Chapter 272: Withstanding a Tailed Beast Bomb
"Come on! Use everything you've got!"
Li Yao's Wind Clone looked utterly mad, radiating the aura of a full-blown villain, showing not the slightest trace of fear toward the Fourth Mizukage.
"Wind Release – Storm Blades!"
Yagura responded to the taunt without hesitation, unleashing a massive-area Wind Release technique.
Fueled by the immense chakra of the Tailed Beast, the technique's power was drastically amplified.
Countless white wind blades whirled toward Li Yao with devastating force.
He remained motionless in midair.
As the storm of blades collided with the air around him, it was as though they had encountered a lunar eclipse—the blades curved smoothly around a transparent barrier, vanishing on contact.
"What is that jutsu?"
Yagura finally saw it clearly: Li Yao's Wind Clone was enveloped by an invisible dome-shaped barrier that didn't just block the Wind Release—it absorbed it entirely.
"That's the technique that blocked the Tailed Beast Bomb?!"
Yagura's heart trembled. His expression turned grave. That kind of barrier, capable of neutralizing a Tailed Beast Bomb, and maintained so effortlessly...
"Is that all you've got?"
Li Yao's Wind Clone continued to provoke him with a crazed smile. "Why don't you try a bigger Tailed Beast Bomb and see if I can take it?"
He was overflowing with confidence.
The ninja world had many so-called "absolute defense" techniques—
The Third Raikage's Lightning Chakra Armor,
The Hyuga clan's Rotation,
Shukaku's Absolute Defense Sand,
And of course, the iconic Uchiha Susanoo.
But none of those were truly absolute. They still had limits.
Real absolute defense, in Li Yao's view, came from barrier jutsu.
Back when he escaped Konoha and his clone was caught in the Four Violet Flames Formation, he realized the terrifying defensive strength of barrier ninjutsu.
In the original timeline, the Four Red Yang Formation used by four Hokage had even blocked a full-sized Tailed Beast Bomb from the Ten-Tails without collapsing.
So Li Yao had never stopped researching barrier ninjutsu—even if it wasn't his top priority.
With his deep knowledge of sealing techniques and the chakra data he'd copied from both the Four Violet and Four Red Yang formations, it was only natural he'd eventually make breakthroughs.
The Wind Slash Barrier was one such result.
Wind Slashes alone could already cut Tailed Beast Bombs. But now, used as the primary chakra element in a barrier formation, the result was similar to the Red Yang Formation—its defense was terrifying.
Blocking a single Tailed Beast Bomb was well within its capability.
And if chakra reserves allowed, it could potentially block one from the Ten-Tails as well.
Facing Li Yao's overwhelming confidence, Yagura realized he had no other choice.
"In that case… I'll grant your wish!"
He activated Full Tailed Beast Mode, his body swelling into a massive, three-tailed turtle—Isobu.
BOOM!
Above, Li Yao lifted Pakura higher into the sky with his wind current.
Below, Yagura opened his gigantic mouth. Yin and Yang chakra spun rapidly, forming an enormous Tailed Beast Bomb nearly two meters wide—like a small house.
He poured in all the chakra he could muster.
Whoosh!
Li Yao deliberately flew farther back, giving Yagura a clear shot.
BOOM!
The fully-formed Tailed Beast Bomb launched, slamming into Li Yao like a nuclear missile, detonating with a blinding flash and a deafening roar.
In an instant—
A burning sun rose from the ocean's surface. Even shinobi stationed at Suna's coastal outposts dozens of kilometers away saw the terrifying explosion.
"That's a Tailed Beast Bomb!!"
Everyone instantly recognized the "sun" on the horizon for what it was. And they remembered—the Fourth Kazekage was out there hunting Kiri strongholds.
They began to worry.
Even Pakura , floating at high altitude, began to feel uneasy.
Could he survive that?
But the wind stream still held her in place—a sign that he was, at the very least, still alive.
At the explosion's center—
The Wind Slash Barrier held fast against the storm of destructive energy.
Heat.
Shockwaves.
Those were the primary effects of a Tailed Beast Bomb detonation.
Temperatures outside the barrier soared into the tens of thousands of degrees.
Had it only been a freely-cutting Wind Slash-type defense, it would've melted away instantly.
But this was a true barrier, infused with structure and reinforced by sealing formulas. It kept the inferno completely at bay.
Then came the pressure.
Like a steel sphere submerged in the deep ocean, the barrier endured unimaginable force—enough to crush mountains.
BOOM!
After the energy surge, a Bakuum formed at the epicenter, sucking away all surrounding air.
Air rushed back in like a tidal wave, forming massive white shock rings that expanded and contracted.
From afar, it looked like a giant mushroom cloud rising from the sea, with waves of mist rushing outward.
RUMBLE!
Waves dozens of meters tall crashed in all directions. Yagura's Tailed Beast clone expanded to shield his comrades from the blast.
At the edge of the explosion, Yagura stared wide-eyed at the center.
Soon—
The energy wave subsided. At the core of the blast, surrounded by thick white steam, chakra flared.
Though obscured, he could feel it:
He survived.
"He's still alive?!"
"That monster!!"
Yagura's pupils shrank.
He had to admit it—he was defeated. He no longer had the will to continue.
"Whew… this body's really at its limit."
In midair, Li Yao's Wind Clone exhaled, exhausted.
The chakra stored in his Devouring Seal Array had almost run out.
The strength of the Wind Slash Barrier was directly proportional to the chakra poured into it.
His chakra came primarily from the energy he'd devoured from Shukaku and stored in his body.
He had thought the reserves were enough.
But the difference in power between small Tailed Beast Bombs and Yagura's full-power one was enormous.
He had barely maintained the barrier.
"I'll need to upgrade the seal—to store more chakra," Li Yao thought.
Right now, the array could store a lot—for a human.
But compared to a Tailed Beast, it was still lacking.
Especially since both his Wind Slash and Wind Slash Barrier were extremely chakra-intensive.
Future battles would demand far more than this.
"Chakra" won't cut it anymore. It's time for... "Chakra tons."
(END CHAPTER)
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