Naruto: The Hidden Protector

179: Gamamaru You Are Dead This Time

The two talismans glowed brightly as they floated in midair. Suddenly, the ground shook and two coffins burst out from the dirt. If one didn't know better, they would think Gamamaru mastered Edo Tensei.

When the two coffins open, two people appeared. The two were none other than Indra and Ashura. Their skin was a map of jagged cracks, like dried-out earth, and their eyes were hollow voids. But the aura they released was much stronger than any kage-level being. In fact, they were even touching the realm of the Six-Paths.

"Hahaha! Behold, you idiots!" Gamamaru shouted, laughing like a total villain. "This is the trump card I got from Hagoromo himself! Originally, this was supposed to save this for when Mount Myōboku was about to be destroyed by an enemy we couldn't beat. But honestly, this situation is even better than what I intended! Let this teach you fools learn what it means to become an enemy of me." He looked at everyone with a twisted smile on his face.

At that moment, every sage felt a chill of pure fear. But they weren't even looking at Indra or Ashura anymore—all their attention was fixed on Izanami. The playful smile she had been wearing was completely gone.

In its place, Izanami released a killing intent so thick and heavy that you could almost see it with the naked eye. It felt like the air was turning into solid lead, making it impossible to move. Along with that crushing pressure, she unleashed her Conqueror's Haki.

Red lightning began to dance and spark wildly as the very space around her started to crack under the strain. The pressure was so intense that some of the weaker sages couldn't even stay conscious; their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed into the dirt. The ones still standing could barely breathe, feeling the ground tremble beneath them as Izanami's aura turned the entire battlefield into her domain.

Right now, the whole world was trembling because of Izanami's anger. She was truly, deeply furious. Even though her relationship with her brothers hadn't always been perfect, they were still her blood. Unlike her hypocritical father, her brothers had always been nice to her. Even Indra, that big tsundere, would never actually ignore her just because of a fight.

But seeing her brothers' corpses turned into puppets was too much. And knowing the mastermind behind this was their own father? This time, Hagoromo had truly crossed a line.

Izanami had stayed quiet while her father ignored the conflict between the two brothers, watching from the sidelines as their descendants slaughtered each other for centuries. But even after all that, this bastard couldn't even let his own sons rest in peace. He had desecrated their bodies just to use them as tools.

And what's more, as the ruler of the underworld, seeing such corpse puppets was like a massive slap to her face and her authority. Using the dead as toys in front of the Queen of the Dead was an insult she wouldn't let slide.

"Hey, you toads," Izanami's indifferent voice rang through the battlefield, cutting through the heavy silence like a blade. "I'll give you one chance. Run away, and run as fast as you can. Otherwise, you're all going to die."

"Gamamaru, this time you are dead. I will kill you and let you suffer so much that you would regret being born " Izanami declared as she disappeared.

She took a single step forward, and the ground beneath her heel shattered into dust. Her two swords began to hum with a terrifying energy, once again bathed in those flickering, dark flames that seemed to eat the very light around them.

And in the next second she was in front of Gamamaru, swinging her sword at his neck. The sword was less than 10 centimeters away from Gamamaru's neck. Just as Izanami's sword was about to decapitate him, a purple shield appeared and blocked Izanami's sword.

Seeing her attack was blocked, Izanami immediately took a step back and swung her blade behind. And the next moment her blade was once again blocked. But this time the one who blocked her was Ashura in his six-path mode.

Izanami took out another katana from the shadows and swung it at Ashura. Ashura jumped back and threw three truth orbs towards Izanami. The three truth-seeking orbs spun and flew through the air like black bullets, aiming straight for Izanami. She didn't move an inch. Instead, she took a deep breath, and steam hissed out from her mouth.

"Underworld Breathing, First Form: Void Slash!"

She flashed forward, her blades cutting with impossible speed. Her dark flames didn't just explode the orbs; they ate them, swallowing the black spheres whole.

Before the smoke even settled, Indra moved.

His eyes spun, and in a flash, his giant, armored purple Susanoo erupted around him. At the same time, Ashura roared, and a massive golden Six Paths avatar with a thousand arms surged from the ground. They were perfectly synchronized, forced by the Edo Tensei to work together as one machine.

Izanami didn't hesitate. She took another deep breath, her eyes glowing with a terrifying dark light.

"Senjutsu: Queen of the Underworld Susanoo!"

A colossal armor formed around her. It wasn't the regular blue or red; it was obsidian-black, with jagged crimson lightning crackling all over it. It carried two massive katanas made of pure, dark energy.

Izanami's giant dark form roared and charged. She locked her giant black blades against Indra's purple chakra blade, pushing him back with brute force.

Suddenly, Ashura's giant golden hands rained down on her black Susanoo, cracking the obsidian armor. Izanami hissed, refocusing.

"Underworld Style: Roar of the Forsaken!"

Her giant black Susanoo swung both katanas in a massive X-shape. The wave of pitch-black fire didn't just clash with her brothers' forms; it consumed the golden and purple energy, sending a devastating shockwave that leveled mountains across Mount Myoboku.

Indra's Susanoo was already cracked, but he didn't feel any pain. He immediately opened his Susanoo's mouth to shoot black Amaterasu flames, aiming to burn her black avatar to ash. At the same time, Ashura's thousand arms Buddha started to grow wooden tentacles, aiming to bind her down.

Izanami jumped her black Susanoo high into the air, dodging the direct hits. She spun mid-air, her obsidian blades glowing with an ominous purple light, harnessing the natural energy of the world.

"Hidden Art: Soul-Shattering Eclipse!"

She crashed down like a falling star. Her black Susanoo's blades were moving so fast they warped space itself.

Just as Izanami's black blades were about to split the earth, Indra and Ashura moved as if they shared a single mind.

Indra's cracked Susanoo roared, throwing its entire body forward. It didn't try to dodge; instead, it grew two extra arms that grabbed onto Ashura's golden avatar. At the same time, Ashura channeled every bit of his Six Paths energy into Indra. The purple chakra of the Susanoo began to merge with the golden glow of the wooden arms, creating a massive, shimmering shield of light and shadow.

The collision sent a shockwave that blew away every cloud in the sky. The ground for miles around simply vanished, turning into a smooth, glass-like crater. Izanami's dark blades sparked against their combined defense, red and purple lightning screaming as the two forces fought for dominance.

For a moment, it was a total deadlock. But this deadlock didn't last long. 

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