Chapter 629

The two stared at each other for half a minute, then nodded to each other and moved in perfect unison.

Swoosh!

Da Yemu burst chakra from the soles of his feet and leaped into the air.

"Earth Release: Ultra Light-Weight Rock Jutsu!"

Immediately afterward, Da Yemu converted his body's chakra into earth-nature chakra, drastically reducing his weight, and floated in the air.

Seeing Da Yemu take off, Mu Yue paused for a moment, silently watching Da Yemu from the ground.

"Earth Release: Earth Spear Jutsu!"

While flying through the air, Da Yemu formed hand seals with his palms.

Boom!!

From the ground beneath Mu Yue's feet, a large number of rock spikes burst forth rapidly, turning the ground where Mu Yue stood into a forest of stone spikes, as if trying to pierce Mu Yue through with a hundred spikes.

But under the effect of the Limitless Jutsu, every rock spike stopped three centimeters before Mu Yue.

Even though visually the rock spikes surrounded Mu Yue, not a single spike actually touched Mu Yue's clothes.

Bang! Bang!!

Mu Yue casually waved, and the stone spikes around him shattered with a sound, as fragile as thin paper.

"Hmm?" Da Yemu squinted his eyes, sensing that things were a bit unusual.

He hadn't expected to take down You Jie with a single Earth Spear Jutsu, but the effect of the Earth Spear Jutsu was somewhat abnormal.

"Earth Release: Golem Jutsu!"

Da Yemu increased his flying altitude, then formed hand seals again, gathering a large amount of earth-nature chakra in his throat and spewing out huge rocks.

Rumble!!

The large rocks quickly combined together, forming a rock giant over ten meters tall in the blink of an eye.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Rampage!"

Mu Yue focused his breath, instantly converted a large amount of chakra into fire-nature chakra, pressed his hands together, and violently expelled a massive flame, creating a sea of fire.

Whoosh! Whoosh!!

The fierce fire and extremely high temperature sea of fire rapidly turned the ground black, as if trying to burn everything combustible within range.

Under the influence of the terrifying sea of fire, the surrounding temperature soared, and the observing ninja like Huang Tu and Yahiko secreted hot sweat on their foreheads, feeling their bodies become unbearably hot.

If the ninja nearby were affected like this, the rock giant at the center of the sea of fire was even more so.

After encountering the sea of fire, the rock giant instantly turned into a fire giant. Before Da Yemu could control the rock giant to extinguish the flames, the rock giant lost control, its body violently exploded, and the gravel, scorched by the high temperature, shot in all directions.

"As expected of a jutsu known as the strongest fire release, it's truly terrifying." Huang Tu dodged the hot gravel while sighing in admiration.

The Golem Jutsu was already one of the Earth Release jutsu with strong defensive capabilities, yet even so, it couldn't block You Jie's fire release. One could see how terrifying You Jie's fire release was.

If anyone tried to use defensive jutsu like Earth Release: Mud Wall to block You Jie's fire release, Huang Tu could only say that person was courting death—it simply couldn't block it.

"Even the Golem Jutsu won't work. I have no choice but to use Dust Release." Da Yemu frowned slightly at the sight.

He had originally wanted to probe You Jie's method of blocking the Earth Spear Jutsu. To prevent You Jie from using other jutsu to counter it, he deliberately used the versatile Golem Jutsu, which was both offensive and defensive. He never expected You Jie to burn it with a fire release.

"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Jutsu!"

With that thought, Da Yemu didn't hesitate. He brought his hands together and gathered a large amount of chakra in both palms to perform the Dust Release chakra nature transformation.

He wasn't here to defeat You Jie; he was here to obtain information on You Jie. Everything had to be considered from the perspective of intelligence, not victory or defeat in battle.

Da Yemu's flying speed suddenly increased, rapidly closing the distance with Mu Yue.

Mu Yue also ran toward Da Yemu's direction.

Since both were moving toward each other, the distance between them grew shorter and shorter.

Swish!

When the distance was only ten meters, Da Yemu suddenly shot the Dust Release jutsu from his hand. A dazzling white cylinder rapidly struck You Jie, who was still charging forward.

"Not dodging?"

Onoki looked puzzled as Yusuke closed in on the Dust Release, yet still charged straight ahead.

His Dust Release was no secret; ever since the era of the Second Tsuchikage, the ninja world had remembered the terrifying power of the Dust Release Kekkei Tōta.

Given the knowledge Yusuke had displayed externally, it was impossible that he didn't know how dreadful the Dust Release was.

Boom!!

The cylindrical beam of light slammed directly into Yusuke's body, and a deafening explosion roared through the sky. Immediately afterward, an extremely dazzling white light of the explosion appeared, turning the area around Yusuke pure white, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.

Rumble!!

The powerful explosive force erupted, and the ground, under the impact of this force, cracked instantly like fragile glass. Rocks were shattered into fine sand, soil was thrown high into the air, forming a dust curtain that blotted out the sun, shrouding the battlefield in chaos.

All the Iwa-nin stared intently at the center of the explosion with grim expressions.

Their greatest hope was that when the dust cleared, there would be no one inside—that Yusuke had been disintegrated by the Dust Release.

Otherwise, things would be too bad for Onoki.

Many Iwa-nin believed that the reason Onoki was only one of the pinnacle figures of the ninja world and not the strongest was mainly because Dust Release was hard to land on opponents in battles among top-tier fighters.

If they could solve the accuracy problem, their Third Tsuchikage would become the strongest in the new era of the ninja world.

If Yusuke could block Dust Release head-on, then there was simply no way Onoki could defeat Yusuke, even with an elite squad to help pin him down.

Whoosh!

A gust of wind swept up from the center of the explosion, blowing away the thick dust cloud, revealing Muyue completely unharmed.

"How is that possible?!"

Onoki's eyes suddenly widened, seeming to dilate to their limit in that instant, flickering with disbelief.

His eyebrows involuntarily shot upward, forming two arcs of surprise, as if trying to touch his suddenly raised hairline. His mouth opened slightly but no sound came out for a long time, only the faint sound of inhalation echoing in the air, revealing the shock in Onoki's heart.

At that moment, Onoki suspected he was under a genjutsu.

"Genjutsu release!"

Onoki, with his rich experience in dispelling genjutsu, immediately tried to calm his chakra and release the illusion.

Unfortunately, the scenery in Onoki's eyes did not change at all. Yusuke still showed no sign of injury, and even his white robe was completely intact.

"Why is this happening!" Onoki couldn't understand; he felt his common sense as a ninja was being challenged.

Even if Yusuke hadn't been disintegrated by the Dust Release, the subsequent huge explosion should at least have damaged his clothes.

"He actually blocked Dust Release head-on, and without a scratch." Kitsuchi's heart was churning with towering waves.

Onoki had once tried to teach Kitsuchi Dust Release, but Kitsuchi hadn't learned it.

Although he hadn't mastered Dust Release, Kitsuchi had a solid understanding of it, so he found it even more unbelievable than the other Iwa jōnin.

This was Dust Release—the Kekkei Tōta that surpassed Kekkei Genkai—not some ordinary high-power jutsu.

Compared to the Iwa-nin, the Ninja Sect side's reaction was much smaller; they all knew Yusuke had a defensive jutsu that was nearly invincible.

"That's the expression, haha." Looking at Onoki looking like he was doubting his life, Roshi felt extremely pleased.

Didn't you think your Dust Release's power was invincible? Now you haven't even torn Yusuke's clothes.

If he didn't want to cause trouble for the Ninja Sect, Roshi would have loved to cancel the Transformation Jutsu and flash a brilliant smile at Onoki.

"He blocked it after all." Nagato wasn't surprised.

In his view, Muyue's defensive jutsu was even more powerful than his Rinnegan abilities.

His sealing absorption could only absorb ninjutsu, while Muyue's Unlimited Void technique could even block taijutsu.

"I still have the Limiter Removal Technique!"

Onoki forced himself to calm down, gathering a large amount of chakra to attempt the more powerful Limiter Removal Technique.

Unfortunately, Muyue didn't give him the chance to continue.

Under Onoki's stunned gaze, Yusuke rose rapidly into the air.

Youjie actually also mastered the Light-Weight Rock Technique?

Before Onoki could think too much, Muyue was about to rush up to him.

He had no choice but to abandon using the Limelight Elimination Technique and convert the large amount of chakra gathered in his arm into Earth Release chakra.

A mass of rock covered Onoki's right arm, transforming it into a thick rock arm.

Bang!

Onoki threw a full-power punch at the oncoming Youjie, and the thick rock arm collided with Youjie's normal arm.

Boom!!

Onoki only felt a force capable of moving mountains and seas suddenly strike him; the rock on his right arm rapidly developed spiderweb-like cracks, and then the rock arm abruptly exploded. Onoki flew backward like a broken kite and crashed to the ground.

"Such terrifying power!" Onoki looked at his right arm, already drenched in blood, and couldn't help sucking in a cold breath.

The world only knew that Rock Fist Kitsuchi wielded a fine Rock Fist, but actually Kitsuchi's Rock Fist was learned from Onoki himself. It was just that due to his age, Onoki didn't use Rock Fist much anymore.

In terms of Rock Fist skill alone, Onoki was stronger than Kitsuchi.

And Youjie actually shattered his Rock Fist using only physical strength and chakra enhancement, severely wounding his arm—how could Onoki not be astonished?

Onoki quickly got up, flew again, formed hand seals and split off three Rock Clones, sending them to occupy Youjie while the main body gathered chakra, preparing to perform the Limelight Elimination Technique.

Actually, he had a feeling that even if the Limelight Elimination Technique hit, it probably wouldn't kill Youjie, since Youjie was able to block the Detachment of the Primitive World without injury.

But Onoki had to try.

Because if Youjie could still block the Limelight Elimination Technique without injury, it would mean Youjie's strength was beyond his imagination.

After landing, the three Rock Clones almost simultaneously blurred into motion, launching a fierce assault on Youjie with a momentum disproportionate to their height.

Although the Rock Clones were numerous, in Muyue's eyes—having entered the Transparent World state—their attack trajectories were as clear as a slow-motion film.

A Rock Clone charging from the front swung its fist like a hammer, the rushing wind heading straight for Muyue's face. However, Muyue slightly sidestepped, avoiding the heavy fist that could shatter stone by a hair's breadth, and simultaneously countered by tapping the Rock Clone's wrist with his fingertips.

Bang!

The Rock Clone's surface began to crack, then rapidly collapsed, turning into a pile of rubble.

Immediately after, another Rock Clone sneaked up from behind, but Muyue seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. Without moving his feet, he pivoted nimbly using only his waist's flexibility, and at the same time struck backward with his elbow, precisely hitting the Rock Clone's vital point and shattering the second Rock Clone.

"Earth Release…"

The third Rock Clone used Earth Release from mid-range, but as soon as the ninjutsu was unleashed, Muyue instantly vanished from the spot.

Bang!

The third Rock Clone shattered.

By this time, Onoki's Limelight Elimination Technique was also ready.

In fact, Onoki was already almost giving up—Youjie had eliminated the Rock Clones too quickly.

He had only just finished preparing when all three Rock Clones were dispersed.

Releasing the Limelight Elimination Technique like this, the probability of hitting Youjie was nearly zero.

"Dust Release: Limelight Elimination Technique!"

In the end, Onoki still released the Limelight Elimination Technique at Youjie.

Either way, the final result would be a loss—letting off an empty Limelight Elimination Technique was better than never releasing it at all.

Watching the huge cube hurtling toward him, Muyue did not dodge; he only slightly raised his head and looked at Onoki.

Even when the Limelight Elimination Technique was only a meter away from his body, Muyue still stood motionless.

Seeing this, Onoki's expression became extremely grave.

Youjie's strange behavior had only two explanations: one, Youjie didn't know the power of his full-strength Dust Release; two, Youjie had enough confidence.

So, which would it be?

Onoki breathed slightly heavily and wiped the sweat from his forehead. In fact, he already vaguely had an answer in his heart.

Rumble!!!

The giant cube enveloped Mu Yue's body along with the surrounding ground and forest.

Almost instantly, the lush forest dissipated, the rocky ground and soil vanished.

The white cube was like an eraser on a pencil drawing, decomposing and dispersing everything it touched.

Within seconds, a neat pit appeared in the forest, as if a portion had been mysteriously dug away.

Only the white-clad figure in the pit remained still, silently watching Ōnoki, whose arm was still dripping blood.

"My Dust Release…"

Ōnoki, seeing the intact white robe, could not remain calm even though he had suspected it.

This was his strongest Dust Release ninjutsu—a powerful technique that even Uchiha Madara could not withstand head-on.

Whoosh!

With excessive chakra consumption and blood rushing to his head, Ōnoki suddenly couldn't maintain the Light-Weight Rock Technique and plummeted downward.

"Tsuchikage-sama!"

Kitsuchi, seeing his father in trouble, ignored everything else and rushed into the battlefield to catch Ōnoki.

The other Iwagakure jōnin quickly followed, protecting Ōnoki and Kitsuchi.

Mu Yue did not stop them and silently allowed the Iwagakure ninja's actions.

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