Chapter 98: Raizen Takes the Field
"A shield of that level is nothing but parchment to me! Fire Hound, let's go! Beast Mimicry: Double-Headed Wolf!" The Inuzuka Patriarch transformed, merging with his ninja hound into a whirling tornado of fangs and claws that tore through the Iron Wood Shield with shocking ease.
He hadn't been boasting. To his enhanced senses, the wooden defense truly was as flimsy as paper.
"Shadow Imitation: Neck Bind!" Seizing the opening, the Nara Patriarch's shadow lashed out like a constricting serpent, its form sharpening into countless needle-like points aimed at Hashirama's exposed throat.
In the next instant, the shadow needles pierced clean through Hashirama's body.
"Lord Hashirama!" a Senju shinobi cried out.
"Stop your wailing," Madara drawled from the sidelines, looking thoroughly bored. "Someone of his caliber isn't falling to a low-level trick like that."
As if on cue, the "pierced" Hashirama dissolved into a log, which then morphed into a simple wooden figure.
A Wood Clone combined with a Substitution Technique? Uchiha Raizen analyzed, his Sharingan having barely tracked the movement. The execution was flawless. The gap between our skill levels is still vast.
While he was contemplating this, he noticed something new on the ground near where the clone had been: a faint, shimmering orb labeled "Intermediate Ninjutsu Talent." It was so subtle he would have missed it if he hadn't been looking directly at the spot.
So the system does drop talent orbs, he realized with a surge of frustration. It's been hiding this from me all along! He'd been so hyper-focused on leveling up and collecting jutsu that he'd neglected to thoroughly investigate the other facets of his interface. The system, it seemed, operated on a "need-to-know" basis, and he hadn't known to ask.
"Everyone else, attack!" the Nara Patriarch roared, his composure cracking. "I refuse to believe every single one of them is a monster! Overwhelm them!"
The massed ranks of the five clans began their advance, a tide of five thousand shinobi ready to crash upon the Uchiha-Senju line.
"Elder Raizen," Madara said, not even bothering to stand. "I'll leave this to you. If I intervene, it might disrupt Hashirama's… plans."
"Tch. Just admit you're lazy," Raizen shot back, but he was already stepping forward. "Hashirama! Do your people take my orders as well?"
"Of course!" Hashirama's voice echoed from an unseen location. "All Senju, follow Elder Raizen's command! Now!"
Though some Senju grumbled, they fell in line.
"Good. Then all of you, stand behind me," Raizen commanded. "Let's see what these five clans are truly made of! Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
He formed the ram seal. With his immense chakra reserves and the orbs he'd just absorbed, the result was spectacular. Over five hundred shadow clones poofed into existence around him, a small army unto itself.
"Heh. Let the show begin!" all the Raizens chanted in unison. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Every single clone, plus the original, formed the tiger seal. Five hundred and one voices roared as one, and five hundred and one massive fireballs, each one amplified to triple its normal power due to Raizen's mastery, erupted toward the enemy lines. The heat was immense, the light blinding.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The concussive blasts were deafening. As the last fireball flew, the strain caused the shadow clones to vanish in waves of white smoke.
"Interesting! A worthy distraction!" the real Raizen yelled over the din. "But I'm Uchiha Raizen! I don't stop at one trick! Fire Release: Susano'o's Fury!"
He unleashed the black, corrosive flames of the Susano'o, not at the enemy, but into the path of his own remaining Great Fireballs. The result was a cataclysmic storm of fire and shadow, a chaotic, overwhelming deluge of destruction.
What was the point of having near-limitless chakra and a vast arsenal of jutsu if you couldn't use them? The old adage was true: even a master could be beaten down by a barrage of enough wild, powerful punches. And Raizen was prepared to throw an entire avalanche of them.
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