Chapter 96

Soul attack and physical attack struck simultaneously!

Jiang Xia grunted, his Complete Form Susanoo faltering.

He gritted his teeth against the soul-shattering impact, directing the Susanoo’s left hand to slash the Spiritual Bell of the Netherworld with the Ten Pounds Sword, while its right Flame Blade swept through the charging ghost generals.

“Seal!”

The Ten Pounds Sword struck the bell’s body; sealing power erupted, causing the black ancient bell’s phantom to violently tremble and ripple.

The Flame Blade swept through, spreading black flames that turned countless ghost generals to ash.

But the Huangquan Ferry’s power still persisted, continuously eroding the Susanoo and Jiang Xia’s soul.

“Can’t stall!” Jiang Xia poured his left eye’s power furiously into the Susanoo, “Yasakani no Magatama!”

The Flame Blade vanished; the Susanoo condensed a massive blue magatama, radiating terrifying power, shooting toward Cui Jue’s true form and the Yellow Springs!

Cui Jue’s face twisted in shock; he unleashed all his power to activate the Huangquan Principle: “Wangchuan!”

Murky river water surged into towering waves, attempting to drown the magatama.

“Boom! Boom! Boom—!”

The magatama and Huangquan river water collided and exploded repeatedly; energy spiraled completely out of control. Finally, one magatama pierced through the defense and detonated before Cui Jue!

“Puh—!”

Cui Jue was struck hard, spewing blood wildly; the Huangquan phantom instantly shattered. He knelt on one knee, his aura reduced to a mere whisper.

Jiang Xia’s Susanoo had also grown faint, clearly drained beyond measure.

The referee stepped forward, inspected, then announced loudly: “Semifinal Match Two: Jiang Xia wins! Advances to the finals!”

The crowd erupted! The final matchup was finally revealed: Jiang Xia vs. Akatsuki Jin! The upstart dark horse against the reigning Marquis’s top champion!

The final match was scheduled for the next day, granting both fighters ample time to recover.

The next day.

For the final championship match, the atmosphere was suffocatingly tense.

The two stood at opposite ends of the hastily repaired arena, locking eyes.

“Jiang Xia,” Akatsuki Jin’s voice carried unprecedented gravity, and a flicker of fury from being challenged repeatedly.

“This time, no draw! I will use absolute power to defend my number one position!”

Jiang Xia’s gaze was equally grave; his left eye’s crimson Mangekyo Sharingan slowly spun. “Enough talk. Let your actions speak.”

No probing. No holding back! From the first moment, both unleashed the full pressure of their Marquis realms!

“Golden Crow True Body!”

Behind Akatsuki Jin, the Golden Crow’s phantom solidified into a dense golden battle armor. He punched forward; a flame-marked fist shattered the air, hurtling straight at Jiang Xia!

Jiang Xia’s right Rinnegan rippled outward: “Naruto’s Barrier!” A powerful repulsion field erupted from him, forcibly deflecting the flame fist!

“Golden Crow Divine Domain!” Akatsuki Jin roared; an intense heat domain instantly unfolded, engulfing Jiang Xia, aiming to evaporate him and his spiritual power alike!

“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!”

Jiang Xia placed his hands to his mouth and spat out a colossal fireball, hurling it toward Akatsuki Jin’s domain.

“Hmph. Trivial tricks!”

The massive fireball Jiang Xia spat out was instantly absorbed by the golden flames upon entering the domain—leaving not a trace.

“Playing with fire before me, Jiang Xia? Itachi’re naively foolish!”

The temperature within Akatsuki Jin’s domain surged again; golden flames transformed into countless chains, wrapping toward Jiang Xia, seeking to completely incinerate him.

“Shadow Clone Technique!”

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

Jiang Xia rapidly formed hand seals; several clones identical to him appeared instantly, charging in all directions to distract the flame chains and buy Jiang Xia time.

“Desperate flailing!”

Akatsuki Jin sneered; with a thought, the flame chains became golden serpents, effortlessly crushing and vaporizing the clones into white smoke.

As the last shadow clone was consumed by flames, a kunai—unseen until now—appeared silently on the ground just behind him!

“When?!”

Akatsuki Jin’s alarm bells blared; a chill shot from his spine to his scalp—he recalled Jiang Xia’s elusive Instant Movement Technique.

But it was too late!

“Flying Thunder God Technique!”

Jiang Xia’s cold voice echoed from behind Akatsuki Jin. The Jiang Xia who had been pinned in front by the divine domain now appeared out of thin air directly behind Akatsuki Jin—with barely any space between them!

Akatsuki Jin’s eyes widened in horror; he had no time to turn. Relying purely on battle instinct, he maximized his golden flame defense, trying to endure the fatal strike from behind.

Between Jiang Xia’s hands, a spiraling shuriken had fully formed; the lightning nature transformation pushed to its absolute limit!

“Lightning Release: Thousand Birds Spiraling Shuriken!”

“It’s over, Akatsuki Jin!”

Jiang Xia roared, driving the spiraling shuriken, crackling with immense electrical energy, straight into Akatsuki Jin’s defenseless back!

“Boom—!!!”

A deafening explosion ripped across the entire arena!

Akatsuki Jin let out a pained grunt, his body flung forward like a severed kite; the blood he spat vaporized instantly in the extreme heat.

His battle armor shattered completely; his clothes torn to rags, revealing raw, bloody, horrific wounds beneath.

Jiang Xia watched Akatsuki Jin’s flying form, a hint of relief crossing his face.

The crowd fell utterly silent, stunned by this lightning-fast reversal.

Dust slowly cleared. Akatsuki Jin knelt on one knee, propping himself up with trembling arms. He lifted his head—his former arrogance gone, replaced by a feral, seething rage… and a glimmer of disbelief.

“Space teleportation… combined with a close-range killing technique of this caliber…”

Akatsuki Jin’s voice was hoarse, choked with suppressed fury: “Jiang Xia… I admit—I underestimated Itachi again!”

He struggled to stand upright; the golden flames around him, previously scattered, began to coalesce once more. Though his aura had weakened, the battle lust in his eyes burned even wilder.

“But to defeat me this easily? Far from enough! Next, I’ll show Itachi what true… Golden Crow World Burn truly is!”

Akatsuki Jin roared; the Golden Crow Divine Domain condensed and shrank again, while his hands formed seals: “Golden Crow Transformation: Rainbow!”

His body transformed into a golden rainbow, speed exploding as he struck Jiang Xia from the side!

“Kai!” Jiang Xia activated his left eye’s Kamui, his body instantly phasing out; the golden rainbow pierced through empty air.

“Again with this trick!” Akatsuki Jin stabilized his stance, eyes fierce: “I’ll see how long Itachi can phase! Nine Yang Space Lock!”

He clapped his hands rapidly; nine golden fireballs shot out—not to attack directly, but to encircle Jiang Xia, their energies linked, emitting a spatial sealing aura!

The space around Jiang Xia instantly thickened; even phasing became difficult!

“Got Itachi!” Akatsuki Jin sneered, his body transforming once more into a golden rainbow, stabbing straight for Jiang Xia’s heart!

Facing this final strike, Jiang Xia’s eyes turned icy—he held nothing back. “Susanoo!”

Boom! Blue spiritual energy instantly coalesced into a complete-form Susanoo, towering dozens of zhang high, clad in the armor of the Utsu no Tengu, with twin wings sprouting from its back!