Chapter 401 – Devourer of Nightmares

Chapter 401: Chapter 401 – Devourer of Nightmares

HOKAGE TOWER

"No need to get irritated, Tsunade." Riser kept his tone steady, without taking his eyes off Danzō while adjusting his own reading of the situation.

"How could I not be irritated?" Tsunade replied without looking away. "He’s going to be a headache."

"That’s why I told you to leave him to me." Riser tilted his face slightly, already predicting the next movement before it even happened.

Danzō waited no longer.

"Finished talking yet?" His voice came loaded with contempt. "Because now I’m going to finish all of you... traitors to the village."

He brought his finger to his mouth and bit down without hesitation. Blood immediately ran down, and the next movement was direct, pressing his hand against the ground with force.

Chakra spread the instant contact was made.

THOOM

A mark opened on the floor, expanding into a summoning circle that distorted the surrounding space before releasing a massive presence.

The creature appeared at the center of the formation.

Gigantic.

Its body resembled a distorted chimera, combining traits of an elephant, tiger and tapir into a single unstable, heavy and oppressive form, while the entity’s breathing already began pulling the surrounding air abnormally.

Riser did not take his eyes off the creature, analyzing the flow of its breathing and the distortion forming around it.

’I remember this thing... in the anime it was vulnerable to fire. And I am the master of fire.’

The air began moving irregularly, being pulled toward the creature with increasing force, creating constant pressure that distorted the environment and made even bodily stability difficult.

"Careful, Riser." Tsunade advanced half a step, remaining firm despite the pressure. "That summon’s ability is suction."

"You have lost." Danzō spoke without raising his tone, confident while maintaining control over the summon. "No matter what you do, you will be dragged in and destroyed."

The creature slowly opened its mouth.

The suction increased.

The ground began to crack.

Fragments of the tower’s structure began to be pulled with greater force, sliding across the broken floor while the surrounding air was continuously sucked in, making it difficult even to maintain balance.

Riser analyzed the pattern for a moment, his body already adjusting its weight before the pressure increased further.

Tsunade and Shizune tried to brace themselves, digging their feet into the ground while the airflow pulled violently stronger, but the resistance was not enough to maintain full stability, forcing both to struggle just to avoid being dragged away.

Danzō remained in front of the summon, motionless, confident, watching the scenario unfold exactly as he expected, without showing any need to act directly while the creature did the work.

"Soru."

Riser’s body disappeared in the same instant.

The displacement was clean, fast enough to completely leave the suction zone before the pressure could interfere, reappearing above the creature in one continuous movement.

He emerged directly over the summon’s head.

The air was still being pulled violently, but there, at the top, the flow was more manageable.

Riser did not hesitate.

His arm darkened instantly, coated by Busoshoku Haki, the black layer forming with solid density while the surrounding pressure was not enough to break his stability.

"Where is the Uchiha?" Danzō demanded, turning his gaze without being able to locate Riser amid the distortion.

Shizune forced her body against the suction, raising her gaze with difficulty while pointing upward.

"There... Tsunade, he’s on top of the summon!"

Tsunade followed the movement without hesitation.

"I see him."

Riser was already in position.

The hardened arm pulled back only as much as necessary, gathering strength before descending in a straight line toward the creature’s central point.

BOOOOM

The impact was not merely physical.

The force passed through the summon’s structure from top to bottom, crushing the entire mass against the ground while a shockwave expanded outward, interrupting the suction instantly.

The creature’s body could not endure it.

Its form collapsed under the pressure, disintegrating amid the impact while the surrounding airflow was abruptly cut off, restoring stability to the environment.

Fragments of the tower’s structure were launched outward instead of being pulled in, scattering dust and debris while the space returned to normal.

Danzō was forced to retreat several steps beneath his own summon being destroyed above him, the impact striking the ground hard enough to break the base where he stood, forcing him to reposition to avoid being buried.

His gaze lifted instantly.

The summon had disappeared.

Completely.

Without any sign of resistance.

Tsunade did not take her eyes off the scene.

"He... killed it with one punch."

Riser kept his gaze fixed while his body descended, the fall controlled even after the previous impact, without losing focus on Danzō who was still repositioning himself among the rubble.

Midway down, he raised his hand.

A sphere of fire formed effortlessly, condensing thermal energy into a single point before being launched directly downward toward the target.

Danzō reacted in the same instant.

Chakra exploded around him, spreading through the ground before rising in solid form, giving birth to a gigantic tree that appeared between him and the attack, its branches expanding like a living barrier.

Tsunade froze her gaze on the technique.

’Wood... that is my grandfather’s technique.’

The fire sphere collided.

BOOOOM

The impact did not stop at the surface.

The flames spread at the instant of contact, clinging to the tree’s structure as if they had a will of their own, advancing through the branches with increasing intensity.

The wood began to give way.

The fire did not merely burn, it consumed.

The branches cracked beneath the extreme heat, the entire structure being overtaken within seconds while the barrier lost its function before the continuous spread of the flames.

Riser touched the ground in the same instant.

The impact was light.

But the consequence was not.

He advanced one step and extended his hand, feeding the already active fire, amplifying the intensity while the flames tore through what remained of the tree and continued onward.

The mass of fire advanced without slowing, pressing directly against Danzō’s position while the heat distorted the surrounding air.

Danzō frowned, the irritation evident as he evaluated his own resource consumption, already annoyed by the number of Sharingan wasted up to that point.

He raised his hand without hesitation.

Wind chakra formed immediately, released in a concentrated blast that collided against the flames, trying to push the fire away with enough pressure to disperse the attack.

"That won’t work."

Riser did not change his tone.

The fire responded.

The flames did not retreat.

They split apart.

Instead of resisting the wind pressure directly, the flow of fire curved around the blast, bypassing the opposing force while spreading to the sides, advancing from different angles as if guided.

Danzō realized it instantly.

His gaze moved quickly, following the fire that was no longer coming only from the front.

Now it came from every direction.

The pressure closed in.

The flames surrounded him.

The heat rose abruptly, reducing the space for reaction while the attack closed around him without leaving a direct escape route.

For a moment, the body was consumed.

And then disappeared.

Danzō reappeared several meters behind, outside the flames’ immediate reach, completely intact once again, without any sign of physical damage.

But another Sharingan had closed.

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