Blinding white mist instantly billowed up; it was the result of ice crystals being vaporized in an instant by the high temperature.
However, the outcome was strikingly similar to before. Even though Roshi had entered his Version 2 state, and even though he utilized a more powerful Lava Release ninjutsu, he still appeared lacking before Takuno's Senjutsu Ice Release, which was infused with natural energy!
Roshi's massive frame, as if struck head-on by a battering ram, once again turned into a crimson streak of light without any suspense. He flew backward at a speed even faster than his approach, smashing heavily into the distant rock wall.
But this time, Takuno did not give his opponent another chance to catch his breath or regroup.
He had finished testing the limits of his Sage Mode's power; it was time to end this battle.
"Ice Release: Ice Rain!"
Takuno's hands rapidly formed seals, his voice cold. In an instant, with him as the center, the temperature within a radius of dozens of meters plummeted!
The moisture in the air was frozen by an invisible chilling force, condensing into countless sharp ice crystals flashing with a deadly, cold light.
In a split second, these overwhelming ice crystals, carrying bone-chilling killing intent, poured down with absolute precision toward the direction where Roshi had crashed!
Suddenly, a thunderous "boom" resounded as the ice spikes struck their target.
A towering white mist of frost erupted, rolling and rising, instantly swallowing Roshi's figure completely. Everything within sight became a chaotic void.
Takuno stood silently in place. Though his vision was blocked by this sudden barrier of ice mist, his powerful sensory ninjutsu, Mind's Eye of Kagura, acted like an invisible radar, penetrating the layers of mist to precisely capture every thread of chakra flow and every subtle movement within Roshi's body.
"Lava Release: Granite."
Takuno instantly identified the opponent's defensive measure.
Deep within the thick mist, a searing red light suddenly flared. Roshi was mobilizing Lava Release chakra to rapidly construct a massive, hardened rock barrier of scalding magma around himself, attempting to withstand this deadly icy onslaught.
The pervasive white mist was exactly the byproduct of the extreme cold ice spikes violently colliding with the scorching lava and being instantly vaporized.
However, Roshi's proud Lava Release defense appeared so fragile before Takuno's ice, which contained the power of Senjutsu!
That seemingly indestructible granite barrier held for only a heartbeat before cracking inch by inch with a "snap" and shattering violently!
Broken lava fragments sprayed everywhere, while the remaining ice spikes, carrying a bone-chilling cold and a piercing shriek of death, stabbed relentlessly toward the undefended Roshi!
At the critical moment just as the tips of the ice spikes were about to impale Roshi's body, an indescribable, terrifying chakra—far surpassing anything before—suddenly woke like a dormant volcano and erupted from within Roshi!
"ROAR!!!"
A violent, world-shaking howl tore through the sky!
The thick white ice mist was instantly dispersed to nothing by an invisible, massive force.
In its place stood a gargantuan beast dozens of meters high, covered in crimson fur and emitting a searing aura: the Four-Tails, Son Goku. It stood between heaven and earth like a mountain, looking down upon all of creation!
Those lethal ice spikes, though they successfully struck the Four-Tails' massive body, were like thin needles hitting iron armor; they left only faint white marks on its hardened fur before shattering and dissipating weakly, failing to cause any substantive damage.
"Oh? A full Tailed Beast transformation?" Takuno looked up at the giant beast before him, his eyes remaining as calm as a rippleless lake, as if he were merely looking at an ordinary object.
With his current strength, among the Tailed Beasts, perhaps only the Eight-Tails Gyuki and the Nine-Tails Kurama could pique his interest slightly.
This confidence, rooted in absolute power, allowed him to remain composed even when facing the Four-Tails' pressure.
Son Goku's massive bestial pupils, burning with rage, locked onto the tiny human below, and it roared like thunder:
"Is it you, brat, who wants this great one's chakra?!" The voice was filled with a wild fury at being insulted.
"Enough talk," Takuno's reply was concise and freezing.
The path of power he pursued was not the path of bonds and seeking recognition from Tailed Beasts like Naruto.
Wasting words on these sealed giant beasts was a pure waste of time.
"Arrogant brat!" The Four-Tails was thoroughly enraged by this contemptuous attitude.
Its massive twin fists, carrying ten thousand tons of force, slammed violently into the ground!
BOOM!!!
The earth trembled violently, as if a powerful earthquake had occurred.
Massive amounts of chakra, like a flooding torrent, followed the Four-Tails' arms and were madly injected deep into the ground.
"Lava Release: Scorching Stream Great Eruption!"
Takuno's brow twitched slightly; the searing vibrations coming from beneath his feet were like an impending volcanic eruption.
Without a second of hesitation, with a thought, a pair of energy wings flowing with a mysterious purple-black light unfurled from his back.
"Senpō: Kujaku Myōhō: Wings!"
The wings beat once, and he soared into the sky like an arrow off a string!
The moment he left the ground, the earth where he had stood split open with a roar!
A miniature volcano flowing with scalding lava actually rose from the ground out of nowhere!
This volcano did not pause for a second; its peak instantly exploded, and the crimson magma, like an angry fire dragon carrying the heat to destroy all things, roared into the sky, chasing after Takuno!
The scorching torrent of lava traced a blinding arc in the sky, and the air distorted from the heat.
However, Takuno's speed was as ghostly as a phantom. That seemingly surging lava torrent failed to touch even the hem of his clothes and was easily left behind.
In the blink of an eye, he had ascended to a height level with the Four-Tails' massive head, hovering in mid-air, looking down coldly at this violent Tailed Beast.
"Damn brat, you can actually fly?!"
A flash of shock crossed Son Goku's giant bestial pupils; it clearly hadn't expected the opponent to possess such a rare ability.
"There are many more things that will surprise you!" Takuno replied indifferently, his hands rapidly forming seals in front of his chest.
An even more powerful Senjutsu chakra began to gather around him, perfectly fusing with his Ice Release chakra.
"Senpō: Ice Release: Ice Age!"
As his cold voice fell, the temperature in this space—which had just been roasted like a furnace by the volcanic eruption—suddenly plummeted!
It was as if one had fallen from midsummer into the Arctic barrens in an instant!
An invisible, absolute chill capable of freezing all things rippled out from Takuno like an invisible wave!
Below, the volcano that was still spewing lava bore the brunt of it.
The surging, racing crimson magma cooled, solidified, and turned black at a speed visible to the naked eye...
The searing crater seemed to be gripped by the throat by an invisible frost giant's hand; the eruption ceased abruptly.
Even more heart-stoppingly, crystal-clear ice crystals began to eerily spread across the surface of the pitch-black solidified lava, rapidly covering the main body of the volcano!
"This is..."
Son Goku's massive pupils suddenly contracted. It clearly felt that terrifying chill that seemed ready to freeze even the lava core inside its body!
Immediately following, it discovered to its horror that ice crystals were also starting to condense on its massive, pillar-like feet!
The ice crystals, as if possessed by life, raced upward along its crimson fur. Wherever they passed, heat was frozen, and power was sealed!
"ROAR! Lava Release: Flower-Fruit Mountain!"
The Four-Tails let out an ear-splitting roar, erupting the massive chakra within its body without reservation!
It attempted to combat this extreme cold with its strongest Lava Release power!
Instantly, with the Four-Tails as the center, the earth for hundreds of meters once again turned into a churning sea of lava emitting terrifying heat!
The crimson magma roared, trying to melt and wash away the ice crystals covering its body!
However, this surging sea of lava only broke through some of the surface ice crystals and lasted for less than a breath!
Before Takuno's ultimate Ice Release fused with Senjutsu, this Lava Release power—capable of burning all—appeared so powerless!
The sea of lava rapidly cooled, blackened, and solidified, turning into a dead sea of black reefs.
And Takuno's ice crystals, like an unstoppable white Reaper, climbed back up the Four-Tails' body along the solidified reefs at an even faster speed and with a stronger momentum, racing upward!
The crimson giant beast struggled with all its might in terror, but its movements became slower and slower, and the layer of ice covering its body became thicker and thicker.
In the final moment before its entire body was completely sealed in ice, Son Goku's massive bestial pupils were filled with unbelievable horror:
"This... this is... what kind of power!!!"
Before the words fully fell, the crimson giant beast dozens of meters tall had turned into a massive, crystal-clear ice sculpture emitting a grim cold, life-like in its detail.
In all the world, only the piercing cold and Takuno's figure suspended in the air remained.
Takuno hovered in mid-air, his cold gaze looking down at the battlefield that had been completely frozen.
The Four-Tails, which had been roaring and rampaging earlier, was now a giant ice sculpture, its ferocious posture eternally frozen in crystal-clear ice.
A look of satisfaction flickered in Takuno's eyes.
"Just as I thought."
The majestic and pure power of Senjutsu chakra indeed granted him a suppressive force surpassing that of a Tailed Beast.
Even the Four-Tails, which possessed Lava Release and could incinerate all things, had to yield before Ice Release enhanced by Senjutsu.
This was the absolute superiority of Senjutsu over mundane power; a qualitative crushing.
However, the price of this suppression was equally heavy.
Takuno clearly felt the chakra within his body flowing away as fast as a flood through an open gate.
Even if the opponent gave up resistance, trying to completely freeze the Four-Tails' massive body—dozens of meters tall—was no easy feat.
Furthermore, the Four-Tails had been struggling madly from start to finish, and the boiling Lava Release chakra within its body was the natural nemesis of Ice Release, constantly impacting and melting the ice from within.
In the struggle between ice and fire, the final contest was one of chakra purity and intensity.
Fortunately, while Takuno was inferior to a Tailed Beast in terms of chakra "quantity," the "quality" of the chakra refined through Senjutsu firmly suppressed the opponent.
It was just that... the consumption for this high-intensity suppression was far too terrifying!
With his current chakra volume, he could not maintain this state for long.
"However..." His gaze sharpened like a blade, "Even if I can only maintain it for a moment, it is enough!"
This brief freezing was already enough for him to use Senpō: Rasenshuriken several times!
Imagine that Wind Style shuriken containing destructive energy precisely hitting the core of the Four-Tails, which was completely frozen and unable to move...
Under such an attack, even a Tailed Beast's body would absolutely be unable to escape the fate of annihilation.
But Takuno's goal was not to kill the Four-Tails.
Therefore, after confirming the suppression was achieved, he decisively stopped the continuous output of Senjutsu chakra.
Without the support of subsequent power, the thick ice crystals covering the Four-Tails were instantly covered in spiderweb-like cracks.
The cracks spread and expanded rapidly, emitting a tooth-aching "snap" and "crack."
"BANG! CRASH!"
With a loud explosion, the hard ice shattered violently, and countless ice crystal fragments sprayed in all directions!
"Hahahaha! This great one is out again!!"
The freed Four-Tails let out a world-shaking laugh, its fists beating its chest wildly. Magma-like chakra boiled again, as if it wanted to vent all the humiliation of just being frozen.
Its crimson eyes burned with rage, locking onto Takuno in the sky.
However, its laughter and rage lasted for less than a breath.
A blinding golden light erupted without warning, instantly swallowing the Four-Tails' field of vision!
"ROAR?! WHAT!"
Before it could react, countless golden chains condensed from pure chakra shot out from the void like living spirit snakes!
They ignored the Four-Tails' violent resistance and, with unparalleled arrogance and precision, instantly entwined its massive body.
Arms, torso, legs... every inch was bound tight by these chains shimmering with divine light!
"OWOOO!!"
The Four-Tails let out a roar of shock and anger. It struggled with all its might, trying to melt the chains with the high temperature of its Lava Release or tear them apart with brute force.
But the sealing symbols flowing on the chains emitted a suppressive power that made the Tailed Beast tremble to the depths of its soul.
Adamantine Attacking Chains, this sealing technique originating from the Uzumaki clan—which possessed absolute restraint over Tailed Beasts—reached an unprecedented peak of power when driven by Senjutsu chakra!
The Four-Tails' struggle was like a mantis trying to stop a carriage; all its Lava Release chakra and brute force were ruthlessly suppressed and dissolved the moment they touched the chains.
In just a few breaths, the once-unbeatable Four-Tails was completely subdued by this golden cage, crashing to the ground and unable to move, leaving only unwilling gasps.
Takuno calmly looked down at the Four-Tails, which was firmly bound by Senpō: Adamantine Attacking Chains and struggling in vain.
In fact, from the moment the Four-Tails appeared, he could have used this move directly.
Even without the previous Ice Release to drain the opponent's stamina, the binding effect of Senjutsu Adamantine Attacking Chains on Tailed Beasts would have been sufficient.
The reason he chose to use Ice Release for suppression first was merely a whim, a trial.
He wanted to know if, relying on his current Senjutsu chakra reserves, he could forcibly suppress a rampaging Tailed Beast using only the power of Ice Release.
Now, the result of the trial was clear.
Next, it was time for the final step—the purpose of his arrival.
To collect Tailed Beast chakra!