Chapter 131: Ebizo's Last Stand
"Alas!" Seeing the Uchiha Impure World army reappear, Ebizo couldn't help but sigh, his face full of helplessness.
Before coming, the siblings had carefully studied Uchiha Yasushi, discovering he had both offense and defense, could resist poison and heal injuries, and his Sharingan provided extremely high genjutsu resistance. It was truly difficult to find any targeted countermeasures.
Perhaps the only weakness was that he stood alone—just one person.
No matter how powerful one person's prowess, facing the myriad methods of the shinobi world, there would always be exploitable openings.
Even by piling up human lives, they could create suitable opportunities to thoroughly defeat him.
Only this Uchiha Impure World army was nearly unsolvable.
It wasn't that Sand Village couldn't deal with the Uchiha Impure World army. In fact, the simplest method for handling Impure World bodies was sealing techniques.
But the problem was when the Impure World army and Uchiha Yasushi occupied the same battlefield, they could coordinate with each other, preventing Sand Village from achieving any predetermined strategy.
All methods prepared for Uchiha Yasushi were ineffective against Impure World bodies. And sealing shinobi capable of sealing Impure World bodies were helpless against Yasushi's slaughter.
If they couldn't separate and handle the two, no matter how good the tactics, they couldn't be implemented.
In fact, among the dozens of plans he'd formulated, subsequent options included sonic attacks, poison gas bombs, anesthetic gases, adhesive nets, quicksand traps, thermobaric bombs, and many other variations to try.
With bait present, he could completely use Karin as a lure, drawing Susanoo into various traps, letting him sample every jutsu and forbidden technique one by one. Surely one would suit Uchiha Yasushi.
So even when his sister Chiyo died using a forbidden technique, it still hadn't changed Ebizo's determination to kill Uchiha Yasushi.
But once this Impure World army appeared, Ebizo knew the operation had failed. He could no longer kill Uchiha Yasushi.
For Sand Village's future, what he needed to do now was allow as many elite shinobi as possible to return alive to Sand Village.
He stood up, waving his hand:
"Operation failed. Execute retreat plan. I'll handle the rear guard."
After issuing the order, he called over the leading jonin, sighing:
"After you return to the village, tell them to select a new Kazekage!"
"That worthless one in Konoha—forget about him."
After speaking, he ignored the jonin's spectacular expression. From his sleeve, he withdrew a scroll, releasing the puppets inside. Leading a group responsible for the rear guard, he advanced toward Uchiha Yasushi.
He also knew Dead Demon Consuming Seal!
Though chances were slim, he had to try once more.
Dreams must exist—what if they came true?
But unfortunately, this time Yasushi had no intention of giving him close-quarters opportunities.
Yasushi summoned Susanoo again. Standing within that energy body, he clapped his hands, once more summoning Advent of a World of Trees.
Ebizo sighed regretfully. Simultaneously with the rear guard forming seals, he also slapped the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth Splitting Wave!"
The earth trembled violently. A massive chasm appeared between him and Yasushi. Under chakra infusion, this fissure grew wider and deeper, slowly splitting both sides apart.
Soil at the fissure's edge continuously collapsed, producing thunder-like roars. Deep underground came the brittle sound of shattering rock, as if the entire continent was being forcibly torn apart.
"Want to run? Not so easy!"
Uchiha Yasushi immediately saw through Ebizo's intent. Fury exploded in his heart. He stopped the Wood Release. Susanoo broke into a full sprint, charging toward Ebizo.
The fissure was indeed wide, but Susanoo leaped high with one great jump, soaring mid-air. Like a hurdler, he crossed that vast chasm.
Then like a descending deity, he crashed heavily toward Ebizo.
Susanoo's massive form blotted out the sky. The shadow it cast in sunlight firmly enveloped all Sand shinobi.
"Scatter!"
Ebizo's face remained calm. His withered fingers traced lightly—one simple command later, the Sand shinobi scattered like startled birds in all directions.
Susanoo's massive form crashed heavily to the ground. Like a meteor strike, it created an enormous crater with a tremendous BOOM.
The tremendous shockwave generated at the crater's center blasted outward in all directions.
Ring-shaped air pressure swept away all sand and dust within a hundred meters. Where the shockwave passed, the ground undulated like waves. Even Sand shinobi who'd dodged direct impact were thrown airborne by this force.
Splashing sand and stones shot out like powerful arrows, striking the Sand shinobi's protective puppets with clattering sounds. Inferior-quality puppets shattered directly into sieves.
But with puppet blocking, the puppet masters finally gained breathing room, avoiding direct death from Susanoo's splash damage.
But this only extended their lives momentarily.
The instant Yasushi landed, he swung his staff in a low horizontal sweep across the ground.
That thick staff resembled a massive siege ram, carrying violent wind as it charged forward. No jutsu or puppet could withstand it.
Those with faster reactions immediately used Body Flicker to escape, avoiding the edge. Those slightly slower quickly became souls beneath the staff.
With a continuous clattering crash, countless puppets shattered from this single strike. The puppet masters followed, reduced to shattered bones.
When Yasushi raised his staff again, the end had been dyed fresh crimson, viscous bloody filth dripping slowly down.
After Ebizo steadied himself, he immediately flicked all ten fingers rapidly. A row of puppets suddenly leaped from the sand, jumping onto Susanoo's legs. Like agile monkeys, they rapidly climbed upward.
Yasushi hastily reached to grab them, but compared to Susanoo's massive body, these puppets were far too small—truly difficult to catch.
Under Ebizo's control, these puppets were like a swarm of fleas, jumping up and down on his body, quickly reaching his chest where the main body resided.
These puppets' bodies suddenly stopped. Mechanisms on their bellies opened, revealing numerous small holes containing steel plates of various lengths and thicknesses.
"Yellow Secret Technique: Bone-Piercing Blade!"
As Ebizo's voice fell, the steel plates in those holes vibrated simultaneously. A piercing sound emanated from those holes, penetrating directly into Yasushi's eardrums.