CHAPTER 196: THE LION'S SONG STRIKES
The white beam of light descended like a fifty-meter-long sword, and suddenly a flash of snow-white light cut across the Iwa Ninja camp!
It was like a knife slicing through water—no sound, no warning. The world seemed to lose all noise, falling into complete silence.
But in the next moment, screams erupted, dragging everyone back to reality.
"RAKSHASA!"
From mid-air, Tsuchikage Onoki's hysterical roar echoed across the battlefield, filled with overwhelming resentment.
The screams among the Iwa ninja continued without pause. Though many had retreated in time when they saw Ragnar appear among them, countless others were still caught in the Dust Release beam's aftermath.
Dust Release was a bloodline elimination that could decompose any substance.
Some Iwa ninja had their arms merely grazed by the beam. In the blink of an eye, those arms turned to dust and scattered on the wind. Others were even worse—the lower halves of their bodies caught in the technique's edge vanished instantly, reduced to ash that drifted away like smoke.
Some lost their heads entirely. Some were directly obliterated into slag, their lives extinguished in less than a heartbeat.
This was only because Tsuchikage Onoki had reacted quickly and contained the technique. Otherwise, the losses would have been even more catastrophic.
Now, a large number of wounded filled the Iwa Ninja ranks. The dead, at least, no longer suffered.
But the disabled—those whose bodies had been partially erased by Dust Release—wailed constantly. Their faces were ashen, their eyes empty. They looked like people who had lost all hope in life.
Disability, for a ninja, basically declared their life worthless. No value. No future.
"Lord Tsuchikage!"
"Stop fighting!"
"SURRENDER!"
Tsuchikage Assistant Onihei shouted at the top of his lungs, tears streaming down his face as he looked at these tragic scenes. Sorrow and regret filled his eyes. He couldn't continue like this. None of them could.
"Surrender... surrender?!"
"Damn it all!"
Onoki flew down from the sky, landing before Onihei. His arm rose and fell.
SLAP!
"It would be better to die than to live in shame!"
"Onihei! As a Tsuchikage's assistant, do you not even have that awareness?!" Onoki's expression was grim, his voice trembling with barely contained rage.
Surrender. He would never surrender again.
Rakshasa was not Uchiha Madara! He would not live in disgrace like last time!
"Lord Tsuchikage!" Onihei's voice cracked. "Death—I am not afraid of death! But look at everyone behind you! Look at them! See who still wants to continue! They have lost too many brothers and sisters! Too many!"
"Enough!"
"Today's sacrifices are for Iwa Ninja Village! For the future of the Land of Earth! That future will be brighter because of their sacrifice!"
"If you fear sacrifice, if you lack awareness entirely, you are not worthy of being called a ninja!"
Onoki's voice rang with determination. With finality. The Ninja World War had already cost him so much—he couldn't bear such losses without achieving something in return.
"Rakshasa! I will capture you today!"
With those words, Onoki's hands flew through seals again. But this time, it wasn't Dust Release.
"Earth Release: Stone Golem Technique!"
The earth trembled. The crust surged and rose. A massive stone palm erupted from beneath the ground, followed by another, and then the enormous body of a stone golem emerged fully. Though this stone giant didn't match the golden Buddha's colossal size, it still stood thirty to forty meters tall—a towering figure of rock and earth. Every movement carried tremendous power.
Ragnar recognized this technique. He had seen Iwagakure ninja use it before, back when he rescued Tsunade.
His expression turned dismissive. "Onoki, this is nothing more than a stone man made of rock and soil. Do you think this can deal with me? You underestimate me."
And indeed, the Stone Golem Technique was only a B-rank jutsu at best—not even A-rank. Usually, several ninja working together with Fire or Water Release could defeat such constructs.
"The Stone Golem's level may not be high," Onoki replied slowly, pride coloring his voice. "But I am a Tsuchikage. Even ordinary techniques, in a Kage's hands, are no weaker than A-rank jutsu."
He placed his palm on the stone golem's head.
"Earth Release: Weighted Rock Technique!"
As a Tsuchikage, Onoki had mastered the use of Light-Weight Rock and Weighted Rock techniques to an extraordinary degree. He needed no hand seals, no activation time—he could activate them with a mere thought. Silent recitation was enough.
Even faster than the Rasengan or Chidori. More convenient than any Mudless Jutsu.
BOOM!!
The stone golem's mass, previously unremarkable, suddenly multiplied dramatically under the Weighted Rock technique. Its power exploded. Its density increased invisibly. Its defense and attack capabilities expanded exponentially.
Every rock comprising its body became nearly a thousand pounds heavy. It raised one stone arm and clenched its fist into a massive hammer.
"Stone Fist!"
Onoki stood atop the golem's head, hands clasped, commanding the battle from above.
Ragnar's expression remained unchanged. He took a deep breath. Many options existed for dealing with this, but he chose the simplest. The most direct.
With that thought, the demon blade Yama appeared in his hand.
Since entering the frontal battlefield, he had crushed enemies with his fists and his Great Buddha. But Yama had remained sheathed for too long. The blade thirsted for fresh blood.
This sword was not only a demonic weapon—it was a symbol. The symbol of his ANBU identity.
Rakshasa. The killer.
As Yama left its sheath, the entire battlefield suddenly filled with a faint aura of murder. The air itself grew cold. Even human souls seemed to freeze in its presence.
"That sword..." Tsuchikage Onoki frowned as he studied Yama. This was the first time he had seen such an evil blade. An ominous aura radiated from it.
Many ninja—Iwa and Suna alike—had seen Yama before. At this moment, fear flickered across their faces one by one. That evil Rakshasa who loved beheadings, who cut enemies in half, who dismembered bodies... he was back.
"No matter what tricks you play, they will shatter against my stone fist!" Onoki's face twisted with determination.
The stone golem's fist descended through the air. Overwhelming force. Crushing power.
Ragnar's expression didn't change. He held Yama, and felt his entire being calm. Become perfectly rational.
Yama's blade trembled slightly. Dark purple demonic energy continuously overflowed, entwining around Ragnar like living tendrils.
The purple demonic aura intensified. It spread, covering almost everything around him, forming its own domain. Ragnar appeared to stand in a strange version of hell—a Senluo underworld—and he was its master. The Rakshasa of Senluo.
A purple light flashed in the depths of his eyes. Ragnar assumed a drawing stance, and spoke word by word:
"Ittoryu. Iai. Lion's Song."
The moment he finished speaking, the purple demonic energy around him boiled. It condensed into the shape of evil Shura demons in the air. The laughter of ghosts and monsters echoed from the void itself!
Then, the purple evil spirits—the Shura demons, the ghosts and monsters—all dove into Yama!
CLANG!
The sound of the blade being drawn.
Ragnar transformed into purple lightning and flashed away!
The speed was so tremendous that even the naked eye could only perceive a single ray of light!
CRACK!
Then, a purple crack appeared on the surface of the stone golem's body.
It split open.
(End of Chapter)
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