Chapter 197

Sato Kaede reacted swiftly, sidestepping just in time to avoid the lethal strike.

The next second, a hand formed from rotting mud erupted from the swamp lake and seized Sato Kaede's shoulder.

With a "thump~," Sato Kaede's body slammed hard against the nearby stone wall, leaving a sunken dent.

In pain, Sato Kaede's face turned pale, beads of sweat dotting his forehead, yet he clenched his lips tightly, refusing to cry out.

Kuchiki Senya stood now at the swamp's edge, drenched in blood, his bones shattered in many places, his body visibly frail, yet his eyes blazed with endless hatred and fury.

"Sato Kaede, no matter the cost today, I will make you die!" Kuchiki Senya growled, his face dark with malice.

Kuchiki Senya was severely injured; his strength had dropped below eighty percent of its original level, barely reaching the level of a seven-tailed jinchuriki—but killing Sato Kaede was still difficult, so he planned to use a secret technique to temporarily boost his power, then strike down Sato Kaede with its might.

"No problem, but you'd better savor this wonderful moment," Sato Kaede replied with a sinister grin, green chakra now blazing fiercely around his body.

Though Kuchiki Senya possessed the Nine-Tails' bloodline and could briefly access the Nine-Tails' power, he had only just begun to control it, so he could not achieve the fleeting transcendence beyond limits like Uchiha Sasuke—he could only leverage his superior physical constitution for temporary power boosts, which would trigger violent backlash once the effect ended.

· ··Requesting flowers·· ·

Now, Kuchiki Senya could only briefly surpass the Six-Tails' power, and due to chakra depletion, his reserves were already less than half of his peak level—he was truly drained to the last drop; if he failed to kill Sato Kaede swiftly, death was his only fate.

"Kid, die." Kuchiki Senya's eyes glowed with bloodlust; he gripped a sharp branch in his right hand and swung it violently, sending a foul stench surging through the air.

Kuchiki Senya's action seemed to trigger some forbidden taboo—a terrifying force suddenly descended upon this realm, coalescing into a massive spherical orb that engulfed Kuchiki Senya.

As the giant sphere appeared, Sato Kaede sensed a pang of danger.

Not long ago, Naruto had been enveloped by this same giant sphere, dragged into a strange dimension, and ultimately trapped there forever.

"Hmph, trying this trick again?" Sato Kaede's expression hardened slightly; he cursed under his breath and immediately executed Shunshin no Jutsu, vanishing from his spot.

"Shii~"

The next second, a rushing sound erupted from Kuchiki Senya's location, and a pitch-black object shot straight toward Sato Kaede.

Sato Kaede frowned, dodging the pitch-black object—but it still grazed his body.

Seeing the pitch-black object pass by his side, Sato Kaede instantly recognized it: it was Kuchiki Senya's weapon—the trident.

At this moment, Sato Kaede was only dozens of meters from Kuchiki Senya's position, so he immediately spotted the trident in Kuchiki Senya's hand.

"Shii~"

Kuchiki Senya made no hesitation—he instantly dodged again—but the trident, as if guided by eyes, continued chasing Sato Kaede.

"Boom~"

Under Sato Kaede's control, a brilliant blue light burst from his palm, forming a massive ice projectile nearly five meters in diameter.

As Sato Kaede used Ice Release ninjutsu, a colossal ice ball materialized beside him and slammed directly toward Kuchiki Senya's position.

"Bang~"

173. This is your own fault!

The two collided, unleashing a violent explosion before both vanished.

All moisture in the area where Kuchiki Senya stood evaporated, turning into mist that hung thick in the air.

To Sato Kaede's stunned disbelief, a perfectly unharmed Kuchiki Senya strolled out calmly.

"Still alive? How the hell did you do that?" Sato Kaede stared at Kuchiki Senya in utter disbelief, utterly baffled.

"Heh, this is your own fault!" Kuchiki Senya sneered, then black flames erupted from his body, instantly burning his tattered clothing to ash.

Seeing Kuchiki Senya's state, Sato Kaede's pupils shrank—he silently cursed, knowing Kuchiki Senya was preparing to fight to the death.

After completely incinerating his clothes, Kuchiki Senya vanished instantly; the next second, his figure appeared before Sato Kaede, driving the pitch-black trident down with lethal force.

"Swoosh~"

The trident sliced through the air with a piercing shriek, then pierced straight through Sato Kaede's left shoulder, pinning him to a massive boulder.

Sato Kaede's face was deathly pale; he clenched his fists, struggling desperately to escape Kuchiki Senya's reach—but Kuchiki Senya's physical strength was too immense; no matter how he writhed, he couldn't move an inch.

"Crack~"

After only a few desperate struggles, Kuchiki Senya seized Sato Kaede's wrist and twisted violently, snapping his right arm clean off, leaving him with only his left arm and right leg still functional.

"Your strength isn't bad," Kuchiki Senya gripped Sato Kaede's wrist, greedily devouring his life force while sneering.

"I did underestimate you—but the final victor is still unknown," Sato Kaede gritted his teeth, suppressing his life force and fixing Kuchiki Senya with a solemn gaze, speaking calmly.

During this time, he didn't just exhaust Kuchiki Senya's chakra—he also absorbed vast quantities of putrid herb sap; his life force had already recovered significantly, and his current power far exceeded fourfold, and he still possessed 【Super Demon Touch】.

"Ha! Kid, stop pretending—you're outmatched. My physical condition far surpasses yours, and your strength and stamina are nowhere near mine—you can't win!" Kuchiki Senya laughed triumphantly, certain of victory.

"Who wins or loses? We'll find out when we fight," Sato Kaede said, expression unchanged.

"Fine! Since you refuse to see sense, I'll send you to your grave!" Kuchiki Senya nodded, roared, and thrust his trident forward with all force—terrible chakra surged into it, causing the black clouds behind him to churn violently.

Kuchiki Senya's trident pierced the air, hurtling straight for Sato Kaede's chest—if it landed, it would pierce him clean through.

"Shii~"

Sato Kaede's eyelid twitched; he swiftly drew his kunai and blocked the trident.

"Clang~"

Kunai met trident, and the sound of Jin Tiejiao rang out.

Sato Kaede's face turned ashen—his kunai nearly flew from his grip; he urgently channeled chakra through his body to stabilize it.

But the trident carried immense force; after only a moment, blood seeped from his Hukou, his palm went numb, and searing pain made veins bulge on his forehead.

"Pfft~"

Sato Kaede groaned, crimson blood trickling from his lips—he felt as if the trident were piercing him through, agony coursing through every inch of his body, twisting his face into a grotesque mask.

"Death Slice!"

Kuchiki Senya showed no hesitation; while Sato Kaede was occupied blocking the trident, he lunged forward, driving the trident down—suddenly, a massive pitch-black energy blade appeared before Sato Kaede's eyes, and his entire body was pierced through like a sieve.

"This… impossible. How?" Kuchiki Senya stared at Sato Kaede's condition, his face blank with shock; ignoring his own wounds, he dropped to his knees to check on Sato Kaede, desperate to understand what had happened.

Though his ultimate killing technique hadn't killed Sato Kaede, it had severely injured him—his current condition was abysmal, he couldn't even stand.

"Damn bastard, what the hell are you playing at?!" Kuchiki Senya roared in fury at the corpse on the ground.

He had clearly sliced off half of Sato Kaede's head just now, and now aside from the hole in his chest and abdomen, the bones and flesh on the rest of Sato Kaede's body had vanished — yet he was still somehow alive.

"Stop playing dead, little brat. Tell me, how exactly did you do it?"

Kuchiki Senya saw that Sato Kaede was still breathing and immediately let out a sigh of relief, then pointed his trident at the Sato Kaede on the ground and shouted.

He was genuinely a little afraid now, because the kid before him was simply a freak — his body was outrageously tough beyond comprehension, and even his finishing move just now had failed to kill him.

"Someone at your level isn't qualified to know." Sato Kaede slowly opened his eyes, looked at Kuchiki Senya, and said indifferently.

The attack just now looked lethal, but it wasn't enough to kill Sato Kaede — he had only fainted temporarily.

The instant Sato Kaede's words fell, a layer of milky-white chakra halo radiated from his body, then white fine needles one after another emerged from within him and shot rapidly toward Kuchiki Senya.

"What ninjutsu is this?"

Seeing this, Kuchiki Senya's expression shifted slightly, and he hurriedly raised the pitch-black trident in his hand to block.

"Clang clang clang~~~"

Countless white fine needles landed on the pitch-black trident in Kuchiki Senya's hand, producing a dense clattering sound.

Kuchiki Senya's expression grew increasingly dark. He could tell that the ninjutsu Sato Kaede was currently using was extremely tricky, and he simply couldn't cope with it.

"I'd like to see how long your ninjutsu can keep going." Kuchiki Senya said through gritted teeth.

"Then try it and see~" Sato Kaede chuckled lightly, then continued to control the chakra within his body, releasing even more fine needles to attack Kuchiki Senya.

Sato Kaede's body now stored a massive amount of chakra. He could condense 100 fine needles roughly every 10 minutes — even at his peak, he might not have had such abundant chakra.

Back when Sato Kaede had performed the All Creation Heavenly Pull, he could only barely condense 1000 chakra fine needles, but after several years of bitter cultivation, he could now condense 3000 fine needles, and he believed the 100,000 chakra needles required to break through All Creation Heavenly Pull wasn't far off.

174. Truly a stubborn temper, but you've really pissed me off now

"Bang~" "Bang~" "Bang~"

Kuchiki Senya was indeed an elite-level jōnin. Facing this endless assault of chakra fine needles, he actually remained completely unscathed, instead relying on the trident in his hand to flick every single fine needle Sato Kaede released flying away.

"Little brat, you'd better surrender obediently, or I'll personally slaughter you in a moment." After flicking away all the fine needles Sato Kaede had released, Kuchiki Senya arrived before Sato Kaede and said with an icy expression.

"I don't have the habit of surrendering. Either kill me, or you die." Hearing this, Sato Kaede pressed his lips together and said with a resolute expression, then stared coldly at Kuchiki Senya and said.

"Heh, truly a stubborn temper, but you've really pissed me off this time. I'm going to let you taste my ultimate move." After hearing Sato Kaede's words, a cruel smile curled at the corner of Kuchiki Senya's mouth, and he said with a cold laugh.

"Rumble rumble~"

The next second, violent lightning power erupted from within Kuchiki Senya's body. The wild lightning force instantly filled a region with a 50-meter radius, and thick lightning snakes one after another swam madly around Kuchiki Senya.

At the same time, the runes on the trident in Kuchiki Senya's right hand flashed with brilliant light, and dense waves of destructive aura burst forth from the trident.

After taking a deep breath, Kuchiki Senya then hurled the trident in his hand viciously toward Sato Kaede.

In an instant, the pitch-black trident in Kuchiki Senya's hand transformed into a jet-black bolt of lightning and rushed rapidly toward Sato Kaede.

"Crack~"

Sato Kaede was still lying on the ground at this moment and simply couldn't dodge in time. He could only watch helplessly as Kuchiki Senya's trident attacked him, and it quickly arrived before him and plunged viciously into his chest.