Kokushibo froze in shock at the sound, whipping around. His three pairs of eyes—six pupils in total—contracted as he saw Sasuke, whom he had just bisected, standing unscathed in his line of sight!
His gaze darted to the ground.
Not only were the two halves of Sasuke's body gone, but even the blood that had splattered everywhere had vanished without a trace.
He was stunned to realize that even the fresh scent of blood in the air had disappeared.
"How is this possible!?"
The scene before him was incomprehensible.
Having roamed the shinobi world for so long, Kokushibo had encountered many bizarre ninjutsu. Yet, with his 'Transparent World' perception, neither decoy techniques like the Clone Jutsu nor advanced techniques like the Shadow Clone Jutsu, which created tangible duplicates, could deceive him. His Transparent World, combined with a demon's acute sensitivity to flesh and blood, allowed him to discern truth from illusion.
In other words, even Shadow Clones, which baffled most dojutsu, rarely fooled Kokushibo.
The tactile feedback from his blade and the enticing blood that had sprayed from Sasuke's body had convinced him he'd killed his opponent.
So, seeing Sasuke completely unharmed, Kokushibo felt a rare pang of panic.
Haku, equally shocked, stayed silent due to the imminent threat.
Sasuke's gaze bypassed Kokushibo, addressing Haku, "Stay out of this. This time, I'll tear him apart!"
"Alright, be careful!"
Haku hesitated briefly before nodding and stepping aside.
With Haku's assent, Sasuke locked eyes with Upper Rank Two, gritting his teeth. "Today, I'm going to kill you!"
Kokushibo's expression darkened.
The Type-2 aging agent Haku had injected wasn't ineffective, but his formidable flesh power had suppressed it. Coupled with the prolonged burning from Amaterasu's black flames, his body was starting to falter.
Sasuke's bizarre recovery ability left him uncertain, and facing the enraged Uchiha, he began to consider retreat.
Boom!
At that moment, Sasuke forced himself to reactivate Susanoo Tomoshibi, and the purple half-body giant rose once more in the moonlit forest.
Without a word, Sasuke commanded Susanoo to fire an arrow, pinning Upper Rank Two to the ground again.
He then urged Susanoo to swing its arm, seizing Kokushibo and crushing him in its grip, just as before.
"Even if Amaterasu can't burn you to death, I'll crush you!"
Splatter.
In an instant, Susanoo's clenched fist reduced Upper Rank Two to a pulp of flesh!
Haku was awestruck by Sasuke's fluid onslaught.
Clearly, being bisected by Upper Rank Two had truly enraged Sasuke!
It also showcased Sasuke's rapid learning ability. Repeating the fight, he absorbed the earlier lesson, striking decisively and ruthlessly, leaving Kokushibo no chance.
As Susanoo's palm opened, chunks of flesh fell to the ground.
Even now, Amaterasu's black flames clung like maggots, burning the scattered remains.
Sasuke, inside Susanoo, remained vigilant, his Mangekyo Sharingan fixed on every piece of flesh, guarding against any possibility.
Soon, the chunks of flesh were reduced to ash under Amaterasu's flames.
After triple-checking that every piece had been incinerated, Sasuke, face dark, deactivated Susanoo.
Crack!
But the moment he let his guard down, the ground beneath him split open, and a chilling glint shot up from below.
"!?"
Sasuke, startled, leaped back to dodge.
But his opponent seemed to have anticipated his move. Emerging from the ground, they slashed horizontally!
Swish.
The blade sliced through Sasuke's Akatsuki cloak, leaving a stark wound across his abdomen!
Barely landing, Sasuke had no time to assess his injury before his opponent pursued like a shadow, swinging another strike.
Just as Sasuke had no way to evade, a massive golden blade crashed down, blocking all angles of Upper Rank Two's attack.
Seeing the golden Susanoo Tomoshibi thwarting him, Upper Rank Two didn't linger. Like a startled rabbit, he fled backward, vanishing into the forest in the blink of an eye.
Sasuke tried to give chase, but Shinji commanded his Susanoo to block him, saying, "Don't pursue!"
"Why?"
Sasuke was visibly confused.
Shinji, emerging slowly from the forest, said calmly, "Because you're no match for him!"
"I—"
Sasuke was rendered speechless.
Had Shinji not intervened, he'd likely have needed to use his dojutsu to save himself again.
Glancing at his abdomen, he saw blood streaming from the wound. Checking it, he confirmed it wasn't deep—Upper Rank Two's demon blade was simply too sharp, making the wound bleed profusely and appear more severe.
Realizing he'd used multiple dojutsu, sustained an injury, and still let Upper Rank Two escape, Sasuke's already grim expression grew even darker.
Haku bowed to Shinji. "Sir, I failed to coordinate with him!"
Shinji waved a hand.
He'd watched the entire fight and knew Sasuke's eagerness for glory had led him to fight Upper Rank Two alone, leaving Haku blameless.
Haku handed the empty Type-2 aging agent vial back to Shinji. "Sir, I injected this into Upper Rank Two during the fight, but it didn't seem effective."
Shinji glanced toward the direction Upper Rank Two had fled.
After Haku's successful injection, Shinji had been using the Byakugan wielded by his Susanoo Tomoshibi to monitor Kokushibo's body.
The Type-2 aging agent wasn't ineffective, but against a top-tier demon like Upper Rank Two, its potency was far from sufficient.
"Looks like we need to develop a new aging agent!"
Shinji mused inwardly.
If it couldn't even weaken Upper Rank Two, its effect on the mysterious figure with Demon King Power would be even less. Developing a stronger aging agent was imperative, with potency at least ten times that of Type-2 to be worth testing.