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[Earth Release: Earth's Roar!]
The island's earth trembled with a seismic roar.
Ōnoki instantly went on alert. This isn't a simple disruption of the earth with earth-natured chakra. Is he… actually triggering an earthquake?
Gurgle… gurgle… gurgle…!
As the thought formed, vast swathes of ground softened, turning into viscous mud.
Not an earthquake?
The Tsuchikage's mind raced. Trying to drag me under and bury me in the muck? How simplistic…
Whoosh! He ascended into the air.
Habitual logic dictated the next move. Muddy hands would erupt, grasping for his ankles. He was ready for it.
But…
What emerged from the sludge weren't hands, or anything meant to grab.
It was… pale golden flower buds.
They bloomed, pristine and vibrant, untouched by the filth around them.
Ōnoki's eyes widened. "Lotus flowers?! A variant of the Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence? What is his aim?"
On Azure Moon Island, the spectators shared the same confusion.
Orochimaru's smile was the answer. "The earth is one of the vessels of natural energy. Sasuke-kun utilized the atmospheric energy long ago with Kirin. This 'Earth's Roar'… is a method to extract and refine the natural energy from the earth itself."
Suigetsu, ever the contrarian, piped up. "But… those lotus flowers are made with Wood Style, right?"
Orochimaru clarified smoothly. "Kirin requires a Fire Style catalyst, but its essence remains Lightning Style. Similarly, the flowers being a Wood Style creation doesn't change the fact that this is, at its core, an Earth Style technique."
"The purpose of those lotuses… is to channel the refined natural energy. To focus it. To turn the earth's power into a directed beam of pure force."
Kabuto adjusted his glasses, digging deeper. "An elegant theory. But the refinement of the earth's natural energy… pure Earth Style alone should find that exceedingly difficult. If Sasuke-kun had mastered Sage Art, it would make sense. How is he accomplishing this without it?"
Orochimaru's grin widened. "Have you forgotten, Kabuto? Sasuke-kun may not have Sage Mode… but he possesses the Dragon Vein's power, stored within his Yang Seal."
Kabuto's eyes lit up with realization. "Ah! The Dragon Vein is the very aggregation of the earth's natural energy!"
Nagato watched, a rare note of admiration in his voice. "To conceive such a thing… and to realize it through ninjutsu. Remarkable."
Fzzzt…!
From the stamen of each lotus, the earth's energy condensed into a concentrated beam of ochre light.
Ōnoki's shock was palpable. "An attack like this?!"
Zzzap! The glow of Dust Release ignited before his palms. "I must destroy those damned flowers…!!!"
Crack! Crack! Crack!
More lotuses erupted from the mire, blooming in a dazzling, relentless wave until they carpeted every patch of ground in his sight.
"I see…" Ōnoki murmured, his initial panic subsiding into grim understanding. "The flowers are merely the conduits. The island itself… the earth is the true source of this technique's power."
As long as he couldn't atomize the entire island with his Dust Release, the flowers would keep coming. They would keep channeling the earth's wrath toward him.
A strange calm settled over him. His stance shifted from defensive to… receptive. He spoke, his voice solemn. "What is this technique called?"
The Sasuke clone answered simply. "Earth's Roar."
Ōnoki exhaled, a sound of genuine awe. "It feels like the earth itself is unleashing a cry suppressed for millennia. Directing its fury at those who would disturb its peace. A truly formidable jutsu. Worthy of being experienced firsthand. Come, then!!!"
"As you wish."
The clone brought two fingers together. Every single lotus adjusted its angle minutely.
And fired.
BOOOOOOM…!
The spectacle drew the attention of the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.
Around him, tides of gold dust rose and fell with his will.
His opponent, another Sasuke clone, stood bathed in a corona of white, magnetic light.
Rasa assessed the scene. "So… this is the trump card you prepared for me?"
The clone's voice was flat. "A trump card implies a finishing blow. This cannot truly kill you."
"To manifest Magnet Style as a chakra mode… that requires a chakra pool on the level of a tailed beast, like the Raikage. You are extraordinary," Rasa conceded. "But Magnet Style itself lacks direct offensive power. I question its practical combat efficacy."
The clone's Sharingan gleamed. "Whether it's the Third Kazekage, you, Gaara, or any Magnet Style user before… all of you used it to control external matter. Iron Sand. Gold Dust. Sand. All powerful, yet all inherently limited by that matter. I pondered long on how to break that constraint. To turn Magnet Style itself into a more direct… weapon."
Rasa's gaze sharpened. "And did you succeed? Show me."
The Sasuke clone's hands moved, forming a seal sequence never before seen.
CRACKLE…!
The magnetic chakra cloaking him suddenly turned violent, lashing out like white lightning.
Rasa raised an arm against the sheer pressure. "Impossible…! This chakra output far exceeds what a shadow clone should be capable of! What is he doing?!"
Zzzzt… A brilliant, white halo of light materialized behind Sasuke's head.
"That is…?!" Rasa gasped.
"This," Sasuke declared, his voice cutting through the magnetic storm, "is a 'Magnetic Storm Coil' I created by resonating my personal magnetic field with the planet's own geomagnetic field!"
"Resonating… with the Earth's magnetic field?!" Rasa's mind reeled at the sheer audacity of the concept.
"The prerequisite is a Magnet Style chakra of sufficient magnitude. Theoretically possible, but its realization was never guaranteed. That's why I developed this chakra mode," Sasuke explained, the white halo pulsating with power. "Fortunately… the effort bore fruit. Breaking new ground in a niche ability requires a certain obsessive stubbornness. This fight provided the catalyst."
Rasa's composure finally shattered, his voice laced with a bitterness that had nothing to do with the battle. "Why?! With the power of Wood Style at your command, with the might of the Uchiha… why focus so intensely on my ability?! Is this some elaborate mockery, Uchiha Sasuke!!!"
"No." Sasuke's reply was quiet, yet it carried absolute finality. "On the contrary. While you are no paragon among Kage, and your strength alone does not command my utmost respect… you are, after all, the father of my friend. Of Gaara."
Rasa froze. The impact of those words hit him with a force greater than any magnetic storm.
"F-Friend…? Gaara? That… that failed experiment, that creature who knew only slaughter… has a friend? Are you joking?!?"
The Sasuke clone offered no further words. He simply advanced.
—Magnet Style: Heavenly Scourge!
KRA-KOOOOM…!!!
Blinding arcs of white magnetic energy erupted from the storm coil behind him. They lanced forward, piercing through Rasa's hastily raised wall of gold dust, through his reanimated Edo Tensei body…
And through the heart long corroded by ambition and callousness.
—"Feel it for yourself… Gaara's pain."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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