Shen Nong's figure instantly appeared beside Lin Yu, startling Shisui, who was standing nearby, with such speed!
He was a completely different person from the Shen Nong before. Was this the power of all eight gates open?
"Bone Shattering Fist!"
The surrounding light seemed to be intimidated by this punch. A circle of black chakra wrapped around Shen Nong's fist, and with a whistling sound through the air, a single strike directly hit Lin Yu's chest.
The fierce force embedded Lin Yu into the wall. Debris slid down, and dust billowed.
"Teacher Lin Yu..."
Before Shisui could observe Lin Yu's condition, his left cheek suddenly stung from the wind. In his peripheral vision, he saw a massive fist swinging towards him. Shisui immediately used Shunshin to dodge.
Boom!
The ground was smashed into a small pit. Shisui reappeared not far away, his brow furrowed. With his three-tomoe Sharingan, he could see through this speed. He shouldn't have been able to hit Teacher Lin Yu.
"Hey, this base is mine now. Don't break my property, okay?"
As Shisui had predicted, Lin Yu walked over, unharmed, and patted his black robe. "Is this the power of all eight gates open? I thought I'd give you the title of strongest, but it seems the weakest of the eight gates suits you better."
"You dare to underestimate me! You have no idea what true power is!"
Shen Nong's pupils dilated. Countless dark chakra surged from the tentacles behind him. Shen Nong's muscles bulged again, making him look more and more like a monster.
"Ninjutsu: Super化神拳!"
Shen Nong condensed a ball of dark chakra in his palm, forming a particle-like sphere of chakra, which roared towards Lin Yu.
"Die!"
Lin Yu clapped his hands together and said softly, "Wood Style: Rankui no Jutsu!"
A wooden shield resembling a fanged ghoul's face appeared before Lin Yu. Shen Nong sneered, "You think a broken wooden shield can block me? Watch me smash it!"
Bang!
Shen Nong slammed the black sphere into the wooden shield. An unparalleled explosion sounded. The shockwave generated by both even made Shisui squint his eyes. This Super化神拳 was no ordinary power!
However…
As the smoke and dust in the air dispersed, Shen Nong looked at the undamaged wooden shield before him. His mind went blank for a second. His strongest ninjutsu couldn't even break a mere wooden shield?
How was this possible!
Shen Nong refused to believe it. He condensed another black particle sphere in his left hand and smashed it onto the wooden shield. The collision echoed all around, but there wasn't even a scratch on the shield. For the first time, Shen Nong doubted the power he had gained.
Was he dreaming?
Lin Yu removed the Rankui no Jutsu and said dismissively, "Even Madara's wood shield can't be cut. How could someone with your secondhand eight gates break it?"
Shen Nong roared, "Impossible! I don't believe it! I have gained invincible power! It must be because the ninjutsu is not fully developed yet. Yes, that's it!"
"It's all your fault! If I had perfected the forbidden jutsu, I would have obtained ultimate power!"
Shen Nong's expression was manic; he simply refused to believe what he was seeing.
It was indeed difficult for him. He was originally a mid-tier mini-boss, but he encountered a top-tier expert who had stopped at the final stage and was visiting the beginner village to buy equipment. This was akin to offering himself up for slaughter!
"Do you have any other tricks? If not, I'll be taking over this Fortress of Anshandi."
"Wait, wait! I can give you the forbidden jutsu I've researched for many years. Please spare my life."
Shen Nong retreated repeatedly, trying to distract Lin Yu and Shisui. But how could Shisui let him succeed? He used Shunshin to appear behind Shen Nong, drew the katana from his back, and was about to end him.
Suddenly, the tentacles connected to Shen Nong's back severed their connection and wrapped around Shisui, who was standing behind him. Shen Nong seized the opportunity, pressed a switch on a pillar, and fell into a mechanism.
"Hehehe! All of you will die now!"
Shisui cursed himself for being careless. As he tried to cut through the tentacles gripping him, he found his chakra being constantly absorbed, making his limbs weak.
However, in just an instant, lightning flashed before Shisui's eyes. The tentacles that bound him were severed and retracted into the wall, disappearing.
Lin Yu asked with mild interest, "How was it? Felt good?"
"Huh?"
Shisui was confused, but Teacher Lin Yu was likely asking about the speed of chakra absorption. After a moment of thought, he replied, "Very fast, and the amount absorbed seems to have no upper limit."
"No upper limit? Then I must see it for myself." Lin Yu's lips curled into a smile.
"Let's go, follow him!"
Lin Yu activated Kagura Shingan, sensed for a moment, and then led Shisui through another passage to pursue him.
Before long, the two arrived at a place with runes carved on the walls. The walls were covered with countless tentacle-like pipes, similar to the one on Shen Nong's body earlier. The source of the tentacles was a giant, wriggling creature wrapped in a transparent sac, with a zero on its forehead.
This was the Zero-Tails that Shen Nong had revived over the years using scrolls stolen from Konoha. However, the Zero-Tails was small at the moment, seemingly malnourished, and could not compare to the size of a Tailed Beast at all.
"You actually followed me all the way here. I admire your courage!" Shen Nong stood before the Zero-Tails, admiring his creation with fascination.
"Uchiha: Sword Leap Flame!"
Shisui drew his katana and was about to "enchant" it when he found the chakra he had condensed being absorbed by the Zero-Tails in the center of the area. His expression changed slightly.
"Did you notice? This is where the Zero-Tails absorbs and converts energy. Any ninjutsu here is ineffective; it will all become food for the Zero-Tails and eventually power for Ankbandian!"
Then, Lin Yu and Shisui felt the ground tremble as if something was about to break through the earth. A centrifugal force arose, and the two exchanged glances.
The fortress was flying!
"This will be your grave!" Shen Nong formed a hand seal, and countless tentacles flew out from the sac, wrapping around him and slowly pulling him into the Zero-Tails' body.
"Teacher Lin Yu, what should we do?"
If they couldn't use ninjutsu, Teacher Lin Yu's combat power would be greatly reduced. This was very bad news.
However, before Lin Yu could reply, the Zero-Tails in the sac suddenly extended countless arm-like tentacles towards the two. Shisui quickly dodged, his katana constantly slashing at the tentacles.
But the limited space and the sheer number of tentacles meant that no matter how fast Shisui was, he was overwhelmed. His body was tightly gripped by the tentacles, and his chakra was continuously being absorbed, making his face grim.
Should he use Mangekyo? Susanoo should be able to break through.
Just as Shisui was about to activate his Mangekyo, Lin Yu, who had been caught by the tentacles without even struggling, spoke.
"Let me handle this, Shisui. Don't move."
Shisui's eyes returned to their black color. He trusted Teacher Lin Yu immensely, but he hoped Teacher Lin Yu could hurry. Being drained of chakra was not a pleasant feeling.
"You want to absorb my chakra? Then absorb more! Don't ever give it back to me!"
Lin Yu's aura shifted, and his chakra surged. With his perfect Sage Mode, his chakra was practically inexhaustible. He emitted a dazzling blue light, the state of overflowing chakra.
"Do you need me to do it?"
"Scram! Go play in the mud!"
"Hmph~"
Kurama, sealed within, let out an arrogant snort. It disdained this creature calling itself the Zero-Tails.
Its chakra reserves were not even comparable to Shukaku, the weakest of them all.
Hmph, uninteresting human!