Chapter 193: Face-to-Face with a Tailed Beast Bomb! A Double Reversal and Zero-Tails' Mutation!
A fierce storm erupted with a deafening roar!
The authentic Tailed Beast Bomb's immense recoil shattered the already-cracked ground beneath Kushina into dust, carving out a massive trench three meters wide and thirty meters long as she was flung backward.
In exchange for this destruction came an unparalleled, terrifying force!
Uchiha Ci, cloaked in a half-Tailed Beast transformation, was mid-air for just an instant before the Tailed Beast Bomb smashed directly into his face, flattening him like a piece of naan bread. Experiencing the shape and temperature of a Tailed Beast Bomb firsthand—what could that even feel like?
Uchiha Ci could tell you responsibly:
It's hot!
Hotter than the thousand-degree temperatures generated by the Fire Release Chakra Mode!
Moreover, the bomb's spherical surface created an intense wind layer due to the impact, exerting such pressure that even his full strength couldn't break free.
He was completely flattened by the massive wind pressure, like a spider hammered until it was mangled and smeared all over the surface.
And then came the "push-back" sensation—
Incredible!
Absolutely incredible!
It felt like strapping a Ferrari engine onto an old second-hand compact car.
Unfortunately, the experience lasted only three seconds before the Tailed Beast Bomb blasted Uchiha Ci into the barrier surrounding Konoha's Third Training Ground.
"Pfft! Urgh!"
The double impact made Uchiha Ci's eyes widen as he spat out a mouthful of blood. The Tailed Beast Bomb, like a soccer ball violently launched into a net, dented the Konoha barrier outward by tens of meters before shattering it entirely. Its momentum remained unchecked, launching Uchiha Ci another 800 meters and slamming him into the Forest of Death.
Before he could experience the bomb's point of explosion, Uchiha Ci had already been obliterated into ashes during the brief yet seemingly eternal sequence.
From afar, the Forest of Death erupted.
Boom!
A mushroom cloud larger than the Phantom Dog Cannon Uchiha Ci had previously created soared into the sky.
"Haah..."
Kushina exhaled a long, sharp breath, which condensed into a plume of white smoke. As the shockwave subsided, she saw no trace of the hateful brat who had stolen her beloved Minato—just fireworks.
Under the Nine-Tails' rage-fueled control, Kushina's instincts screamed to destroy even more. But as she looked up, the sight before her made her freeze completely.
Through the gaping hole in the Third Training Ground's barrier, near the edge of the Forest of Death,
a boy stood.
He twisted his neck casually, as if nothing had happened, dusting himself off. Despite his smile, pain was evident on his face.
Raising his head suddenly, his eerie, crimson double-tomoe Sharingan eyes met hers directly.
"What a great move!"
"But—"
"You beast! My suffering exceeds yours! Aaaahhhh!!"
Uchiha Ci roared as he widened his eyes.
In an instant:
Genjutsu: Sharingan!
Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change!
Activated!
The pain from the Earth Clone's explosion—like being crushed repeatedly by a dump truck, bones shattering, flesh torn, doused with chili water, then roasted, only to have fingernails ripped off one by one—was meticulously recorded by Uchiha Ci.
He transformed that agony into a Sharingan illusion and inflicted it on himself once more, only to transfer it all to the Nine-Tails' consciousness through Mirror Heaven and Earth Change!
In an instant—
"Roar! Aaahhh!!"
"I'll kill you! Kill you!"
"Uchiha Ci!!"
The Nine-Tails, now sharing his torment, let out blood-curdling screams. It writhed on the ground, claws carving deep trenches, eight tails spinning wildly like fans and thrashing everything around into ruin.
It was in utter agony.
Seeing this, Uchiha Ci broke into a wide grin. For the first time in half a month, his blood boiled with excitement from battling a powerful opponent. A flood of dark, twisted emotions rose within him.
In this intense clash, Uchiha Ci regained his proper Uchiha state of mind.
Clutching his forehead, he let out a maniacal laugh.
"Hahaha! Hahahahaha!"
"Nine-Tails, do you feel my pain now?"
"Yes, that's it!"
"Hate me! Resent me! Show me that grotesque expression that brings me joy!"
"Hahahaha!"
"Though you claim to embody infinite negative emotions and have tasted all the world's pain,"
"To me, that's still far from enough!"
"Far from enough!"
Uchiha Ci's eyes widened in ferocity as he tilted his head back and shouted arrogantly:
"You beast—you're still missing a leash!"
"And I will be the master who tames you!"
"Now then, surrender to—"
Before he could finish, the Nine-Tails had already regained its senses by shaking off the illusion through Kushina's consciousness. Rising once more, the first thing it did was gather another Tailed Beast Bomb right in front of its mouth, this time aimed directly at the real Uchiha Ci.
"Die!"
"Die!"
"I'll kill you! Kill you, you wretched Uchiha brat!"
Seeing this, Uchiha Ci swallowed hard, choking back the rest of his sentence. Without hesitation, he turned and bolted through the hole in the barrier, dashing into the Forest of Death.
Though he talked big, Uchiha Ci knew full well that he was no match for the Nine-Tails.
Even half of the Nine-Tails could take on the combined might of the One through Eight-Tails. With his current strength—slightly weaker than an average Jinchūriki—he was nothing more than a light snack for the Nine-Tails.
Recalling Minato's resigned words from earlier:
"Although your methods are reckless, the outcome is what matters."
"Ci, I'm counting on you this time."
"Given the current situation, Kushina is about to grow her ninth tail and fully release the Nine-Tails. Once that happens, the seal will be completely undone, and there will be no turning back."
"So, for the village and for Kushina, we must save her here and now!"
"I need you, Ci, to create an opening for me."
"An opening that will let me reach Kushina!"
Back in the present, Uchiha Ci raced into the Forest of Death without stopping.
Although tasked with creating an opportunity for Minato, he had no concrete plan yet.
For now, his only choice was to run as if in a battle royale. He pushed his Cursed Seal state to its limit, enhancing his legs and maximizing his speed.
The complex terrain of the Forest of Death was unfamiliar to Uchiha Ci, so he couldn't use it to hinder the rampaging Kushina. Instead, he chose the most straightforward path—the 800-meter trail blasted open by the Nine-Tails' earlier Tailed Beast Bomb.
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
At this moment, his priority was to lead the Nine-Tails away from the village.
As Uchiha Ci ran along this path, the chaotic mix of elements inside him suddenly resonated with something in the lingering remnants of Nine-Tails Chakra in the air.
Sealed within his abdomen, Zero-Tails jolted upright, slamming its head against the barrier of the sealing jutsu, delivering a message to Uchiha Ci:
"Cheep~ Cheep!"
Though unintelligible to others, Uchiha Ci immediately understood it as though it had been directly translated:
Hearing Zero-Tails' words, Uchiha Ci's pupils contracted sharply.
"What did you say?"
"You can absorb the malice within the Nine-Tails' dispersed Chakra in the air?!"