"We must change tactics!"
Ōnoki gritted his teeth, fighting through the weakness caused by his depleted chakra.
His Dust Release could not outlast Shinichi's endurance. If they continued defending like this, the entire Iwagakure army would be worn down inside this Wood Release forest.
His eyes locked onto Shinichi, and he made a decision at once.
"Akatsuchi! Kitsuchi! Gather by my side immediately!"
Hearing the order, Akatsuchi shattered the vines wrapping around him with a punch, leaped into the air, and landed beside Ōnoki.
"Lord Tsuchikage!"
Kitsuchi, who had been pinned down beneath the wood golem's giant palm, poured chakra into both hands and blasted its arm away.
Using the recoil to break free, he rushed over as rock fragments scattered around him.
"Father!"
The two quickly closed in. Seeing Ōnoki's solemn expression, they had already guessed what he was thinking.
"We can't afford a war of attrition with Dust Release," Ōnoki said, breathing heavily. "This kid is far beyond a normal genius now. If we delay any longer, he really will be able to wipe out Iwagakure by himself!"
Akatsuchi and Kitsuchi's faces darkened.
At first, they had thought Shinichi's claims were absurd, but now, looking at the Wood Release forest they could not break through, as well as the Wood Human and four dragons rampaging through the Iwagakure army, they realized he had the strength to back it up.
Both nodded, their expressions turning grave.
"So... Akatsuchi, Kitsuchi." Ōnoki's eyes sharpened.
"Go forward and engage him in close combat. Use everything you have to hold him back. Even a momentary opening will be enough for me to activate Dust Release and kill him in one blow."
His voice grew urgent.
"We must not let him grow any further. If this continues, Iwagakure won't be the only one in danger. The entire Ninja World will never know peace again."
As he spoke, Ōnoki's cloudy eyes went unfocused for a moment. His memories drifted back to the founding era, to the two men who had once stood at the peak of the Ninja World.
Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.
Shinichi carried traces of both... Hashirama's overwhelming Wood Release and Madara's arrogance. Either one alone would have been dangerous enough, but now both had appeared in the same person.
'History must not repeat itself.'
Ōnoki suddenly snapped back to his senses, his chakra surging. "Move!"
"Understood!"
Akatsuchi moved at once. His rock-covered body smashed through the vines blocking his path as he charged straight toward Shinichi.
"Earth Release: Fist Rock Technique!"
Kitsuchi followed closely behind, striking the ground with both palms to restrict Shinichi's movement.
"Earth Release: Sandwich Technique!"
One attacked while the other restricted the field, both trying to buy Ōnoki a chance to strike.
Shinichi stood on the rocky platform, watching the three of them gather without moving. When Akatsuchi and Kitsuchi suddenly burst forward and flanked him from the left and right, their intention could not have been more obvious.
"You want to restrict my movements in close combat and create an opening for that old man's Dust Release?"
His indifferent gaze swept over the two approaching figures.
"I don't understand. Why does everyone in the Ninja World think close combat will work against me?"
At the same moment, the ground churned. Two massive hemispherical rock walls rose from the earth like the jaws of a giant beast, closing in on Shinichi from both sides.
Just before the walls could crush him, Shinichi's figure flickered and vanished like a ghost.
Bang!
The two rock walls collided violently, releasing a deafening roar and sending stone fragments flying, but no one was there.
Almost at the same instant, Shinichi appeared several meters above the closed rock walls, his black clothes fluttering.
"An opening!" Akatsuchi shouted, his voice booming across the battlefield.
Seeing that Shinichi had not yet regained his footing, he smashed his petrified fist straight toward him.
Akatsuchi was confident. No matter how strong Shinichi's Wood Release was, he did not believe the boy could take his full-power punch head-on.
"You call this an opening?" Shinichi chuckled, not even trying to dodge. "Then come and see what this opening is worth."
Chakra quickly gathered in his right fist, and he threw a backhand punch to meet Akatsuchi's fist.
Their fists collided, and a shockwave exploded outward in a ring.
"Huh!?"
Akatsuchi's expression changed drastically. His fist did not feel flesh and bone. It felt like he had struck an immovable mountain.
A crushing force surged through his arm and shoulder, tearing into his body.
Akatsuchi let out a short cry of pain and flew backward even faster than he had come, crashing into a raised rock wall behind him.
Boom!
The rock wall collapsed, and dust filled the air.
"Akatsuchi!?"
Kitsuchi shouted, his eyes widening.
Ōnoki kept his gaze fixed on Shinichi.
The black-clad youth had just landed after punching Akatsuchi away. For one brief instant, he was between movements.
"Now's the time!"
Ōnoki roared, and the little chakra left in his body surged wildly into the space between his hands.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
He thrust both palms forward, and a thick white pillar of light blasted down toward Shinichi in a wide attack. Its range was so large that it blocked almost every possible angle of escape.
"It's over, kid!"
Ōnoki's eyes sharpened.
Shinichi simply leaped back. The white pillar brushed past the hem of his clothes and slammed into the spot where he had been standing.
Rocks, soil, and several raised vines were erased in silence, leaving behind a deep pit with smooth edges.
Had he missed?
No.
This was exactly what Ōnoki had planned. Shinichi's leap had placed him directly in the path of the second attack.
Ōnoki forced his hands downward, keeping the chakra flowing as the thick white pillar swept toward Shinichi in midair.
"Let's see where you hide now... Die!"
Ōnoki laughed wildly.
At this distance and speed, he was convinced the strike would hit.
But just as the white pillar was about to reach Shinichi, Ōnoki caught a clear look at his face. There was no panic or urgency there, only calm and the faintest hint of a smile.
A chill ran up Ōnoki's spine.
'Not good!'
"Lord Tsuchikage, watch out!"
Countless Iwagakure ninja shouted from below.
Ōnoki's expression changed, but before he could turn around, a massive force slammed into his lower back.
Bang!
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