Boom! Boom! Boom...
The sound of the earth shaking rang out as the Wood Human Arhat, holding the Dragon Slaying Blade, once again charged towards the Thousand-Armed Buddha Statue.
Under Izayoi's control, which required no hand seals, and with his golden-level Chakra Control, the Wood Human Arhat was like a Gundam, its flexibility no less than a Perfect Susanoo or a fully transformed Tailed Beast.
In contrast, the Thousand-Armed Buddha Statue opposite, due to its appearance as a Buddha statue seated on a lotus platform, moved differently from the Wood Human Arhat's running. It could only move slowly like a pushed cart.
In terms of speed and flexibility, it was inferior to the Wood Human Arhat.
However, the Buddha statue with a hundred arms was more powerful in terms of attack than the Wood Human Arhat, and since it was made of Sage Chakra, it was essentially a super-weakened version of Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands.
Looking at the charging Wood Human Arhat, Tobi once again manipulated the hundred giant arms behind him, turning them into a torrential storm of attacks.
The Wood Human Arhat held the blade with both hands. The Dragon Slaying Blade, transformed from a wood dragon, was immediately covered in a layer of white chakra aura, and then quickly swung out.
Rumbling and tearing sounds constantly rang out. Fist after fist landed on the Wood Human Arhat's body. The power of a single blow that could shatter the earth and blast away a small mountain failed to shatter the Wood Human Arhat's body, only leaving behind a large number of fist marks and cracks. It didn't even manage to push the Wood Human Arhat back.
Meanwhile, the Dragon Slaying Blade in the Wood Human Arhat's hand, covered in Wind Release nature transformation, severed wooden arms one after another, preparing to withstand the Thousand-Armed Buddha Statue's attacks and charge forward.
Seeing this, Nagato created a giant tracking missile, which, with its tail flame, weaved through the afterimages created by the swinging arms. Its target was the golden-glowing right eye of the Wood Human Arhat.
His Rinnegan's x-ray vision saw a massive ball of chakra there.
If nothing went wrong, Izayoi was hidden inside the right eye.
However, Nagato still underestimated the combination of the Wood Human Arhat and the wood dragon.
The Wood Human Arhat held the Dragon Slaying Blade and slashed at the incoming tracking missile. The latter dodged very nimbly, brushing past the blade covered in Wind Release nature transformation. Just as it was about to continue flying towards the Wood Human Arhat's eye, the blade, which had been hard and sharp, suddenly transformed back into the wood dragon's body, like a long whip, sweeping towards the tracking missile.
Its speed was so fast and its size so large that the tracking missile had no time to dodge and was blown up.
Dazzling flames bloomed, and the airwaves roared.
The smoke failed to form a rising mushroom cloud and was split in two. The Wood Human Arhat, heavily scarred in all parts except its head, held the Dragon Slaying Treasure Blade and cleaved down with the force of splitting a mountain, fiercely slashing at Nagato on top of the Thousand-Armed Buddha Statue's head.
Just then, several arms extended and grabbed the Dragon Slaying Blade with bare hands.
There was no scene of a struggle. The Wood Human Arhat decisively gave up the Dragon Slaying Blade and punched out.
Seeing this, the Thousand-Armed Buddha Statue seemed to come alive. Its giant hands, which had been clasped together, finally separated, forming fists and colliding with the Wood Human Arhat.
The Dragon Slaying Blade, which had been grabbed by bare hands, also transformed back into the wood dragon's form. After breaking free from the restraint of the arms, which were smaller than itself, it soared into the air and slapped down with its tail.
Its speed was so fast that the arms that needed to be controlled had no time to resist.
Nagato also didn't consume chakra to transform into a repulsive storm to resist, but instead used Body Flicker to dodge.
The wood dragon's tail landed heavily on the Thousand-Armed Buddha Statue's head, directly collapsing a large section, and cracks spread.
The Wood Human Arhat and the Thousand-Armed Buddha Statue, whose fists had collided, were also both pushed back by the terrifying Sage Chakra.
The Wood Human Arhat retreated several steps.
During this time, the Thousand-Armed Buddha Statue, which had lost control, retreated more than ten steps.
The wood dragon flew back and coiled around the Wood Human Arhat again. The fist marks and cracks blasted out by the Thousand-Armed Buddha Statue all recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Nagato also returned to the large missing section of the Thousand-Armed Buddha Statue's head, and then the broken arms and shattered head also recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Immediately, the Wood Human Arhat and the Thousand-Armed Buddha Statue continued to attack each other.
Various methods were used, targeting the opponent's main body.
If they couldn't injure the opponent's main body, they would try every means to consume the opponent's chakra, making the opponent consume more chakra than themselves and run out of it faster.
This fight lasted for a day and a night.
During this day and night, the super news of the final battle in Amegakure and the fight between the Akatsuki leader and Konoha's Wood Release Ninja had spread to every corner of the Shinobi World.
Even the Water Country and the islands closer to the Shinobi World with people living on them knew about this news.
Outside the ruins of Amegakure, the most skilled sensory ninja from various countries were taking turns sensing and collecting the latest battle situation, then using summoning animals to transmit it back to the high-ranking officials in real-time.
Not only in Amegakure, but also in the forest area of the Land of Fire, which was outside the battlefield of Nagato and Izayoi, there were spies from various countries.
Looking at the close-quarters combat between the two behemoths, whether they had witnessed the Sage Eye duel at the beginning of the year or were seeing a super-scale battle for the first time, the ninja from various countries were all dumbfounded, feeling the dimensional gap.
And the high-ranking officials of the Five Great Shinobi Villages who received this information had solemn expressions, with both joy and worry.
"This era has become one that even this old man doesn't recognize."
In the Hidden Stone Village, Ōnoki looked at the intelligence in his hand and the photos taken, staring at the two wood humans that were even larger than the ones at the beginning of the year. He felt a rare sense of powerlessness in his heart and murmured, "Lord Hashirama and Madara Uchiha both became leaders of their respective ninja clans and only displayed super-scale combat power after adulthood. These three young people look like teenagers on the outside, and one of them only graduated last year. How did they gain this kind of strength at this age?"
"Compared to them, even Lord Hashirama and Madara Uchiha were nothing more than this, right?!"
Even Ōnoki, the peak of the Five Kage, felt powerless.
Needless to say, the feelings of the other Five Kage were even more intense.
The Fourth Raikage had an unwilling expression, still somewhat unconvinced.
Figures like Chiyo and Genshi were filled with worry.
Two super-scale combatants ended the Warring States Period that had lasted for a thousand years and created the one-country, one-village system of ninja villages.
This era, which was originally a battle between the dominant force of the Shinobi World and a visitor from the Moon, suddenly turned into a three-way standoff.
If this round of war hadn't resulted in a single casualty, the future Shinobi World would likely be even more chaotic than the Third Great Shinobi War.
With the slightest misstep, their major villages could become targets for three super-level powerhouses, completely disappearing from history.
Among the Five Kage, the only one feeling joy right now is Tsunade.
"When did this brat grow to this extent?"
Looking at the information relayed in real-time by Hinata and Karin, Tsunade found it hard to believe, yet was also filled with excitement.
She was born relatively late and hadn't witnessed the battle between her grandfather and Madara Uchiha. She had only seen the Wood Human Technique through photos earlier this year, as well as the meteor shower and Heavenly Obstacle Shaking Star summoned by 'Toneri Otsutsuki'.
In her eyes, that was super-level power, a force that the Five Kage and the shinobi army couldn't resist.
Therefore, Tsunade had high hopes for Izayoi, hoping he could grow up successfully and one day also be able to use the Wood Human Technique.
That way, Konoha would have its own super-level powerhouse.
However, Tsunade also knew that creating a Wood Human of that size was not as simple as using Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees to create a forest.
Creating a sea of trees only required releasing Chakra.
The Wood Human Technique, on the other hand, tested not only the amount of Chakra but also mastery in Chakra Control, nature transformation, form transformation, and so on...
She had thought that Izayoi would need to be at least twenty years old, when his body reached its peak, to be able to use Wood Release ninjutsu like the Wood Human Technique.
Unexpectedly, Izayoi gave her such a huge surprise.
To be precise, Izayoi had hidden his strength so deeply.
Thinking that he had awakened Wood Release long ago but had hidden it until the Third Hokage and Danzo Shimura died before revealing it, Tsunade couldn't help but laugh and scold, "This brat's personality is too overly cautious, isn't it?"
...
"Leader, can you still hold on?"
After battling for a day and a night, the movements of the Wood Human Arhat and the Thousand-Armed Buddha Statue had become very sluggish. Their flexibility, strength, and the speed of arm growth and injury recovery had all greatly decreased.
Injuries that were not serious and didn't affect movement or attack were not even being repaired with Wood Release Chakra anymore.
Nagato, standing on top of the Thousand-Armed Buddha Statue's head, was breathing heavily, his forehead covered in sweat, and his clothes were wet and dry, then dry and wet again.
Tobi's worried voice reached his ears, and Nagato smiled, "I'm alright, Tobi, can you still hold on?"
"My Chakra was drained long ago. Thankfully, Leader, you're providing me with Chakra, otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to hold on," Tobi's voice was full of weakness and exhaustion.
"His situation shouldn't be much better than ours."
Nagato looked at the Wood Human Arhat, whose golden light in its eyes had dimmed and whose red eye shadow had long disappeared. His Rinnegan's Chakra sensing ability could see that the mass of Chakra hidden inside was in a much better state than his own.
In this day and night of battle, Nagato hadn't used Super Almighty Push even once.
Although Super Almighty Push could shatter the Wood Human Arhat, it would be difficult to kill Izayoi. Such a level of Chakra consumption in exchange for this result was not worth it.
He had only occasionally used the Asura Path's abilities from the Six Paths Techniques, trying to attack the Wood Human Arhat's eyes to expose Izayoi's main body, and then use Deva Path to pull him out. Unfortunately, he failed every time.
Thus, Nagato had been using the Wood Human Technique to duel Izayoi the entire time, mutually consuming each other's Chakra.
Without Tobi, even if Nagato could use the Wood Human Technique, his Chakra would have been depleted long ago.
But with Tobi, who had come prepared to assist, and without using Super Almighty Push, Nagato managed to fight Izayoi until now.
A hundred arms fighting two arms had no advantage at first.
But gradually, as the Wood Human Arhat continuously consumed Chakra to repair injuries, and the Sage Chakra within it was depleted, the amount of Chakra within Izayoi was no longer sufficient to suppress the vast Natural Energy and refine it all into Sage Chakra.
Thus, Sage Art Wood Release: Wood Human Technique had become ordinary Wood Release: Wood Human Technique.
The same applied to Nagato.
In fact, Nagato's Sage Mode was dispelled two hours earlier than Izayoi's.
Those two hours were the most difficult time for Nagato and Tobi.
They already had no advantage with a hundred arms fighting two arms, and now their defense had plummeted. The Wood Human Arhat almost shattered the Thousand-Armed Buddha Statue with a single punch.
But thankfully, Tobi wasn't fighting alone; he had Nagato.
Under the Repulsion of Almighty Push, the Thousand-Armed Buddha Statue still endured the most difficult two hours, and then the offense and defense shifted.
The Wood Human Arhat, without the amplification of Sage Chakra, saw its defense and strength plummet. Facing the barrage of attacks from a hundred giant arms, although it wasn't shattered, it was covered in injuries.
The Chakra consumption for repairing injuries suddenly surpassed that of the Thousand-Armed Buddha Statue.
The significant advantage gained in two hours also became a small advantage.
Izayoi was already very satisfied with this.
If he hadn't upgraded Sage Body to a red Perk, causing Wood Release to sublimate to a gold level and allowing him to use Wood Release: Wood Human Technique, Izayoi would have used Flying Thunder God Technique to escape the moment Tobi arrived and appeared wearing the 'Toneri Otsutsuki' persona.
Gold-level Wood Release countered the gold-level Rinnegan, which could only use Six Paths Techniques.
But gold-level Wood Release could only fight gold-level Wood Release to a draw.
With the assistance of the opponent's gold Rinnegan, it was already at a gold+ level.
Izayoi was still able to gain a small advantage entirely thanks to the no-hand-sign advantage brought by the Otsutsuki Bloodline and the super endurance of Sage Mode provided by Sage Body.
A red Perk was a red Perk after all. Even if its potential hadn't been fully realized yet, it was still an existence that surpassed gold Perks.
What made Izayoi even happier was that the experimental results from the Human Puppet army in Amegakure had also come in.
By defeating powerful Reanimation Jutsu users, he could also obtain Perks.
Even if the enemy was reduced to just a soul, defeating them could still trigger the equipment drop mechanism.
However, this defeat had to be through sealing; otherwise, the enemy would be an immortal existence.
After a day and a night of fighting, both Izayoi's Human Puppet army and Nagato's Reanimation Jutsu army suffered heavy losses.
After being defeated, the Human Puppets would be smashed to pieces and could not be recovered.
And after the powerful Reanimation Jutsu users were sealed, they would be immediately sent away by the Human Puppets using the Heavenly Transfer Technique, making it impossible for Nagato to retrieve them.
Nagato's losses were true losses, while Izayoi's losses would bring him considerable rewards.
Izayoi's current point balance had surged from [799999] to [856109].
At this rate, by the end of the final battle, or if Nagato dropped one or two gold Perks, Izayoi would have accumulated 990,000 points.
Thus, Izayoi's eyes, peering through a small window, gazed at Nagato atop the Thousand-Armed Buddha Statue, his gaze filled with fervor.
This battle was definitely not a draw.
He was going to win!
The next second, Izayoi's figure, riding the platform, ascended back to the top of the Wood Human Arhat.
"Leader, why did he come out?" Tobi's voice held a hint of unease. "I have a bad feeling."
Nagato also frowned slightly, but still asked, "It's fine, don't forget, we still have trump cards."
"But aren't those trump cards meant for Toneri Otsutsuki?" Tobi seemed to just realize, asking in confusion, "Right, our Chakra has been consumed to this extent, why hasn't that guy appeared yet?"
"It's likely your actions were discovered, but the battle situation in the village has already developed to this point. My final confrontation with him is unavoidable," Nagato said. "Focus, let's deal with the immediate threat first."
"Yes!"
Just as Tobi was about to control the Thousand-Armed Buddha Statue to move towards the Wood Human Arhat, preparing to trade injuries again to make Izayoi consume more Chakra.
Nagato's pupils suddenly widened, his expression changing drastically.
"This is..."
A figure appeared beside Izayoi without any warning. It was Izayoi's Wood Clone.
"Flying Thunder God Technique, how does he also know the Flying Thunder God Technique?" Tobi exclaimed in surprise, speaking the truth. "Could he be Toneri Otsutsuki?!"
"It's not strange for him to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique with his Ninjutsu talent, but... this is bad."
Nagato looked at Izayoi, who had already absorbed the Wood Clone back into his body, and muttered with a deep frown, "The Nine Tails Jinchuriki? A miscalculation, I forgot he also has an excellent mind!"
From the perspective of the Rinnegan, Izayoi's Chakra, which was only slightly better than his own, suddenly became vigorous, as if it had returned to its peak.
"Sage Mode - Activate!"
Izayoi clapped his hands together, activating Sage Mode again.
Immediately, he didn't ride the platform back into the head of the Wood Human Arhat. Instead, he poured a large amount of Sage Chakra into the Wood Human Arhat, controlling it to run towards the Thousand-Armed Buddha Statue.
...
"I... Izayoi, that bastard, I... I'm going to be drained dry!"
In Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto lay on the ground, his voice weak.
Beside him was the Seventh Squad, who had received an emergency summons and were waiting for the results.
Sasuke Uchiha sneered, "Anyway, your Chakra is useless, you might as well contribute to Izayoi."
Kakashi Hatake squatted down, patted Uzumaki Naruto's head, and smiled, "If Izayoi wins, Naruto, you'll be Konoha's hero."
"That level of battle is truly terrifying."
Sakura Haruno looked at the village, which had become very deserted as most villagers had moved to the shelters except for a few ninjas, and couldn't help but sigh.
Even though the battle was happening who knows how many kilometers away, their once strongest ninja village had to enter a state of alert.
Sakura Haruno felt the terror of super-level combat power for the first time.
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