A couple of hand seals and a water wave, much lower and flimsier despite the huge amount of chakra invested in the jinchuriki's technique, began to rise towards the fiery one, and she began to retreat, scattering the fuin that immediately activated, forming four bullwhips one after the other, followed by another, much denser looking one that Kushina had created from her chains, and she was enveloped in a golden cover.
The speeding sea of fire buries the water wave underneath it, delaying only for a second, and with a ringing sound it demolishes one after another of the kekkai, and then covers Uzumaki, who was hiding in a small cube, and moves on, spreading wider and wider and covering almost a quarter of the giant arena.
Unfortunately, the seal is still very crude and does not retain the absorbed techniques, releasing back only unconcentrated elements, far less deadly than the ninjutsu originally used. Of course, due to the combination, the total power of the techniques had reached the S-rank, but a more concentrated but less powerful strike would be even more effective.
No sooner had the fire hit the huge wall than seals erupted at the very top, all around the perimeter, and the well of the arena was covered by the lid of the most powerful barrier. Mito's work. And following that, the entire arena shuddered, causing the spectators to shriek in fright. Below, a fiery inferno raged on one half of the arena, while on the other half, the figure of the apprentice was rapidly retreating to the opposite side.
***
The element raged for no more than a dozen seconds, but even with the protective barrier, the heat reached the front seats of the spectators, causing people to squint and wipe away the sweat that appeared on their faces. The scrolls spat out the remnants of the elemental chakra and immediately crumbled to dust, the material unable to withstand the strain of the sheer volume.
Without further fuel from the destroyed scrolls, the fire fell away, revealing molten walls of stone and heat-streaked earth. Glad in passing that even such devastating battles had been designed for the thickness of stone several dozen meters thick during construction, I looked down at Kushina, searching for her - the barrier was working, and the residual emanations of elemental chakra were jamming her sensory senses as well. I frowned at her - by all calculations, that asshole should have not only survived, but also remained in a combat-ready state.
Two dozen tense moments later, the sound of crumbling stone echoed through the arena, and one of the wall's cooled-down piles cracked, and then the shards literally exploded in different directions, revealing a familiar figure.
Only at this moment, the young Uzumaki was a sad sight - with short blackened hair, no eyebrows, burned clothes, and burn marks on the exposed parts of her body, even though they were healing right before her eyes. Her cover was much greasier, obviously having failed to protect her, but the genin stood firmly on her feet, and judging by the look on her face, she was furious, but she kept her chakra under control.
After a brief glance at the stands, which sent a cold chill down my spine, the kunoichi rushed forward, blazing with the strengthened cover and quickly crossed the destroyed part of the arena, heading towards Asani, who was waiting patiently.
However, barely stepping on the untouched part, she crashed into the kekkai that had appeared right in front of her nose, albeit with difficulty, but breaking it, followed a couple of meters later by an explosion, throwing Uzumaki aside, and then another one right in front of her, knocking her off her feet.
Jumping to her feet, the burnt kunoichi tried once more to reach her opponent in one straight dash, but the explosions of buried kibakufuds and the growing barriers that prevented or trapped her from advancing at all made it difficult.
Apparently, through the shroud of rage, Kushina realized this as well, for when she stopped, she released over a hundred chains and tore up the ground in front of her a hundred meters ahead, causing explosions and destroying Asani's tabs. After that, the kunoichi folded the seal and the hundreds of clones that had appeared rushed forward, preparing ninjutsu as they went.
I've got more interesting stuff on patreon (+ 200 chapter)
patreon.com/Chill76