Chapter 504: 469. Battle of Wits Part-1
Fwoosh…
A white beam of light flashes across the skies, followed by a series of explosions.
Boom… Boom…
The explosions blow away the clouds in the sky.
Shoom… Shoom…
Mū and Onoki fly out of the clouds and confront each other again.
"Your use of the Dust Release is more refined than mine!" Mū remarks.
"However, I have the advantage of an almost infinite supply of chakra over you. So you need to end the battle quickly." Mū extends his palm and generates a cube in between them.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique,"
The cube engulfs both Onoki and Mū.
"Hmm… a suicidal technique huh!" Onoki remarks as he attempts to escape from the white cube.
"I am not in control of my body. Otherwise, I would never such cowardly tactics." Mū clicks his tongue as it reminds him of his unpleasant experience with the Second Mizukage.
"Dust Release: Particle Shift,"
Suddenly, Onoki's body turns blurry and rapidly moves backward. He instantly appears outside the influence of the cube and avoids the lethal technique by a hair's breadth.
"Hmm… looks like you didn't disappoint me in all these years." Mū also reappears behind Onoki.
"A clone!"
Onoki frowns and swiftly clenches his fist.
"Earth Release: Fist Rock technique,"
He coats his fists in rocks and punches Mū.
"Earth Release: Rock armor,"
Mū blocks Onoki's fist with stone armor. He extends his hand and touches Onoki's body.
"Earth Release: Added Weight Rock Technique,"
Shiing…
Suddenly, Onoki's weight increases by a few thousand pounds, and he quickly drops to the ground.
"Earth Release: Light Weight Rock Technique,"
Onoki barely avoids the fall death by decreasing his weight at the very last moment. His body floats a few inches away from the ground.
Shoom…
A beam of white light engulfs his body and obliterates the nearby ground.
A giant crater appears at the point of impact as Onoki disappears into the white light.
"GRAAANDPAA!!!"
Kurotsuchi screams in horror as Onoki's figure vanishes from her sight.
"He is gone!"
She falls to her knees and a drop of tear leaks from her eyes.
-----------------------------
On the sea battlefield,
Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji perform a co-operation Ino-Shiko-Chō formation Ninjutsu and wipes out an entire squad of White Zetsu around them.
Multiple Zetsu combines into one to form a giant White Zetsu.
"You aren't the only one who can increase his size."
HAAH…
Choji pops a few chakra pills in his mouth and claps his hands.
"Super Expansion Jutsu,"
Choji's body rapidly expands in size and he turns almost as tall as a nearby hill.
"Expansion Jutsu: Super Slap,"
Choji covers his palm in chakra and smashes it down toward the giant Zetsu.
BOOM…
A giant palm print appears on the ground as Choji crushes the White Zetsu to meat paste.
RUMBLE… RUMBLE…
He rapidly dashes forward, crushing several white Zetsu under his feet. Choji jumps into the sky and rolls his body into a giant ball.
"Super Human Bullet Tank,"
Choji crushes the surrounding terrain under his weight and rolls over multiple White Zetsu, crushing them to a pulp in the process.
"Oye Choji! Don't overdo it."
Ino cups her hands around her mouth and yells to warn Choji.
"Don't worry, I am just getting started. I have enough chakra to spare."
He rolls over a slope and bounces high in the air.
BANG…
After reaching a certain height, his body crashes into the ground and destroys the Zetsu formation around him.
Choji continues to rampage across the battlefield like an unstoppable force that mows down all enemies in its way.
"Don't get too cocky, you brat!"
Bang…
Suddenly, an unknown figure appears out of nowhere and strikes down the giant human ball with a fist wrapped in strange, glowing yellow ropes.
Bang…
The powerful impact from the sword sends Choji flying. He rams into a nearby mountain and pulverizes its peak to dust.
"CHOOJII!!!"
Ino and Shikamaru yell Choji's name in worry.
Shoom…
Choji returns to normal size and grabs his forehead.
"OUCH! OUCH! That hurts like hell!"
He clutches his forehead and shakes his head.
"I am alright guys! Just a little bit dizzy."
Choji slowly gets up and walks towards Shikamaru and Ino.
"Bind and Draw Out!"
The unknown figure with blonde hair opens his mouth.
ARGH… BLEURGH…
Choji holds his stomach as suddenly his chest expands outwards.
"CHOOJIII!"
A transparent shadow expels from his mouth and flies towards the unknown blonde figure.
"GINKAKU!"
The unknown figure yells a name.
"Yes, Kinkaku!"
Another figure with a similar appearance but silver hairs jump in between Choji and Kinkaku. Ginkaku wields a giant broadsword and slashes it downward to sever the transparent shadow in half.
Bleurgh…
Choji spews out a mouthful of blood and clutches his chest.
ARGH…
He winces in pain.
Shikamaru and Ino swiftly support him.
"What just happened?" Ino inspects Choji's body.
"I just saw a transparent shadow expel out of Choji's mouth when that blonde guy murmured something." Shikamaru tries to make sense of the situation.
"It's a curse!"
A tall, blonde kunoichi flickers beside the trio and confronts the two unknown figures.
"Curse?"
Choji and Ino cluelessly stare at each other while Shikamaru attempts to recall some information from his memory.
"What a drag!"
"Yes, curse! These two are the infamous Gold and Silver brothers, Kinkaku and Ginkaku of the Kumogakure. These two brothers are heinous criminals that use underhanded tactics in battle. Both of them violated the peace treaty of Konohagakure and Kumogakure by attacking the Second Raikage and Second Hokage during a peace treaty. As such, they are a disgrace to Kumogakure." Samui introduces the two brothers.
"A lot of time has passed since we both left this world. I didn't expect someone to still know our name." Kinkaku glances at the group.
"Gold or Silver Brother, I don't care! Eat my burning hot attack!"
A figure leaps over the Gold and Silver Brothers.
"Cloud Style: Flame Beheading Slash,"
The figure wields a greatsword. He imbues it with fire and performs a horizontal whirlwind slash that engulfs the Gold and Silver Brother. Large arcs of intense flames engulf both brothers and generate a circular ring of fire around them.
"Atsui, don't lose your cool! These two brothers are quite dangerous." Samui warns Atsui.
"Well… well… For someone who's always cool, you are quite hot right now, nee-san!" Atsui flung his greatsword on his shoulder and lock his gaze with the gold and silver brothers.
"This hot-headed idiot who always loses his cool is my little brother!" Samui introduces Atsui to the trio.
"Samui-san, Atsui-san! The weapons in their hands; could it be the Ninja Tools of the Sage of the Six Paths from legends?"
Shikamaru recalls the relevant intel from his memories. Before the start of the war, Minato has already notified them of several important key points and there was a mention of Gold and Silver Brother and the Sage Ninja tools within them.
"There is no doubt about it!" Samui's expression turns grim as she explains.
"The yellow glowing rope wrapped around his hand is the Sage rope Kōkinjō. The Kōkinjō binds its victim upon contact and can squeeze out the victim's spirit word from their body."
"So, that transparent shadow from earlier!"
"Yes, that was Choji's spirit word. It's a portion of the spirit energy of the user." Samui nods in affirmation.
"That giant broadsword in his hand is the Second Ninja tool, Shichiseiken. It severs and curses that spirit word. This process casts a powerful curse on the victim and will draw out their soul and seal them if they repeat their most spoken words."
"That sounds scary! Will I be alright?" Choji rubs his stomach.
Bleurgh…
Kinkaku opens his mouth and a handle jut out from his mouth. He grabs the handle and pulls out a giant fan from inside his mouth.
SWASH…
Kinkaku wields the giant fan and waves it.
Shoom…
A powerful wave of water cuts through the circle of fire and travels toward the group.
"That's not good!"
----------------------------------
Whoosh…
Sasuke swiftly flickers in the direction of the black thundercloud in the sky. After his previous battle, Minato sent him on a mission to track down Obito's whereabouts.
Midway through his journey, he saw the giant mass of chakra in the sky and its potential havoc on the Allied Shinobi Force. So, he contacted the headquarters to provide aid in the battle. Sasuke recalls the contents of his communication with Shikaku.
"Sasuke, is that you?" Shikaku questions.
"Yes, it's me! I sensed a large amount of chakra gathering at 9 o'clock from the headquarters. I am currently heading in that direction to intercept the enemy jutsu." He informs Shikaku.
"Mm… this is a very powerful co-operation ninjutsu of Kumogakure…" Shikaku explains the situation to Sasuke.
"How confident are you of intercepting the enemy jutsu?" Shikaku enquires.
"I am hundred percent confident of neutralizing that attack," Sasuke recalls the powerful effect of the Yata no Kagami shield.
"However, for caution's sake, I would like you to evacuate the area around the thunderstorm cloud." Sasuke requests.
Whoosh…
Sasuke increases his pace at these thoughts.
Chapter 505: 470. Battle of Wits Part-2
Swoosh… swoosh…
The Ino-Shiko-Cho trio and the two Kumo siblings swiftly jump out of the water blade's way.
Slash… slash…
The powerful water blade slices through allies and foes alike and only stops after massacring tens of people.
"Woah! What was that?"
Ino stares at Kinkaku's hand in shock.
"That's Bashōsen! Another treasured tool of the Sage of Six Paths." Samui informs them as wields a tanto and observes the other brother.
"Nee-san, let me handle this!" Atsui wields his giant blade and dashes in Kinkaku's direction.
"They are no match for my ninjutsu, that's imbued with my hot soul."
"He talks too much. This is perfect! Kinkaku, leave this one to me!"
Click…
Atsui clicks his teeth and produces a burst of fire from his mouth. He wraps it around his blade and swings it forward in a horizontal motion.
Clang…
Ginkaku blocks Atsui's attack with Shichiseiken. Both of them engage in a sword fight.
Clang… clang… clang…
Atsui madly swings his great sword and builds up his momentum.
"Cloud Style: Rampant Strikes,"
With each strike, his momentum grows, and so does the force behind his swing.
"Chotto! That's not looking good!"
Ginkaku's face turns sour as he has difficulty withstanding Atsui's continues strikes.
Shoom… Clang…
Suddenly, Ginkaku extends his hand forward and grabs Atsui's blade with his bare hands. There is a layer of dense red chakra around his hand.
"Just kidding!"
Ginkaku grins as he performs a front-leg axe kick toward Atsui's gait.
Tch…
Atsui spins the hilt of his blade to free it from Ginkaku's grasp and uses its flat, broadside to block the kick.
BANG…
He veers across the surface of the water and jumps in mid-air to perform a backflip before landing smoothly on the surface of the water.
"That kicks packs some hot power." Atsui groans in pain.
HEH…
A grin appears on Ginkaku's face.
"His leg!"
Ino's loud remarks pull their attention to Ginkaku's leg.
A glowing yellow rope is wrapped around Ginkaku's leg.
"That's not cool! When did he…" Samui's expression turns pale as she glances at Kinkaku's empty left arm.
"WWIIINNDDD!!"
HAAH…
Kinkaku swings Bashōsen and generates a powerful burst of wind.
Shoom…
The powerful gust of wind turns into a giant hurricane. It pulls the surrounding water and turns into a giant water tornado.
"Dodge it!"
The Ino-Shika-Cho trio splits away to avoid the tornado. The tornado continues to travel forward and engulfs several shinobi within it.
"LIGHTNIIINNGG!!"
Kinkaku performs another swing, and this time generates a powerful current of lightning.
GAAH…
Atsui screams in pain as the lightning travels through the water and electrocutes his body.
"The sea is a great conductor of lightning!" Shikaku swiftly flickers towards the land.
Crackle… crackle…
The lightning spreads through the seawater and jolts anyone who comes in contact with it.
Whoosh…
Kinkaku closes the gap with Samui and swings the Bashōsen fan as a weapon.
Clang…
Samui blocks the fan with her tanto blade. Kinkaku parries her tanto and tilts his body sideways to avoid the blade.
Swish…
Samui wields a kunai with a paper tag with her other hand and swings it toward Kinkaku's head.
Whoosh…
However, Kinkaku ducks down and dodges her attack with his fast reflexes.
Bang…
He performs an upward front axe kick and hits Samui squarely on the chin.
GAH!
Samui spits out a mouthful of blood.
HAAH…
Kinkaku clenches his left fist and aims a punch at Samui's head.
Bang…
Samui barely blocks the punch by raising her arms around her face. However, the powerful force from the kick sends her flying across the surface of the sea.
BANG!
She slams into Atsui and both of them slide towards the land.
"Are you alright?!" Ino swiftly moves towards them. She treats Samui's chin with the Mystic Palm technique.
"Things aren't looking cool! I barely survived that fight. These brothers aren't someone we can confront in a head-on battle."
"But that won't stop my hot fighting spirit from igniting them with my flames." Atsui wipes the blood from his face and stands up.
"Wait, his arm!"
Shikamaru notices the yellow glow around Kinkaku's arm.
"That… that's Kōkinjō. But how's that possible?" Samui's eyes widen in shock.
She glances at Ginkaku's leg and notices a similar yellow glow.
"Don't tell me that…"
"Yes, they split the yellow rope in half and now both of them possess a portion of Kōkinjō," Shikamaru affirms her conjecture.
"That's not cool!" Samui grits her teeth.
"Switch places Ginkaku!"
"Right Kinkaku!"
Ginkaku jumps in front of the group.
"Bind and Draw out!"
Kinkaku opens his mouth.
ARGH… BLEURGH…
Samui and Atsui hold their stomach in pain. Their chests expand outward and a transparent shade escape from their mouth.
"SEVER!"
Ginkaku slashes Shichiseiken and severs the transparent shade in half.
Bleurgh…
Both of them puke out a mouthful of blood after the loss of their spirit word soul.
"Record them, Benihisago!"
Ginkaku holds a brown-colored gourd around his waist.
FSHOOM…
A powerful suction force originates from the gourd and pulls the severed portion of Samui, Atsui, and Choji's spirit word souls.
"All right! My side is done, Kinkaku."
"We've been had…"
Samui grimly stares at the Gold and Silver Brothers.
'Despite their looks, these brothers possess a certain level of intelligence.'
"That's what you think, you jerks!"
Atsui hurls his great sword on his shoulder.
"It's my turn now!"
Swoosh… Swash…
Samui swiftly flickers beside Atsui and places her hand on his mouth.
Mmmph…. Mfff…
"Didn't I always tell you to pay attention to my words? Or did my words fall over deaf years?" Samui glares at Atsui.
"Now listen. Don't say another word unless I ask you to. Is that clear?" Samui gives a death gaze to Atsui.
Mmff… Mm…
Atsui nods his head in fear.
"What should we do now?" Ino asks her.
"A portion of our spirit word soul has been taken hostage by him. It's both a curse and a sealing mark. The words that we have uttered the most since our birth are recorded within that spirit word soul. If we speak that word again… then that gourd in his hand will summon our soul and seal it away." Samui warns them.
Ginkaku stares at the spirit word marking on the flat side of Shichiseiken. Three words- hot, cool, and hungry are engraved on the blade. He folds the side of the blade to hide the words and glances at the group.
"You people seem to know a lot about us! Looks like the passage of time has revealed most of our secrets." Ginkaku grins at them and throws the Shichiseiken blade toward Kinkaku.
"The words that we've said the most are now forbidden? What kind of silly game is this?" Ino grits her teeth.
"I see!" Kinkaku reads the words on the blade and hangs it on his back.
He holds the Bashōsen fan with both his hands and infuses a large amount of chakra into it.
'What? What… what is it?' Choji and Atsui hold their head in frustration.
'What is the hot word I use to love the most?' Atsui shakes his head.
"You don't have to think so hard to figure it out!" Ino and Samui stare at Choji and Atsui, respectively.
"Bashōsen: Sea of Flames,"
Kinkaku swings the fan and generates a powerful wave of fire. The fires cover a vast area and engulf the group within them. Crimson flames burn over the surface of the water.
HAAH…
Shikamaru makes a series of hand signs and throws a fuinjutsu scroll from his pocket.
A blue barrier covers the group and protects them from the fire.
"This is so convenient!" Atsui places his hand on the surface of the barrier.
"This scroll won't last for long. So, we have to think of a solution!" Shikamaru speaks in a pale tone.
"Oh! I didn't expect them to have so many tricks in their arsenal." Kinkaku grins as he stares at the blue barrier.
"If that's the case!"
Kinkaku waves to the Bashōsen fan once again.
"Wind!"
He fans the flames and the intensity of the flames increases by another notch.
The surrounding temperature rises rapidly and the sea water evaporates into steam.
Sweat trickles down the bodies of the group inside the barrier.
"At this rate, we will be cooked alive!" Ino wipes the sweat from her forehead.
"HOT! It's so hot!" Atsui opens his mouth.
HEH!
A smirk appears on Kinkaku and Ginkaku's faces.
SHOOM…
A powerful suction force originates from Benihisago and draws out Atsui's body.
The suction force ruptures the barrier and pulls Atsui in.
"ATSUI!!"
Samui yells his name in horror as Atsui's body vanishes within the gourd.
"This idiot!"
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