Oonoki never imagined that after so many years as the Third Tsuchikage, a brat who had barely left diapers would insult him like this.
'This brat... It seems that after gaining some fame, he's become arrogant and believes he's invincible.' Oonoki wrinkled his large potato-shaped nose as he took his stance.
When Tanaka saw this, he created a spherical shield around himself with three layers.
This action made Oonoki frown, unsure of the defensive power of the shield Tanaka was using.
'It doesn't matter. Against my Dust Style, even a Susanoo becomes vulnerable.' Oonoki thought with confidence and a touch of arrogance.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
Clapping his hands, a sharp sound echoed as something began forming, glowing fluorescent white. It started as a small drop but quickly expanded when Oonoki pointed his open right hand toward Tanaka. The back of the form stretched smoothly while the tip sharpened like a spear.
Seeing this, Tanaka wasn't foolish. He raised his hand into the air and created a dungeon the moment the attack neared him.
"Tsk, in the end, it was just that." On the other hand, Oonoki, seeing that Tanaka had seemingly been completely destroyed by his attack, sneered.
What he didn't notice was that Shiori, who wasn't far away, didn't seem concerned at all. If he had studied Tanaka more, he might have realized this...
Oonoki began to think: 'In the end, it was just as I thought, a b—'
Before Oonoki could finish his thought, he sensed someone behind him. Turning his head, he saw the Uzumaki boy he believed he had defeated, with a light blue sphere forming in his left hand, coming at him from behind.
Simply due to cause and effect, Tanaka shouted as he attacked, knowing he had already been noticed: "Rasengan!"
"You…" Oonoki tried to dodge, but he acted just a little too late.
"Bang!"
"Whoosh!"
The attack landed squarely on Oonoki's back, launching him toward the ground.
"Crack!"
"Boom!"
Crashing into a tree, breaking it in the process, Oonoki, who was now covered in bruises and had a large wound on his back, with his armor's defense shattered, hit the ground and slid across the sand, leaving a trail. He used his hands to shield his face.
Surrounded by lightning, Tanaka, who was hovering in the air, flew swiftly toward Oonoki's position—lightning crackling around him impressively. As he reached Oonoki, he began descending like a comet, knees bent, intending to strike with them, using the gravitational force to increase the impact.
"Tsuchikage-sama, be careful!!!" A ninja shouted in alarm.
Quickly forming hand signs upon hearing the warning, and even without it, sensing the danger approaching, Oonoki managed to act in time and used a substitution.
"Poof!"
"Crack!"
The moment Tanaka hit the target, what he actually struck was a wooden log that shattered into pieces on impact as Tanaka's knees hit the ground.
"Boom!"
"Tremor!"
The earth shook. It was as if an earthquake had struck.
Many began to sweat nervously for Oonoki, especially the Stone ninjas.
Oonoki himself had his eyes wide open, flying and putting distance between himself and the crater that had formed, staring in shock.
'This kid is insane!'
For the first time, he began to recognize Tanaka as a worthy opponent.
Until now, he thought everything he had heard was a lie. Just a bunch of tricks that had become annoying, but not powerful enough to compete at the Kage level. However, now he realized he was completely wrong.
A simple action from Tanaka was equivalent to an attack with Kage-level power. That frightened him.
"I'm surprised..." Oonoki murmured, "What a terrifying child... If he grows even more, then..."
He didn't even want to imagine it.
It was a scenario that would give him nightmares!
Tanaka, who emerged from the hole he had made, flew while dissipating the shield around him, shaking off the dust. He quickly created a new shield, like a second skin, followed by a spherical barrier around him.
'What a clever little brat...' Oonoki, who had intended to take advantage of the brief absence of the spherical shield, silently began forming a jutsu. Although it was on a smaller scale compared to the previous attack, he could only fly higher while increasing the density of the technique.
Even though he hadn't yet tested the defense of this spherical shield, he knew from reports that it was quite sturdy. Sturdy enough that many had struggled to break the defense of one of Tanaka's clones using the same shield.
However, this time, Tanaka didn't stay on the defensive. He started making a hand gesture resembling a dragon's mouth with his fingers, quickly condensing a large amount of energy while beginning to chant.
"KAAA-MEEE!"
"HAAA-MEEE!"
At the same moment that Oonoki shouted, "Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
Tanaka also yelled, "HAAAAA!!"
In the next instant, what resembled a pure energy sphere shot from Tanaka's hands, heading straight towards Oonoki's attack.
"WHOOOSH!"
A second later, as the two attacks collided, a cracking sound—like the space itself was shattering—echoed, followed by a loud explosion.
"BOOOM!"
The shockwave from the two attacks caused ripples in the air, entering into a full-blown clash with neither side gaining the upper hand. Despite the impact, both continued channeling energy, keeping the battle going.
"Get out!!! Retreat!!"
"My god, I don't want to get caught in the crossfire between these two monsters!!"
Several nearby ninjas were injured by the impact of the clash. The shockwaves were strong enough to cause damage to anyone nearby.
Soon, many ninjas, whether from the Leaf or the anti-Leaf alliance, began to flee for their lives.
Even Shiori had to pull back, along with Tsunade and the rest.
"These two are incredibly strong..." Orochimaru murmured with a touch of yearning in his voice. He knew he was still far from reaching that level. At that moment, he barely measured up to a Kage.
Of course, he was still young, not even twenty years old yet. However, seeing a boy younger than him with such power left him feeling a bit anxious.
The same could be said for Jiraiya, though he was a bit more straightforward about it.
"Tanaka-kun has already become this strong?" Shiori could hardly believe it. She had watched him grow stronger with every battle, but the speed and intensity of his evolution had surprised everyone. Many were stunned, and their enemies, powerless, couldn't help but feel the unfairness of it all.
||- Note -||
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