Chapter 70: The Finale
Under the Scarlet Sand Scorpion's puzzled gaze, something astonishing happened! The long chakra knife stabbed into Uchiha Naoki's back produced a harsh metallic clang, with dazzling sparks flying. Uchiha Naoki's back was as black as metal.
"This... what ability is this?" The Scarlet Sand Scorpion marveled, watching the black substance on Uchiha Naoki's back quickly recede. "Naoki seemed to have used this ability to resist Itachi's fatal blow earlier!" He couldn't help but narrow his eyes. "Such a hard defense—a new Kekkei Genkai?"
Looking at Uchiha Naoki, who seemed transformed into a humanoid Tyrannosaurus, the Scarlet Sand Scorpion couldn't help but admire inwardly. "Is his physical combat also this terrifying?"
"Since that's the case, then I'll have to bring out a ten-out-of-ten effort!" With a thought, one puppet immediately sprayed a terrifying poisonous mist, while another shot out explosive-tagged kunai. Simultaneously, lightning flashed from some puppets, and sharp steel spikes shot out from others.
Instantly, Uchiha Naoki was attacked from all directions. Against other attacks, Uchiha Naoki could also defend with Armament Haki. But the poisonous fog enveloping him was a significant threat even to him. Hot steam immediately erupted from his body, blowing away both the poisonous mist and the incoming explosive-tagged kunai.
What remained were the still-advancing steel cable spikes and the puppets wielding knives, swords, sickles, and other strange weapons. Uchiha Naoki's body turned into gurgling lava, and terrifying fist-sized rocks spewed forth. "Meteor Fire Rain!"
BOOM!
CRACK!
BOOM!
Another large group of puppets exploded.
"Lava Burst Shot!" Uchiha Naoki stomped the ground and moved. With him as the center, several horrific lava pillars rose around him, altering the world's colors. The destructive force once again annihilated a large group of puppets.
"Too Slow!"
"Magma Style: Crimson Canine Lotus!"
The Scarlet Sand Scorpion's puppets hardly had a chance to rest. Uchiha Naoki's assaults came one after another! The puppets kept exploding, scattering like rain. Even as their numbers dwindled, the Scarlet Sand Scorpion's control over the remaining puppets became more precise. But under the predictive perception of Observation Haki and the insight of the three-tomoe Sharingan, no amount of precision mattered.
Quickly, only ten puppets remained. Under normal circumstances, the maximum number a puppeteer could control was limited.
"Marvelous!" Witnessing this, the Scarlet Sand Scorpion couldn't help but admire, but his eyes immediately sharpened. "It seems it's time to end this!" Ten chakra strings shot from his fingers, replacing the control of his core.
"Then, this is the final bout!" The moment the Scarlet Sand Scorpion finished speaking, lightning came from three puppets dressed as Cloud ninja, attacking from the left, right, and side respectively. In front of Uchiha Naoki, the seven puppets all had corresponding numbers.
One!
Four!
Seven!
Eight!
Thirty-one!
Forty-three!
Seventy-two!
Ninety-eight!
All were puppets holding knives of various shapes, each blade sheathed in chakra. Sharp! Fierce!
"Such an impenetrable offensive—truly hopeless." Seeing this, Uchiha Naoki feigned panic, but his figure vanished the moment the puppets arrived.
Whoosh! The next moment, he appeared before one of the Cloud ninja puppets. Uchiha Naoki recalled that this puppet was named 'Omoi' in life and was a bit timid!
Click-clack-clack! Facing Uchiha Naoki's assault, 'Omoi's' parts rotated rapidly, even opening its mouth to spray a cloud of green poisonous mist mixed with poisoned needles.
"Armament! Harden!" Uchiha Naoki held his breath, his body instantly sheathed in Armament Haki. Under the assault of the poisonous mist and needles, he crushed 'Omoi' with one punch, then leaped up powerfully, evading the combined attack from the three puppets 'One,' 'Four,' and 'Seven' behind him. Pressing down with his palm, a barrage of fist-sized rocks blasted forth.
Even though the Scarlet Sand Scorpion reacted swiftly, withdrawing the puppets, 'One' and 'Seven' were still blasted through the chest and burst into flames.
Thud! The other two Cloud ninja puppets suddenly pierced Uchiha Naoki's chest, but it was only splashing lava. Elementalized! With a wave of Uchiha Naoki's palm, it transformed into a hand of scorching lava, grabbing the two puppets on his left and right.
The female puppet on the left immediately sprayed poisonous mist at Uchiha Naoki's body, trying to stop him. The male puppet on the right produced a defensive shield, condensing chakra to cover itself. But it was useless...
After the scorching wind and waves blew away the poisonous mist from the lava hand, he squeezed hard.
CRACK! The two puppets immediately shattered and were scorched simultaneously.
That wasn't all! Even though the Scarlet Sand Scorpion reacted quickly upon seeing this, the remaining five retreating puppets had also been locked on by Uchiha Naoki. Five slender but deadly streams of lava erupted from the ground they had to pass through.
Puff! Puff! Puff! After intense burning, the Hundred Puppets performance was completely wiped out! All that remained was wreckage and the panting Scarlet Sand Scorpion.
"The gap... is this big!" The Scarlet Sand Scorpion looked at the wreckage strewn across the ground, then at Uchiha Naoki, who was calmly clapping his hands as if he'd just finished tidying up. Even he couldn't help but feel a sense of powerlessness. "Even Naoki was as merciful as possible to me. Without using the all-consuming storm or Sharingan genjutsu, is this all I can do? Just how strong is he now?"
This sense of powerlessness reminded him of when he first faced Konan.
"I've lost!" The Scarlet Sand Scorpion's calm words officially ended the battle.
"Conceded!" Uchiha Naoki smiled, then waved. "Well then, farewell, Brother Sasori!" With that, he looked toward the land farther away and joked, "Zetsu, relay a message to Obito for me: let him heal his wounds properly. I hope that next time we fight, he won't run away like a rat!"
Uchiha Itachi and Deidara had been evacuated by this guy. So meticulous and thorough.
"Hmph, I will!" 'Zetsu' slowly emerged from the ground, his eyes full of fear. "I never expected even Itachi would be defeated by you. It seems your battle with Obito really improved you a lot! What a pity. If Itachi had teamed up with Sasori and Deidara from the start, maybe we really could have kept you here today! But he chose to face you alone initially and didn't let Sasori and Deidara intervene."
Hearing this, Uchiha Naoki laughed heartily. "Is that strange? Hasn't Itachi always been like this? He likes to bear everything alone, carry the weight forward, and pave the way for others!"
With that, his lava body vanished into the ground.
"Farewell, Naoki!" After this thought, the Scarlet Sand Scorpion collected all the puppet remains and set off on his return journey.
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