The wind howled past their ears, and time seemed to stretch on interminably at that moment.
As the sensation of falling ceased, Tong opened her eyes again, only to come face to face with the rigid and expressionless visage of the Stone Man.
But before fear could seize her heart, the Stone Man's face receded once more. Tong could only watch helplessly as the ground grew increasingly distant from her. Her fingers clutching at Uchiha Ryo's collar had gone numb from the successive shocks.
Uchiha Ryo could sense Tong's stiffness, but he didn't have the energy to care about her state of mind at the moment. After leaping from the eaves, he stepped on the shoulders or heads of numerous Stone Men and rushed out at breakneck speed.
Although there were advantages to fighting in a confined space, when dealing with an enemy that could constantly regenerate and whose weaknesses were unclear, it was better to choose an open area. Moreover, with a child in his arms, playing defense would be too passive.
[Since lightning is an attribute specialized for close combat, does that mean I can only use wind and fire? Well, no. Fire - based jutsu require hand seals, and I'm not very proficient in single - hand hand seals yet. Given that the margin for error in this situation is too small, it seems I can only use wind - based jutsu.]
Having settled on a battle plan, Uchiha Ryo exerted force with his feet. His chakra exploded, crushing the Stone Man's head. After several Ascensions and Falls, he finally touched solid ground.
Just as the forefoot of his left foot landed, Uchiha Ryo channeled chakra to steady his body. He spun half of his body around with the foot as the pivot. His right hand holding the sword bent to gather strength and then swung out as his body turned.
In an instant, the cyan wind blade detached from the blade, easily slicing through the Stone Man in front. The falling stones hit the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust along with the sound of the stones colliding.
"It seems I can use even less chakra," Uchiha Ryo casually twirled his sword and lightly tapped the blade tip on the ground. "Hmm... I still can only sense the stones. This is really an unfriendly battle."
While Uchiha Ryo was starting his battle, the situation faced by the Senju and Uzumaki clans was even more perilous.
The evil spirits released from the seal roared and howled but were whipped back to their original position again and again by the golden chains.
Looking closely, the imposing chains extended from behind Uzumaki Mokudatsu and Uzumaki Zhi. However, the chains behind Uzumaki Zhi were clearly thinner than those behind Uzumaki Mokudatsu, and his face was paler.
On the other side, Senju Bai Mo and Senju She Lin firmly protected Hiiragi Kagami in front of them. Although their bodies were far smaller than those of the evil spirits, they stood their ground like rocks in the sea during the Gitai combat where punches land solidly.
Hiiragi Kagami, protected by the two behind them, was only occasionally disturbed by the gusts of wind generated by the collisions between the two sides.
Watching the Sealing Tag gradually activate, the evil spirits grew more and more agitated. "Damn Witches! Why the hell won't you accept my Strength? If you do, no one in this world can stand against us!"
"I'll never accept your evil Strength!" Hiiragi Kagami said with a solemn expression. As the spell unfolded, layers of air waves spread out from her body. "Let this ominous Strength sink into eternal slumber in this volcano along with this seal! Everyone! Please drag the evil spirits into the [Sealing Tag]!"
"Is it finally over?" Uzumaki Zhi looked pale. The chains extending from his back sprouted sharp spears and stabbed fiercely into the evil spirits' body amidst their screams. "If this battle had continued any longer, I would have run out of chakra..."
On the other side, the number of chains behind Uzumaki Mokudatsu doubled, but his expression remained normal. "Hold on a little longer. I'll take care of all the subsequent activation of the spells."
"I was going to hand it all over to you anyway..." Uzumaki Zhi was listless. "Next time I have to deal with this kind of giant chakra creature, I'll definitely be in my best condition. This is so tiring."
"Okay, concentrate!"
The moment those words fell, all the [golden chains] that had pierced the evil spirits' body tightened. No matter how hard the evil spirits struggled, they couldn't budge an inch. They could only be dragged towards the [Sealing Tag] that Hiiragi Kagami had activated while roaring helplessly.
The huge body of the evil spirits began to twist the moment it touched the [Sealing Jutsu]. Knowing it had no more chance, the evil spirits turned all its heads towards Hiiragi Kagami. Its scarlet eyes were full of Malice. "I'll come back.
You know, you can't destroy me. Even if you seal me, I'll only get stronger! But you can't guarantee that your descendants will be as powerful as you, and you definitely won't always have such powerful ninja to help you!
Witch! The fate of your lineage has already been decided. No matter how powerful your prophecy is, you will eventually decline in—"
As the spell was fully activated, the voice of the evil spirits suddenly stopped, and its figure completely disappeared in this cave.
The chains behind Uzumaki Zhi all vanished. His legs gave way, and he knelt on the ground. His expression showed a sense of relief. "Finally it's over..."
"You're such a wimp!" Senju Bai Mo looked disgusted. "Look at Mokudatsu, and then look at you. We've all been busy for three days, but you kneel down so easily. I'm embarrassed for you."
Uzumaki Zhi sat cross - legged on the ground, took out some [Military Rations Pill] and ate a few. His expression was a bit dejected. "Mokudatsu was born with more chakra than me... And after three days of continuously carving spells without a break and then immediately engaging in such a high - intensity battle, anyone would be tired."
Senju She Lin watched as the chains behind Uzumaki Mokudatsu inserted one by one into the activation points of the spells on the rock wall and let out a sigh of relief. "Fortunately, we reinforced the rock wall at the beginning. Otherwise, we might have been buried by the falling sand and stones during the battle."
"True. You know, the hits from these evil spirits really hurt." Senju Bai Mo covered his back and just felt uncomfortable. After a while, he finally couldn't help but lift up his clothes with his back to Senju She Lin. "Hey, She Lin, help me take a look. Is it bruised?"
Senju She Lin took a look and nodded honestly. "It's bruised and starting to swell."
"I knew I felt so uncomfortable... Ouch! Is the bone okay?"
Senju She Lin helped up Hiiragi Kagami, who was a bit weak. "It doesn't look dislocated or broken. You'll be okay after lying in bed for a couple of days when we get back."
Senju Bai Mo then put down his clothes and looked at Uzumaki Mokudatsu, who was gradually activating the [spell]. "Now we just have to wait for Mokudatsu to finish. Damn it! Those two Uchiha guys got off easy. Should we give them some trouble on our way back?"
Although Senju She Lin hated the Uchiha clan, he didn't agree with Senju Bai Mo's idea at this time. "Do you think the two of us, who have been busy for several days, can deal with that troublesome blind guy and that annoying - faced one? You're really confident in your own strength."
"Damn it, you're right." Senju Bai Mo scratched the back of his head irritably and whispered a swear word. "It's so annoying."
As the Witch successfully sealed the [evil spirits], far away in the Witch's Palace, Uchiha Ryo swung his sword into the empty air. Listening to the rustling sound of the powder falling by his ears, Ryo curled his lips into a smile and held his sword more casually. "Oh my... They are really reliable opponents."