The large, white glowing cylinder signifying the Dust Release used by the reanimated Second Tsuchikage, Mu, soon started receding and disappeared completely. And as it vanished, what remained behind was a massive circular depression on the land. No, it could not even properly be called a depression anymore. To be more precise, that entire area had been completely erased by the Dust Release. The ground, the rocks, every single thing caught within it had simply disappeared, leaving behind only silence and drifting dust in the air.
But what the Second Tsuchikage saw next clearly surprised him greatly.
Shanks was still standing there.
His entire body had been covered in a pure black layer, shining faintly under the light, while strands of black lightning flashed around him from time to time with crackling sounds. The black Armament Haki coating his body soon started fading away, dispersing into the air, and Shanks appeared completely unharmed. There was not even a single scratch on his body. Even his clothes looked untouched as the wind lightly brushed past him.
The Second Tsuchikage's eyes widened slightly.
"What?" he said in disbelief.
He could definitely accept the fact that Shanks might have escaped using some kind of space-time ninjutsu. That, at least, was understandable. But Shanks had taken his Dust Release head-on and was still standing there as if he had never been hit in the first place. That was something the Second Tsuchikage found extremely difficult to believe.
How is this even possible...?
For a brief moment, even the reanimated shinobi was stunned.
After hearing the shocked "What?" from the Second Tsuchikage, Shanks simply chuckled softly. A faint grin appeared on his face as the last traces of black lightning flickered around him before disappearing.
"Well, it is to be expected," Shanks said calmly. "After all, my Black Thunder Vitalization technique usually creates a barrier-like layer between my skin and the surroundings around me. So your Dust Release was never actually able to touch my body in the first place."
Shanks lightly rolled his shoulder as if the attack had merely been a passing breeze.
"So naturally, it could never affect me."
As soon as the Second Tsuchikage heard this, he finally understood that this was because of Shanks's ninjutsu. But even then, it was still extremely surprising to him because if that barrier was truly able to withstand his Dust Release, then it clearly showed just how powerful that Black Thunder Vitalization technique really was.
The Second Tsuchikage's expression became much more serious.
Soon, the Second Tsuchikage disappeared once again. He had only revealed himself a few moments ago to use Dust Release, but now that his position had been exposed, he did not dare remain standing openly in front of Shanks for long. With Shanks's terrifying strength, if Shanks managed to get close to him, then it would become a very bad situation for him.
Without even the slightest hesitation, he immediately used the Dustless Bewildering Cover Technique once again, causing his figure to completely disappear from everyone's sight. The air distorted slightly before becoming still again, as if he had never been there in the first place.
But by now, even the Second Tsuchikage himself had understood something very clearly.
Hiding from Shanks was almost useless.
Because no matter how perfectly he concealed himself with the Dustless Bewildering Cover Technique, Shanks still somehow seemed capable of pinpointing his exact location every single time.
This monster... just what exactly is he sensing?
Meanwhile, Shanks looked toward the spot where the Second Tsuchikage had disappeared. He simply shook his head lightly, almost looking disappointed.
The next moment—
Shanks disappeared from where he was standing.
A gust of wind blasted outward from the ground he had been standing on, and instantly, he appeared right in the middle of the squad of Hashirama cells modified ninjas.
As soon as they saw Shanks suddenly appear among them, their expressions changed drastically, but they reacted without hesitation and immediately attacked him from all directions.
Clang!
The sharp sound of metal colliding rang out as Shanks's sword smashed against a ninja's kunai. Sparks flew into the air. The force behind the clash was so overwhelming that the ninja was pushed backward violently, his feet dragging across the ground.
And before the man was even able to properly stabilize himself—
A cold flash of light swept past.
Shanks's sword cut straight through him completely in half.
Blood sprayed into the air as the two halves of the body separated and crashed heavily onto the ground. The scene was undoubtedly gruesome. Several nearby ninjas instinctively stiffened for a brief moment after witnessing it, the metallic smell of blood spreading through the battlefield.
Then Shanks turned around, his sword swinging almost casually, and another ninja who had been attacking him with a short sword froze mid-motion. Before the man's short sword could even reach Shanks, Shanks's blade had already passed through his neck.
A thin red line appeared across the ninja's throat.
The next second, his head separated from his body.
Shanks continued moving without pause.
His left hand, covered in black Armament Haki, suddenly shot forward and blocked another incoming blade barehanded. The metallic sound echoed loudly as he grabbed the weapon directly, then violently pulled the attacker toward himself.
At the same moment—
Shanks thrust his sword straight into another ninja's throat.
Blood splattered across the air.
And before he even fully pulled the blade back out, he twisted his wrist and stabbed another person standing behind the first directly through the neck. The movements were smooth and terrifyingly fast, as if every action had already been calculated beforehand.
Another ninja tried approaching from Shanks's blind spot.
But Shanks simply extended his haki-covered hand and pierced all five of his fingers directly into the man's chest, crushing his heart instantly before throwing the corpse aside.
Then again, another slash.
Another head flew into the air.
The battlefield had completely turned into a slaughter ground.
The modified ninjas attacked from all directions continuously, but Shanks moved through them like a red phantom. Screams, clashing metal, and the smell of blood filled the battlefield.
Then Shanks suddenly jumped into the sky.
His coat fluttered violently behind him as he raised his sword high before swinging it downward with immense force.
Boom!
A gigantic flying sword slash burst forward.
The air itself seemed to split apart as the massive slash tore through the battlefield, directly hitting the modified ninjas head-on. Most of them were blown away instantly, their bodies flying through the air before crashing onto the ground like dumplings being thrown around carelessly.
The sword slash continued traveling forward for more than a hundred meters, destroying everything within its path. The earth split apart violently, few trees at the last shattered into pieces, and countless bodies were torn apart under the overwhelming force of the attack.
But just as Shanks landed back onto the ground—
Wood suddenly started growing rapidly from all around him.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Massive wooden branches and roots twisted around each other and instantly covered him completely, trying to trap him inside.
However, the next moment, Shanks discharged a massive amount of lightning directly from his body.
Blue and black lightning exploded outward wildly.
Boom!
The enormous wooden structures covering him were instantly destroyed and blasted apart into countless burning fragments. Smoke rose into the air as pieces of shattered wood scattered across the battlefield.
Shanks's eyes immediately locked onto the ninjas responsible for using the Wood Release against him.
The next second—
He disappeared.
Only a red blur could be seen flashing across the battlefield.
One by one, the heads of those Wood Release users flew into the air before their bodies even realized what had happened. Blood sprayed continuously as their corpses collapsed onto the ground one after another.
Then once again, Shanks lightly jumped upward and turned toward another direction.
Without hesitation, he swung his sword horizontally.
A massive flying sword slash erupted outward again, tearing through the battlefield with overwhelming force. The slash traveled for hundreds of meters, cutting through everything in its path.
The modified ninjas were hit directly.
Many of them were split apart instantly, while others were sent flying with horrifying injuries covering their bodies. Hundreds were killed from just that single sword swing alone.
Even though these ninjas possessed Hashirama cells and healed at frightening speeds, many of them were still dying continuously because the attacks they were receiving were simply too overwhelming.
As Shanks continued doing all this, he was smiling the entire time. From time to time, his laughter could even be heard amidst the screams and explosions on the battlefield.
"This is fun," Shanks said with a grin as another enemy fell before him. "It has been so long. I wasn't able to fight with my full strength for a very long time."
There was genuine excitement in his voice.
Shanks had not fought a proper battle in a long time, and now that he finally had the opportunity to move freely like this, he was clearly enjoying himself. Every swing of his sword felt smooth, every movement natural, as if his body itself had been waiting for this moment for years.
Anyways, these were his enemies.
So Shanks did not feel even the slightest guilt while cutting them down one after another. To him, this was simply war, and in war, enemies existed to be defeated.
And honestly, these ninjas were not giving him much of a challenge at all.
That was something Shanks had already expected from the very beginning.
After all, these people were nowhere near capable of fighting him on equal terms. Their strength was clearly far below his own. No matter how many of them attacked together, they still could not truly pressure him.
Meanwhile, Mu was still hiding.
Not even once during all this time had the Second Tsuchikage launched another attack toward Shanks. It almost seemed as if he genuinely did not want to make another move carelessly.
Or perhaps—
It seemed more likely that he had received some sort of order from behind the scenes, maybe from Orochimaru or Kabuto, telling him not to directly engage Shanks and instead completely observe him first.
They were probably trying to understand Shanks's fighting style and patterns.
Analyzing me, huh...
Shanks could more or less guess what they were trying to do, but he did not really care.
Because even if they observed him, overwhelming strength was still overwhelming strength.
Finally, almost an hour passed.
The battlefield had long since become silent compared to before. The constant explosions and screams had reduced greatly because there were simply not many people left alive anymore.
Shanks stood calmly in the middle of the battlefield.
Blood stains covered parts of his face, and his white shirt now had many dark red spots scattered across it. Even his sword had a few drops of blood slowly sliding down from the blade.
Thankfully, the White Zetsus did not possess red blood like normal humans.
Otherwise, the entire scene would have looked even more horrifying and gruesome than it already did.
The battlefield itself had completely turned into a carnage.
Corpses of White Zetsus and Hashirama cells modified ninjas were lying everywhere. Broken weapons, shattered earth, and destroyed trees filled the surroundings. The smell of blood and burnt flesh lingered heavily in the air while smoke slowly rose from different parts of the battlefield.
Nearly twelve thousand soldiers had been killed by Shanks alone.
And the most terrifying thing was—
Even after slaughtering all of them, Shanks had only used around forty percent of his chakra in total until now.
His breathing was still calm.
His posture remained relaxed.
It was as if the massacre he had just carried out was merely a warm-up for him.
----
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