"Roar!"
The earth trembled as a monstrous roar echoed through the heavens and earth, assaulting the eardrums of everyone present.
Instantly, the ground cracked open, and a colossal arm emerged, sweeping towards Lin Nan and the other two.
Lin Nan and his companions retreated. The arm pressed down on the fractured earth, and a monstrous head, with nine closed eyes, rose into view.
In the next moment, countless chains snaked out from behind the giant head, binding the Nine-Tails, already on the brink of death from Amaterasu's flames, and began to drag them.
Lin Nan's expression turned grave. Was it summoning the Outer Path Statue of Inner and Outer Paths now?
Absorbing the chakra from the Nine-Tails while they were still burning in Amaterasu was indeed a clever method, as it would prevent them from being harmed.
Of course, the Nine-Tails could not truly die; their chakra would forever persist in the world. Even if Lin Nan were to incinerate them now, their chakra would eventually return to some place and re-form into Nine-Tails.
The emergence of the Outer Path Statue of Inner and Outer Paths clearly disrupted Lin Nan's plans.
However, it was acceptable; it would merely hasten the progression of the battle.
The statue crawled out from the chasm, reaching an astonishing height of one hundred meters.
Standing atop the statue, White Mask let out a triumphant laugh.
"Lin Nan, there are still many things I can do! Just watch, as I, with the power of Edo Tensei, destroy this world with my own eyes!"
"Ultimately, it's still the fate of a tool, isn't it?"
Lin Nan muttered to himself, retreating. He taunted, "Are you impatient?"
Lin Nan had encountered the Outer Path Statue of Inner and Outer Paths before; it was virtually immune to all ninjutsu attacks, meaning any assault from Lin Nan at this moment would be ineffective.
Of course, Lin Nan had also tried Amaterasu.
However, the Outer Path Statue of Inner and Outer Paths could devour the Amaterasu flames, rendering it a futile effort.
The statue was the vessel of the Ten-Tails; without the chakra of the Nine-Tails to fill it, it was merely an inanimate object, a ruthless war machine.
The Nine-Tails were unkillable, and thus, the statue, as the Ten-Tails' vessel, could not be destroyed.
This was indeed a troublesome aspect.
However, not being destroyable did not mean it could not be injured.
White Mask remained silent, performing a second set of hand seals.
"Swish!"
Another thick chain shot out from behind the Outer Path Statue of Inner and Outer Paths' giant mouth, reaching towards the sky and plunging into the mini-moon formed by the Chibaku Tensei.
Lin Nan shouted, "Naruto, Killer B, stop the Nine-Tails from being absorbed!"
He knew that as long as the Outer Path Statue of Inner and Outer Paths did not absorb the Nine-Tails, it was merely a puppet controlled by someone, and each manipulation would consume a significant amount of chakra.
While White Mask possessed abundant chakra, with the control of both the Nine-Tails and the Outer Path Statue of Inner and Outer Paths in his hands, Lin Nan truly believed he would eventually be drained, just like Nagato.
Things were different now. The last time Lin Nan faced the Outer Path Statue of Inner and Outer Paths, he was in a desperate state, primarily because he was already at his limit.
With the power of Edo Tensei this time, even at his worst, he was merely a wood clone.
Looking at the massive, grotesque Outer Path Statue of Inner and Outer Paths, Lin Nan recalled his past desperate escape, and his fighting spirit ignited.
"Gods? Do gods bleed?"
Lin Nan retracted the Amaterasu flames. The Nine-Tails were severely injured, and while their lives were not in danger, they would be unable to move freely for a considerable time.
Naruto and Killer B's figures moved towards the being dragged Nine-Tails.
"Earth Style: Weighted Boulder Jutsu!"
"Lightning Style: Lightning Style Chakra Mode (Lightning Armor)!"
"Curse Mark of Heaven!"
"Nine-Tails Chakra Mode (Golden Form)!"
Lin Nan, meanwhile, was frantically stacking buffs.
Red, white, black, and yellow colors flickered on his body incessantly.
White Mask watched from afar as Lin Nan shimmered like a kaleidoscope, eventually transforming into a man with long hair, a yellow aura, and black lightning, adorned with tattoos.
A strong "Visual Kei" aura emanated from him.
White Mask sensed an extremely oppressive chakra fluctuation from Lin Nan's current form and could no longer remain seated, immediately lunging at Lin Nan.
Lin Nan dodged White Mask's assault by activating Kamui's intangible state, but he suddenly felt overwhelmed.
It wasn't due to the excessive stacking of buffs, but rather because his wood clone was about to break.
Although the Edo Tensei body had strong regenerative capabilities compared to the original body, it had also become significantly frail, which was an undeniable fact.
In other words, it had become more brittle.
A blow that would have once only broken a bone would now shatter his chest.
This was even before stacking further buffs. Lin Nan intended to use the Eight Gates Formation later, but by then, he might shatter himself before even posing a threat to his opponent.
Lin Nan had copied the Eight Gates Formation during his lifetime but had not learned it.
The reason was simple: training the Eight Gates Formation required constant physical exertion, and could Lin Nan endure such suffering?
Clearly not.
He considered the most strenuous physical activity of his life to be the middle school sports test.
Weren't ninjutsu more appealing?
Why torment the body?
Therefore, during his lifetime, Lin Nan's body was not particularly robust. The most strenuous physical labor he usually engaged in was traveling and driving... and being chased.
Gritting his teeth, Lin Nan transformed into a streak of light and charged towards the Outer Path Statue of Inner and Outer Paths, which was roaring towards the sky.
Upon seeing this, White Mask immediately manipulated the Outer Path Statue of Inner and Outer Paths to initiate a counter-attack.
However, the Outer Path Statue of Inner and Outer Paths was merely an empty shell of the Ten-Tails. While the Ten-Tails were undeniably agile, the statue was essentially a slow-moving human sandbag, like a tank – powerful but not agile.
Easily dodging a swing from the statue, Lin Nan directly jabbed at one of its closed eyes.
"Hell Stab, One Finger Thrust!"
"Crack!"
Don't misunderstand; this wasn't the sound from the statue, but from Lin Nan.
"Has the body reached its limit?"
Lin Nan's arm shattered inch by inch. Even the wood clone was on the verge of collapse.
The body failed first?
What a useless Edo Tensei!
However, this strike was effective. The statue's massive body was sent crashing to the ground by Lin Nan, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Awesome!" Naruto and Killer B beside him cheered in astonishment.
"Ah!"
At this point, Lin Nan could no longer concern himself with such matters. He transformed into a streak of light once more and furiously hammered at the statue's eyes. Despite the statue's incredible toughness, it began to bleed.
This time, Lin Nan abandoned the Hell Stab, fearing he himself would explode.
"So you can bleed too?"
The more Lin Nan struck, the more excited he became, as if venting the vengeance for being relentlessly pursued by the statue in the past.
"Roar!"
The statue let out a pained roar as its massive hand slammed towards its own head.
"Too slow!"
Lin Nan's figure flickered, appearing at the statue's temple and unleashing another barrage of punches.
"Ora ora ora!"
At this point, the statue was no different from a human sandbag.
"Roar!" The statue cried out in succession, indicating it possessed a certain degree of self-awareness.
However, the more it cried out, the more excited Lin Nan became.