The Second Tsuchikage, who witnessed the sheer destruction created by Shanks, immediately acted without any hesitation.
He quickly formed hand seals and slammed his hand onto the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth Golem!"
The ground trembled violently.
A gigantic stone golem rose from the earth itself, towering high above the battlefield like a moving mountain. Huge chunks of rock continuously fell from its massive body while its terrifying presence cast a giant shadow over the battlefield.
Without wasting a second, the giant Earth Golem threw a massive punch directly toward Shanks.
The sheer force behind the punch distorted the air itself as the enormous fist descended like a meteor.
The Second Tsuchikage was clearly trying to take advantage of the situation. In his mind, Shanks must have consumed a massive amount of chakra from the earlier heavenly lightning attack, perhaps even exhausting most of it.
Even if Shanks was still powerful, attacks on that scale could not possibly come without consequences.
At least, that was what the Second Tsuchikage believed.
However, Shanks calmly stood there.
Even though he was not directly looking toward the Second Tsuchikage or the giant golem, his Observation Haki had already sensed every single movement the moment the Tsuchikage acted.
Shanks slowly placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
The atmosphere suddenly became heavier.
Then—
He unsheathed it.
SHING!
The sound of the blade leaving the sheath echoed sharply across the battlefield.
At the same moment, black lightning erupted violently around the sword while a deep crimson aura covered the blade completely.
Shanks immediately used one of his signature techniques.
"Divine Departure."
The next second, Shanks swung his sword casually.
A gigantic red flying slash instantly burst forth from the blade at terrifying speed. Black lightning crackled wildly around the slash as it tore through the battlefield like a destructive storm.
The pressure alone split apart the ground beneath it.
The giant Earth Golem's fist collided directly with the incoming slash.
BOOOOOOM!
A deafening explosion shook the entire battlefield.
For a brief moment, the massive golem resisted.
Then it was completely destroyed.
The entire Earth Golem exploded apart violently as if a colossal hammer had smashed directly into it with overwhelming force. Gigantic chunks of rock were blasted everywhere while cracks spread throughout the surrounding ground.
The red slash did not merely cut the golem.
It utterly overwhelmed and obliterated it.
The remains of the Earth Golem scattered across the battlefield like broken mountains.
Watching this scene once again shocked the Second Tsuchikage deeply.
His eyes narrowed heavily.
Because the attack Shanks had just used to destroy the entire giant golem seemed almost casual.
It did not feel like some ultimate forbidden technique or a desperate finishing move.
It looked natural.
Effortless.
The Second Tsuchikage muttered almost unconsciously, "Just how strong is he...?"
The Tsuchikage had already heard countless stories and legends regarding Shanks before this battle.
He knew very well how terrifying Shanks was.
He had heard rumors that Shanks could destroy an entire island with a single sword strike. However, the Second Tsuchikage had always imagined that such an attack would definitely require an enormous price from Shanks, perhaps some forbidden jutsu that consumed huge amounts of chakra or required complicated preparation.
But what he witnessed now completely contradicted those assumptions.
Shanks had not formed countless hand seals.
He had not performed any kind of ritual.
There was no complicated forbidden technique.
No visible strain.
The man had simply swung his sword once while covering it in a crimson aura and black lightning.
That was all.
And yet the result was absolute destruction.
What disturbed the Second Tsuchikage even more was Shanks himself.
He looked completely normal.
His breathing was still steady. Although it was slightly heavier than before due to the earlier large-scale chakra consumption, it was nowhere near the condition of someone who had exhausted himself after using such monstrous attacks repeatedly.
The battlefield was already filled with destruction everywhere, yet Shanks stood calmly amidst it all with his sword in hand, his red hair swaying lightly in the cold wind while black lightning occasionally crackled around him.
At that moment, even the Second Tsuchikage started feeling a dangerous thought appear in his mind.
Can we actually win against this monster...?
Knowing that it would not be easy to defeat Shanks, the Second Tsuchikage, Mu, suddenly disappeared from sight entirely, his figure merging perfectly with the surroundings.
He had used one of his signature techniques, Dustless Bewildering Cover.
In an instant, his presence seemed to vanish from the battlefield itself. Even the sound of his movement disappeared completely, making it seem as if he had never been there to begin with.
Many of the surviving ninjas immediately felt relieved after seeing Mu use the technique. After all, this was one of the most terrifying abilities possessed by the Second Tsuchikage. An invisible enemy capable of erasing his own presence entirely was an absolute nightmare for most opponents.
However, Shanks clearly understood what the Second Tsuchikage was trying to do.
He was attempting to ambush him by taking advantage of the fact that he could disappear from sight and merge with the surroundings, becoming completely undetectable to ordinary senses.
But those kinds of tricks were useful only against normal opponents.
Against ordinary powerhouses.
Not against him.
Especially not against someone capable of using Observation Haki to such a monstrous degree.
And above all...
Future Sight.
Shanks could already feel every subtle movement around the battlefield despite Mu hiding himself completely.
So Shanks did not care much about the Second Tsuchikage's move at all.
Instead, he calmly moved forward with his next technique.
Black Thunder Visualization.
The moment he activated it, Shanks' right hand turned jet black as Armament Haki completely covered it. At the same time, Yang Release amplified the physical strength of his body even further.
Then red lightning erupted violently around his right arm and sword.
The crackling energy surrounding the blade became increasingly unstable and destructive, releasing terrifying pressure into the surroundings. The ground beneath Shanks' feet started cracking apart from the sheer force radiating from him.
The next second—
Shanks disappeared from where he was standing.
BOOM!
A shockwave exploded from the ground where he had stood moments ago.
Then he suddenly appeared in the middle of hundreds of Hashirama cell-modified ninjas.
Before any of them could properly react, Shanks had already started moving.
Only a blur could be seen.
A streak of crimson light trailed across the battlefield at terrifying speed while violent red lightning crackled around it continuously.
It looked less like a human moving and more like a destructive storm tearing through the battlefield.
The modified ninjas tried reacting.
Some attempted to form hand seals.
Some tried to counterattack.
Others attempted to retreat.
But it was all meaningless.
Wherever that crimson streak passed, bodies were instantly cut apart.
Some ninjas were sliced cleanly in half.
Some had their necks severed instantly.
Others were split apart before they could even understand what had happened.
Blood sprayed everywhere while screams echoed throughout the battlefield.
And the terrifying part was that Shanks' attacks did not merely cut them physically.
The red lightning infused into his attacks spread directly throughout their bodies the moment they were struck. The violent energy destroyed their internal systems from within, burning apart their regeneration abilities completely.
Even the Hashirama cells inside their bodies could not properly regenerate under such destructive force.
Their bodies blackened from the inside as the lightning ravaged them completely.
One after another, the modified ninjas collapsed dead onto the battlefield.
Panic immediately spread throughout the remaining forces.
"Too fast—!"
"We can't even see him!"
"Where is he?!"
The surviving ninjas looked around frantically, but they could only occasionally catch glimpses of red lightning flashing through the battlefield before another group of soldiers was instantly slaughtered.
Meanwhile, somewhere hidden within the surroundings, even the invisible Second Tsuchikage's expression had become increasingly grave.
Because Shanks was not merely strong.
He was overwhelming the battlefield entirely by himself.
Soon, Shanks finally stopped moving.
The battlefield around him had already transformed into a scene of complete slaughter.
Bodies of the Hashirama cell-modified ninjas were scattered everywhere around him. Some were cut cleanly apart, while others were burned black from the inside due to the violent lightning that still occasionally twitched across their corpses.
Crimson-red lightning crackled faintly over the battlefield from time to time.
The smell of burning flesh and scorched earth lingered heavily in the air while smoke slowly rose from the destroyed ground.
Shanks calmly stood amidst all the destruction with his sword in hand, his breathing slightly heavier than before but still frighteningly steady.
The moment Shanks stopped moving, the hidden Second Tsuchikage, Mu, immediately realized this was his chance.
Now!
Without any hesitation, Mu instantly used his Dust Release technique.
A terrifying amount of chakra gathered rapidly.
The surrounding atmosphere trembled faintly as the Dust Release was activated.
At that exact moment, Shanks' Observation Haki and Future Sight immediately showed him the incoming attack before it fully arrived. In his vision, he could already see the Dust Release engulfing the area where he was standing.
Naturally, if Shanks wanted to, he could have instantly moved away from the attack.
Dodging it would not have been difficult for him.
However—
Shanks did not move.
Instead, he remained standing there calmly.
He wanted to test something.
Will this Dust Release be able to harm me...?
Can it penetrate Black Thunder Visualization or not...?
With that thought in mind, Shanks deliberately chose to take the attack head-on.
And while preparing himself to endure the attack, Shanks had already turned his head toward the exact location where Mu was hiding.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
That smile alone immediately made Mu's expression change slightly.
Because that expression clearly conveyed one thing.
Shanks already knew where he was standing.
And not only that—
He was intentionally taking the attack.
The next second, the Dust Release fully activated.
A gigantic cylindrical structure of pure white light instantly formed around Shanks, trapping him completely inside it. The white structure radiated terrifying destructive chakra capable of annihilating anything that came into contact with it at a molecular level.
The surrounding ground started disintegrating instantly.
Even the air itself seemed unstable around the technique.
Inside the cylindrical structure, annihilating white chakra surged violently toward Shanks from all directions, trying to erase him completely from existence.
However—
The white annihilating chakra never actually touched Shanks' skin.
A layer of black and crimson lightning surrounded Shanks' body completely.
Black Thunder Visualization.
The embodiment of his will.
The embodiment of Yin Release itself.
The technique covered his body like a layer of lightning armor floating slightly above his skin, continuously crackling with terrifying energy.
The annihilating white chakra of the Dust Release continuously collided against that black lightning layer.
The moment both forces came into contact, violent sparks erupted everywhere inside the cylindrical structure.
CRACKLE! BOOOOM!
The black lightning and white annihilation chakra violently clashed against each other nonstop.
Although the Dust Release could not directly touch Shanks, the pressure exerted by it was still enormous. The layer of Black Thunder Visualization was being eroded at an extremely fast speed under the continuous assault of the Dust Release.
Shanks immediately understood that this was not something he could casually tank forever.
He had to maintain complete concentration.
Every bit of his mastery over Black Thunder Visualization was being used to continuously reinforce the lightning layer around his body before it could fully collapse.
The black lightning around him intensified repeatedly as he maintained the defense.
Still—
Shanks remained standing.
The Dust Release could not fully break through.
Inside the blinding white cylinder of destruction, Shanks slowly grinned.
Because he had already reached his conclusion.
So I can survive it.
----
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