Chapter 177: Dust Release? I Can Use It Too
The Four Red Yang Formation, struck by Ōnoki's Dust Release, had a massive breach torn into its barrier.
However, due to the immense strength of the barrier itself, the attack from the Dust Release was already spent by the time it created that breach, and it didn't so much as graze Uchiha Dali, who stood outside the formation.
"Not bad, that move of yours."
Uchiha Dali gave Ōnoki a thumbs-up in praise.
But his tone was clearly nonchalant, almost mocking, which left Ōnoki feeling thoroughly humiliated.
Once again, Ōnoki raised his hand, preparing a fresh attack.
This time, he was targeting Uchiha Dali directly, who stood beyond the shattered barrier.
What he didn't know yet was that the reason for Uchiha Dali's amusement wasn't simply arrogance—it was because of the voice that had just echoed in his mind after he watched Ōnoki blast a hole through the barrier using Dust Release.
[You have shown great interest in the Bloodline Selection technique: Dust Release. Having witnessed its use firsthand, you now possess deep insight and a thorough understanding of it. You have comprehended the power of the Bloodline Selection: Dust Release!]
[Dust Release: A form of Bloodline Selection that surpasses Bloodline Limits. It is immensely powerful and balanced in both offense and defense. When using it, the user can mold various shapes at will for their attacks. A Dust Release core is created using chakra, and it is detonated as the primary means of destruction, capable of disintegrating targets down to the atomic level.]
The sheer power of Ōnoki's Dust Release was obvious to anyone.
After all, the Four Red Yang Formation was durable enough to withstand a Tailed Beast Bomb from the Ten-Tails.
And this old man had just punched a hole in it with a single strike.
There was no denying it—Dust Release was absolutely ferocious.
Of course, the real praise was for the technique itself, not the little old man using it.
Uchiha Dali's lips curled into a smile as he digested the vast flow of information surging through his mind.
This power... was now his.
Slowly, he raised his hand and mirrored the exact same motion Ōnoki had just used.
He grinned and said, "So this is your technique, Third Tsuchikage? Interesting. I've already learned it."
"You... what did you just say?"
Ōnoki's eyes bulged, utterly in disbelief as he stared at Uchiha Dali.
He saw clearly that Dali had mimicked his exact attack stance.
But... had this brat seriously learned his technique?
Was this a joke?
"You little punk, don't mess with me. The Uchiha clan's Sharingan might be good at copying, but it can't replicate Bloodline Limits or Bloodline Selection techniques like this!"
"So how could you possibly have learned my Dust Release?!"
Ōnoki was clearly in denial.
He assumed Uchiha Dali was just playing mind games.
That kind of psychological trick? Please. In his decades of life, he'd seen it all.
With a cold snort, a brilliant orb of light began rapidly forming in his palm.
But this time, since he had already mastered Dust Release and understood its underlying mechanics, Uchiha Dali was able to clearly see every step of Ōnoki's process in forming the orb.
The Dust Release core, capable of instantly reducing an enemy to atomic dust, was, at its essence, formed entirely from chakra.
Specifically, it fused chakra from three elemental types: wind, fire, and earth.
Moreover, the proportions had to be very precise, and each type of chakra had to be extremely finely controlled.
If one were to compare the breakdown of these chakra types into units, each type needed to be divided into at least ten billion "strands," thin as hair.
And these hair-thin strands of chakra couldn't just be split arbitrarily—they had to be manually and precisely separated through chakra control, and then compressed into an ultra-dense state.
That compression was also the fusion process—where each element merged into the others until they were fully integrated.
The more precise the ratio, and the higher the fusion completion, the greater the power of the Dust Release.
Even Ōnoki himself, who had practiced this Bloodline Selection ability for decades, had yet to reach perfection.
Still, he was confident.
The Four Red Yang Formation had already been breached. If Uchiha Dali didn't dodge this next attack, he'd be obliterated for sure.
"You really shouldn't make assumptions about things you don't understand. Consider this another lesson I've given you today."
Uchiha Dali smiled as he spoke—and in the next instant, a dazzling Dust Release core truly began forming in his palm.
Seeing this, Ōnoki was dumbfounded.
"You... how is this possible?!"
His jaw practically hit the ground.
Dust Release was a Bloodline Selection technique, not some ordinary ninjutsu that just anyone could master.
One of the prerequisites for using Dust Release was the simultaneous possession of wind, fire, and earth chakra natures.
Most ninja only had one or two of those at best.
Some didn't have any of those three—many were purely lightning-style or water-style users.
A ninja who could wield more than three chakra elements was already one in ten thousand.
And even those rare few who did possess all three necessary elements were still a long way from actually learning Dust Release.
The second major hurdle was the precise control of one's chakra.
Plenty of ninja had three chakra natures in their bodies, but those chakras were usually isolated and unrefined.
Using Dust Release required absolute precision: dividing each element into specific quantities, and then compressing them to ultra-dense levels.
This process not only tested the user's physical stamina, mental fortitude, and spiritual willpower, but it also placed immense demands on their overall chakra reserves.
During the compression process, a portion of the chakra was inevitably lost.
So if a ninja didn't have enough chakra to begin with—even if they had all three elements and could divide them with hair-thin accuracy—they'd still likely fail during the compression stage.
With so many requirements, the number of people even qualified to learn Dust Release was already vanishingly small.
And those few who were qualified still had to undergo a long period of trial, practice, and refinement before they could wield Dust Release properly in battle.
Ōnoki had spent decades trying to preserve the art of Dust Release.
He had searched for and tried to train successors—but no one had the aptitude or talent to carry on the technique.
In terms of experience, no one knew more about this subject than him.
So when he saw Uchiha Dali unleash Dust Release after just one viewing, of course he was utterly stunned.
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