Facing Isshiki in his current state, Arima couldn't help but grow serious.
Standing before him, Arima felt an overwhelming presence, solid like a towering mountain, yet turbulent like a crashing wave.
Even more troubling was how Isshiki now seemed like a drifting wind, elusive and unpredictable, making it nearly impossible to anticipate his movements.
Arima's heart was reluctant to believe someone this powerful could even exist.
He murmured, "Is this the strength he spoke of… that of a so-called 'god'? Or is the true 'god' even stronger than this?"
Before Arima could dwell further in doubt, Isshiki's figure blurred, he had already closed the distance and was swinging his black rod directly at Arima.
Arima instinctively raised his own black rod to block, but he hadn't expected the sheer power behind the strike. His defense was utterly ineffective. The next instant, he was sent flying.
He slid across the sand for several kilometers before finally coming to a stop, coughing up some blood. His arms hung limp at his sides, completely numb.
He could feel the damage, his internal organs were severely injured, and both shoulder blades had been shattered by the force of that single blow.
He never imagined Isshiki would be this strong, completely overwhelmed in just one exchange.
Fortunately, Arima was still in Sage Mode. Thanks to its regenerative properties, he could heal without hand seals.
As he slowly pushed himself up from the sand, his wounds began to close, and with a bit more time, he'd be fully healed.
Isshiki raised an eyebrow at how quickly Arima recovered from his full-powered attack.
"Molecular regeneration without hand seals? Similar to the power of Kama," he muttered.
Not giving Arima time to fully recover, Isshiki followed up with another crushing blow.
Seeing the oncoming strike and knowing he hadn't fully healed, Arima quickly activated his Mangekyo ability, Kamui, blinking into the other dimension to avoid the attack.
But Isshiki followed him without hesitation, appearing inside the Mangekyo dimension embedded in Arima's eye.
His expression was cold and mechanical, like a lifeless puppet. He didn't speak, only attacked relentlessly, as if he wouldn't stop until his opponent was utterly subdued.
In this second form, Isshiki's original consciousness had faded. A second personality had awoken and taken over.
Over the past century, this second personality had gradually merged with the original, and now, they were nearly one.
Watching Isshiki invade his dimension, Arima thought, 'Just as he said, even Kamui can't escape him.'
He immediately activated his left eye's other Mangekyo ability, slowing Isshiki's movements dramatically.
Taking advantage of the delay, Arima retreated to the side and released the Yin Seal on his forehead, accelerating his healing.
Isshiki quickly realized what had happened. 'So that's his Mangekyo power… a time-based technique that slows my movement.'
Though it worked, its effect was limited, especially against someone with power several times his own. Still, it gave Arima a brief moment of respite amidst Isshiki's storm of attacks.
Fueled by massive chakra reserves, Arima's wounds soon healed completely, and he returned to peak condition.
'Ordinary methods won't work,' Arima thought. 'That leaves me with only one choice, use the Rinnegan! If I want to beat someone like this, I'll have to strike directly and surprise him!'
Arima appeared behind Isshiki using Kamui, then unleashed Shinra Tensei, firing multiple black rods toward his enemy.
Sensing the ambush, Isshiki turned to defend, but in that instant, Arima locked him in midair using his dojutsu. It only lasted for a heartbeat, but that was all Arima needed.
The black rods pierced into Isshiki's body, landing solidly.
The rods severely disrupted Isshiki's chakra flow, throwing it into chaos. He lost his ability to hover and plummeted from the sky.
Just as Arima thought he'd finally pinned Isshiki down, an immense surge of chakra erupted from the man's body.
Before hitting the ground, the rods were expelled by the violent outflow of energy.
Arima's gaze shifted, Isshiki had just opened a portal to another dimension.
The moment Arima glanced into it, he felt a chill run down his spine. The space was like an endless abyss. Something inside… was watching him.
He hadn't felt fear like this in a long time.
Back when he was a child, the first time he saw the Nine-Tails in Mito's spiritual world, he'd felt something similar, that terrifying sensation of being preyed upon.
If not for Mito's protection, the trauma might've scarred him for life.
Now, that same feeling returned.
'That thing… it must be a tailed beast. No, more likely the Ten-Tails itself! Or something even more terrifying!'
Watching Isshiki regain control of his body, Arima murmured, "Who the hell is he? Why is there no record of someone like this in all of shinobi history?
Could he be from a time even older than the recorded ages? That's impossible… No one could survive for thousands of years. And what was that monster?"
These questions swirled in his mind. Everything pointed to one fact, Isshiki was unlike any enemy he'd ever faced.
Their conflict had gone beyond mere inter-village wars over resources and survival.
It was as if some transcendent force had emerged, one that didn't care for borders, territories, or balance of power.
The only clue to its motives was that Isshiki seemed to be seeking a suitable "contract."
'The shinobi world will no longer be ruled by the Five Great Nations,' Arima thought grimly.
'Even if I unify the world, Isshiki is still a wall I may never overcome.'
He felt a wave of hopelessness wash over him, as if everything he'd worked for had become meaningless.
Then he remembered why he fought all these years, Tsunade, his mother, Grandma Mito, GrandUncle Tobirama, and the admiration of the people who believed in him.
That warmth surged through him again.
No matter how dire things became, he would find a way through.
Isshiki watched him curiously, noticing the brief flicker of doubt in Arima's eyes. But soon, Arima's gaze became unwavering, his conviction unshakable.
Isshiki didn't know that Arima had undergone a mental transformation in mere moments, but even if he had, he wouldn't have cared.
To him, Arima was like a child waving a toy knife. No real threat.
With a spatial ripple, Isshiki appeared before Arima once again and swung his black rod with tremendous force.
This time, Arima didn't dare take the blow head-on.
He used finesse to redirect the attack's momentum, but even then, it felt like he was bracing against a mountain. Every strike pushed him closer to his limits.
'If Isshiki has this much chakra to spare, maybe it's time to test that jutsu.'
Arima rapidly formed hand seals, Wood Style: Wood Golem Jutsu. A towering wooden construct rose before him, though he purposely limited its size for better maneuverability.
Isshiki, however, had the ability to absorb and store any chakra-based ninjutsu, so he was never concerned about attacks like this.
Standing atop the wooden golem's head, Arima directed it to grab Isshiki, but with a burst of taijutsu, Isshiki leapt onto the golem's arm and evaded the strike.
He intended to absorb all the chakra within the construct, causing it to collapse.
But that was exactly what Arima wanted.
His right Rinnegan's technique was already prepared.
The moment Isshiki touched the golem, Arima activated the jutsu, freezing Isshiki in spacetime. Vines erupted from the golem's arm, binding him tightly.
These vines could continuously drain chakra from their target, gradually rendering them immobile.
More effective than Deep Forest Emergence, even tailed beasts could be suppressed by it.
Though Isshiki was overwhelmingly powerful, escaping this wouldn't be easy.
With chakra being steadily drained from him by the vines, his chances of breaking free dropped even further.
Wrapped tightly, Isshiki stopped struggling. Arima finally let out a breath of relief.
Suddenly, a torrent of chakra burst from the vines. The golem's body began to swell grotesquely.
Isshiki had channeled a massive amount of chakra from that mysterious dimension, chakra so refined it rivaled the Six Paths chakra Arima had once acquired.
The golem began to falter.
Arima quickly unrolled sealing scrolls and funneled the excess chakra into them, while simultaneously casting Deep Forest Emergence to redirect the flow underground.
A vast forest sprang up in the heart of the desert, fed by the divine energy. The trees, birthed from such high-grade chakra, defied nature, thriving where none should exist.
Even in the years to come, they would never wither, creating a miracle in the wasteland.
But that was for another time.
For now, every sealing scroll Arima had was spent. Even the forest's growth couldn't keep pace with the overflow.
The vines, unable to contain the flood, finally snapped.
Isshiki was free once more.
He looked at Arima coldly and said with a calm finality, "You've done well… but the farce ends here."
---------------
Guys do leave some power stones and reviews.
🤞pa treon . com / plotplanner🤞
Remove all the spaces in between and then search.
If you guys enjoy this story, you can support me on Patreon and get access to 30 Advance Chapters, it really helps me to work on new chapters.