The crimson Sharingan firmly locked onto the monster before him, which was gradually expanding to over two meters tall. Consequently, a dazzling flash of electricity surfaced in Kakashi's hand, and a sound like the chirping of a thousand birds suddenly erupted.
"Lightning Blade!"
The Lightning Style chakra continuously stimulated every muscle in Kakashi's body, elevating his speed to the absolute limit. Combined with the dynamic vision of the Sharingan, this allowed him to clearly track his enemy's trajectory.
In a mere instant, Kakashi's figure materialized at Jugo's flank, the flickering electricity illuminating Jugo's face.
The latter hastily turned his torso, throwing an expanded fist like a heavy sledgehammer violently toward his foe.
However, Kakashi was faster. With a sudden flash of lightning, as Jugo was hurriedly retreating, the racing electricity had already carved a sharp arc through the air.
The fist and arm he had just swung out with such force were cleanly halved by this flash of light, severed perfectly right at the shoulder!
Blood splattered everywhere. Jugo had lost an arm before he could even process what happened.
So fast!
All of this occurred in the blink of an eye.
Kakashi felt a bit surprised himself, not expecting that his fastest strike had only managed to sever one of the opponent's arms.
Nevertheless, it was not over yet!
He raised his palm, crouching slightly as he prepared to launch a second assault with the crackling lightning.
This time, the target he aimed to sever was the enemy's head!
Intense pain continuously assaulted Jugo's brain, and the heavy killing intent rushing straight toward him made his heart race. Despite this, he made the most correct choice at this critical juncture of life and death.
Two exhaust vents emerged from both sides of Jugo's abdomen, and immediately following that, a vast amount of blue chakra violently blasted out toward Kakashi.
Having anticipated the opponent's movement ahead of time with his Sharingan, Kakashi was forced to abandon his plan to continue the attack, utilizing the Body Flicker Jutsu to leap to the side.
The powerful blast of chakra surged forth, forming a violent shockwave that completely pulverized the ruined walls in front of it into dust.
Taking advantage of the counterforce from this power, Jugo also rapidly retreated backward, putting some distance between himself and Kakashi.
"Even though you dodged the fatal blow, you are absolutely no match for me with only one arm left."
Kakashi advanced toward his enemy step by step. At the same time, his cold voice rang out, attempting to use this psychological warfare to dismantle the opponent's mental defenses and create an opening for his assault.
"You truly are a man Lord Simu thinks highly of. Such speed is simply unbelievable."
Jugo clutched his wound, bearing his teeth in pain as more Cursed Seals surged toward the injury like flames.
Right after that, an expression of astonishment appeared on Kakashi's face.
This was because, along with a vast amount of natural energy continuously flooding into Jugo's body from the air, his arm was actually regenerating at a rapid pace. Not only that, but his physical form underwent a further evolution.
His stature grew more massive, his muscle density became higher, and exhaust vents emerged from his back, elbows, and various joints. Torrential natural energy continuously surged throughout Jugo's entire body.
This powerful aura caused even Kakashi to feel startled.
He could not afford to wait any longer!
"Water Style: Giant Waterfall Jutsu!"
He formed hand signs, and a surging torrent of water swept through the broken buildings, crashing toward Jugo with the momentum of a terrifying tidal wave.
The latter's eyes had already turned entirely orange, and two sharp horns protrified from his forehead.
Faced with this attack, he unexpectedly had no intention of dodging. The prominent exhaust ports on his back roared horribly, sounding like engines pushed to their maximum capacity.
With countless bursts of chakra erupting from them, his entire body suddenly launched forward, smashing heavily into the water like a solid cannonball!
Kakashi's eyes widened in disbelief, because Jugo had actually used his raw physical body to withstand the Water Style ninjutsu. He broke right through the surging torrent and appeared before him like a god of war.
Carrying a violent aura, Jugo bent his arm, his elbow gaining an incredibly terrifying propulsion from the jet of chakra, and threw a downward punch!
"Boom!"
A sinister grin covered Jugo's face as tempestuous strength exploded from his fist.
Accompanied by a deafening roar, Kakashi was violently smashed into the ground.
First, the water beneath their feet erupted, and immediately after, the rocky earth buckled and collapsed, cratering into a massive pit nearly ten meters wide!
"Don't go thinking you've won already..."
Suddenly, Kakashi's lazy voice echoed.
His figure appeared at the edge of the massive pit, while the Kakashi underneath Jugo's hand had turned into a block of wood at some unknown point.
Seizing this opportunity, Kakashi raised his palm and aimed it directly at Jugo, who was standing in the center of the deep crater.
"Lightning Style: Lightning Beast Tracking Fang!"
The electricity crackled violently, shaping into a swift lightning beast that rushed before Jugo at maximum speed.
Being in a state of primal fury, how could Jugo fear a mere lightning beast? He swung both hands, grabbing the wide-open jaws of the lightning beast.
Inhuman strength erupted from the muscles of his body, and he unexpectedly tore the fierce lightning beast in half from its mouth by raw force!
"What terrifying strength. However, my attack doesn't stop here!"
Kakashi formed hand signs once more. The torn and dissipating lightning beast actually transformed into countless electrical currents that wrapped around Jugo's body, causing him to become temporarily paralyzed.
Following that, Kakashi infused a vast amount of chakra into the kunai in his hand, throwing it violently toward his enemy like a javelin!
With the enhancement of the Lightning Style chakra, the power of this kunai was absolutely no less than that of a sniper rifle bullet!
Yet because his body was paralyzed by the electrical current, Jugo could only twist his torso slightly to the side, barely avoiding his vital organs.
The kunai wrapped in lightning easily tore Jugo's shoulder to shreds and sliced through the earth, carving a deep and massive trench starting right from the pit!
Jugo looked at his empty shoulder and arm, the extreme agony finally causing him to regain a bit of sanity.
Kakashi kept his eyes locked onto his enemy, staying alert to the opponent's every movement while speaking aloud, "Although I don't know how you can grow back your arm so quickly, such a significant ability must surely come with a price, right? It is absolutely impossible for you to recover multiple times in a short period."
Seeing that Jugo remained silent, Kakashi became even more certain of his hypothesis.
A brilliant electrical light flared up once more. He prepared to use the Lightning Blade to finish off this dangerous priest as quickly as possible!
Suddenly, a white insect burrowed out from underground and drove its mandibles fiercely into Jugo's broad back!
An ominous aura instantly emanated from Jugo's body.
Reddish-orange chakra was continuously transferred into Jugo's body through this insect. After mixing with the natural energy on his form, it seeped out from his pores, constructing a shroud of red chakra over the surface of Jugo's body!
"This is... the aura of a Tailed Beast!"
An expression of utter disbelief appeared on Kakashi's face, because the aura on his enemy right now was not unfamiliar to him. It absolutely belonged to a certain Tailed Beast!
Recalling how the One-Tail had been taken from the Hidden Sand Village by the Jashin Religion, Kakashi quickly formed a hypothesis. Is this guy the new One-Tail Junchuriki?
But Gaara has appeared on the battlefield more than once. Could the Jashin Religion possess the technology to safely extract a Tailed Beast from a Jinchuriki's body without killing them?
Ultimately, Kakashi's gaze locked onto the insect that had suddenly materialized.
Or does it have something to do with this insect?
In any case, the aura on Jugo's body was climbing continuously. Though his severed arm had not fully regenerated yet, his expression became significantly more berserk.
"Roar!"
Jugo unleashed a beastly howl, and a vast amount of chakra erupted from the exhaust vents on his back once more.
Only this time, the chakra was blood-red!
Like a tank pushed to full horsepower, he trampled ruthlessly toward Kakashi without any restraint!
Just as Jugo's heavy fist was about to descend, Guy in his trademark green jumpsuit suddenly blocked the path in front of Kakashi.
At this moment, a large amount of green steam enveloped his physical form, and he opened his mouth to roar at Jugo, "Leaf... Strong Whirlwind!"
In this single instant, the aura Guy erupted with briefly suppressed the presence of the Tailed Beast.
His suddenly appearing kick smashed violently against Jugo's Tailed Beast shroud. Immediately following that, the air produced a sharp sonic boom, and Jugo was sent flying backward once again.
Looking at Might Guy's back, Kakashi felt slightly relieved and let out a bitter smile. "Thanks, Guy."
Might Guy landed from the air, then turned around to give Kakashi a thumbs-up, his pearly white teeth gleaming brightly.
"Kakashi, this is the power of burning youth!"
"The Blue Beast of the Leaf, is it..."
Rie Uzumaki quietly materialized in front of Jugo, narrowing her eyes as she stared intently at the suddenly appearing Might Guy.
In the intelligence regarding the Leaf that Simu had gathered, this man was also listed as a highly critical individual. He had even been evaluated by Lord Simu as the person with the strongest Taijutsu in the Shinobi World, which was more than enough to prove Simu's wariness and appreciation of him.
At this point, Might Guy had already opened the sixth of the Eight Inner Gates, the Gate of View.
Green steam radiated from every inch of his body, making his presence look exceptionally formidable.
"Guy, finish them off as quickly as possible," Kakashi reminded him. Although he did not know what the Jashin Religion was preparing, finishing off the opponent as quickly as possible was never a bad idea.
"Leave it to me!"
Guy leaped straight into the sky, his hands punching out in a wild frenzy. The terrifying speed caused his fists to friction against the air, generating a vast amount of flames that rained down like a meteor shower!
"Morning Peacock!"
Rie Uzumaki stood in front of the fallen Jugo, the descending blanket of fire reflecting in her eyes.
"To achieve this level using nothing but Taijutsu..."
"But the timing should be just about right, shouldn't it?"
In the next second, a massive number of tentacles erupted from her body, tightly enclosing herself and Jugo to welcome the baptism of fire.
The endless flames instantly transformed this sector of the battlefield into a sea of fire. Once the flames dissipated, only two charred corpses and large segments of blackened tentacles remained at the scene.
"Are they finished?"
Kakashi's brows knitted tightly.
Clearly, he had not expected this move from Might Guy to possess such immense destructive power.
Even Guy himself had not anticipated this, scratching his head in bewilderment. "Since when did I become this strong?"
Only after repeatedly confirming that these two corpses indeed belonged to those two priests did Kakashi's guarded posture gradually ease up.
However, this relaxation did not last long, because two terrifying dark silhouettes descended upon the battlefield!
The former took the shape of a literal mountain of flesh, while the latter was a terrifying eyeball hovering above the sky.
No matter which one it was, both brought an immense sense of oppression to the Allied Forces.
Not to mention that on the ground below, a vast blanket of green mist was continuously spreading out...
"Careful, careful! Do not let that poison mist touch you!"
"Ninjas of the Hidden Sand Village, quickly use Wind Style to blow the poison mist away!"
"Earth Style corps, halt the movements of the flesh mountain!"
"Lightning Style corps, launch an attack against the eyeball!"
Order after order was transmitted from the mouth of Tonami Nara, the Chief of Staff, and the Allied Forces rapidly sprang into action.
The first to move was the supreme commander of the Allied Forces—Jiraiya.
Bringing the three toad brothers of Mount Myoboku with him, he charged straight to the front lines. His opponent was precisely the Apostle of Desire, who possessed that gargantuan physique.
"We meet again, Mr. Jiraiya," Simu spoke, wearing his rectangular glasses as he stood atop the mountain of flesh to greet Jiraiya.
However, Jiraiya had no intention of exchanging pleasantries with Simu. His tone carried a frightening amount of rage.
"I don't care what you Jashin Religion monsters are actually planning, but I will absolutely never forgive you for mutating these ordinary citizens into such weapons of war!"
Faced with Jiraiya's accusations, Simu merely smiled faintly with an air of nonchalance.
"Mr. Jiraiya, is there a possibility that these people were forced into a corner by your Great Nations, leaving them with no choice but to join the Jashin Religion to seek a thread of survival?"
Hearing Simu's rhetoric, Jiraiya instantly grew anxious.
"You clearly possessed food! Why couldn't you provide relief to these citizens instead of insisting on manufacturing them into such monsters?!"
Simu was amused, speaking in a helpless tone, "Why should we provide free relief to these citizens?"
"Mr. Jiraiya, please understand one thing clearly. The tragic circumstances of these citizens were manufactured by your Great Nations, not by us."
"The Jashin Religion's assault against the Leaf is the exact same concept. That was merely a response to your participation in the campaign to eradicate the Jashin Religion."
This speech from Simu directly rendered Jiraiya completely speechless.
This was because he felt that his long-held ideals regarding world peace were being dismantled piece by piece by the man before him, making them appear utterly ridiculous.
"If Mr. Jiraiya sacrificed so many of his subordinates just to have a war of words with me, then you can sound the retreat right now."
A faint smile remained on Simu's face, yet he could always easily provoke Jiraiya's fury.
That was right; the Allied Forces had already sacrificed so many people. Even as the supreme commander, it was impossible for him to halt this battle now.
Furthermore, Jiraiya himself did not want to stop this war either.
He wanted to personally execute the Child of Destruction prophesied by the Great Toad Sage!
"If that's how it is... let's go, Bunta!"
As the words left Jiraiya's mouth, the three toad brothers of Mount Myoboku launched an assault on Simu from different directions.
He himself went as far as to directly summon the two Sages, Fukasaku and Shima, entering Sage Mode right at the start of the battle!
"Going all out right from the beginning? Suits me perfectly!"
Simu lightly adjusted his glasses. Accompanying his movement, a vast ocean of black Iron Sand erupted from the temple!
On the other side, Ebizo manipulated several puppets, flying toward the giant eyeball in the sky at maximum speed.
Aboard the giant eyeball, Simu, wearing his spiral mask, stood waiting in full battle readiness.
The grand battle...
Was on the verge of erupting!