Chapter 72: The Eight Gates Unleashed
Uchiha Raizen knew the Vacuum Bullet technique, but the sphere of compressed, razor-sharp wind that Senju Butsuma unleashed was on an entirely different scale. It was monstrous, a testament to the Senju patriarch's immense chakra reserves and brutal efficiency.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Raizen formed the cross sign without a second thought. Two clones poofed into existence beside him. "Help Madara! Take down Senju Hashirama, now!" he commanded.
One clone immediately surged with the potent, balanced energy of Sage Mode and shot toward the fray where Madara was locked in combat. The other moved to protect Uchiha Senna. Raizen himself became a bastion of pure, overwhelming firepower.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire! Fire Release: Great Fireball! Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
Ninjutsu after ninjutsu erupted from him without pause, without hand seals. It was a relentless, chakra-intensive bombardment meant to break the Senju formation and provide cover.
"Madara, I'm sending help!" Raizen yelled over the din of battle.
"I don't need it!" Madara roared back, his pride refusing the aid even as he struggled against Hashirama's newfound Sage-enhanced strength. "Focus on the others!"
Seeing Madara's stubbornness, Raizen felt a surge of frustration. He redirected his clone's orders mentally. Forget Madara. Protect Senna at all costs. He would not let history repeat itself here.
The peaceful forest clearing had transformed into a hellscape of fire, steam, and splintered wood.
"Is this your famed ability? To release a hundred ninjutsu without seals?" Senju Butsuma's voice was suddenly right behind him, cold and detached. "A formidable talent. Without my newest defensive technique, even I might have been wounded by that barrage."
Raizen's eyes widened. He hadn't even sensed the patriarch's movement.
Too fast!
A devastating blow slammed into his back, sending him flying through the air. Pain exploded across his spine. Only his instinctual activation of a Water Release: Water Formation Wall at the last second, cushioning the impact, saved him from shattered bones. He hit the ground hard, rolling to his feet with a grimace. Senju Butsuma's taijutsu was every bit as terrifying as the legends claimed.
"Fine," Raizen spat, wiping a trickle of blood from his lip. "If you want a war of attrition, I'll give you one you'll never forget. You want to swallow us? I'll make you choke on it! Eight Gates Released Formation: Gate of Opening, OPEN!"
A surge of raw, physical energy exploded from his chakra points. A vibrant, blue aura flickered to life around his body, and the muscles in his limbs visibly swelled and tightened. On his system panel, his physical strength stat blurred into a series of question marks. The combination of Sage Mode's natural energy and the Gate of Opening's violent release of his body's limits had created a power the system couldn't immediately quantify.
Senju Butsuma's eyes narrowed, the first flicker of genuine surprise crossing his stern features. "Hmph. A technique that burns your own life force for temporary power? A desperate move. Even so, you are no match for me! Wind Release: Vacuum Dragon!"
Butsuma attacked again, but Raizen was ready.
"Sage Art: Inorganic Animation!"
The very earth around Butsuma surged upward, stone and soil forming grasping hands and sharp spikes to impede his movement and disrupt his jutsu.
Raizen turned his head, his voice cutting through the chaos like a knife. "Uchiha Madara! Listen to me! If you want any of us to make it back alive, if you want Yana to have a life as your wife, you will retreat NOW! Go back and tell the Patriarch that I will make Senju Butsuma regret this day! We are not fish on his chopping block! MADARA! GO!"
He wanted to open more gates, to unleash the power of the Gate of Death and end this here. But his system was clear—the final gate was locked until Pickup Level 10. He was forced to hold back, to fight a contained, desperate battle.
"Brother, we have to go!" Uchiha Senna yelled, grabbing Madara's arm and pulling him back from his duel with Hashirama. "He's creating an opening for us!"
The remaining Uchiha shinobi, their bodies bolstered by the miniature Katsuyus on their shoulders, formed a protective circle around their young patriarch and the bride. "Young Lord, retreat! We will hold the line! This is our duty!" one of them cried, his Sharingan blazing with defiant loyalty.
The path was open, but the cost of their escape was being paid in blood and chakra by Uchiha Raizen, who stood alone against the storm, a blue-tinged bulwark against the Senju tide.