In this critical moment, Ginkaku finally recovered from his continuous staggered state. Seeing the powerful Severing Wave, he didn't even think; he instantly used the simplest and most practical ninjutsu: the Substitution Jutsu!
Bang!
With a soft sound, his figure turned into a log, and the Severing Wave shattered it.
Ginkaku's figure appeared safely on the ground. He looked at Tobirama in the sky, formed a hand sign, and roared, "Lightning Release: Lightning Chain Whip!"
As soon as his voice fell, a chain-like whip condensed from lightning whistled towards Tobirama.
Tobirama threw out two shuriken in the air, then his figure vanished. The next second, he appeared beside the shuriken, reached out, and held the shuriken, thrusting it directly at Ginkaku's face!
Ginkaku saw this, did a backflip, and at the same time, took off the Shichiseiken hanging around his neck and whipped it at Tobirama, trying to capture his soul.
At the same time, Tobirama's movements accelerated again. Before the Shichiseiken could hit him, he used Flying Raijin Technique to catch up to the shuriken he had thrown earlier. The shuriken was right next to Ginkaku, so Tobirama's figure suddenly appeared right beside him.
Ginkaku wasn't unaware of this. On the contrary, he seemed to be waiting for Tobirama. The chakra tail swaying behind him lashed out like a whip the moment Tobirama appeared.
"Die!" Ginkaku roared.
At this crucial moment, Tobirama suddenly threw the short blade in his hand at Ginkaku. At the same time, his chakra moved slightly, and he vanished again.
No sooner said than done, Ginkaku's attention was on the short blade coming towards him, not Tobirama. With a glance, Ginkaku saw that the short blade was clean, with no Flying Raijin Technique formula on it. This made him feel a little relieved.
But as soon as that thought crossed his mind, Tobirama's figure had already appeared at the location of the short blade, almost right in his face.
This panicked Ginkaku. He couldn't figure out what was going on. He had already confirmed that there was no Flying Raijin Technique formula on the short blade, so why was his movement so fast?
But in just a moment, he noticed that this time, Tobirama didn't 'arrive' next to the short blade; instead, he swapped places with the short blade!
"Substitution Jutsu?" Ginkaku was shocked, instantly understanding the key to it. As expected, his tail lashed out and hit the short blade that had appeared out of thin air.
That's right, Tobirama had learned this little trick from Hibari. This was his first time using it, and he didn't expect it to catch Ginkaku completely off guard, just as Hibari's actions had once surprised him.
Ginkaku had never imagined that someone would form a Substitution Jutsu contract with their own blade! Because of this, he no longer had time to defend himself!
"Rasengan!" Tobirama said softly, thrusting his palm at Ginkaku's stomach. In the process, a spinning Rasengan appeared in his hand at an extremely fast speed, and he sent Ginkaku spinning and flying backward with one palm.
At the same time, the battle between Hibari and Kinkaku was also extremely fierce. Relying on his excellent physical prowess, the psychological advantage of having defeated Kinkaku before, and the advantage of having all his limbs, Hibari didn't engage in any ninjutsu games with Kinkaku. He wasn't using any little tricks like Tobirama; he was completely going head-to-head with the tailed beast Kinkaku!
Enduring a blow from Kinkaku's tail with his Lightning Release Armor technique, Hibari closed the distance again. A flash of lightning on his hand, and he delivered a hand blade.
"Senju: Lateral Bolt of Pain: Chop!"
Kinkaku had already endured two of Hibari's hand blades before and had somewhat adapted to the force. Now that his tailed beast state was active, he was even more crazed. Without a second thought, he raised his arm, also forming a hand blade, enveloping it in Nine-Tails chakra, and clashed with Hibari's attack.
But with just a little contact, Kinkaku felt a huge force different from before. The small bone in his pinky finger was instantly shattered...
That's right, this wasn't a simple hand blade. It not only incorporated the taijutsu moves from the Lightning Release Armor technique, but it was also mixed with the Monster Strength taijutsu passed down from generation to generation in the Senju clan. Its power far exceeded a normal 'Forest of Spiked Bones' hand blade!
With just one strike, he broke through Kinkaku's hand blade and delivered a blow directly to Kinkaku's shoulder. It looked as if Hibari was planning to break Kinkaku's only remaining arm!
Bang!
With a muffled sound, the blow from Hibari's palm drove his feet into the ground...
A man's abilities must not be underestimated after a period of time. It had been two or three months since Kinkaku and Hibari's last fight, and Hibari's strength had grown significantly again. Not to mention this was a planned attack.
Hibari had wanted to kill Kinkaku for a long time, while Kinkaku had only just figured out Hibari's identity. Since Hibari had barely shown his face in this war, there was a huge gap in intelligence between the two, and for a shinobi, intelligence sometimes directly determined life and death!
After Hibari drove Kinkaku into the ground with a hand blade, a large number of vines and branches instantly grew from his arm. They wrapped around Kinkaku's shoulder, binding his entire body.
Wood Release Kekkei Genkai activated!
"Wood Release: Eternal Arbor!" Hibari let out a low growl.
At the same time, the Wood Release that was entangling Kinkaku quickly enveloped him. Hibari's Wood Release was authentically learned, not a pirated version like the ones transplanted in later generations. It was consistent with Hashirama's Wood Release and could suppress the power of a Tailed Beast.
Although Hibari's Wood Release wasn't yet as powerful as Hashirama's, which could easily suppress the Nine-Tails, the problem was that Kinkaku wasn't a real Jinchūriki!
As soon as Hibari's Wood Release entangled him, his tailed beast state instantly showed signs of weakness, constantly regressing from deep red to orange.
"Impossible... How can it be Wood Release???" Kinkaku regained some sanity. He looked at Hibari, who had one hand on his shoulder, releasing chakra and continuously maintaining the Wood Release to suppress the Nine-Tails power within him, and said in disbelief.
"You and Reigetsu Hozuki... why do you both look like you've seen a ghost when you see this Wood Release? As a third-generation prodigy of the Senju clan, inheriting our family's secret art, isn't it normal for me to know Wood Release?" Hibari said, continuously releasing his chakra energy.
After hearing Hibari's words, Kinkaku gradually calmed down. Yes, this kid's last name was Senju, so Wood Release wasn't that unbelievable!
Once he calmed down, Kinkaku also began to mobilize the Nine-Tails chakra within his body to resist Hibari's Wood Release suppression. At this moment, it was as if Kinkaku and Hibari had entered a stalemate here...
"You're using Wood Release to suppress me here. I can't move, but you can't move either. Why don't you get rid of this Wood Release, and we can fight like we were before!" Kinkaku suddenly said, looking at Hibari.
But Hibari revealed a wicked smile and said, "Do you really think I'm suppressing you here just to have a tug-of-war? Don't be mistaken, Kinkaku, I'm doing this to kill you, you bastard..."
"Don't bluster. If you make any extra moves, I can break free from your suppression. So you have to maintain this state. If you want to stall, we could be here for two or three days with our chakra reserves!" Kinkaku said, not believing him at all.
Hibari then said, "True, if I make any extra moves, a flaw will definitely appear, and you can break free from this Wood Release's restraint. But... when you're in this line of work, how can you not have some trump cards? I've already figured out all of your cards, but you know nothing about me!"
As soon as his words fell, under Kinkaku's terrified gaze, Hibari's figure remained still, but a huge change occurred. Sharp bone spikes grew from all his joints, and his ribs protruded from his chest, making him look terrifying and ferocious.
At the same time, a spray of blood erupted from where Hibari's hand was on Kinkaku's shoulder. Hibari's five fingers, like the claws of a beast, had his finger bones protrude, piercing through Kinkaku's tailed beast cloak and stabbing into his shoulder!
"Shikotsumyaku?! That's the Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai of the Kaguya clan from the Land of Water! Impossible! You're from the Senju clan. How can you have the Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai when you already have Wood Release?!" Kinkaku roared in disbelief.
"The facts are right in front of you, so you have no choice but to believe it. I'm just that versatile. What are you going to do about it? Now, die!" Hibari grinned, revealing a cruel smile.
Then, the bones on his body all aimed at Kinkaku's restrained figure in front of him and stabbed down fiercely.
"Bone Burial!" Hibari let out a low growl.
The next second, sharp bone spikes erupted from Hibari's body, directly covering Kinkaku. Blood splattered, and Kinkaku's painful screams echoed throughout the Four Violet Flames Formation.
At the same time, Hibari's arm was freed from Kinkaku's shoulder. He had no intention of showing any mercy. He clasped his hands together and whispered, "Secret Technique: Forest of Spiked Bones!!!"
As Hibari's words fell, the area where Kinkaku was instantly underwent a massive transformation. Countless ferocious bone spikes, accompanied by the power of Wood Release, erupted from the ground, pushing Kinkaku's bloody body out of the earth.
This wasn't all. Just like Hashirama's Wood Release, these bone spike forests seemed to have a life of their own, forming a massive dragon skull. With a ferocious bite, it chomped down on Kinkaku's body.
Then, as if absorbing the flesh and blood, green branches grew on the dragon skull made of dry bones and wood...
It was only then that the ferocious bone spikes on Hibari's body gradually retracted, and he formed the 'Tiger' hand sign with his hands.
"Fire Release: Ash Burial..." Hibari whispered with a hint of mockery, then he opened his mouth and spat out a flame, igniting the skeletal wood forest and Kinkaku, who was bitten inside and whose fate was unknown...
The Shikotsumyaku bloodline limit and the Wood Release bloodline limit seemed to have been combined by Hibari... Compared to Hashirama's vibrant Wood Release, the jutsu Hibari used looked a bit lifeless. They were truly two extremes!
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