Chapter 403: Tired? Take a Break
"Shut up!!"
Aldoron raised his massive hand. Highly condensed magical energy violently gathered at his palm before he fired a devastating blast directly at Ren.
Boom—!
This time, the ethereal shield of the Yata Mirror immediately activated its absolute reflection. The colossal energy blast was violently sent back along its exact original trajectory, slamming directly into Aldoron's own body.
"Ugh, aaaaaah!!"
Aldoron was struck squarely by his own overwhelming magic. It was the exact equivalent of taking a full-force punch from himself. Although the physical injury wasn't life-threatening, the sheer concussive force and magical feedback were agonizing.
"Bastard! I don't believe it!" the Wood God Dragon bellowed, his pride severely wounded.
Planting his feet firmly, Aldoron took a massive, deep breath. His broad chest expanded significantly as the ambient Ethernano in the air was violently sucked into his maw.
"Disappear!"
Aldoron spewed a violent, concentrated beam of Dragon Breath from his mouth. It was the signature, cataclysmic technique that nearly all members of the Dragon Clan possessed: a Dragon's Roar.
Without a moment of hesitation, Ren raised the Yata Mirror.
The Wood God Dragon's apocalyptic roar slammed directly into the shield's ethereal, shimmering surface. The sheer kinetic force of the impact created a shockwave that tore the surrounding earth apart.
Ren could feel the immense, world-shattering power behind the breath attack pushing against him. However, the Yata Mirror was no ordinary piece of defensive gear. It was a divine artifact seamlessly integrated into the Susanoo, the ultimate manifestation of the Mangekyo Sharingan's visual prowess.
With a grunt of exertion, Ren shifted his stance and angled the Yata Mirror upward.
The cataclysmic stream of the Wood God Dragon's roar was forcefully redirected, sending the beam of raw magical destruction shooting straight up into the sky.
Boom—!!
The blast tore upward, but the sheer explosive splash of the redirected energy violently clipped the dragon. A massive, searing hole was blasted directly into the back of the Wood God Dragon.
"How is this possible?!"
Aldoron couldn't believe it. His massive eyes widened in absolute shock. Was a mere human actually capable of reaching this unfathomable level of power?
"Nothing is impossible," Ren replied coldly.
Aldoron was stunned for a moment before preparing to launch another furious assault. Suddenly, he realized that the surrounding space had completely inverted. The natural colors of the world violently bled away, replaced by a suffocating, blood-red sky and monochrome earth.
"This is... an illusion?!"
Aldoron could casually read human hearts and was naturally knowledgeable about mental manipulation. He determined almost instantly that his consciousness had been forcefully dragged into an illusion.
"But how is this possible? How could you possibly make me fall under an illusion?!" Aldoron roared, his voice echoing in the distorted space.
He was the Wood God Dragon, possessing world-shattering Dragon Force. Not to mention, his Mental Energy was completely incomparable to ordinary beings. Illusions were supposed to be entirely ineffective against the mighty Dragon Clan.
"This is the supreme illusion activated by my Mangekyo Sharingan—Tsukuyomi," Ren's voice echoed from every direction at once, detached and ringing with divine authority. "This technique pulls the enemy's spirit directly into an isolated illusory space."
Aldoron looked around wildly, finding himself completely immobilized within the monochrome mist.
"In the Tsukuyomi world, all factors—including time, location, and mass—are strictly controlled by the caster," Ren explained chillingly. "The enemy suffers immense physical and mental pain within this illusory world, and the pain you experience here is exactly the same as in reality. Anyone who looks into my eyes will inevitably fall for it."
Ren's figure materialized from the mists, his crimson eyes glowing with cold judgment. "I have a few questions I want to ask you now. How many people have you killed so far?"
"Hmm? I don't remember such trivial things," Aldoron scoffed, letting out a booming, arrogant laugh. "Do you remember exactly how much food you've eaten in your lifetime?"
The God Dragon looked down at Ren with malicious pride. "However, in these past hundred years alone, there have probably been millions of humans who built their pitiful cities and settled on me."
"All of them worship me, and they have unknowingly offered their lives to me," Aldoron sneered. "Foolish humans... they don't even know they are merely nutrients to fuel my awakening, yet they firmly believe they can find happiness."
Aldoron paused, looking at Ren with a genuinely puzzled expression. "Why are you asking about this?"
"I want to determine what level of punishment to give you based on the sheer volume of sins you have committed," Ren stated flatly.
"Huh? Punishment?" Aldoron scoffed again, his voice dripping with absolute disdain. "You actually said you want to punish the great me?"
Aldoron thrashed against his unseen bindings, his fury peaking. "Dragons are the absolute pinnacle of all living beings; humans are merely a stupid, inferior species. Being able to speak with me is already an honor for you, and yet you say you want to punish... Aaaaaah!!"
The Wood God Dragon hadn't even finished his arrogant speech when a horrific, soul-tearing agony ripped through him. He let out a painful, garbled scream.
Immediately after, he found his humanoid body forcefully bound to a massive stone cross under the blood-red moon. Countless identical copies of Ren materialized out of the monochrome mist all around him. Each clone held an identical, razor-sharp blade.
Stab!
Without a single word, one of the blades was thrust directly into the Wood God Dragon's body.
"Ugh, aaaaaah!!"
Aldoron let out a visceral, agonizing scream. It hurt. It hurt so unimaginably much. He struggled violently against the cross, his muscles bulging and straining, but it was completely useless.
In this world, he was utterly powerless. He was like a helpless fish on a cutting board, desperately waiting for Ren to slaughter him.
"Does it hurt?" Ren asked smoothly, stepping closer. "Here, you are only a spiritual body. The colossal physical form you rely on in the real world has absolutely no effect here."
The hundreds of Ren clones raised their blades in perfect, terrifying unison. "For the next seventy-two hours, I will stab you continuously. Enjoy it."
Stab!!
"Aaaaaaaaaah!!"
In the isolated, blood-red illusory space, Aldoron screamed incessantly. Blades pierced his flesh, twisting and tearing into his nerves without pause. It hurt; it hurt so agonizingly much. Every single second here felt like a drawn-out year of pure torment.
Exactly seventy-two hours passed within the torturous confines of the illusory space. Then, in the blink of an eye, Ren and Aldoron's spirits returned to the real world together.
While seventy-two grueling hours of uninterrupted agony had passed in the Tsukuyomi world, not even an instant had passed in reality. The dust from the redirected roar was still settling.
"Ugh!"
Aldoron immediately collapsed, kneeling heavily on one knee upon the ruined earth. His spirit had suffered severe, unprecedented trauma. While a God Dragon could quickly regenerate from grievous physical injuries, mental and spiritual wounds of this magnitude would take a very long time to heal.
"Damned human... I'm going to eat you!" Aldoron roared at Ren, his facial features twisting into a hideous, feral expression of pure hatred.
Ren's state, however, was not very good at this moment either. Maintaining the Susanoo and releasing Tsukuyomi required a massive amount of ocular power. Such a drastic consumption of chakra and visual prowess placed an incredibly heavy burden on his physical body.
Aldoron was truly worthy of being called the Wood God Dragon. He was a monstrous entity that had lived for over four hundred years, and his Mental Energy was terrifyingly resilient. If it had been anyone else, they might have instantly suffered a total mental breakdown and died under the sheer trauma of Tsukuyomi, but this old monster had stubbornly endured it.
[System: Deactivating Uchiha Itachi Template.]
"Full Body Take Over: Minato Namikaze!"
Continuing to maintain the Take Over of Uchiha Itachi would only exponentially increase the physical burden on his body. Ren knew it would be infinitely better to switch characters immediately and capitalize on Aldoron's momentary disorientation.
And Minato Namikaze was precisely the kind of character perfectly suited to go head-to-head with the massive physical threat of the Wood God Dragon.
After successfully transforming his magical signature and taking on the form of Minato, Ren felt much more comfortable. The agonizing, throbbing burden on his optical nerves from repeatedly using Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi vanished instantly.
"Disappear!" Aldoron roared, forcing himself to stand. He raised his hand and wildly released a massive, destructive energy shockwave.
Whoosh—!
Ren immediately tapped into the sealed beast within the Take Over. Activating Kurama Mode, his entire body was instantly enveloped in a blazing, brilliant shroud of golden chakra.
With blinding speed, Ren raised his arm and flicked his hand casually.
Slap!!
The dense energy shockwave emitted by Aldoron was violently swatted off course, shattering into harmless sparks of magic against the sheer density of Ren's golden chakra shroud.
"What?!"
Aldoron was genuinely shocked. He didn't expect his concentrated magical attack to be casually swatted away like a bothersome fly.
Taking advantage of the God Dragon's stupor, Ren threw a large handful of special three-pronged kunai into the air. Each weapon was meticulously inscribed with the complex Magic Circle of the Flying Thunder God Technique, scattering in all directions around the battlefield.
Before Aldoron could even figure out what was happening, a golden flash illuminated the ruined landscape. Ren instantly appeared directly in front of the massive entity, his fist already fully coiled with dense golden chakra.
Ren unleashed a devastating, bone-shattering punch straight into Aldoron's face.
"This is for those humans you devoured!" Ren roared.
"Ugh, aah!"
Aldoron's colossal humanoid body was lifted off its feet, forcefully toppling to the side from the sheer kinetic impact.
So heavy! Aldoron thought frantically, his vision spinning.
This physical power was absurdly, impossibly heavy. The localized force of this single punch was concentrated enough to easily shatter a small mountain to dust. How could a mere human possibly possess such terrifying, god-like physical power?
Before Aldoron's body could even hit the ground, another golden flash flared. Ren appeared above him, driving a devastating, chakra-enhanced kick directly down into the Wood God Dragon's face.
"This is for underestimating humans!"
"Bastard!" Aldoron cursed, his fury overriding his pain. He immediately opened his jaw wide, rapidly gathering atmospheric magic to spew another point-blank Dragon Breath.
Swish!
Ren's golden figure vanished into thin air instantly. Just as Aldoron frantically swept his gaze to find his new location...
Bang!!
Ren materialized perfectly in his blind spot, driving a brutal, golden-shrouded fist deep into Aldoron's abdomen.
Aldoron's body arched violently like a cooked shrimp. The air was forcefully expelled from his lungs, his face becoming even more twisted and hideous from the sheer, suffocating pain.
From there, it was an absolute massacre. Flashing between the scattered marked kunai, Ren's fists landed on Aldoron's body in a relentless, blinding blur like falling raindrops. The heavy impacts echoed like thunderclaps, causing the arrogant God Dragon to scream incessantly.
After a while of uninterrupted punishment, the golden flashes finally ceased. Ren stopped his assault, standing calmly amidst the battered earth.
Aldoron slowly stood up, his body bruised and trembling from the onslaught, glaring at Ren with a terrifyingly cold gaze.
"Why not continue?"
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