!
"You're all staying here!" The cloaked man stood atop the hundred-meter-tall Buddha's head, high enough to rise above the clouds and look down upon the tiny figures below.
"Sasuke!!" Naruto shouted.
Sasuke's eyes flickered. Purple skeletal Chakra gradually solidified, muscle fibers grew over its body, and armor finally covered its skin!
Within just a few breaths, Sasuke was raised to the same height—Complete Body Susanoo!
Wearing heavy armor and a tengu mask, Sasuke stood upon the towering Susanoo's forehead. The enemy was not truly Hashirama, after all. His Top Transformed Buddha was not even one-thousandth as powerful as Hashirama's! (Hashirama could restrain the Nine-Tails with one hand using Top Transformed Buddha.)
The two stood facing each other at the same level. Sasuke's Susanoo had clearly been within the cloaked man's expectations. The moment he saw Sasuke's Majestic Attire Susanoo, he took the opportunity to attack.
Top Transformed Buddha granted the cloaked man enough arms—thousands of hands—which increased both his attack range and power geometrically. The next stage would be True Several Thousand Hands, but he clearly lacked the ability to unleash it all at once.
Countless arms clenched into fists and launched a full barrage at Sasuke's Susanoo. Every tightly packed fist carried the force to shake mountains, crashing down upon Susanoo with crushing weight like falling meteors!
Amid booming tremors, the impact and gusts cleared out an open patch in the forest below. Sasuke's Susanoo took the full assault head-on and was driven back again and again.
Susanoo's legs carved two deep trenches into the ground. The Chakra on its surface dimmed somewhat, but Sasuke endured it and swung Susanoo's sword in retaliation.
Chidori wrapped around Susanoo, adding even more majesty and spectacle while raising its cutting power by several levels. After catching his breath, Sasuke quickly swung his sword. Complete Body Susanoo was no different from an enlarged Sasuke himself, so its agility and practicality were just as formidable.
The Great Buddha's arms broke one after another. Every slash from Sasuke took away part of its arms as he gradually closed in on the cloaked man.
The cloaked man remained calm, sitting quietly atop the Great Buddha's head as he gathered Sage power once more. Seeing this, Sasuke immediately raised his hand and drew the bowstring, firing an Amenotejikara straight at him.
Its immense penetrating force pierced through the Top Transformed Buddha's arms, carrying tremendous momentum as it shot directly toward the Buddha's head. The cloaked man in Sage Mode sensed the attack and was forced to interrupt his accumulation of Sage power.
"Wood Release: Hobi Technique."
Two arms rose high from within the Great Buddha, holding a demon-faced shield before the cloaked man. It was Hashirama's absolute defense. Hashirama had once used this technique to block Madara's Majestic Attire Susanoo slash, so using it now to fend off Sasuke's interference felt like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
This also proved just how determined the cloaked man was to use that technique. From the low-grade version of Top Transformed Buddha at the beginning to his current display, it was clear that he wanted to use True Several Thousand Hands to wipe everyone out.
After all, Hashirama's glorious achievements were recorded in history. In the cloaked man's view, even if Naruto and Sasuke joined forces, he still had the strength to fight them!
On Naruto's side, he had barely retreated beyond the forest when he saw the cloaked man gathering such an attack. He immediately grew worried for Sasuke's safety.
"Do what you're supposed to do!" Sasuke's cold voice echoed through the air.
Understanding Sasuke's resolve, Naruto hesitated no longer and raced toward the location where Sage Mode had sensed Sarada.
What Naruto had not expected was that Sarada's abductor was incredibly fast. In the mere minutes Naruto had been trapped, Sarada's presence had already become so faint that she was nearly out of the entire region.
She had crossed almost half of the Land of Fire!!
Realizing the severity of the situation, Naruto decided to bring Boruto to a safe area first. Saving Sarada could not wait, and Boruto's speed would delay the journey too much.
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Boruto did not mind. Smiling obediently, he stayed atop a rock in a certain area, looking quite relaxed as he quietly waited for Naruto to return.
Now at ease, Naruto did not hesitate to use the Nine-Tails' power. A massive orange-gold fox floated in the air and charged toward Sarada's location.
Watching Naruto's figure fade into the horizon, Boruto noticed that the weather was especially gloomy today. Fortunately, Naruto forcibly broke through the sky and split apart a cloud, bringing sunlight back to the ground.
With a pop, the Shadow Clone Naruto had brought here dispersed.
On Sasuke's side, several forceful attacks had failed to break through the cloaked man's defense. His expression darkened as he raised one hand toward the sky. Boundless lightning surged like purple waves, and the entire sky transformed into a swamp of thunder.
"Susanoo: Lightning Release: Kirin Descends!"
The lightning summoned in Complete Body Susanoo was dozens of times more powerful and far-reaching than Sasuke's own. The enormous lightning gathered into one form, like a true Kirin descending upon the world. Its immense body was fully comparable to a Tailed Beast!
Before the immense lightning had even descended, rain-like arcs already crackled through the air, making the entire sky glitter as if stars were falling from the clouds and scattering crystalline colors.
The cloaked man atop the Great Buddha slowly rose to his feet. Looking at the magnificent, radiant sight before him, he seemed stirred by fighting spirit. He unleashed all the power he had gathered at once, and the Great Buddha beneath his feet instantly expanded several times over, towering proudly above Susanoo.
"Sasuke Uchiha, this was the ultimate technique I prepared for the two of you. Unfortunately, only you remain to taste it!"
The cloaked man laughed wildly. His hearty laughter seemed to overwhelm even the thunder, the rumbling and cackling painting an atmosphere of apocalypse. The heavy pressure felt as though the sky itself were collapsing.
—Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands!
Against an attack of this level, Sasuke alone had no power to contend with it. That was why he had gathered the lightning first, hoping to severely injure the cloaked man before he could act.
The brilliance of Lightning Release illuminated the sky. Blazing white light drove away all darkness, even swallowing every shadow. The massive Kirin descended from the heavens, running slowly as though it were the Kirin itself.
In the end, the Lightning Release struck atop the Great Buddha's head. Sasuke had indeed gambled on forcibly interrupting the eruption of True Several Thousand Hands, but it was futile.
The massive hands spreading from True Several Thousand Hands were like the descent of Guanyin—sacred, great, and a divine miracle that could not be profaned!
Countless arms carried overwhelming force. Under such bombardment, the Lightning Release Kirin quickly dispersed. The shattered lightning instead wrapped around the arms, increasing the power of True Several Thousand Hands.
Amid crackling thunder, the erupting thousand-hand assault struck Complete Body Susanoo. It was an unavoidable, wide-range, high-intensity ninjutsu. Even Sasuke's fully charged Amenotejikara arrow vanished amid countless fists like a stone sinking into the sea!
Within the violent smoke screen, even the earth was overturned by the attack, crumbling apart at terrifying speed. Susanoo barely held on amid the barrage of fists like a lone boat on a raging sea, before finally collapsing.
Just as the cloaked man was feeling smug, the clouds above his head suddenly split open. Bright sunlight shone onto the smoke, creating a Tyndall effect. At that moment, the light seemed to gather into a golden blade, boundlessly long, as if a sword had been drawn from the sky itself.
Boruto's figure was nearly invisible amid the blazing sunlight and enormous blade. It seemed as though this attack had been launched by heaven itself rather than by a person, and its power was therefore infinitely magnified.
—Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!!
At that moment, all things fell silent. The world seemed frozen in this instant, every object completely still. Only the blade above the clouds slowly descended, a silent and deadly assault.
The Top Transformed Buddha was effortlessly cut apart like tofu. The cloaked man also vanished beneath the blade's radiance, and the follow-up attack was forcibly interrupted by the Buddha's disappearance.
The battered Sasuke collapsed onto the ground. At that moment, he seemed to have witnessed a true miracle, yet he could not sense anyone nearby who had performed it!
Only hurried footsteps approached his ears, kicking up dust from the broken earth. Boruto ran toward Sasuke. "Are you okay, Uncle Sasuke? That attack just now was way too terrifying!"
Boruto helped Sasuke up. The heavy smoke had reduced the oxygen level to a frightening degree, so Boruto carried Sasuke away from the battlefield for the time being.
After reaching a safe area, Boruto hurriedly used Mystical Palm Technique to treat Sasuke's injuries. Watching Boruto's practiced movements, Sasuke could not help thinking that compared to Naruto, he was calmer and more dependable...
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