Chapter 387: Divine Art — Defying Heaven, First Form
Hearing the other party speak again, Uchiha Dali knew that Àoshiki was truly desperate now.
At the same time, he also noticed that Kyōshiki had grown even more reckless—boldly attacking his clones right before his eyes.
Although his clones possessed the same strength as his true body, they could not absorb energy in his place.
That put Uchiha Dali at a disadvantage in this fight, as if he were merely paving the way for Kyōshiki's rise.
Finally, Uchiha Dali gave up on continuing his battle against Àoshiki.
After all, the two of them couldn't determine a winner anytime soon.
He cast a deep look at Àoshiki. "It seems you still have a bit of sincerity left. How about I give you a choice?"
"What choice?"
Àoshiki immediately grew wary.
Instinctively, he glanced toward Kyōshiki in the distance.
He had already guessed that Uchiha Dali must be scheming something.
Sure enough, Uchiha Dali smirked playfully. "I've heard about the grudge between you two brothers. Since your enemy is right before you, why not settle your own feud first?"
"Until the two of you have decided a winner, I promise not to interfere."
"Once your duel is over, I'll face the victor in a fair fight to settle our own score."
This was Uchiha Dali's greatest concession.
He didn't want Àoshiki to continue growing stronger, but neither did he wish for Kyōshiki to dominate unchecked.
Àoshiki hesitated briefly.
Watching as Kyōshiki devoured his clones one after another and grew stronger with each moment, he finally made up his mind.
"Fine! Recall your clones for now!"
"I'll deal with Kyōshiki first. After that, we'll settle our business."
With that, he turned and flew toward Kyōshiki.
Of course, he remained on guard the entire time.
Uchiha Dali kept his word and didn't strike.
Kyōshiki soon noticed the situation. Seeing Àoshiki flying toward him, he stopped his attacks and glanced at Uchiha Dali in the distance, who stood with his arms crossed, watching the show with calm amusement. He immediately understood what was happening.
"So, you and that kid have come to an agreement… Àoshiki."
"Hmph, after all these years, you don't even call me 'brother' anymore."
"Brother? You never treated me like one, did you?"
"Enough talk! Let's settle this once and for all, Kyōshiki!"
As he spoke, a crimson light flared around Àoshiki.
In an instant, he absorbed the remaining dozens of his clone copies back into himself.
And then, something strange happened.
After reversing the process and reclaiming his clones, Àoshiki's aura suddenly skyrocketed.
In just two breaths, his energy had increased more than a hundredfold.
Sensing this sudden change, both Uchiha Dali and Kyōshiki were stunned.
They stared at Àoshiki in disbelief.
The red glow still surrounded Àoshiki as he attacked without hesitation. "This time, you won't escape, Kyōshiki!"
"You think I'll lose that easily? Don't underestimate me, Àoshiki!"
Kyōshiki met him head-on, their powers clashing violently.
Watching the two brothers battle, Uchiha Dali remained indifferent.
He turned his gaze toward his own clones.
Although Kyōshiki had secretly devoured some, he still had at least a hundred and fifty left.
"Normally, reclaiming clones doesn't let me gain their energy back—or at least, I can't do it."
"And since the clones are my own creations, I also can't just keep devouring them for power. Doing so would actually weaken me."
"So what was that move Àoshiki just used? What kind of technique was that?"
Doubt filled Uchiha Dali's mind as he replayed the scene again and again.
Gradually, new information began surfacing in his mind—
—signs that his "Heaven-defying Comprehension" had started grasping a new power.
Feeling the shift within him, Uchiha Dali immediately began mimicking Àoshiki's actions, absorbing all his clones in reverse.
Buzz—
A tremendous force erupted as he absorbed over a hundred clones in an instant.
Sure enough, the familiar system chime sounded in his ears:
[Ding! You have gained partial energy nourishment by reclaiming your clones. Your body has perfectly adapted to the internal energy source. You have therefore comprehended: Divine Art — Defying Heaven, First Form!]
[Divine Art — Defying Heaven, First Form: A unique divine technique that explosively amplifies power by repeatedly absorbing one's own or a renewable energy source. This grants a massive temporary boost in combat strength.]
[Note: The total absorbable energy has an upper limit. The resulting power increase is temporary—once the duration ends, the amplified strength will vanish, and the user will enter a brief weakened state. While weakened, this technique cannot be used again. However, no permanent or irreversible side effects occur regardless of usage frequency.]
...
Even Uchiha Dali was a little surprised.
He had only intended to test it, yet he truly managed to comprehend such a divine art through his Heaven-defying Comprehension.
Now he understood how the move worked.
Though it might not be exactly the same as Àoshiki's technique, the principle was essentially identical—
By repeatedly absorbing and devouring a consistent energy source, one could temporarily amplify their power.
That energy source could be external, such as a chakra fruit or even a planet, or internal—like his own clones.
"It's a bit like the Eight Inner Gates…"
Uchiha Dali mused silently.
The difference was that this divine art carried no lasting harm—no irreversible side effects, no risk to life.
The only concern was twofold.
First, the cooldown period.
After activation, the user would fall into a brief state of weakness.
Exactly how brief, Uchiha Dali didn't yet know.
And during that recovery period, he couldn't use the technique again—he couldn't "step on his own foot to fly," as it were—meaning no endless stacking of power.
That was the only flaw in this divine art.
But it wasn't much of a problem; its impact on him was minimal.
Perhaps, with further enlightenment from his Heaven-defying Comprehension, he could eventually refine it completely and eliminate all its drawbacks.