Faced with the onslaught of the beastly claw, Fugaku Uchiha suppressed the chaos and fear in his heart with the force of a cosmic explosion.
The moment Sōmi struck, Fugaku had already begun forming seals, as though he had anticipated the attack.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Anthem Technique!"
Roar!
Two thunderous dragon cries echoed as Fugaku unleashed two massive fire dragon heads, each as large as a millstone.
The sharp fiery teeth of the dragons were clearly visible, protruding menacingly on both sides, adding a touch of ferocity to their appearance.
The dragons emanated terrifying heat, instantly vaporizing the raindrops in their path, leaving behind two trails of misty white vapor.
Boom! Boom!
Two deafening explosions rang out.
The fire dragons collided with the golden-green beast claw, causing its surface to partially melt. The seemingly solid claw showed signs of liquefaction.
Fugaku's Fire Release only managed to slow the claw's advance slightly. After the fire dragons shattered, the claw continued its relentless pursuit.
The claw moved with astonishing speed and immense force, generating a deep, oppressive sound as it tore through the air.
"Hmm?!"
A flicker of surprise crossed Sōmi's eyes.
To his astonishment, Fugaku turned and fled, showing no signs of a last-ditch effort or a willingness to fight to the death.
This was completely at odds with the fiery rage he had displayed earlier.
Shouldn't he be charging forward like Sasuke, shouting furiously, only to have his head severed and his eyes gouged out by Sōmi?
Yet this man fled so decisively...
Whoosh!
With a sharp, piercing sound of wind, Sōmi's extended beast claw closed in on Fugaku's back.
The claw swept horizontally with tremendous force, accompanied by a powerful gust.
But Fugaku didn't even glance back. He leapt precisely through the gaps between the claw's fingers, evading its grasp just before it could catch him.
Sōmi transformed his left hand into another beast claw. After raising it above Fugaku, he clenched it into a fist and delivered a devastating hammer blow.
Crash!
Mud splattered everywhere as Sōmi's beast hammer struck the ground, leaving a deep crater.
"Could his Mangekyō ability be...?"
Retracting his hands, Sōmi narrowed his eyes slightly, studying Fugaku, who had used a Shadow Clone to toss his original body far away.
Sōmi raised his hand, summoning a golden cloud beneath his feet. As the cloud erupted with a burst of steam, it sped through the rain like a high-speed yacht riding the waves.
As he closed in on Fugaku, Sōmi swiftly formed seals with his hands.
"Sage Art: Wind-Sand Skynet!"
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The rain suddenly slanted as a fierce gust of wind descended from above, forming a hurricane-like net that enveloped Fugaku on the ground.
The muddy soil on the ground instantly flew up in large chunks, merging into the wind net.
In an instant, a murky black wind-sand net shrouded the area, resembling an apocalyptic storm. The sharp, howling winds tore through the rain with ferocity.
Anyone caught in the storm would undoubtedly lose their sense of direction, unable even to open their eyes.
But Sōmi didn't stop there. His hands formed seals once again.
Within the murky wind net, the muddy soil began to solidify, its surface glowing with a faint purple light.
The rotating winds gradually compressed, their force intensifying.
However, instead of forming sharp wind blades like before, the winds became increasingly dense, resembling thick steel cables.
This was because Sōmi's goal wasn't to shred Fugaku into pieces but to restrict his movements while preserving the integrity of his eyes.
"Huh?!"
Suddenly, a look of surprise appeared on Sōmi's face.
Through his senses, he realized that Fugaku, who should have been bound by the cursed seals, had inexplicably escaped.
This escape felt illusory and ethereal to Sōmi...
"Is this Izanagi?"
A thoughtful expression crossed Sōmi's face. He had encountered this sensation before when Obito used Izanagi.
However, the feeling Fugaku gave him wasn't as intense—just a faint sense of unreality.
It wasn't surprising that Fugaku, as the clan leader, could master such a Forbidden Technique.
Perhaps his execution was less refined than Obito's due to lack of expertise?
But the next moment, Sōmi's assumptions were thrown into question.
Fugaku's body, now free from the bindings, was suddenly enveloped by a layer of skeletal armor. The bones were surrounded by a special purple-red chakra, which shimmered beautifully under the rain.
The hues exuded a dreamlike melancholy, tinged with reflections on death and suffering.
"Susanoo?!"
"He's already mastered the abilities of both eyes this quickly?"
"So the true cause of that earlier sensation lies in the other eye's ability?"
A flash of surprise crossed Sōmi's eyes. His mind raced, quickly analyzing the situation and arriving at the correct conclusion.
Under the protection of the skeletal Susanoo, Fugaku broke free from the wind net and turned sharply, sprinting toward the forest to his left rear.
Was he trying to use the forest to conceal his movements?
But a mere first-stage Susanoo—what could it possibly defend against?
Sōmi's expression turned impatient. With time being so critical, he had no intention of dragging this out.
His Shadow Clone had already sent back unsettling news.
Enough. I'll just kill him now!
Having made up his mind, Sōmi unleashed his bloodthirsty aura without restraint. The violent gusts accompanying his presence suddenly surged outward.
Even the rain seemed to pause, startled by the intensity of his killing intent.
Meanwhile, Fugaku, who was desperately sprinting across the ground, felt his face turn from pale to ashen.
Through the ability of his Mangekyō, he saw the blood-soaked river of Yomi, where his corpse repeatedly emerged from the void upstream.
Each corpse brought with it a "Revolving Lantern" of death, flashing through his mind.
His left eye, which activated the ability, was now streaked with blood. The crimson liquid seeped from his lower eyelid but was quickly washed away by the rain.
"Faster!"
"Just a little longer..."
"This is the only way to survive!"
As the terrifying, frigid aura behind him grew closer, Fugaku's heart nearly stopped beating.
In his left eye, the river of Yomi churned like a factory assembly line at maximum capacity, spewing out corpse after corpse.
But unlike before, when the bodies were mostly intact and recognizable, the corpses now resembled the aftermath of a slaughterhouse—disjointed limbs, mangled flesh, muddy blood, and shattered bones.
Even if all the pieces were assembled, they wouldn't form anything remotely resembling a human figure.
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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