"Wood Release: Super True Thousand Hands - Top Transcendent Buddha!"
Crack... Crack...
A massive surge of blue Chakra erupted from Naruto's body, and in an instant, a colossal Buddha statue with countless gigantic arms was summoned.
At a glance, the towering Thousand-Armed Buddha stood over 800 meters tall!
The innumerable massive arms at the top of the statue reached out, directly touching the barrier of the Crimson Sun Formation.
The red flames that enveloped the barrier immediately lashed out like ravenous tongues, licking at the wooden arms. Faint streaks of ominous purple light followed closely, clinging to the wooden surface.
However, no matter how fiercely the crimson flames raged or how brightly they burned, the wooden arms remained completely unharmed!
Creak...
Suddenly, the massive arms twisted together, reaching toward the apex of the Crimson Sun Formation.
Pop!
The arms pierced through the crimson flames as if passing through a layer of foam. The sinister flames gathered around the arms, desperately attempting to incinerate them.
Yet these wooden arms, as if made from divine wood, were utterly impervious to the fire. At most, the flames could leave shallow marks on their thick surfaces.
As for the faint purple light, it was entirely ineffective, absorbed and devoured by this peculiar Wood Release technique.
Abruptly, the enormous arms split into several sections, gripping the corners of the Crimson Sun Formation. As the wooden arms exerted force, the red flame barrier, which seemed as resilient as a viscous gel, was twisted, kneaded, and stretched into various shapes.
Before long, even the exceptionally durable Crimson Sun Formation could no longer withstand such abuse.
With a sharp pop, the barrier shattered into countless fragments of red light, scattering across the battlefield like falling embers.
Sōmi, however, showed no concern over the destruction of the Crimson Sun Formation. After all, Konohagakure had already been razed to the ground.
The surviving Konoha shinobi were reduced to just a handful of individuals.
Once he dealt with Naruto, the exhausted Minato Namikaze, Kakashi, the unconscious Third Hokage, and Yamato would be nothing more than helpless prey, completely at Sōmi's mercy.
Naruto, however, did not let his anger cloud his judgment. He knew that Sōmi's power was unfathomable. Even with the "cheat" he had received from the Sage of Six Paths, Naruto had no confidence in defeating him.
Madara and Sōmi were both enemies who had destroyed his village and killed his comrades!
If he had to face both of them at once, Naruto had no guarantee of victory.
After a brief moment of thought, Naruto decided to focus on Madara first, targeting the "weaker" of the two.
Madara, realizing Naruto's intent, laughed in anger. To think that he, Uchiha Madara, would one day be seen as the easier target!
"Hahaha!"
"Sage Art: Majestic Attire - True Thousand Hands!"
With a clap of his hands, Madara unleashed a torrent of Senjutsu Chakra from his body.
He summoned a massive Thousand-Armed Buddha statue, just like Naruto's.
However, Madara's unique approach involved enveloping the Buddha and its arms with his Complete Body Susano'o.
Through the Senjutsu Chakra he had absorbed from Hashirama, Madara achieved the pinnacle of "Susano'o-clad Buddha."
Yet, a stark difference was immediately apparent between the two statues.
Madara's Complete Body Susano'o stood just over 200 meters tall, while his Buddha statue reached over 400 meters. This left nearly half of the statue's base uncovered by Susano'o.
What should have been an awe-inspiring "Majestic Attire - True Thousand Hands" instead appeared incomplete and somewhat pitiful.
In contrast, Naruto's Buddha statue, empowered by the Six Paths Sage Mode, towered over 800 meters. Compared side by side, Madara's statue looked like a feeble dwarf.
"Madara!"
Naruto charged forward, driving his enormous Buddha statue toward Madara's clad Buddha with unrelenting force.
"You brat!"
Madara's Buddha statue wielded two enormous blades, each over 100 meters long, held by the arms of his Susano'o.
Naruto's green Buddha radiated a solemn, dark golden aura, while Madara's blue Susano'o only partially covered his statue's body.
However, the frontmost arms of Madara's Buddha were fully enveloped by Susano'o, resembling armored gauntlets.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The thousands of arms from both Buddha statues collided in an instant, producing deafening, thunderous impacts.
Splinters of wood and clouds of dust flew in all directions, creating a massive sandstorm that swept across the battlefield.
As the vibrations and impacts intensified, the two statues were soon engulfed in a swirling mass of sand and debris, obscuring their clash from view.
Meanwhile, Sōmi stood off to the side, watching the battle with a hint of exasperation. Had he really been reduced to a mere spectator?
Of course, Sōmi had no intention of adhering to any "code of honor" by waiting for the fight to conclude before engaging the victor.
With a flicker of his form, Sōmi dashed toward a specific location he had sensed.
In the blink of an eye, Sōmi appeared within a hastily constructed sealing array.
To his credit, Minato Namikaze's mastery of sealing techniques had made the array exceptionally well-hidden. If not for Sōmi's extraordinary sensory abilities, it would not have been so easily discovered.
Extending a finger, Sōmi lightly tapped the barrier.
Clang!
The semi-transparent barrier shattered instantly, scattering like shards of glass.
"Heh!"
"Did you really think you could hide from me?"
Sōmi sneered coldly as he gazed at the now-exposed Minato and the others.
"You…"
Minato struggled to his feet, determined to confront the formidable enemy before him.
But with his Chakra and stamina completely depleted, even attempting to use the Reaper Death Seal to take Sōmi down with him was impossible.
"Sensei!"
Kakashi, who still had some strength left, supported Minato's unsteady form. Holding a gleaming kunai in his right hand, he pointed it at Sōmi from a distance.
"Kotoamatsukami!"
Sōmi's Mangekyō Sharingan flared as he locked eyes with Minato.
In an instant, Minato's pupils were imprinted with the square, curved pattern of Sōmi's Mangekyō Sharingan. His arms went limp, and his body seemed to lose all strength.
"Sensei! Sensei…"
"What's wrong?!"
Kakashi cried out in alarm, frantically trying to rouse Minato.
During this time, Sōmi refrained from attacking. Instead, he closed his left eye, allowing his Mangekyō Sharingan to rest and recover.
Thanks to the combination of Hashirama's cells and the power of the Six Paths, the cooldown period for Kotoamatsukami was astonishingly short.
After a brief moment, Minato's body straightened, and he stood up once more. Without drawing attention, he took the kunai from Kakashi's hand.
"Sensei!"
"I'm glad you're okay!"
"I'll launch a feint attack…"
Kakashi steadied himself, facing Sōmi head-on.
Seeing his teacher regain his composure reassured him. After all, Minato was the legendary "Yellow Flash" of the shinobi world.
However, Kakashi failed to notice the strange glint in Minato's eyes.
Slash!
A cold flash of light streaked across.
"Huh?"
"Why… why is the enemy so fast…"
"Wait… no, it's not him…"
"It's Sensei…"
"Why…"
"Why is Sensei trying to kill me…"
Kakashi's body was cleaved from shoulder to waist by the sharp kunai, spilling crimson blood and warm organs onto the ground.
It was as if a butcher had split a hog in half, leaving Kakashi's lifeless body crumpled on the battlefield.
In his final moments, the image burned into Kakashi's mind was not of the warm, sunny smile Minato always wore. Instead, it was a twisted, bloodthirsty grin, as if Minato had been possessed by a malevolent spirit.
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Holding the blood-stained kunai, Minato slowly turned toward the unconscious Third Hokage and Yamato, advancing step by step…