Their gazes met in mid-air, stirring a violent hurricane across the skies.
In the next instant, two opposing waves of force exploded from their bodies, manifesting as two orbs—one black, one white—suspended in the void. The bottom of the Red Line cracked violently, jagged fissures stretching upward as the landmass trembled beneath the clash of their repulsion.
Chiga wasn't surprised that Im could use Shinra Tensei. After all, most members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan had an innate affinity for manipulating gravity—repulsion was simply second nature to them.
The two shockwaves collided, pushing against each other with equal intensity, locked in stalemate. Then, just as suddenly, both forces dissipated into nothingness.
Im scoffed, his hands turning pitch black with Armament Haki, and surged forward.
Chiga responded by summoning a Truth-Seeking Orb, shaping it into a protective barrier before him. Im's fist slammed into the orb with a thunderous boom.
Five dark tendrils erupted from behind Chiga like living shadows, writhing toward Im. Before he could withdraw, they coiled around his limbs, one lashing tightly around his throat.
Chiga clenched his fist.
With a sickening wrench, the tendrils pulled in five directions at once. Im's body split apart—arms, legs, and head suspended in the air, dismembered. Yet there was no blood. His expression remained unnervingly calm, even amused.
"This is the power of the Yami Yami no Mi, isn't it?" Im said with a smirk. "Interesting."
Even as he spoke, the severed pieces of his body reassembled, converging seamlessly into his torso. Within seconds, he stood whole again—without a single scar.
He folded his arms and taunted, "What else have you got? Show me everything."
Chiga didn't answer. Instead, a translucent light shield shimmered into existence on his palm. Without hesitation, he smashed it straight into Im's face.
The impact splintered Im's face like shattered glass, his features warping grotesquely.
Dazed, Im staggered slightly. But he wasn't one to take a beating quietly. He retaliated with a sweeping kick toward Chiga's ribs.
Chiga's eyes narrowed. In an instant, a Susanoo Armor flared to life, deflecting the blow.
Using the opening, Chiga seized Im by the face. The light shield on his hand expanded rapidly, veins of energy crackling across it. Space itself began to fracture, revealing a gaping black void behind it. Im's head vanished into the nothingness.
Reeling, Im erupted with a fresh pulse of repulsion and retreated.
But Chiga wasn't done.
He raised two fingers, and the earth beneath split apart. A storm of stone fragments lifted into the air, orbiting around Im like satellites.
Chiga's Rinnegan pulsed with a glowing purple light. He uttered with quiet power:
A massive sphere—nearly a kilometer wide—rose high into the sky, pulling debris inward. Im vanished into its center.
This wasn't like the Earth-sealing version used on Whitebeard Jr. long ago. Even so, Chiga didn't expect it to hold someone like Im indefinitely.
True to form, tremors began to shake the orb. Cracks spiderwebbed across its surface, glowing with destructive energy.
Chiga brought his hands together once more. His voice thundered through the heavens:
"Meteor Annihilation."
A brilliant white explosion erupted from the orb's core, the deafening blast echoing for miles. The sky lit up like a second sun.
When the dust finally cleared, Im hovered at the center of the destruction. His expression had darkened, his smugness gone. A portion of the horn on his forehead was missing, and this time, it wasn't growing back.
His cold gaze locked onto Chiga.
"Uchiha Chiga, you've made a grave mistake," he said, his voice like frost.
Chiga smirked. "Oh? Our precious Im-sama is upset? You wanted to see more of my abilities, didn't you? This is just the beginning."
With a grim snarl, Im descended.
He bit his thumb, slammed it against the ground, and roared:
"Come forth! Ten-Tails!"
Black markings crawled across the surface, followed by an infernal surge of black flames that chilled the air. From the fire, a single blood-red eye emerged, rolling erratically before fixing its stare on Chiga.
Chiga responded instantly, summoning a bolt of violet lightning and hurling it down. The eye recoiled as the electricity struck it directly.
Im didn't flinch. Instead, he stood tall, arms spread wide.
The black flames twisted upward, drawn into the eye. The mass grew rapidly, morphing into a monstrous, jet-black beast towering over a thousand meters tall.
Im levitated onto its head. Black tendrils—pulsing like diseased veins—sprouted from the creature's back and stabbed into his body, fusing him to the beast.
Im grinned down at Chiga, face manic with glee.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" he whispered.
Chiga's disgust was plain.
A wave of deep purple energy surged around him. The phantom of a colossal Susanoo manifested in the sky.
With a single motion, Chiga clenched his fist. The giant warrior solidified, standing opposite the Ten-Tails.
Im's eyes widened with perverse admiration.
"Magnificent. That's not Devil Fruit power, is it?"
Within the diamond-shaped space inside Susanoo's head, Chiga stood tall, arms folded. He offered no answer—only cold silence.
Susanoo reached for the longsword at its side.
Then, with a single swing, it slashed down.
But Im was ready. The Ten-Tails' tail shot out, coiling tightly around the blade mid-swing.
Mocking laughter followed.
"Is that all?" Im jeered.
The blade in Susanoo's hand transformed—vibrant purple lightning dancing across its edge. The temperature rose sharply. The tail hissed as it burned under the heat.
The Ten-Tails howled in agony, and its grip failed. The tail fell away.
The blade descended with a blinding flash, cleaving both Im and the Ten-Tails in two.
Chiga stood unmoving within Susanoo as the spectral warrior spun its blade and struck a pose of mockery.
Feigning surprise, Chiga raised an eyebrow and returned Im's earlier taunt.
"Is that all you've got?"
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