Chapter 163 - 163 MAKI 1.2.3

AM N. NOT.👌🏻(￣з￣)🤜🏻

Outside the pyramid, the clones tasked with saving and evacuating citizens finally came to a stop. All the people had been placed inside a large wooden cage – big enough to hold two to three hundred people – set far away from the catastrophic battle. Once their work was done, the clones rushed back toward the main structure.

Inside the wooden pyramid, darkness swallowed everything. It felt like the void itself lived here, with no light to pierce the gloom.

Then snap – a finger snapping sound echoed through the space, one after another as the clones acted in perfect sync. Fooooooosh....

Torches blazed to life in every corner of the pyramid. But they weren't ordinary torches – they were thick wooden branches mounted on the interior walls, casting bright light across the dark chamber.

When the space finally lit up, massive shadows loomed ahead. The Anomalies thrashed in rage, still tangled in wood that clung to their legs, arms, and necks like relentless leeches.

The creatures had had enough.

The closed flower-like petals on their heads began to slowly unfurl. The tips creaked and hissed as they opened, releasing an eerie smell that filled the air.

When the petals were fully open, sharp yellow structures like teeth pulsed at their centers. From each core stared a single eyeball, crisscrossed with red veins. No iris – just a dark hole in the middle. Then fuuuuuuuuuuush.....

Green acid gushed out, showering over the Anomalies from skull to hooves. The corrosive liquid ate through every piece of wood stuck to their bodies.

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

The Anomalies roared at the tiny figure watching them struggle against what they saw as a pathetic nuisance.

The clones spoke together in one voice: "So even aliens have their pride."

The Anomalies shrieked back – they understood every word. All three charged forward at once, their hooves slamming into the ground with earth-shaking force. Each step sent tremors rippling out, their massive weight and raw power clear even from a distance.

But Maki didn't flinch. His red eyes shifted, and three tomoe swirled into view – his Sharingan was active.

And he wasn't moving alone. All three clones moved with him, linked perfectly. They knew exactly what to do without a single word.

Maki 1 clapped his hands hard. "Mokuton – Wooden Tridents!"

From his back, massive wooden tridents shot into shape at incredible speed – almost one hundred in total, each thirty feet tall, half the size of the Anomalies themselves.

Maki 1 pointed a single finger at the charging creatures. The tridents followed his com7mand instantly.

Swiiiiiish.... Swiiiiiiiiiish.... Swiiiiiiiiiish... Swiiiiiiiiiish... Swiiiiiiiiiish... Swiiiiiiiiiish... Swiiiiiiiiiish... Swiiiiiiiiiish...

The tridents rained down on the Anomalies like a storm.

The monsters didn't let them land. They swung their three arms in wild, powerful punches, shattering each trident on impact.

Zaaaaaazaaaaaaaazaaaaa!

The Anomalies laughed and mocked the display – but the tridents were never meant to be an attack. The shattered wood burst into countless splinters that stuck fast to the creatures' bodies, rooting them in place like a net thrown over prey.

But just like before, the flower on their heads poured out more acid, corroding the wood away in seconds.

Maki had expected this. The original Maki watched the battlefield through his Sharingan, his senses sharp as he tracked every move. He was the eyes of the group, while the clones carried out his plans.

While Maki 1 kept the Anomalies busy with the tridents, Maki 2 made his move. The original had spotted an opening – and now was the time to strike.

Maki 2 stomped his foot hard into the ground, clapped his hands, and whispered: "Mokuton – Wooden Stalagmites!"

He slammed his palms down onto the floor.

A line of cracks raced toward the Anomalies. The creatures were too busy tearing apart wood and burning it away to notice. Then, right where they stood –

Kraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag...

Hundreds of towering wooden spikes shot up from the ground beneath them.

The original Maki had a theory – the creatures looked like deer, so maybe their lower bodies were weaker than their tough exterior. But kaaaabaaaaaaaaaang.....

The stalagmites smashed against their legs, but the dark-scaled skin was just as hard as the rest of their bodies. The Anomalies finally took notice, bracing on their hind legs to dodge the growing spikes. If they stayed put, the wood would keep rising until it pushed them high into the air.

Raaaaaaaazaaaaaaabaaaaaraaaaa!

The Anomaly on the far side roared furiously at Maki 2, who kept channeling the growing stalagmites.

But the original Maki had already known the attack might not work. Even as Maki 2 began casting, Maki 3 was getting ready – he was about to summon something far more complex, crafted with painstaking detail.

Maki 3 closed his eyes, focusing hard as he pictured what he needed to create. He clapped his hands together, then snapped his eyes open and whispered:

"Mokuton—"

!!ヽ(ﾟдﾟヽ)(ﾉﾟдﾟ)ﾉ!!AM N. NOT.