novelzi 151. Kiyomi’s Susanoo Versus the Desert Brigades
151. Kiyomi’s Susanoo Versus the Desert Brigades
151. Kiyomi’s Susanoo Versus the Desert Brigades
On another portion of the battlefield, Kiyomi Uchiha stood as a formidable force, her presence marked by the towering shadow of her large black Susanoo.
This colossal avatar of chakra manifested in a daunting, spectral form that towered over the chaos of battle.
With every movement, Kiyomi's Susanoo unleashed devastating blows, its massive arms swinging with such force that each strike seemed to ripple through the air.
The ground trembled under its power as it pummeled the Sunagakure shinobi, who dared to come close.
Her Susanoo's fists descended like meteorites, crushing anything in their path. They sent shockwaves across the battlefield, throwing enemies off their feet and shattering their formations.
Nearby Uchiha clan members coordinated their attacks with Kiyomi, but it was clear she was the centerpiece of their assault.
Her Susanoo acted as both shield and spear, protecting her allies while decimating the opposition's ranks, illustrating the fearsome capability of a fully awakened Mangekyo Sharingan.
As Kiyomi stood her ground amidst the onslaught, Susanoo's evolved form allowed her mobility, making it difficult for Sunagakure's fighters to initially exploit any weaknesses, at least in the short term.
The sheer size and the more complete form of her Susanoo, which she recently mastered, acted as a formidable barrier, also nullifying potential hypothetical attacks from below that would have been possible against a less developed manifestation of the Susanoo that lacked legs on them, she also initially had before mastering this one after multiple hard battles and longer utilization of it.
Despite being outnumbered, Kiyomi's Susanoo, now fully developed with both newfound flesh and skin and skeletal layers that unlocked during her previous evolution, including its also newly mastered legs manifestation, gave her enhanced mobility and a more formidable presence on the battlefield, not due to its increased size, but the ability to move and even run everywhere in that gigantic form.
However, unlike Fugaku, who could afford sporadic activations of his Susanoo, on another part of the front, thanks to strategic conservations of his strength, his supporting type special Mangekyo ability allowed him, Kiyomi was compelled to maintain hers continuously.
Engaged directly in the thick of battle, without those 'amplified' Uchiha members around her that Fugaku had, she could not risk deactivating her Susanoo like him, even momentarily.
This constant activation significantly drains her chakra and strains her Sharingan, but it is a necessary trade-off to handle the relentless assaults from Sunagakure's numerous fighters and prevent attacks from unexpected angles, especially from below—a vulnerability of earlier Susanoo forms.
Its gigantic legs could still be trapped if she was not careful, and that was one of its biggest weaknesses currently, in her estimation, as well.
Kiyomi grimaced as Sunagakure's distinct brigades relentlessly attacked and formed inside the giant, tangible chakra mass of her menacing Susanoo.
As she parried and countered, the question loomed in her mind, 'Might I also need to unleash one of my special Mangekyo abilities today in front of the entire world?', She obviously didn't want to do that previously,
However, this thought was punctuated by the diverse tactics of Sunagakure's forces now, a reflection of their nomadic roots, which never fully evolved into clan structures like those in other lands.
Instead, these shinobi had mostly honed three specific jutsu styles that now converged in the brigades facing her.
The Binder Brigade, masters of the cloth-binding jutsu, swarmed around her, launching ribbons of cloth that acted like additional limbs.
These cloths were not only flexible but could be hardened to steel-like density, allowing them to bind and restrict even the movements of Kiyomi's formidable Susanoo, especially its limbs, temporarily.
The cloth weaved through the air, attempting to envelop her in sealing formulas that aimed to suppress her chakra and movement drastically. This drained her more and more.
Simultaneously, the Puppet Brigade engaged with their meticulously crafted wooden and metal puppets. These puppets, controlled by fine chakra strings manipulated by the puppeteers' skilled fingers, attacked from a distance.
They were armed with hidden blades, laced with deadly poisons, and traps designed to ensnare or incapacitate their targets.
The puppeteers, leveraging their expertise in fuinjutsu, attempted to outmaneuver Kiyomi's Susanoo with their complex and lethal contraptions.
Meanwhile, the Tempest Brigade wielded their giant war fans, channeling wind chakra to stir massive air currents capable of matching the Susanoo's raw power.
Their fans, conduits of their wind nature, allowed them to launch powerful gusts over great distances, transforming the battlefield into a storm of relentless wind assaults.
Members of this brigade, including those with the right to summon weasels wielding sickles, enhanced their wind techniques to grind the surrounding earth to dust, creating blinding sandstorms that sought to obscure Kiyomi's vision and weaken her defensive positioning.
Chiyo was a master puppeteer and a direct successor to the legendary Monzaemon Chikamatsu, who revolutionized puppetry in the ninja world.
She wielded the White Secret Technique: The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets, a set of highly advanced combat puppets that Monzaemon himself had crafted.
Each puppet was capable of extraordinary feats in taijutsu, ninjutsu, and bukijutsu, and their ability to combine and transform added layers of unpredictability and power to their attacks.
As Chiyo controlled her ten puppets seamlessly, they descended upon Kiyomi's Susanoo.
Their combined assault was a spectacle of coordinated strikes and defenses, their movements synchronized to exploit every weakness exposed by the earlier assaults from Jurota and the brigades.
Kiyomi, caught off-guard by the sudden and intense onslaught, found herself on the defensive, her chakra reserves dwindling as she attempted to fend off the relentless puppet attack.
On the battlefield below, Ebizo watched the aerial assault with a calculated gaze, his expression unreadable yet tinged with a cold intensity.
As the architect of this elaborate strategy, he took pride in the precision with which the Sunagakure forces executed their plan, cornering one of Konoha's formidable combatants, the young Uchiha prodigy, Kiyomi.
From his vantage point, he observed the unfolding chaos, noting each move and countermove.
His mind raced with possibilities and contingencies, anticipating Kiyomi's potential responses now that her Susanoo had been temporarily compromised.
Ebizo knew that a ninja of Kiyomi's caliber would not be easily defeated, and she likely had more techniques at her disposal.
After all, thanks to his position and age, he knew a little bit about the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan.
Meanwhile, up in the air, Kiyomi, peering through the crack in her Susanoo, spotted the approaching swarm of advanced puppets. Anger flashed across her face as she gritted her teeth,
"Damn, granny, you've pushed me too far. Now you're going to pay—I'll decimate you directly in one blow then!",
Blood dripped from beneath one of her Mangekyo Sharingan, signaling her readiness to deploy one of her two advanced abilities.
Kiyomi knew that this attack could perhaps annihilate the elderly puppeteer from existence instantly, even behind her ten advanced puppets.
However, it would severely drain her energy and further damage her eyesight—a secret she guarded closely, understanding the steep costs of her own advanced Sharingan's powers.
However, just as she prepared to leave her Susanoo slightly and deliver the potentially pulverizing strike, her eyes widened in shock.
Before her, a massive vortex of churning wind and raw chakra energy erupted into existence.
The vortex's radius spanned dozens of meters, engulfing the airborne battlefield with its ferocious power.
Chiyo's meticulously crafted puppets were obliterated in an instant. Their wooden bodies shattered against the vortex's unrelenting force.
From within the giant swirling chaos, Chiyo herself was thrown backward, her body slamming against the battlefield below as Ebizo also barely caught her with his puppet.
Blood escaped her lips—a stark contrast to her usual poised demeanor—as she tried to regain her bearings in shock.
Amidst the destruction, Kiyomi spotted the figure responsible for this sudden turn of events. It was Hikari, his presence marked by the formidable Hyuga clan's Rotation.
His timely arrival shifted the tide dramatically. His rotation technique neutralized Chiyo's attack and her precious arsenal and safeguarded Kiyomi in a critical moment.
Kiyomi's heart pounded with a mixture of relief and renewed vigor as she watched Hikari's figure stabilize amidst the dissipating winds and propel itself toward the crack of her Susanoo. Therefore, with Hikari by her side literally, she felt a big surge of confidence.
"You finally appeared again, Hikari! What took you so long!?", However, her mouth was still 'hard'. Yet, Hikari still managed to notice relief and happiness for him in her red almond eyes.