Chapter 422: Spiral Explosion
Amid the clamor of rain and crashing waves, Hiruko's screams were particularly piercing.
"Damn it... what the hell is this thing?! I can't absorb it?!"
He arched his body in pain, both hands futilely clawing at the black flames clinging to his body.
If not for the Steel Release kekkei genkai that had already reinforced his skin, he'd probably be nothing but charred remains by now, consumed by these bizarre black flames.
"Give up. You're no match for me."
Uchiha Shisui's voice came through calm, clear, carrying sincere advice. There was no victor's arrogance, nor mockery of the weak.
"Give up... don't look down on me—!"
That calmness only ignited more thoroughly the humiliation and unwillingness Hiruko had suppressed for years.
Why? Why should these naturally born kekkei genkai aristocrats possess such power?! He roared furiously, forcibly tearing his body free from the black flames' searing pain. The Swift Release kekkei genkai activated instantly.
WHOOSH!
His figure blurred abruptly, transforming into a residual image nearly impossible for the naked eye to track. With a shrill shriek of displaced air, he charged straight at Shisui.
However, Shisui's reaction was faster than imagination.
No dazzling ocular technique. No massive chakra explosion. Just the basic application of the Body Flicker Technique—sidestep, head tilt. At the same time, his short blade precisely intercepted Hiruko's bandage-wrapped left arm as it followed his punch.
CLANG! CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!
The short blade and bandages wrapped in Steel Release chakra collided violently, producing sharp metallic sounds like hammering iron.
Hiruko's heart shook violently. How is this possible?! He was using Swift Release, a kekkei genkai famous for speed! Yet his opponent, relying only on the most basic Body Flicker Technique, had completely kept pace with his rhythm.
A genius...
That realization stabbed viciously into the sensitive corner of Hiruko's heart. That innate, despair-inducing gap in talent was once again laid bare before him in all its bloody truth.
"Storm Release: Thunder Cloud Cavity Wave!"
Taking advantage of a fierce collision's recoil, Hiruko retreated rapidly. His hands had already completed seals during his backward motion. Above his head, chakra gathered frantically, and a small patch of dark thundercloud took shape instantly, lightning rolling within.
CRACK—BOOM!
Several twisted blue-white bolts of lightning shrieked through the cloud layer and rain curtain, striking down savagely toward where Shisui stood.
At the same time, Hiruko's feet never stopped moving. Swift Release activated once more.
Facing the Storm Release lightning descending from above, Shisui's thoughts stirred.
BOOM!
A crimson skeletal frame shot up from the ground instantly, completely enveloping his body. The Susanoo's initial form—those massive bone arms crossed protectively overhead, bearing the full brunt of the lightning strikes.
Shisui's gaze pierced through the gaps in the skeletal structure, calmly observing Hiruko moving at high speed around the perimeter.
Dark Release absorbs ninjutsu. Swift Release provides speed. Storm Release delivers powerful attacks. Even Amaterasu couldn't achieve quick results because of his Steel Release foundation... Attack, defense, speed, technique, resistance—there were almost no obvious weaknesses.
A "perfect" ninja assembled through plunder and grafting.
Truly troublesome.
A flash of resolution crossed Shisui's eyes. He couldn't drag this out any longer. The battlefield changed in an instant—he needed to end this quickly.
"Yuu... lend me your strength."
HUM!
The Mangekyo pattern in his eyes suddenly accelerated its rotation, ocular power surging forth like a breached dam.
The crimson Susanoo in the external world underwent a dramatic transformation. The skeletal frame emitted loud grinding sounds as it proliferated rapidly. Red chakra crawled along the bones like blood vessels and muscle tissue. Then armor forged itself swiftly in the chakra torrent.
Susanoo: Third Form!
A towering half-bodied giant stood upon the sea surface, radiating a far deeper and more vast terrifying pressure than before. Rain evaporated into white mist the instant it approached its energy body.
"Totsuka Blade."
The red giant's arm moved. That massive crimson sword ignored the Swift Release speed Hiruko took such pride in, and ignored his Steel Release defense stretched to its absolute limit.
SQUELCH!
The dull sound of a blade piercing flesh.
All of Hiruko's movements stopped abruptly. He looked down in disbelief at the enormous red sword tip—formed entirely of chakra—protruding from the center of his chest.
"What... is this?" He forced the words out, feeling his body become unbearably heavy. Every cell was resisting his will. Even lifting a finger had become impossibly difficult.
"You think... an attack of this level..."
He tried to mobilize his chakra, activating Dark Release or any kekkei genkai ability to resist or heal, only to discover in horror that all the chakra in his body refused to move according to his will.
"What... what's happening?! I can't use ninjutsu?!"
"A sealing technique... impossible!"
He finally understood the red blade's true nature. It wasn't an ordinary energy attack. It was... the legendary spirit weapon that sealed whatever it touched!
In the next moment, an irresistible suction emanated from the Totsuka Blade piercing his body. Hiruko felt his consciousness, his soul, the very "concept" of his physical existence begin to dissolve.
His entire form rapidly became indistinct, transforming into a distorted stream of light that was completely absorbed.
The light stream flowed backward along the blade, ultimately disappearing into the massive red gourd-shaped container hanging at the crimson Susanoo's waist.
Having dealt with Hiruko, Uchiha Shisui didn't relax.
His senses told him that in the hemispherical ice prison not far away, Momochi Zabuza and Haku's chakra signatures held the clear advantage, while Juzo Biwa and Raiga Kurosuki's chakra had become like candles in the wind. Their defeat was clearly decided.
"I should support Kakuzu."
Shisui quickly made his judgment and prepared to use the Body Flicker Technique to enter another battlefield—
His movement suddenly stopped.
Without warning, the sea that should have held only waves transmitted an unusual vibration. Not the ripples caused by battling ninja, but something more massive... the dull rumble of machinery operating.
---
RUMBLE... RUMBLE...
Above the sea, enormous shadows quietly emerged, their outlines rapidly becoming clear. They were constructs of steel, carrying the oppressive presence unique to the industrial age.
One, two, three... a staggering number of underwater fortresses—or rather, strangely shaped warships—slowly surfaced from the deep sea.
Atop their bridges, a symbol that had faded from the shinobi world's mainstream consciousness years ago was clearly painted—the Sky Village headband insignia.
These war machines that had been silent for years now entered the battlefield's waters in organized silence.
"All combat units, deploy according to plan! Flight division, begin boarding preparation!"
Commands transmitted through loudspeakers rang out from the lead massive carrier. On the deck, Sky ninja who'd been waiting in formation moved at the order.
They quickly strapped mechanical wing packs to their backs. The ninja checked the explosive charges mounted on their bodies, their eyes cold.
Their mission was clear: take advantage of both sides being locked in fierce battle and use overwhelming numbers and surprise tactics to completely annihilate the Ember organization.
However, they hadn't noticed that higher above, a pair of excited eyes had locked firmly onto them—and onto those massive steel warships beneath their feet that resembled mobile islands.
"WOOOOOOH!"
Deidara's excited heart pounded.
"Now that's more like it! This scale! This industrial beauty! This is the perfect canvas worthy of being elevated by my newest art! Yeah!"
Those neatly arranged warships below, gleaming with metallic coldness, weren't tools of war in Deidara's eyes—they were blank canvases waiting for him to paint with the most magnificent explosion colors.
"Hahaha! Feel honored! You'll be the witnesses to my C5's debut performance! Yeah!"
His hands had already pulled out enormous handfuls of explosive clay from the pouches at his waist. The mouths in his palms chewed greedily. Mixing. Refining.
Unlike any previous time, this clay-shaping process appeared exceptionally slow and heavy. A special chakra focal disk with a spiral groove at its center formed between his palms. The disk generated powerful suction, continuously drawing in more highly compressed and nature-transformed clay.
At the disk's center, a pitch-black sphere gradually expanded and solidified, containing energy fluctuations disturbing enough to make one's heart skip.
When the last bit of clay was consumed, that black sphere finally reached a perfect state of balance and saturation, hovering quietly in Deidara's palm.
"This is a parting gift... nah, that doesn't really fit my style. Yeah."
"Let's stick with the usual! Name it after the explosion itself!"
He raised that dangerous black sphere high overhead.
"Rejoice! For my newest art! C5: Explosive Spiral Wheel! Yeah!"
His arm swung back forcefully, then with every ounce of strength in his body, he hurled that C5: Explosive Spiral Wheel toward the fleet's densest concentration below.
After leaving his hand, the black sphere didn't plummet rapidly. Instead, it began rotating on its axis, continuously accelerating its spin during descent. The spiral patterns on the sphere's surface glowed dark red, churning the surrounding air and producing a low rumble like a monster's moan.
Deidara stood on his clay bird's back as violent wind whipped his robes. He spread his arms wide and shouted toward the vast rainy sky and the tiny warships below, proclaiming his eternal pursuit.
"Art is an explosion!"
"HAH!"
BOOOOOOOM!
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