Chapter 176: Each One’s Final Chance

“Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki’s eyes?”

The Slug Sage grew a little solemn. It hadn’t expected those eyes to exist in this era.

But it was a pity.

Compared to Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, it was far too lacking—having only the eyes was nowhere near enough.

The instant Madara’s Chibaku Tensei (Planetary Devastation) rose into the sky, the Slug Sage’s attacks were all drawn in by its gravitational pull.

At the same time, under that terrifying suction, cracks spread rapidly across the ground around them. Huge chunks of rock tore free and flew upward, dust erupting in thick clouds.

In only a short span of time, an enormous sphere of stone had already formed in midair.

A cold glint flashed in Madara’s eyes. He controlled the massive boulder sphere above and hurled it toward the Slug Sage with crushing force.

The Slug Sage’s body contracted slightly—then it sprayed an immense amount of highly corrosive fluid from its mouth.

Ssssss—

The moment the liquid touched the air, it was as if the air itself began to melt, producing sharp sizzling sounds.

And then—

The gigantic boulder sphere that had been rocketing toward the Slug Sage suddenly stopped in midair.

Madara, controlling it from below, froze for a moment—then his face showed clear surprise.

Because somehow, Yuto’s figure had appeared beneath the massive boulder.

Yuto braced it with both hands, forcibly halting the enormous stone sphere in the sky before it could smash into the Slug Sage.

“Up!!”

Yuto roared.

Violent energy erupted from his body, forming a powerful shock force.

Under everyone’s shocked gaze, Yuto carried the enormous boulder sphere and, using that raging energy as propulsion, shot upward at terrifying speed—still holding the rock above his head!

Veins bulged along Yuto’s arms. And with that sudden change in direction, the Slug Sage’s acid spray was completely avoided.

Seeing this, Madara instantly understood what Yuto was trying to do.

“Kanzentai Susanoo (Perfect Susanoo)!!”

Madara roared as well. Massive blue chakra rapidly condensed behind him, visible even to the naked eye.

Perfect Susanoo spread its wings, flapped hard, and Madara also rose into the air—flying toward the top of the Slug Sage’s head.

Even though the battle hadn’t lasted long—

It was already enough time for Yuto and Madara to gather the information they needed.

The Slug Sage’s body was simply too huge, yet its reaction speed wasn’t slow at all.

Whether it was ninjutsu or taijutsu, those attacks might be able to harm the Slug Sage—

But compared to that colossal body, the damage was basically negligible.

In other words, the Slug Sage had no obvious weakness.

And as for its methods of attack, they looked simple so far… but it had lived for a thousand years.

Who knew what other terrifying jutsu it might have mastered?

If they kept fighting like this, the two of them would lose for sure.

So the only real opening was Hashirama.

As long as Hashirama was dealt with, everything else stopped being a problem.

Yuto and Madara split into two directions, both aiming for the position atop the Slug Sage’s head.

Sensing their movements, the Slug Sage remained calm, speaking in a flat tone:

“About time. Let’s end this.”

Boom!

A massive muffled blast sounded.

In the next instant, the Slug Sage’s body suddenly began to swell—then its slick flesh spread out like a vast sheet of white cloth.

In a heartbeat, it swept toward Yuto and Madara, trying to wrap them up.

Now!

A sharp glint flashed through both of their eyes at the same time!

Bang! Bang!

Yuto’s rapidly rising body suddenly stopped. Then, still holding the giant boulder above him, he slammed it down hard into the flesh surging to envelop him.

The huge stone sphere collided with the Slug Sage’s body, producing a heavy, dull impact.

Using that split-second opening, Yuto’s speed exploded.

He became a streak of black light and shot upward.

On the other side, Madara used the instant the flesh wrapped around Perfect Susanoo to detach himself from within it as well.

Using the Rinnegan’s repulsive force, Madara’s body launched outward like a projectile, rocketing toward the Slug Sage’s head at blazing speed.

The enormous boulder sphere and Perfect Susanoo—both wrapped in the Slug Sage’s flesh—began to dissolve the moment they touched it, melting away at a visible pace.

And in that tiny span of time, Madara’s figure had already appeared atop the Slug Sage’s head.

There—

Sitting cross-legged with a pale face, Hashirama.

The moment they saw him, cold killing intent flashed through both Yuto and Madara’s eyes.

“It’s over, Hashirama!”

Madara was the first to bark the words.

Yuto didn’t waste a single syllable.

He was even faster than Madara.

By the time Madara arrived on the Slug Sage’s head, Yuto was already in front of Hashirama.

Boom!

Violent power surged into Yuto’s fist. He raised his arm and punched straight toward Hashirama’s forehead.

Hashirama didn’t open his eyes, but he could clearly feel the wind pressure of that incoming punch.

“It really is over.”

Hashirama murmured softly—still not moving at all—because he believed the Slug Sage would handle everything.

Splash—Splash—

A white flash swept across Yuto and Madara’s vision.

In the next instant, both of them were swallowed into total darkness.

Outside, seeing Yuto and Madara wrapped inside the Slug Sage’s flesh, Hashirama let out a quiet sigh.

And inside that darkness, Yuto and Madara immediately understood what had happened.

From the moment they shot upward to the moment they were wrapped up…

Only a few blinks had passed.

The Slug Sage wasn’t just flexible—its reaction speed was monstrous.

That thought flickered through Yuto’s mind.

But the real problem was—

How did they escape from inside this?

Corrosive liquid surged from all directions, rushing toward them.

Yuto’s eyes widened. Violent energy flooded around his body, forming something like an energy barrier.

But when that energy touched the corrosive liquid…

It melted—like real matter being dissolved.

This corrosive liquid… was abnormal!

“Slug Sage! You think you can kill me like this?! Who do you think I am?!”

Yuto roared in fury.

At that moment, the Sanbi—Isobu—who had been obediently resting on Yuto’s shoulder, felt an extremely bad premonition rise in its heart.

“Sanbi, lend me your power for a bit!”

Sure enough—Yuto’s voice rang right beside Isobu’s ear.

Panic flashed in Isobu’s eyes, but before it could even react, a terrifying suction erupted from Yuto’s body.

Isobu barely had time to scream before its entire body was rapidly devoured by Yuto.

A torrent of violent chakra poured out of Yuto like a flood.

“Kanzentai Bijū-ka (Complete Tailed Beast Transformation)!”

Yuto snapped his eyes open and let out a low roar.

One tail! Two tails! Three tails!

Boom!

Yuto’s body transformed directly into Isobu’s form—except now, Isobu’s will was effortlessly suppressed by Yuto.

Controlling the three-tailed body, Yuto smashed forward, slamming into the flesh wrapping him!

On the other side, within the darkness, Madara’s face burned with rage as well.

“You think you can kill me with a trick like this?! I’m Uchiha Madara!”

“Chō: Shinra Tensei (Ultra Almighty Push)!!”

A狂暴的 repulsive force exploded outward from Madara as the center.

Outside—

Hashirama hadn’t even had time to truly relax.

The slug flesh wrapping Yuto and Madara suddenly burst apart!

Two violent auras erupted at the same time—one from the front, one from the rear.

Yuto, controlling the three-tailed Isobu body, raised a gigantic palm and slammed it down toward Hashirama.

On the other side, Madara summoned the upper half of Susanoo as well, holding a massive chakra blade and chopping down at Hashirama in the same instant.

Seeing the two of them break free yet again, a heavy look passed through the Slug Sage’s enormous eyes.

With its status, dealing with two juniors was already somewhat improper.

But since it had promised Hashirama, it wouldn’t go back on its word.

And now—these two juniors had repeatedly escaped its grasp.

To the Slug Sage, that was humiliating.

Either it didn’t act—

Or it acted, and ended things completely.

Gloop.

The place where Hashirama sat suddenly sank inward. Hashirama dropped directly into the Slug Sage’s body, dodging both attacks.

Yuto and Madara’s strikes landed on the Slug Sage’s head, blasting out a massive crater—

But that crater healed in the blink of an eye, restoring itself at a visible speed.

Yuto’s heart sank, an ugly expression appearing on his face.

They had already lost their best chance.

“For a thousand years, across countless eras, there are always two people whose strength transcends the limits of their time.”

“It’s almost like a law… a law of the shinobi world.”

“And in this era… three appeared at once.”

“Maybe that means change is coming. After all—even I have been swept into this change.”

The Slug Sage’s soft voice echoed in everyone’s ears.

But in those words, Yuto heard something else—

Resolve.

Run!

Yuto and Madara both retreated instantly, blasting backward in opposite directions.

Rumble!!

The Slug Sage’s body split cleanly in two. Its soft form met no resistance at all as it swallowed Yuto and Madara into its belly—one from each side.

Then the two halves fused back into a single body.

Gloop.

A faint sound rippled across the Slug Sage’s body, and Hashirama—who had also been inside—reemerged from beneath its skin.

“Slug Sage… they won’t escape again, will they?”

Hashirama’s voice was weak. The chakra in his body was nearly depleted—he couldn’t keep the summon going much longer.

As if it understood Hashirama’s limit, the Slug Sage answered calmly.

“Relax.”

In the next instant, dense senjutsu chakra erupted from the Slug Sage’s entire body.