From deep underground, a brilliant flare of fire erupted, transforming into a massive flame dragon that surged and coiled upward!
As the tongues of fire roared, dense sparks erupted alongside sulfur grains buried deep beneath the rock layer from the detonated saltpeter. They sprayed outward like dragon scales or a phoenix spreading its wings. Instantly, a vast sea of sparks blanketed the entire bottom of the canyon, interlocking with one another until light swallowed everything within sight.
The titanic roar of the explosion drowned out all other sounds.
Yet, standing within a sea of fire that threatened to consume him, Hyuga Yu's gaze remained unchanging and his expression perfectly calm. At this crucial moment, his Byakugan's omniscient "God's perspective" shifted seamlessly back to a direct, naked-eye view. As a result, the moment Kitsuchi appeared, another world composed of azure points of light unfolded in Yu's vision—Byakugan Jutsu: Shifang (The Ten Directions)!
Under normal circumstances—excluding scenarios where an ultimate entity from the other side of the timeline actively projects the future—this specific visual prowess required gathering vast amounts of data and intelligence to make deductions, thereby allowing the user to observe the true future.
Having learned from past experiences where information was scarce, Yu chose to first anchor his own future using Shifang. To him, no matter the time or place, the thing he understood best was always himself. Thus, a bizarre scene unfolded. Yu seemed to have long anticipated the explosive flame array hidden within the bedrock beneath his feet. The exact millisecond the fire erupted from the ground, he lifted a foot. A violent surge of chakra instantly burst from his body, transforming into an invisible wind wrapped tightly around his sole.
He stamped down hard!
Sshhh!
With Hyuga Yu as the epicenter, a furious gale swept outward, hugging the surface of the ground!
Countless micro-blades of wind pierced the bedrock. Like a bulldozer, they completely shredded and overturned the rock layer within a ten-meter radius of Yu, tearing every deeply buried paper bomb to pieces.
Consequently, amidst the raging sea of fire, a bizarre, flame-free vacuum appeared.
As if drawing a line in the sand, massive tongues of fire erupted like geysers everywhere outside Yu's self-designated perimeter. Yet inside the circle, Yu stood completely unscathed in the middle of such an extreme environment!
Immediately after, Yu raised his head, locking his gaze onto Kitsuchi who had appeared at the rim of the canyon. A chilling glint suddenly flashed in his eyes. He abruptly raised a hand, aimed it squarely at Kitsuchi, and began to spread his five fingers. "Wind Style: Vacuum—"
However, just as the local air pressure was driven down by Yu's Wind Style: Chakra Scalpel, and just as the wall of fire outside was about to swirl toward him to form a diagonal low-pressure ring—
"Earth Style: Mountain Jutsu!"
A future that Yu had not observed suddenly manifested.
Based on the original timeline's intelligence that Hanzo had once laid an explosive flame array trap for the Akatsuki, combined with the data he had deliberately gathered earlier using his Byakugan, Yu had deduced that Hanzo might spring an ambush at the peace talks. Leveraging this deduction and his collected intel, Shifang had simulated ten possible futures Yu might encounter, successfully observing the one where the explosive array actually detonated. Thus, Yu had prepared in advance, successfully averting the reality of being injured by it.
The activation requirements for this visual prowess were incredibly harsh. It wasn't something that allowed him to peer into the future arbitrarily; rather, it was a technique that instantly elevated all five senses, integrated his own state, the environment, and all gathered intel, and then accurately profiled the full scope of the future.
In other words, only "omniscience" could grant "omnivision."
In its complete state, Byakugan Jutsu: Shifang used the Byakugan's God's perspective to observe every shred of data within a seven-kilometer radius to achieve true omniscience. This would then branch into countless paths of omnivision, ultimately allowing the user to witness the actual future with practically zero deviation. But obviously, the side effects were far too severe. It was not a technique Yu could freely master at his current level.
The version of Shifang Yu was employing right now was a restricted technique. It relied on his direct line of sight and enhanced senses to make instantaneous judgments, combining those with pre-scouted data to deduce the future.
Simply put, the current version was more akin to an advanced profiling ability.
The more intelligence he possessed, the more accurate the future Yu saw. For information he hadn't mastered—or things that acted as complete "information black holes"—Yu could only glimpse various "possibilities" within his simulated futures.
And right now, regarding Kitsuchi's possibilities, a slight error had occurred in Yu's judgment.
The Mountain Jutsu.
This was a high-level ninjutsu favored by the Iwagakure ninja, Kitsuchi, and it was also his most destructive technique. By using Earth Style, he could create two massive, hemispherical rock formations to sandwich an opponent, crushing them to death or forcing them to an absolute halt. Its sheer power was even capable of temporarily pinning down the Gedo Mazo!
Yu had anticipated that Kitsuchi might use this terrifying Earth Style to ambush him and the Akatsuki members, and he had prepared a corresponding countermeasure. However, he had failed to anticipate one thing—
Kitsuchi had executed a completely inverted operation with this technique!
At that moment, as Kitsuchi slammed both palms onto the rim above the canyon, the world shook.
"—RUMBLE!!!"
Under the control of the Mountain Jutsu, the entire canyon was forcefully manipulated to yield two massive, 70-meter-tall hemispherical peaks. They plunged simultaneously from Yu's front and rear. Yet, instead of sandwiching Yu like they would the Gedo Mazo, they crashed straight down!
Like two colossal hemispheres falling from the heavens, they fused into a single, complete, giant boulder in the next split second, plummeting into the midsection of the canyon!
Faced with an attack utilizing the raw, majestic force of nature, the expressions of the Akatsuki members dealing with the explosive array and Hyuga Yu changed slightly. Not daring to be careless, they instantly leaped away to either side!
The giant boulder crashed down with a deafening roar, shattering to pieces in the next instant. A pile of rubble over forty meters high completely cut off the Akatsuki members from Yu, separating them into opposite sides of the canyon floor.
The terrain of the battlefield was rewritten in an instant!
And this was where the true terror of a top-tier Earth Style user lay. Unlike Water Style users who required an aquatic environment to amplify their ninjutsu, Wind Style users who had to rely on brute force if they didn't understand fluid dynamics, or Fire and Lightning Style users who could only get environmental boosts in extreme weather conditions, noble Earth Style users were always in an environment where they could harness the planet's mass to amplify their power.
Yu looked up at the blocked midsection of the canyon, his brow furrowing slightly. He could easily use Almighty Push to blast right through the rock wall and regroup with Yahiko and the others. However, doing so would be highly inefficient and would waste a massive amount of chakra. Yu hadn't spotted any "power banks" (Tailed Beasts) in this area, so he needed to budget his chakra carefully.
As for the Akatsuki on the other side... their current strength would likely surpass everyone's expectations; there was no need to worry about them for now. Furthermore, Kitsuchi dropping a massive boulder that was otherwise difficult to directly hit anyone with clearly meant he had a follow-up strategy.
At that thought, Yu deactivated Shifang and switched back to the Byakugan's God's perspective. Looking down from above, he began scanning for Kitsuchi's position. In the next instant, he turned his head slightly to look.
The massive pile of rocks blocking the midsection of the canyon suddenly vibrated violently. From atop the rubble, Kitsuchi leaped out, his hands blurring through hand signs: Tiger—Rat—Snake!
Staring down at Yu, he slammed his palm onto the massive pile of debris and barked coldly, "Earth Style: Rock Trail Avalanche!"
The moment the words left his mouth, hundreds of broken rocks over two meters tall from the shattered Mountain Jutsu began to roll downward under Kitsuchi's precise manipulation. They gathered into a massive torrent. Immediately after, carrying immense inertia, hundreds of giant boulders coalesced into a roaring landslide, bounding and crashing directly toward Yu!
Yu's eyes narrowed slightly. He lightly tapped his toes, preparing to leap onto the adjacent cliff wall. He was having a bit of trouble figuring out what Kitsuchi was trying to achieve. A technique like this looked immensely destructive, but in reality, for a ninja capable of scaling walls, dodging it was as simple as standing on the cliffside.
However, the moment his foot made contact with the cliff wall, Yu suddenly stepped into empty space. His entire body partially phased through the "cliff face." The cliff wall was actually an illusion disguised by a barrier jutsu!
Right at that moment, from a hidden cavern carved into the rock behind the barrier, an elite Iwa ninja—who had been concealing his presence using Earth Style: Hiding in Rock Technique—lunged out. He swung a blade horizontally straight toward Yu's face!
The wind of the blade bit into his skin!
Reflected in the mirror-like sheen of the sword, Yu instantly saw another heavily-built Iwa ninja break out from a different hidden cavern behind him. Raising a massive rock fist that had already crystallized over his arm, the ninja thrust it directly toward Yu's spine!
The burly Iwa elite wore a ferocious sneer, shouting coldly, "Die! Earth Style: Weighted Rock Fist Jutsu!"
In this split second, Yu was sandwiched from both front and rear. Furthermore, his Byakugan vision was heavily restricted by the barrier jutsu embedded in the surrounding rock walls, rendering him unable to detect exactly how many people were lying in ambush. Yet, Yu's gaze remained utterly tranquil. He slowly raised a single finger, pointing it directly at the Iwa ninja slashing at his face.
"Begone."
The air warped instantly. A terrifying repulsive force bent and snapped through the atmosphere like a released slingshot!
"—BOOM!"
A furious gale erupted!
Like a heavy sledgehammer swinging out of thin air, the sword-wielding Iwa ninja in front of him was blasted backward five meters by the repulsive force. He was slammed violently against the back wall of the hidden cavern. Immediately following that, the repulsive force punched clean through the stone wall, driving three meters deep into the mountain. By this point, the ninja was nowhere to be seen.
Only a severed arm still gripping a ninja sword remained floating in front of Yu. Without even glancing at the ninja he had blasted away, Yu reached out and seized the sword. He spun his body mid-air, throwing the severed limb aside as he descended toward the ground.
His toes scraped against the earth to cancel his momentum. In the next instant, he dropped into a deep lunge and stepped forward with a powerful thrust!
Pfft!
Carrying the raw, explosive strength of a rampaging beast, the ninja sword pierced cleanly through the throat of the rock-fist ninja!
"Urgh... cough... You—"
He seemed to want to say something more, glaring at Yu with eyes full of hatred as if Yu had murdered his entire family. But in reality, this was the first time the two had ever met—and it would also be the last.
Yu pulled out the sword, his gaze turning slightly cold. He kicked the corpse away and quickly scanned his surroundings. Relying on his decent proficiency in sealing jutsu, he quickly located a node maintaining the cliffside barrier.
He raised his palm and rapidly unleashed an Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, striking a weak pivotal node ten meters away dead center!
In the next instant, viewed from behind the cliff wall, the barrier jutsu—which resembled an irregular blue wall—ceased functioning. It flickered a few times before dissolving to reveal the true face of the mountain behind it.
His field of vision cleared instantly!
Yu looked up, his brow furrowing slightly. During the brief moments he had been delayed by the two Iwa elites, the scene outside had undergone a radical transformation!
Using the cavernous cliff wall he stood on as a base and looking outward, a colossal maze was rapidly rising from the ground, spanning across his vision as if welcoming him. Kitsuchi stood at the highest point in the center of the maze, arms crossed over his chest, looking down at Yu with a sneer of ridicule on his face.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Rampart! Bring it up!"
Behind him, on another cliff face where the barrier jutsu had been lifted, nearly two hundred Iwa ninjas roared in unison as they formed hand signs, combining their chakra to continuously generate the gargantuan labyrinth!
Meanwhile, on the cliff face Yu was currently standing on, following the deactivation of the barrier, his Byakugan's descending gaze instantly caught sight of over two hundred Iwa elites. Clenching kunai in their teeth, some forming hand signs for ninjutsu, others hardening massive rock fists, and some holding stacks of paper bombs, they were sprinting madly along the vertical cliff face. Disregarding their own lives, they rushed like a tide toward Yu inside his cavern!
The sight instantly gave Yu a flash of deja vu, making him feel as though he were standing in Jerusalem during a zombie world war, with a horde of mindless undead surging toward him like an incoming ocean!
High above, Kitsuchi kept his arms crossed, laughing boisterously down at Yu. "The 'Heavenly Ninja' of Konoha? It looks like you're nothing special after all!"
"Kneel and beg for mercy now, and out of respect for your status as Konoha's envoy, I might just spare your life!"
"Dumbass," Yu muttered, his brow furrowing slightly. Watching the surging tide of Iwa elites rushing toward him, a wave of weary, frigid indifference finally surfaced in his eyes. "Since you don't value the lives of your own men, don't blame me for showing no mercy."
Yu stared coldly at the loudly laughing Kitsuchi and slowly raised his hand!
A terrifying spike of chakra—so intense that it caused the hearts of the hundreds of charging Iwa ninja to skip a beat and their footsteps to violently halt—shook the air as it erupted from Yu's body!
Under his precise control, countless Wind Style: Chakra Scalpels shot out in microscopic particulate forms. Using the mouth of the cavern on the cliffside as an epicenter, they rapidly formed a transparent, high-pressure ring of air that twisted the atmosphere like a violently spinning flat wheel!
"Wind Style: Almighty Push!"
Using his Byakugan, Yu looked down coldly at the vertical cliff face outside the cavern, indifferently watching the two hundred-plus Iwa ninja who were charging to kill.
With his current Spiritual Energy attribute at an astounding value of 9, the power of the Wind Style: Almighty Push he wielded today was a universe apart from when he had first left the village.
Staring at the bizarre "ring" that had suddenly manifested, the Iwa forces standing vertically on the cliff wall widened their eyes, subconsciously swallowing hard.
Further away at the highest point, Kitsuchi, who had been deliberately acting arrogant, narrowed his eyes at that exact moment. He locked his gaze onto the cliff face. 'Here it comes!'
'The S-rank Wind Style applied to repulsive force mentioned in the intelligence files. The absolute pinnacle of what they call "kinetic energy"! A heavenly power that repels all things!'
'But, what happens when it goes up against the absolute pinnacle of "stasis"?'
At that thought, the corners of Kitsuchi's mouth slowly curled upward. The otherwise dull and simple look in his eyes grew incredibly sharp.
"Heavenly Ninja, watch closely..."
"Let me show you exactly how I use Earth to break your Wind!"
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