Naruto: Eating Kaido's Azure Dragon Devil Fruit-Chapter 289: Confronting Dust Release

The other end of the battlefield.

A golden flash continuously flickered within the rear ranks of the Iwagakure forces.

Namikaze Minato pushed the Flying Thunder God Technique to its limits. Each time he appeared, the specially made kunai in his hand would accurately slice across the throat of an Iwagakure commander or Explosion Corps member.

"Over there! Stop him!"

"Too fast! We can’t pin him down!"

Chaos reigned in the Iwagakure rear. The command structure was nearly paralyzed.

"Damn it!"

The Iwagakure elite jonin, Toshinin, was both shocked and furious. He tried to use large-scale Earth Release ninjutsu to restrict Minato.

"Earth Release: Rock Lodging Collapse!"

Countless massive rocks slammed down onto the spot where Minato had just appeared.

However, Minato’s figure had already vanished, reappearing beside another Flying Thunder God kunai. A Rasengan was already formed in his hand, and he pressed it lightly against the back of an Iwa-nin.

"Urgh!"

That ninja screamed as he was sent flying.

Toshinin watched helplessly as Minato moved through the gaps in his ninjutsu as if taking a leisurely stroll, each strike achieving a definite result. A sense of powerlessness welled up inside him.

The absolute gap in speed made all his attempts at a response appear feeble and ineffective.

Across the entire battlefield, due to Minato’s active engagement, the Iwagakure rear fell into extreme disarray and panic.

In the air, Ōnoki naturally also noticed the situation in the rear and the devastation Baihu and Night Owl were wreaking on the main ground battlefield. Anxiety and anger churned in his heart.

With Kumo engaging them at full strength, Iwagakure’s gap in top-tier combat power was simply too large!

"Get lost!"

He roared angrily, disregarding chakra consumption, and formed hand signs again!

"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"

A larger, semi-transparent barrier abruptly appeared, enveloping both Jiraiya and Sora!

This time, he was clearly truly enraged, determined to eliminate these two troublesome opponents first!

Jiraiya’s expression changed drastically. At this scale, he needed to dodge immediately!

Facing the semi-transparent cubicle barrier radiating deadly disintegrating energy, Sora’s mind raced.

’With my current speed, dodging shouldn’t be a problem...’

But a thought surfaced at this moment, he wanted to try it!

Try to see if his own attack could withstand this Kekkei Tōta, hailed as "transcending Kekkei Genkai"!

Just as this thought flashed through Sora’s mind.

Beside him, Jiraiya, relying on his rich experience, swiftly used a Body Flicker Technique to retreat urgently to the side and rear, narrowly avoiding the main coverage area of the Dust Release.

However, Jiraiya’s expression suddenly changed dramatically.

He realized that old man Ōnoki was still as treacherous as ever. The attack range of the Dust Release had shockingly included a small squad of Konoha ninja engaged with Iwa-nin not far behind him!

"Not good!"

Jiraiya felt a surge of panic.

If Orochimaru were here, the two of them, relying on years of tacit understanding, might have attempted to deflect the Dust Release’s trajectory with a combined ninjutsu.

But this was his first time coordinating with Sora. Achieving that kind of precise coordination was simply impossible.

’Too late!’

Gritting his teeth, Jiraiya could only shout towards Sora.

"Sora! Dodge quickly! Don’t try to block it head-on!"

His meaning was clear. Even if it meant sacrificing that squad of ninja, they absolutely must not lose Sora, a top-tier combatant.

The brutality of war sometimes required making such cold, calculated choices.

Sora naturally also saw those Konoha ninja behind him, their faces filled with despair.

He was not a saint, and he felt little sense of belonging to Konoha, but...

’They’re right here, and it looks like... I might be able to try?’

A curiosity based on an assessment of his own power, coupled with an attitude of "might as well, since I’m here," led him to a decision.

He did not obey Jiraiya’s order to retreat. Instead, he planted his feet firmly on the ground, his chest swelling abruptly.

A far more vast chakra, infused with purified natural energy, was forcibly drawn from the depths of the Dragon Vein, merging frantically with the power of the Azure Dragon Fruit!

Blistering high temperatures and destructive energy rapidly concentrated in his throat.

"Fire Breath: Grand Flame Annihilation!"

Combining the high-temperature characteristics of the Azure Dragon Fruit’s Boro Breath with the wide-area form of Fire Release: Grand Flame Annihilation, he opened his mouth and spewed forth a terrifying pillar of fire over five meters in diameter, blazing with interwoven colors of incandescent white and azure-gold!

This was no longer a simple disguise, but a true fusion of chakra and the power of the Azure Dragon Fruit!

BOOM——!!!

The blazing white pillar of fire, like a roaring dragon of flame, slammed defiantly into the Dust Release barrier radiating disintegrating force!

HISSSSS——!!!

White light and the semi-transparent barrier light madly intertwined!

The terrifying aftermath transformed into a shockwave storm, once again shearing off another layer of the surrounding ground!

Everyone held their breath, watching this scene in disbelief.

"He... he actually wants to use Fire Release to oppose Dust Release?!"

"Is he mad?!"

Yet, the result left everyone stunned.

That Dust Release barrier, capable of decomposing all matter into atoms, truly was blocked for a moment by that blazing white pillar of fire. Its forward speed noticeably slowed, and its glow dimmed considerably!

’It has an effect! But it’s not enough!’

Sora’s eyes narrowed sharply.

He could feel that while his "Fire Breath: Grand Flame Annihilation" possessed an extremely high energy level, it seemed to lack a certain "rule-based" power, preventing it from completely countering the disintegrating properties of Dust Release.

The pillar of fire was being rapidly eroded. The residual power of Dust Release continued to advance.

’Test the limits of my physical defense!’

An even bolder thought emerged.

Sora wanted to know, with his multiple states stacked, exactly what level of attack his Azure Dragon body could withstand!

With that in mind, he hesitated no longer.

The ground beneath his feet exploded violently. His figure, covered in dragon scales and a Lightning Armor, transformed into a streak of blue-green lightning. Instead of retreating, he charged forward, actively rushing towards the already-weakened but still dangerous remnants of the Dust Release!

"Super Strength: Lightning Dragon Fist!"

Sora concentrated all his body’s power into his right fist, wrapped in dazzling lightning, and threw a fierce punch straight at the semi-transparent barrier wall!

"He’s gone mad!!"

Jiraiya’s eyes widened in shock.

Ōnoki, floating in the air, watched Sora’s "suicidal" act, his face showing a flicker of surprise before turning into a cold sneer.

’Fool! Daring to touch Dust Release with your flesh!’

BOOM!!!!!

Fist and barrier collided!

Fine cracks, similar to those created by the Tremor-Tremor Fruit power, appeared in the air itself!

But the imagined scene of his arm instantly disintegrating did not occur!

The fist, covered in dragon scales and Lightning Armor, engaged in a fierce confrontation with the remnant Dust Release barrier!

ZZZZZ——!

The dragon scales on Sora’s knuckles emitted sounds of protest, unable to bear the strain. Cracks continuously appeared. The outermost scales, along with a small amount of skin and flesh, were instantly reduced to nothingness by the terrifying disintegrating force upon contact!

Excruciating pain shot through him!

But that was as far as it went!

That remnant Dust Release barrier, after being weakened by "Fire Breath: Grand Flame Annihilation" and facing Sora’s ultimate punch imbued with Super Strength and lightning, finally exhausted its energy.

It flickered a few times, then completely dissipated into the air!

He succeeded!

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