Shamrock looked at the collapsing Cerberus. The massive beast staggered violently before its body started crumbling toward the ground, shaking the battlefield beneath it. The moment he saw that scene, he immediately understood what had happened.
Cerberus had been caught by the Mangekyou Sharingan ability of Uta—Kotouta.
As soon as Cerberus was struck by Kotouta, its consciousness must have been dragged directly into Uta's dimension.
But Shamrock also knew the weakness of that terrifying ability.
Whenever Uta used Kotouta, her consciousness itself moved into the Uta dimension along with the target. That meant her real body, the one left behind in the outside world, became defenseless for that short period of time. At that moment, if someone could bypass her protection, they could easily injure or even kill her.
Still, it was not as if Uta had left herself completely vulnerable.
Around her body, the half-body skeletal form of the Susanoo was still active. The gigantic translucent ribs and bones wrapped around her like a fortress, protecting her motionless body from all sides. Faint crimson chakra flickered around the skeletal frame as cracks of energy hissed through the air.
Shamrock narrowed his eyes.
He knew this was probably the only opening he would get.
Without even a moment of hesitation, he released his Conqueror's Haki.
BOOM!
An invisible pressure exploded outward from his body. The air itself trembled violently, and the clouds above the battlefield immediately began gathering together. The sky darkened slightly as black lightning crackled around him. Loose debris rose from the ground before being blown away by the sheer force of his aura.
At the same time, the sword in his hand—now reverted back from Cerberus's transformed state into an ordinary-looking blade—became coated in dense Conqueror's Haki. Violent arcs of black lightning danced across the sword's edge with a sharp crackling sound.
Then Shamrock disappeared from where he was standing.
The ground beneath his feet exploded apart.
In the next instant, he had already appeared near Uta.
His eyes turned sharp as he swung his sword downward and said,
"Divine Departure."
This was one of the signature techniques of Shanks. Or rather, it could be said that this had once been Shanks's true signature move before he awakened Raphael and began combining different techniques together to create even more monstrous abilities.
But despite all of that, Divine Departure still remained one of the techniques Shanks used the most.
And now Shamrock unleashed that very attack.
The moment his blade moved, a gigantic black flying slash erupted forward. Black lightning burst wildly from the slash, tearing through the atmosphere as if the air itself was being split apart. The pressure alone caused the surrounding ground to crack and cave inward.
The attack shot toward Uta's Susanoo instantly.
BOOOOM!!!
The black slash collided directly against the skeletal Susanoo. A deafening explosion rang throughout the battlefield as violent shockwaves spread in every direction.
The Susanoo shook violently.
A massive dent appeared on its ribcage, and countless cracks rapidly spread across the skeletal armor like shattered glass. Crimson chakra flickered chaotically from those cracks while black lightning continued tearing across the surface of the Susanoo.
Whereas for Uta, whose consciousness was currently inside the Uta dimension, she only saw Cerberus appearing there and not Shamrock himself.
The moment she noticed that, she immediately understood what had happened.
"It seems that Onii-san must have used Future Sight," she muttered softly to herself. "He was able to see my next move—that I was going to use Kotouta—and defended against it. He must have closed his eyes. Yes…"
Her voice echoed faintly throughout the strange dimension.
The Uta dimension itself looked surreal and dreamlike, filled with soft hues of white and pink, yet there was an eerie silence lingering within it. But that silence did not last for long.
ROOOOAR!!!
Cerberus roared furiously with all three of its heads. The gigantic beast immediately lunged toward Uta, its monstrous claws tearing through the ground beneath it as killing intent exploded from its body.
But Uta was not to be outdone.
Her eyes sharpened.
She clenched her fist tightly, and immediately countless white and pink chains began appearing from every direction around Cerberus. The chains moved like living serpents, rushing toward the giant beast at incredible speed.
In an instant, they wrapped around Cerberus completely.
Chains bound its necks, its legs, its torso, and even its tails. Layer after layer of glowing chains tightened around the giant creature, pinning it down forcefully.
The ground cracked beneath Cerberus's massive weight as it struggled violently.
ROOOOAR!!!
All three heads roared in rage, black smoke-like energy erupting from its mouth while it desperately tried to break free from the restraints. The chains trembled violently from the sheer strength of the beast, yet Uta continued holding them firmly with a focused expression.
(A/N: IMAGE IN PARA COMMENT.)
Then suddenly—
Uta felt a huge impact.
Her expression changed immediately.
Although her consciousness was inside the Uta dimension, with her mastery over Observation Haki, she could still vaguely sense the condition of her real body outside.
And what she sensed made her eyes narrow sharply.
Shamrock had attacked her Susanoo.
Not only that, there were already numerous cracks spreading throughout it. She could clearly feel the damage running across the skeletal armor.
One more strike… and the Susanoo will completely shatter.
Without even a second of hesitation, Uta immediately released Kotouta and left the Uta dimension.
The moment she left, the entire dimension began dissolving automatically. The white-and-pink world started breaking apart like shattered glass as the chains binding Cerberus disappeared instantly.
Cerberus's consciousness was also expelled from the dimension and returned to the space where it normally resided before Shamrock summoned it through his sword transformation.
Outside, reality distorted slightly.
Uta's consciousness returned to her body.
The moment her eyes opened, she immediately saw Shamrock in front of her, attacking her Susanoo once again.
This was Shamrock's second strike.
And this attack would definitely destroy the skeletal Susanoo completely.
Without hesitation, Uta focused instantly.
The cracked skeletal Susanoo suddenly began changing.
Dark chakra surged violently around it as the giant skeleton started evolving at rapid speed. Muscles began growing over the bones, forming massive arms and a more complete torso. Armor rapidly manifested across its body piece by piece with a deep humming sound.
Soon enough, a far more complete half-body Susanoo appeared.
The gigantic armored Susanoo towered above the battlefield, radiating terrifying pressure. In one of its hands, it held a giant melodica.
Watching this scene, before Shamrock could even retreat, the Susanoo suddenly raised the melodica and played it.
The moment the instrument was played, an incredibly beautiful sound echoed across the battlefield.
The melody sounded calm and almost soothing.
But hidden within that beautiful sound was overwhelming destruction.
As the notes spread through the air, multiple red beams were suddenly fired from the melodica itself, shooting directly toward Shamrock at terrifying speed. The beams ripped through the atmosphere like concentrated lasers, illuminating the dark battlefield crimson.
Shamrock immediately jumped backward from side to side, his figure blurring as he continuously dodged the red beams fired from the melodica.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each beam that struck the ground tore through it instantly. Massive holes exploded across the battlefield, while chunks of rock and debris were blasted high into the air. Smoke and dust spread everywhere as the earth cracked apart under the relentless barrage.
The red beams chased after Shamrock one after another with terrifying precision.
Shamrock's eyes narrowed slightly while moving at high speed.
He already understood how dangerous that melodica was.
The instrument was more like a weapon than a musical instrument. The more it was played, the more sound energy it accumulated within itself. And once enough energy gathered, it concentrated all of it into a single point before releasing it as destructive beams.
And these beams were not weak at all.
In fact, with every passing second, they were becoming even more powerful.
It was evident from the state of the battlefield itself. Earlier, the beams had only pierced holes through the ground, but now the explosions were growing larger and larger in radius. Entire sections of the battlefield were being obliterated as crimson energy tore through the surroundings violently.
One beam barely missed Shamrock and struck the earth behind him.
BOOOOOOM!!!
A huge explosion erupted instantly, sending shockwaves through the air. Even Shamrock's coat fluttered violently from the impact as he landed several meters away before immediately leaping again to avoid another incoming beam.
The melodica continued playing.
A strangely beautiful melody echoed throughout the battlefield while destruction followed every single note.
Meanwhile, as both Shamrock and Uta continued fighting fiercely here, Shanks was observing the battle from a distance.
He stood calmly with his arms crossed, his haori swaying lightly in the wind. From time to time, he nodded faintly while watching the battle between the two of them.
Their growth is faster than expected...
The battlefield reflected within his sharp eyes as explosions continued in the distance.
Then suddenly—
A figure silently appeared behind Shanks like a shadow.
The newcomer wore a mask resembling a vermilion bird. The mask was elegant yet intimidating, with crimson patterns spread across its surface. She was one of the Shadow Guards—the commander of the Vermilion Bird Unit.
The female Shadow Guard appeared behind Shanks and bowed slightly before speaking respectfully.
"Lord Uzukage, there is urgent news from the major villages."
As soon as Shanks heard this, a slight look of confusion appeared on his face. He turned his head slightly toward the Vermilion Bird commander and asked,
"What is it?"
The Vermilion Bird immediately replied,
"We have received reports that the Akatsuki have simultaneously attacked three of the major villages—Kumogakure, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure."
Her voice remained calm, but the seriousness in her tone was obvious.
"After attacking them simultaneously, they captured the tailed beasts from all three villages."
A brief pause followed before she continued,
"Same happened in Kirigakure also. Though the situation in Kirigakure cannot exactly be called an attack. As we already know, Kirigakure is under the control of the masked man."
The atmosphere around Shanks became slightly heavier after hearing that.
But instead of shock, he simply nodded calmly.
His expression remained composed, as though he had already expected something like this to happen sooner or later.
----
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