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Gion's eyes widened as her petite mouth gaped in sheer astonishment. She was utterly dumbfounded.
If the sight of thousands of fireballs launching simultaneously wasn't already terrifying enough, the breathtakingly beautiful yet horrifying display of countless Moon-style slashes left her at a loss for words.
She couldn't help but imagine what would happen if she were struck by either the fireballs or those blade attacks.
The answer was simple: she would die.
The only question was how to?—burned alive or sliced to shreds.
"This… Akira… what are those?" she stammered.
"These? Just my shadow clones," Kitaro replied casually. "If you've reviewed my brother's records, you might have seen this technique before. He's capable of creating clones as well. We both use the same ninjutsu, so this isn't particularly advanced."
Gion's expression froze.
'This… isn't advanced? Then what qualifies as advanced?'
"I know about the shadow clone technique, Akira," she said. "But your brother Uchiha Kitaro, only ever created a single clone, right?"
Kitaro nodded. "That's true. But just because he only created one doesn't mean that's his limit. In fact, I have no idea how many clones my brother can create—probably because he has never needed to push himself that far."
His words weren't an exaggeration. he now had been capable of summoning 2,000 clones for quite some time. However, the shadow clone technique wasn't without its drawbacks, and he seldom had reason to use so many at once.
After devouring Muzan and gaining a massive chakra boost, even Kitaro was uncertain about his new limits.
Gion was utterly floored.
"So, during the Summit War, this demon Uchiha Kitaro hadn't even used his full strength?"
The sheer depth of the Uchiha brothers' abilities was unimaginable.
"Damn it!" Shiki the Golden Lion muttered under his breath, visibly shaken. He had narrowly avoided being obliterated earlier and was now on high alert.
"You brat, you've completely infuriated me! Now, let me show you the true power of Shiki the Golden Lion!" he roared.
Raising his arms wide, an immense energy surged around him. In an instant, colossal islands began to rise from the ground surrounding the main island. These floating landmasses hovered ominously in the air, encircling Shiki like a deadly arsenal.
Peering down at Kitaro from his vantage point, Shiki sneered, "You damned Uchiha brat! Originally, I intended to use these islands—along with their monstrous inhabitants—at Marineford. But since you're so eager to die, I'll let you experience them firsthand!"
With a dramatic gesture, Shiki sent the smallest of the islands plummeting toward Kitaro and Gion's position.
Gion's face turned pale. Even the smallest of these islands was at least 3,000 meters in diameter.
Kitaro, however, remained unfazed. Pointing toward the descending island, he said calmly, "Destroy it."
A group of shadow clones stepped forward, their hands glowing with chakra as they formed massive Rasengan spheres. Infusing them with wind-nature chakra, the clones transformed the Rasengan into devastating Wind Release: RasenShurikens.
"Wind Release: Giant Rasen-Shuriken!"
The clones hurled their spinning projectiles skyward, each emitting an ear-splitting hum.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The Rasenshuriken collided with the island, unleashing countless razor-sharp wind blades that tore through everything in their path.
A series of blinding white explosions lit up the sky as the destructive wind pressure obliterated the island, leaving nothing but dust and debris. The violent shockwaves flattened nearby buildings.
When the smoke cleared, the island was gone. The clones that had launched the Rasenshuriken dissolved into puffs of smoke, their chakra exhausted.
"They disappeared?!" Gion exclaimed.
"They're just shadow clones," Kitaro explained. "They're made entirely of chakra. Once they run out, they vanish."
"Kehehehehe! So that's the weakness of your clones!" Shiki cackled.
Realization dawned on him. If he had truly been facing 2,000 fully independent opponents, he might have been forced to flee. But now he understood: the clones had limits, and once their chakra was depleted, they were gone. All he needed to do was exhaust them.
"Let's see how long you can last!" Shiki shouted, hurling an even larger island toward them.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
This time, fifty clones stepped forward, unleashing another barrage of Wind Release: Giant Rasenshuriken. Though they succeeded in destroying the island, the clones once again dissipated.
"Hahaha! More!" Shiki's laughter grew maniacal as he sent an even larger landmass hurtling toward them.
One hundred and fifty clones rose to the challenge, their combined Rasenshuriken leveling the massive island.
"Still not done! Let's make it bigger!" Shiki bellowed, tossing yet another, even larger island.
Three hundred clones mobilized this time, successfully obliterating the target. But Shiki wasn't finished.
"You're finished, brat!" he roared. "This time, I'll end you for good!"
The sky darkened as an enormous shadow loomed over the battlefield. The moonlight vanished, eclipsed by an island so massive it resembled an entire continent.
The remaining 1,000 clones sprang into action, each forming a Rasenshuriken.
The whirling hum of their chakra echoed across the battlefield, a deafening crescendo of power.
"This is the end for you!" Shiki roared, launching the colossal island like a meteor.
Without hesitation, the clones charged headfirst toward the descending behemoth, their Rasenshuriken ready.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The collision sent shockwaves rippling through the air, shaking the very earth beneath them.
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