CHAPTER 215: CHAPTER 215: ZETSU: DID HE STEAL MOTHER’S POWER?

So fast!

Sasori of the Red Sand’s pupils shrank. He never expected Ryoho Kyohiko’s speed to reach such a level; all his puppets had failed to stop him. However, he was not unprepared. Wisps of poison mist had already spread silently in the surroundings. Poison and puppets. These were the two proudest techniques of Sunagakure’s puppet masters. He had already spread the poison earlier, setting up poison traps all around.

And those puppets... although they didn’t catch up to Kyohiko, around Sasori, three puppets formed a team, performed a jutsu, and released a triangular barrier. The prismatic barrier then transformed into walls. At the same time—the other puppets did not stop their movements. Hidden weapons, poison, and ninjutsu madly covered the center.

Ryoho Kyohiko held his breath, throwing kunai outwards. At the same time, a shadow clone appeared beside him. The next moment—Flying Thunder God!

He left the battlefield, while the shadow clone, with its body now accumulating chakra, entered an unprecedentedly powerful Lightning Release mode under the influence of the potent sage chakra. One of its hands turned into silver-white lightning. Hell Stab: Four-Fingered Thrust! Although it wasn’t the Grandmaster-level Four-Fingered Thrust, it was enough to destroy this turtle shell!

Crack!

The barrier was forcefully shattered, a huge gap torn open. The next second, the lightning exploded. Violent, chaotic chakra transformed into streaks of electrical turbulence, blasting inside. Within, three puppets suddenly drilled out from the ground. Three puppets from the Chikamatsu Collection, working together now, their powerful palm winds roaring like a gale, resisting the rampaging thunderstorm currents.

But... they couldn’t block it! Inside the barrier and shield, Sasori’s heart sank to the bottom. He had expected Ryoho Kyohiko to be strong, possibly not afraid of his puppet techniques, but he had never expected the opponent to be so powerful that just a single shadow clone could make things so difficult for him. And at this moment, the opponent’s main body had not left but was waiting for the right moment to enter the fray from a distance. Those kunai...

Sasori controlled his puppets to block, but although he had remodeled his own body, there was still a limit. Especially since his current opponent was just a shadow clone.

A voice came from underground.

"Looks like you need my help!"

Zetsu emerged from within the barrier. Sasori glanced at him, also a little surprised. He hadn’t expected his barrier to be useless against this person... Just who is this guy?

"If you want to help, then help me get rid of those damn kunai."

Zetsu smiled.

"No problem."

Then, saplings grew from below, quickly entangling the Flying Thunder God kunai. But—at that very instant. Flying Thunder God!

Ryoho Kyohiko’s figures instantly appeared beside each kunai. It was impossible to tell which was real and which was fake, only blurry shadows leaping about like silver lightning. The shadow clone formed hand seals, the Lightning Release chakra within its body reaching its limit at this moment. At the same time—Ryoho Kyohiko’s main body appeared beside it, his hands quickly forming seals.

What’s that? Sasori couldn’t predict what ninjutsu the opponent was using, but he felt that this jutsu was unprecedentedly powerful and absolutely could not be blocked! In an instant, the lightning exploded, but a giant Rasengan appeared in Kyohiko’s hand. Sage Art: Lightning Release: Rasengan!

With Kyohiko’s ability, he no longer needed to rely on too many tricks. Just by relying on his own power, he could already easily release the Lightning Release: Rasengan. And this Rasengan of his... was huge! The giant Lightning Release: Rasengan, like a blazing ball of light, emitted an electric glow that illuminated all directions.

"I must block it!"

The first thought in Sasori’s mind was—block! But soon, he realized that this jutsu was impossible to block! This was the most terrifying Lightning Release ninjutsu Sasori had ever seen. There was only... escape! His figure quickly retreated, and another figure flew out from within, swiftly diving into the ground.

Zetsu chuckled and followed him into the ground.

Boom! The electric light was like fire. In an instant, the puppets, barriers, and shields were all destroyed by a single ray of light, as if—lightning had fallen from the heavens!

"BZZZZT!" The blazing lightning pierced directly into the earth. The powerful sage art blasted a long, narrow ravine into the ground. Zetsu and Sasori, who had just escaped a certain distance, were almost hit by the lightning. If they had been hit, it would have been a dead end!

Sasori himself had already been remodeled into a puppet, showing no fear or fright on his face, but he couldn’t stop a sense of despair from rising in his heart. Such an opponent, who can defeat him? He was afraid. Not just him. At this moment, Zetsu was also shocked and incredulous.

In the beginning, Zetsu thought Kyohiko was at most a second Senju Tobirama, not worthy of too much vigilance. As long as Uchiha Madara made a move, everything would be crushed. Later, Zetsu discovered that Kyohiko might become a second Senju Hashirama, although he still hadn’t figured out how Ryoho Kyohiko could reach such a level. And now... Is this guy really a normal person? How could there be such a genius ninja in the world. He didn’t steal Mother’s power, did he! Zetsu’s mind exploded.

Of course, the one whose mind should have exploded more was White Zetsu. "Next time, I really don’t want to face this guy!" Black Zetsu... he couldn’t die anyway. Whether it was Lightning Release or something else, Black Zetsu could at most just run away along the ground. But he himself had truly walked before the gates of hell.

"Sasori, you..." Black Zetsu was about to persuade him when he found that Sasori was fleeing at high speed. At the same time, his chakra threads were constantly controlling the puppets above. It was just—in the face of absolute power, his puppets were as powerless as toys. Ryoho Kyohiko wasn’t afraid of his hidden weapons or poison needles at all. Because... those things couldn’t break through the Lightning Release Armor under Sage Mode.

However, in that instant, the sage chakra in Kyohiko’s body had indeed been completely consumed. Catching this information, Zetsu’s eyes lit up.

"His sage chakra is exhausted. This is our chan—"

Zetsu was halfway through his sentence when he choked back the rest. ???

The next second, Ryoho Kyohiko clapped his hands together, and the patterns of Sage Mode appeared on his face again. What the hell. Are you the reincarnation of Senju Hashirama or something? Zetsu’s mentality exploded.

"Let’s run!" He said no more. If they didn’t run now, it would be too late. Although he had indeed arranged for a helper, it was still a question whether that helper would make a move. Besides, even with one more person... would they necessarily be a match for this guy? To be honest, Zetsu didn’t have that confidence. He knew that guy; he was obsessed with money, a pure egoist, and had no loyalty to them. He was more looking for a backer under the name of "Madara." To expect the other party to fight desperately, he felt he was thinking too much. As for the other one, Zetsu hadn’t yet reached the point of sending the not-yet-mature Obito for Sasori’s sake. However, the current Obito was indeed in a place where he could see this.

Sasori’s heart was also somewhat desperate. But he still had a glimmer of hope—to escape!

Zetsu came to his side, grabbed Sasori’s small puppet body, and then quickly drilled into the ground. With Zetsu’s help, Sasori had a moment’s respite. Above, the puppets contracted, pouncing on Kyohiko desperately. But at this time, the goal was no longer to kill Kyohiko, but to delay for more time. At this moment, Sasori of the Red Sand, who considered himself a genius, had completely realized... puppets are useless tools in front of a truly strong person!

However, in just an instant, Ryoho Kyohiko disappeared with the Flying Thunder God. When he reappeared, he was already in another place. Kakashi had arrived! At this moment, Hatake Kakashi was forming hand seals with both hands, preparing an Earth Style ninjutsu. Earth Style: Earth Flow Fortress!

Ryoho Kyohiko instantly formed hand seals, his chakra spewing out rapidly, following to release the Earth Flow Fortress. Although... he wasn’t very proficient at it, just outputting chakra, combined with the effect of his own sage chakra, he could still manage to—lift these people up!

Boom! The earth roared. Chakra was released, and the entire land was lifted up. Sasori quickly jumped out from the wall. But at this time, Kyohiko quickly changed his hand seals, transforming it into a Wood Style ninjutsu. One by one, trees appeared.

Zetsu emerged from the ground. During his dive, he had felt the coverage of the chakra. He emerged from the ground and checked the situation outside. Then... Zetsu saw a large patch of pine trees, growing crookedly on the uplifted cliff. The moment Zetsu appeared, the surrounding trees secreted some resin. ?

"What is this?"

"Run quickly! You idiot!" Black Zetsu was anxious. Still asking what it is? This is obviously not something good!

Before White Zetsu could escape, it quickly jumped off White Zetsu’s body,潜伏 (qiánfú - lay low/hide) into the earth and disappeared without a trace. This idiot... is beyond saving! Although Black Zetsu didn’t know what this jutsu was, it was clear that since Kyohiko was pinning his hopes on it, it must be some kind of terrifying backup plan. A modified Deep Forest Emergence would be absolutely terrifying!

Soon, Black Zetsu understood what Kyohiko’s jutsu was. Amber! The resin secreted by the pine trees quickly solidified the surrounding soil and earth, turning it into a substance similar to stone but actually very different. White Zetsu wanted to run, but half of its body was already sealed inside, and then the amber slowly eroded and completely solidified it. Fortunately, this guy still knew how to split. After splitting in two, one half of his body was frozen in the amber, while the other half became a new individual.

"Run, run, run!" If he didn’t leave now, he felt he would never be able to escape. As for Sasori, at this moment, Sasori had just drilled out of the ground, wanting to land below, but then he sensed the surrounding air gradually becoming viscous. He immediately drilled back into the ground. But the next moment, Sasori saw a strange mark on a tree. It was a strange symbol, looking like a pattern. But the tree that grew out...

Sasori immediately sensed something was wrong. He flicked his hands, and exploding tags flew out. Then, his main body wanted to follow the puppet and escape with Earth Style ninjutsu, but at this moment, he discovered something even more terrifying—he couldn’t use Earth Style! The ground had been turned to amber. The solidified ground couldn’t be broken by Earth Style chakra at all.

Swoosh!

Above, three puppets flew towards him from the air. On the way, the hands of the three puppets connected to each other, turning into blades, quickly cutting through all the trees and amber on the way. But when they returned to Sasori’s side, a figure appeared beside Sasori. Ryoho Kyohiko!

A pair of wings suddenly grew from Sasori’s back, and then flames spewed out, carrying him into the air and flying into the distance. This guy’s speed had already reached an incredible level. The fact that the other party didn’t kill him was definitely not because he lacked the ability, but... before, the other party wanted to catch another person. That Venus flytrap-like guy. At the same time, he probably also wanted to get his puppets.

Above, the Chikamatsu Collection of Ten, which had not yet been solidified by the amber, also surrounded Kyohiko. If I can just hold him off for a moment, maybe there’s still a chance! Sasori was thinking. But—Swoosh!

A figure, faster than him, appeared directly beside him.

"At this point, just stop resisting."

A hand pressed on his body. Flying Thunder God? Sasori wasn’t sure, but he knew he absolutely couldn’t be caught!

Boom! At his heart, an exploding tag suddenly burned. Ryoho Kyohiko instantly teleported away with the Flying Thunder God, not bothering to stop him anymore—he had originally wanted to leave Sasori alive to study his current life state, but he hadn’t expected Sasori to rather die than be captured. The persistence of a genius...

Fortunately, at this time, the walls were already covered with many puppets. These puppets were sealed in amber. As long as he took them back, they could be used for research. Ryoho Kyohiko opened a scroll.

Seal!

One by one, the amber stones flew over from all directions and entered the scroll.

It was over!

Above, Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, his mood was very complicated. Before... he could still keep up with Kyohiko’s pace and provide some help in battle. But now, as Kyohiko and Minato’s strength grew, his talent and abilities seemed not worth mentioning. He couldn’t keep up with the speed of the two in battle at all. After all, that was the Flying Thunder God!

Hatake Kakashi stood at the top of the cliff, looking at the pine forest below and the patches of puppets, and couldn’t help but sigh. Sasori of the Red Sand... this guy had a not-so-small grudge with his father and him. But now, Sasori’s entire family was dead, and his father was no longer in this world. A period of enmity had completely ended.

Kakashi heard a voice and turned to look into the distance.

"Your strength is indeed very good, but this is the Land of Rain. For you to make a move like this, aren’t you showing too little regard for the Land of Rain?"

A figure slowly walked over from over there. Hanzo of the Salamander! That guy known as the "demigod."

Hatake Kakashi sneered.

"Hanzo of the Salamander, I heard from my teacher that you are also a hero. I didn’t expect you to be the type to wait until the end to make big talk!"

Hanzo looked at the messy battlefield, a thoughtful look on his face. Just now... he had indeed been watching from the sidelines, not in a hurry to make a move. On one hand, Kyohiko’s strength was indeed terrifying, making him a little wary. On the other hand, the current Hanzo was no longer the same as he was back then... his disposition had changed! If he killed Kyohiko and Kakashi, how would he explain it to Konoha? At that time, it would be another war of suffering and death! Hanzo sighed.

Just as he was about to speak, below, Kyohiko had already collected all the puppets.

Ryoho Kyohiko looked at the masked man in front, a slight smile on his face.

"Leader of Amegakure, I am Ryoho Kyohiko."

"You didn’t make a move just now because you didn’t want to cause any misunderstanding. Now, it’s even more impossible for you to make a move!"