Chapter 248: "Sage Art: Thunderous Kirin"
With a shift in Kyosuke's hand signs, the hundreds of thousands of exploding tags detonated in a massive, continuous chain reaction.
The sustained explosions tore through Shukaku's body, sending chunks of flesh and sand flying. Kyosuke could feel its chakra plummet. Even a Tailed Beast could not emerge unscathed from such an attack. But he knew from his previous battle with the Three-Tails that this alone would not be enough to defeat it.
Before Shukaku could recover, a surge of pure sage chakra erupted from the curse mark on Kyosuke's neck. The familiar snake-like shadows and single horn materialized around him.
"Sage Mode, activate!"
Though he hadn't invested any experience points into it, his constant use of Sage Mode had naturally raised it to level 4. At this level, both its duration and its power amplification were significantly greater. It was his greatest asset, and the reason he had accepted this mission with such confidence.
He had also discovered that since obtaining the Sage Body, entering Sage Mode had become much smoother, and his overall combat power had increased. More importantly, while in Sage Mode, he no longer had to use his own chakra to suppress the Hashirama cells within him. The sage chakra had a calming effect on them, rendering them completely docile.
He had a theory: if he could artificially infuse a subject with sage chakra, could he lower the threshold for Hashirama cell transplantation, or even increase the fusion rate? It was a question for another day.
On the cliffs overlooking the canyon, the spectators were still stunned by the sheer scale of the battle. The Sand shinobi who had accompanied Kyosuke finally understood what it meant to be a legend. They had been resentful of their leaders for seeking help from a former enemy, but now they saw the truth. Konoha was strong, so strong that even their bitter rivals had no choice but to turn to them in their time of need.
Kyosuke's three students were in a state of pure awe. For the first time, they truly understood how small they were in the grand scheme of things.
"So this is Sensei's true power," Shisui whispered as the smoke from the explosion began to clear. "Will I ever be that strong...?"
"Who knows..." Anko, who had never been afraid of anything in her life, was now at a complete loss for words. She couldn't even imagine the amount of training it would take to reach that level. Was it even possible through effort alone?
Yamato, as always, was silent. But a determined light shone in his eyes. He had grown up in Root, and his mental fortitude was greater than that of his two teammates. He was not intimidated. He was inspired.
One day, I will be that strong. I will...
The smoke cleared, revealing Shukaku, its body covered in blood, slowly climbing to its feet. The playful demeanor was gone, replaced by a pure, murderous rage. It had only one thought: to kill the brat before it, to grind his bones to dust.
"ROAR!"
With a furious howl, countless motes of visible chakra began to gather in front of it.
Seeing that Shukaku was about to unleash its ultimate attack, Kyosuke's own ultimate jutsu was finally ready.
He glanced up at the now-overcast sky and, with a cold smile, vanished.
Sensing his opponent's disappearance, Shukaku's Tailed Beast Bomb formation faltered. It scanned the area, its bleeding head whipping back and forth, trying to find him.
"Don't bother. I'm right here," a mocking voice said from above.
In the previous exchange, he had placed a Flying Thunder God marker, marked with his personal kanji, on Shukaku's head.
With his enemy now on top of him, Shukaku was forced to disperse the Tailed Beast Bomb. It couldn't very well blow itself up. And even if it were suicidal enough to try, its short neck would have made it impossible.
"Damn you! Damn you!!!" Shukaku roared, shaking its head violently, trying to dislodge him.
"Almost there..."
Before Shukaku could process his words, it felt a sudden lightness on its head. The enemy was gone again.
But it had no time to search for him. A terrifying wave of energy was now emanating from the storm clouds above.
It looked up and saw a creature of pure lightning, with the head of a dragon, the body of a horse, and the form of a deer, slowly emerging from the clouds. It was wreathed in countless bolts of electricity, but it was the other, indescribable energy that filled Shukaku with a sense of dread.
The spectators also felt the danger and retreated even further, afraid of being caught in the blast.
Just as they reached a safe distance, the creature, with a deafening clap of thunder, dove from the sky, its speed a blur, and struck the immobile Shukaku.
"Sage Art: Thunderous Kirin!"
"BOOM!"
A blinding light filled the canyon, followed by a thunderous roar that temporarily deafened everyone present.
Kyosuke used his fan to shield himself from the flying sand and debris. He looked at the canyon, now almost completely leveled, and let out a quiet sigh of admiration.
The jutsu was a variation of Sasuke's Kirin. But Sasuke's version had required a lengthy and complicated setup. Kyosuke, using his Sage Mode's ability to manipulate natural energy, could create the storm clouds himself. The Kirin that was born from those clouds was thus infused with a massive amount of sage chakra, which was why its destructive power was so much greater than the original.
This was the first time he had used the "Thunderous Kirin" in a real battle. Even he was surprised by its power.
Of all the techniques in his arsenal, aside from the attacks of his Perfect Susanoo, this was by far the strongest.
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