At the battlefield, Code's hand paused atop the purple skull.
He stared at the newcomer, momentarily lost in thought.
Sasuke, in turn, coldly examined his opponent. After sensing Code's aura, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
"Kara?" Sasuke asked flatly.
"Was it the one who ran away who told you?" Code sneered. "He won't live much longer."
His claws lightly brushed the surface of Susanoo's skull.
Crack—crack—!
Spiderweb-like fractures spread instantly across the purple skeletal head before it shattered with a loud crash.
Sasuke frowned slightly.
So strong…
This power was terrifying—perhaps even surpassing Naruto at his peak.
More importantly, Sasuke clearly sensed traces of Six Paths chakra on Code. He was not truly a Six Paths being, but he stood dangerously close.
—Amaterasu!
Without warning, Sasuke's right eye flared.
Black flames burst forth, leaping toward Code.
But in the next instant, Sasuke felt a brief distortion in his vision.
The black flames landed uselessly on the desert floor.
Code had vanished.
Yet his presence hadn't disappeared.
Sasuke immediately understood—Code had dodged instinctively using those strange marks.
When Code reappeared, he noticed Gaara and Shukaku standing quietly behind Sasuke, like silent reinforcements.
He didn't care.
Faced with absolute power, all lives were his to decide.
Code's claws erupted with force, slicing through the air. The pressure was so intense that space itself seemed to tremble faintly.
Sasuke did not move.
His gaze was calm, almost disdainful, as though mocking the attack for being insufficient.
The claws closed in rapidly.
Code was briefly surprised—he's not dodging?
—Amenotejikara!
Flash—!
In the blink of an eye, their positions swapped.
Clang!
Code's own claw tore into his body.
"Hah!" Code laughed, glancing at his torn clothes with excitement. "Interesting!"
So that explained it—the living Shukaku had suddenly become a purple skeleton earlier.
"That eye technique… the Rinnegan, right?" Code asked curiously.
Seeing Sasuke's eyes up close stirred something rare in him. His own power came from technology and inheritance—this was the first time he'd faced someone who reached such heights through pure self-mastery.
Isshiki was a god.
But Sasuke… was human.
Code didn't wait for an answer.
Teleportation claw marks spread instantly across the desert beneath them, covering a vast area—including Sasuke and Gaara.
But Gaara and Shukaku were airborne.
The black claw marks resembled strips of cloth riddled with holes.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly.
Not chakra… scientific ninja tools.
—Susanoo · Humanoid Form!
The skeletal Susanoo wrapped around Sasuke, legs forming beneath him.
He wanted to fully test his opponent first.
Code vanished.
Sasuke smiled faintly.
Susanoo shifted a step to the side.
Code's ambush failed.
Another teleport.
Another miss.
Sasuke had already grasped the mechanism—movement through claw marks.
Then what if the battlefield is moved to the air?
—Shinra Tensei!
A powerful repulsive force blasted outward, launching Code away.
Caught off guard, Code lost his rhythm and was flung back.
Sasuke then rose into the air, counteracting gravity with Shinra Tensei's force.
Code quickly followed, excitement blazing in his eyes.
So this was a man who could rival gods through sheer effort.
Mid-air combat robbed Code of his ability to leave new claw marks.
—Chibaku Tensei!
Without hesitation, Sasuke activated the sealing technique, centering it directly on Code.
But this was the desert.
Loose sand surged upward—
Gaara moved.
From seven hundred meters underground, he extracted hardened mineral sand and hurled it skyward, accelerating the formation of the gravitational core.
Code's eyes widened slightly.
Even so, with brute force alone, he tore himself free from the gravitational center, shattering the core.
The suspended sand lost its pull—but remained floating.
Code's expression turned serious.
His claws extended fully, sharp as twin blades.
Sasuke dismissed Susanoo's outer shell and drew the Kusanagi Sword, holding it horizontally.
Purple chakra surged over his body.
—True Susanoo Chakra Form!
The Kusanagi Sword ignited with violet flames as Sasuke charged forward.
Clang—Bang!
Sword and claws collided violently.
The lighter claws gave Code a slight speed advantage.
Locked in close combat, Code braced the sword with one hand while unleashing a storm of slashes with the other, relentless and precise.
Susanoo's flames visibly weakened.
Sasuke suddenly moved.
He reached out and pressed his hand against Code's abdomen.
Code instantly went on guard—
But then he felt it.
His chakra… was being devoured.
—Outer Path: Soul Extraction!
Code's body froze.
He looked down in horror as wisps of white, cloud-like substance were dragged from his abdomen.
Only then did he realize—
It was his soul.
Sasuke was pulling it out by force.
This man…!
The sheer number of techniques was overwhelming.
—Amaterasu!
Black flames ignited once more.
Pain and despair flooded Code's senses—burning flesh and a soul being torn away.
"AAAAH—!!"
White Kāma Liberation!
Code snapped.
If the technique couldn't win—
He would crush everything with absolute power.
Boom—!!
A violent shockwave erupted.
Sasuke was blasted back, the extracted soul snapping back into Code's body.
The black flames extinguished.
The eternal fire that never let go… was snuffed out.
Because in this world—
There are no absolutes.
Except for absolute power.
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A/N: Advance Chapter Has Been Uploaded. Please Check It Out. It will really help me out and will keep me motivated to continue.
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