What is this monster?
Shinnō could only feel the overwhelming strength of the massive creature as it brushed past him. If given a choice, he wouldn't have tangled with this sudden monster. But it was clear—he had already become its locked target.
A terrifying maw erupted from directly beneath Shinnō. The gaping jaws stretched wide as the creature's massive, elongated body shot out of the sea, rising 20 to 30 meters high before its momentum waned. It then plummeted back toward the ocean's surface.
Shinnō moved swiftly across the splashing waves, agile as ever. As he closed in on the beast, the muscles in his right arm bulged suddenly, and he delivered a powerful punch straight into its massive form.
Despite its colossal size, the monster staggered from the force of Shinnō's blow. Its long, straight body bent into a U-shape under the impact.
A piercing screech erupted from the creature's maw as it tumbled, crashing heavily onto the sea's surface. Twin walls of water, ten meters high, surged up from either side of its body and sprayed a fine mist into the air.
This scene alone demonstrated the sheer power behind Shinnō's punch. It rivaled the strength of another medical ninja renowned for her monstrous strength—Tsunade.
When it came to understanding and enhancing the human body, Shinnō prided himself on being no less capable than Tsunade. However, their paths had diverged.
Ultimately, both had arrived at a similar conclusion: neither Shinnō nor Tsunade fit the common perception of medical ninja as frail and in need of protection.
Simply put, they excelled at harnessing their physical bodies, maximizing potential, and making themselves exceptionally hard to kill.
Shinnō's punch was the result of activating the muscles and cells in his arm, combined with his mastery of the Eight Gates technique.
For an ordinary ninja, even if they could unlock their body's potential to this degree, such a strike would render them incapable of continuing the fight.
But as a medical ninja, Shinnō relied on his self-developed medical forbidden techniques to perfectly bypass these side effects.
Yet, despite seemingly dealing with the monster, Shinnō's expression remained grim. From within the thin mist over the sea, several faint figures began to emerge.
"Looks like I've encountered an unexpected situation."
Shinno stood shirtless, his entire body drenched, and his chakra surging intensely. It was clear he had just been in a fierce battle with someone—or something.
A huge black shadow rose from below, lifting Kagetsu high into the air amidst the surprised and ominous gazes of Kakuzu and Shinno.
A faint buzzing sound came from the monster's body, emerging through its mouth, carrying a sense of grievance that could be felt by anyone nearby.
"Alright, alright," Kagetsu crouched down, soothing the distressed insect. After checking its body, he found everything to be normal. Official source is novel⦿fire.net
It might have taken some damage from Shinno's hands, but there were no serious injuries.
Of course, this could also be because the insect's vitality was incredibly strong, making it hard to receive any injuries that could severely harm it.
After all these years of nurturing and refining it, the insect's vitality had reached a level that even Kagetsu found somewhat tricky to deal with.
"There's a city over there!" Anko quickly climbed up, following the insect's body that had risen above the water's surface. She shaded her eyes with her hand, gazing at the enormous black shadow in the distance. Among the shadow, a small part of it was a giant stone-carved face.
Once the location of the Land of Sky!
It was a giant, mobile fortress capable of floating in the sky!
"What should we do?" Kakuzu asked, keeping his distance from the insect, while watching Shinno. "Should we cut off his limbs and slowly extract information? Or just eliminate it right here?"
For him, the mission was the priority. Only by completing the mission could some of the debts he owed be paid off.
As for using his own savings to repay his debts, Kakuzu was strongly against the idea, even if Kagetsu would accept.
That money... it was his lifeblood!
Counting money late at night and watching his wealth grow was one of the few joys left in his otherwise dull and lengthy life.
"I'll hand over the Third Raikage's body to you. Our battle will end here, is that acceptable?" Shinno took out a scroll from his body, raising it high in his hand and shouting at Kagetsu.
Since the four had chased after them, it was clear that Shinno's previous forces had been wiped out. Shinno harbored deep caution toward the Uchiha.
That kind of chakra giant was enough to send a chill down even his spine. If possible, he didn't want to continue fighting Kagetsu and the others.
"Where is Zero-Tail and the city behind you?" Kagetsu pointed at the massive structure that was slowly emerging from the sea mist.
Shinnō's face instantly turned dark with displeasure.
Zero-Tail and Ancor Vantian were two indispensable foundations for achieving his ambitions. Losing either of them would cause his ambitions to fall apart.
Unless he was cornered with no way out, he could not accept this at all.
"Since that's the case, I'll just have to let you see the true terror of Zero-Tail!"
Shinnō did not want to hand over both Zero-Tail and Ancor Vantian; at least, he didn't feel like he had reached the end of his rope yet.
He tore the pad of his finger against his teeth. Fresh red blood began to drip down his hand. Shinnō quickly smeared the blood along his fingers, forming seals, then slammed his hands down onto the surface of the sea.
The symbols spread out across the sea like a spider's web, rapidly expanding in all directions. A huge black shadow, accompanied by white smoke, appeared.
An overwhelming aura of evil, gloom, and an oppressive, dense chakra filled the surroundings, making everyone's hair stand on end.
"Hey, hey, hey! Is this Zero-Tail?" Kakuzu, standing nearby, stared at the black creature that appeared before them, his eyes widening in shock.
It was a black, serpent-like monster with a coiling body. Its head had a masked face, and on its forehead was the large character for "Zero." A sinister black aura surrounded its body, with chakra radiating an icy coldness and despair.
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