EBE Chapter 872 Relaxation
Chapter 872 Relaxation
This did not ease his mind; instead, it deepened his suspicions. The young man who called himself Uchiha, although his chakra exuded an extremely cold aura, reacted far too slowly to the Dust Release technique, as if he were simply standing there waiting to be killed.
"Could it be a clone? Or some kind of sophisticated illusion?"
Onoki dared not be careless. He formed hand seals and closed his eyes. He had not only inherited the Dust Release technique of the Second Tsuchikage, Mu, but also mastered that high-level sensory ninjutsu with an extremely wide coverage area. Invisible sensory ripples spread rapidly outwards from him, penetrating every inch of land and every breath of air.
One kilometer, two kilometers, five kilometers...
Within the range of perception, apart from the frightened wild beasts fleeing in the forest, there were no other human chakra reactions. Zhang Hai's aura had indeed completely vanished from this world, leaving not even a trace.
"Is he really dead?" Onoki opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping across the empty space, the inexplicable unease in his heart lingering. As a Kage who had lived through the war-torn era, his intuition had saved his life countless times.
However, reason told him that he couldn't waste any more time here. Kannabi Bridge was the lifeline of Iwagakure on the battlefield in the Land of Grass. If it fell, the logistical support for thousands of ninjas on the front lines would be cut off, and Iwagakure would repeat the mistakes of the Second Shinobi World War, a price he absolutely could not afford.
"Hmph, you pretentious brat. Before Dust Release, all are equal." Onoki forcibly suppressed his unease, snorted coldly, and his body transformed into a blur as he sped towards the direction of Kannabi Bridge. The current situation did not allow him to delay the defense of this strategic location for the sake of a dead man.
As Onoki's figure disappeared into the horizon, the forest ravaged by Dust Release fell silent once more. The wind whistled through the smooth, deep pit.
One minute, two minutes, ten minutes...
Once it was confirmed that Onoki's presence had completely disappeared, a strange ripple suddenly appeared in the previously empty void. The space rippled like the surface of water, and then, a figure materialized out of thin air and crashed heavily to the ground.
"Cough...cough..."
Zhang Hai knelt on the ground, breathing heavily, each breath like the strain of a broken bellows. His once stern face was now as pale as paper, and even more horrifying were his eyes—his crimson Sharingan eyes were now dull and lifeless, and two shocking lines of bloody tears slid down the corners of his eyes, dripping onto the dry dust.
His vision was a blurry, blood-red blur; his rapidly deteriorating eyesight made it almost impossible for him to see what was in front of him.
"Damn it... Dust Release really lives up to its name. If it weren't for 'Reversal,' I would have really turned into atoms just now." Zhang Hai raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, feeling the massive depletion of chakra in his body, and felt a wave of fear.
Just as the Dust Release barrier was about to hit him, he didn't choose to dodge or use Susanoo to withstand it, because he knew that such defenses were meaningless against Dust Release. He activated the unique eye technique of his Mangekyou Sharingan—"Reverse".
This technique doesn't involve rewriting reality to escape death like Izanagi, but rather forcibly rewinds "time" within a very small area around the user. In the instant he is broken down into atoms, he reverses his physical state to the few seconds before he was hit, and uses this time difference to place himself in a brief temporal rift.
This is a theft of the rules of time, and the price is terrible. Not only does it consume a lot of pupil power, causing permanent damage to eyesight, but the body also suffers a huge burden from the misalignment of the flow of time.
But he must do it.
Zhang Hai struggled to his feet, leaning against a surviving tree trunk, his gaze coldly fixed on a patch of shadow not far away. There seemed to be nothing there, but in his perception, the feeling of being watched had never disappeared.
"If we don't pay this price to create the illusion of certain death, how can we fool that monster who has lived for thousands of years..." He sneered inwardly.
Even before encountering Onoki, he had keenly sensed Black Zetsu's presence. That cunning fellow, like a rat in the gutter, had been observing everything from the shadows. Simply escaping from Onoki would inevitably arouse Black Zetsu's suspicion, and might even attract the direct attention of Madara Uchiha.
Although Zhang Hai now possesses the Mangekyou Sharingan, he doesn't want to be exposed to Madara's vision too early and become a pawn or fodder for the Eye of the Moon Project.
"Only the dead are forgotten," Zhang Hai muttered to himself.
He checked his ninja tool pouch, mentally assessing his current fighting strength. Although his eye power was severely damaged, he still possessed a formidable array of trump cards: Sasori's main puppet, Kakuzu's puppet wielding the Earth Grudge Fear technique, and the strongest Third Kazekage puppet.
"With the combined strength of these three puppets, plus my intelligence, even against the old and frail Uchiha Madara who can only cling to life with the help of the Gedo Mazo, I am not without the power to fight."
A ruthless glint flashed in Zhang Hai's eyes, but he knew now was not the time to turn hostile. He was lying low, preparing for a more lethal strike.
He took another deep breath, enduring the excruciating pain in his body, and activated the Body Flicker Technique. His figure vanished into the depths of the dense forest in a twist, leaving no trace, as if he had truly been reduced to ashes in the Dust Escape technique.
Shortly after Zhang Hai left, two huge pitcher plant leaves slowly opened on the trunk of a large tree not far away.
A half-black, half-white figure emerged from the tree trunk; it was Jue.
"Wow, that's terrifying!" White Zetsu exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, his half-face contorted with an exaggerated expression. "That old man's Dust Release technique is truly terrifying! That kid named Zhang Hai was gone in an instant! Not even a trace remained. It seems he's really dead."
Compared to White Zetsu's frivolousness, the other half of his black face appeared exceptionally gloomy. Black Zetsu's yellow eye was fixed on the spot where Zhang Hai had just disappeared and resurrected, his gaze filled with scrutiny and suspicion.
"Is he dead..." Black Zetsu's hoarse voice rang out in a low voice, as if it were a whisper from hell.
“He’s definitely dead!” White Zetsu shrugged. “I saw it clearly. The chakra reaction completely disappeared. How could he possibly survive in that situation? Unless he’s a ghost.”
“Something’s not right.” Black Zetsu ignored White Zetsu’s chatter, the strange feeling in his heart lingering. “It was too easy. Even if an Uchiha with the Mangekyou Sharingan was no match for Onoki, he shouldn’t have died so easily. Just a moment ago, I seemed to sense a… extremely faint fluctuation in time.”