Naruto: Cthulhu: Ch. 246

On the surface of the lake near the shore, a jade-green radiance began to shine brilliantly, illuminating both heaven and earth, gradually rising to the surface.

This light was not scattered—in the center, it was as dazzling as a green sun, so intense that it was impossible to look at directly.

At that moment, the souls of the Thuum'ha drifting aimlessly on the water suddenly stopped their wandering and stood still, turning toward that jade-green light emerging from beneath the water in an act of reverent "worship."

The posture of the Thuum'ha's worship was extremely strange: arms and legs stretched out to the sides, leaping back and forth, as if performing some kind of terrifying dance.

Amid their worship, that radiant glow finally broke the surface of the water.

ROAR!

A gigantic monster stepped onto the water's surface, letting out an earth-shaking roar that made everyone instinctively cover their ears.

Only Orochimaru's eyes widened, staring in stunned awe at the terrifying being that had just emerged from the lake.

It was a colossal lizard, towering like a mountain, its body covered in blue-green, metallic-looking scales, and a row of razor-sharp spines along its back. Counting those towering spines, its height even exceeded that of the Three-Tails!

The water lizard's eyes glowed with a yellow-green light, which echoed eerily with the crimson gaze of the Three-Tails also on the water's surface.

But what made people shiver uncontrollably wasn't just its sheer size—it was the countless writhing tendrils hanging from its lower jaw.

Each of these tendrils was as large as a towering tree, trembling and lashing in the darkness, emanating an unspeakable sense of dread.

"Bokrug!"

Orochimaru's expression was completely distorted—his snake-like face contorted by a chaotic mix of excitement, awe, shock, and terror. His whole body was trembling uncontrollably.

Ever since he learned of the existence of the Great Old Ones, this was the first time he had witnessed one with his own eyes.

Although Bokrug was considered among the lowest tier of the Great Old Ones, and the title "Great Water Lizard" wasn't particularly transcendent, its physical manifestation still brought a madness that no ordinary person could resist.

Yet to he, the horror that Bokrug inspired couldn't compare to the sheer ecstasy of witnessing a Great Old One in the flesh.

For the others behind Orochimaru, though, that madness was much less intense.

Guren was crouching on the ground, holding the unconscious Yuukimaru—who had fainted even before Bokrug fully appeared—but her eyes remained fixed on the mountain-like water lizard before her.

To Guren, terms like "Great Old Ones" were still far too distant. The fear she felt was the raw, instinctual terror caused by the behemoth looming before her.

Kabuto and Sasuke were in a similar state—both had their eyes wide open in shock.

Though the Three-Tails and Bokrug were equally massive and awe-inspiring, the fear they evoked was worlds apart!

One was the oppressive force of chakra. The other—a deep, soul-level unease and dread.

In that moment, no one could move a muscle. Even the courage to resist with ninjutsu had vanished without a trace.

But the one who was most shocked by Bokrug's appearance wasn't any of the humans on the ground—it was another giant that also stood on the surface of the water: the Three-Tails.

Isobu fixed its signature crimson-ringed eye on the massive water lizard across from it in the lake. Even the perpetually shut eye on its other side opened slightly, trying to enhance its vision to see through the mysterious being before it—another colossal entity like itself.

But even so, Isobu couldn't begin to understand what this giant lizard was.

Gigantic creatures weren't uncommon in the ninja world. Apart from tailed beasts, there were plenty of large animals—turtles, toads, snakes, slugs, and the like.

Yet from all those creatures, Isobu had never felt any true sense of pressure. After all, they were just oversized ordinary animals.

Only other tailed beasts—especially ones stronger than itself, like Kurama, the Nine-Tails—could make Isobu feel genuine pressure.

But this enormous water lizard before it—it was certain it wasn't a tailed beast.

Bokrug had only one thick, powerful tail, and Isobu knew very clearly that the tailed beast with just one tail was that sharp-voiced tanuki.

Could it be... those tentacles?

From Bokrug's jutting lower jaw, countless thick tendrils whipped through the air.

If those were counted as tails...

Impossible!

Isobu instantly denied the possibility that Bokrug was one of the tailed beasts—because it couldn't sense a trace of chakra within this creature!

There wasn't a single thread of chakra inside it!

As a being made of chakra itself, Isobu was incredibly sensitive to its presence, and it instantly realized that the water lizard before it didn't possess even the tiniest amount of chakra.

In this world overflowing with chakra, all living beings had at least a faint trace of it—so faint that no dōjutsu could detect it.

But as a chakra entity, Isobu could sense even the slightest trace.

And yet, this water lizard had none. It was as if...

As if it didn't even belong to this world!

Isobu was deeply shaken, but before it could even begin to process its thoughts, Bokrug's yellow-green glowing eyes locked onto it.

A strange scene unfolded over the dark green lake.

A massive gray turtle, its three tails swaying, stared across the water at a similarly enormous blue-green iguana—this iguana bearing terrifying tendrils hanging from its jaw.

Elsewhere on the lake, hundreds of green, grotesque creatures were worshipping the iguana, while the entire lake became shrouded in a thick, green mist matching the color of the lizard's scales.

In an instant, it was Isobu who seemed out of place—like an intruder in this verdant lake.

At this moment, it felt as though the true master of the lake was this colossal iguana.

ROAR!

Bokrug let out another thunderous roar, sending ripples racing outward across the water in sync with its voice.

At the same time, the souls of the Thuum'ha suddenly ceased their worship and, in unison, turned to face Isobu in the distance.

They then charged at the Three-Tails.

These spirits didn't seem to be physical beings. Their running motion across the water looked more like floating, yet their steps still stirred up visible ripples on the surface.

At the same time, Bokrug launched a ferocious charge toward Isobu from the lakeshore. Its massive feet, formed of thick toes and webbing, astonishingly held it on the water's surface even without any chakra support.

Although Isobu didn't fully understand the situation, it immediately took a defensive stance.

Just as Bokrug was about to collide with Isobu, it abruptly stopped, spinning its body with agility, and swept low with its wide, powerful tail, aiming at Isobu's lower body.

Since Isobu wasn't standing on solid ground but on water, Bokrug's sweep caused a massive wave to surge upward.

The wave crashed into Isobu's face, making its eyelids tremble slightly, but it still managed to stay balanced atop the water with its three tails.

From behind the curtain of water, a massive lizard head burst through—Bokrug's gaping jaws aimed directly for the Three-Tails' head.

Compared to Isobu's enormous body, its head was relatively small—just the right size to fit within Bokrug's jaws.

Bokrug's upper and lower jaws were lined with massive, razor-sharp fangs, so large they couldn't even be covered by its lips. Its teeth were constantly bared in a crisscrossing pattern.

While most of Isobu's head was covered in a hard shell, its neck was exposed—completely pink and fleshy.

That meant Bokrug could very well bite the Three-Tails' head clean off!

Crunch!

At that moment, Isobu reacted. Its three tails swung forward and clamped down on Bokrug's jaws, preventing them from closing.

The tails, covered in gray carapace, scraped and clashed against Bokrug's fangs, producing that crunching sound.

The two giant beasts stood locked in a stalemate on the water. Isobu's tails held Bokrug's jaws tightly, while Bokrug's fangs immobilized Isobu's head.

For a brief instant, the Three-Tails seemed evenly matched with Bokrug.

But in the very next moment, Bokrug shattered the deadlock.

Countless tendrils from its lower jaw rose up, winding around Isobu's tails.

Before Isobu could react, the tendrils whipped fiercely, flinging Isobu's massive body out of the lake and smashing it into the nearby mountainside.

Instantly, rocks shattered, and the earth trembled!

Bokrug hadn't even used its tail or its four massive legs—just the tendrils on its jaw had hurled Isobu out of the lake.

Each tendril was as thick as an ancient tree, yet still looked small compared to Isobu's colossal form. But the strength they carried was beyond imagination.

It was as if those terrifying tendrils were Bokrug's true body.

Isobu, hurled into the mountain, carved a huge crater before tumbling back down into the lake.

After taking two hits in a row, Isobu lost all control and went into a berserk frenzy.

With a deafening roar, it leapt into the air from the lake surface. In midair, it curled up, using the thick, heavy shell on its back to wrap itself entirely, then spun like a wheel straight at Bokrug in the center of the lake.

Without a jinchūriki host, the Three-Tails had fewer techniques and was weaker than before.

This was one of Isobu's signature moves: Shadow Stroke, a technique that crushed enemies using the sheer force of its massive body and momentum.

The move was blindingly fast. The wave it stirred up overturned all the Thuum'ha spirits nearby, carrying an unstoppable force straight at Bokrug.

Just before the spinning Isobu struck, Bokrug stood tall and blocked it with its two front legs.

The "spinning wheel" formed by Isobu was actually stopped by Bokrug's two legs, gradually losing momentum until it came to a complete halt.

In this upright posture, Isobu lost its size advantage—Bokrug actually stood taller by nearly half a body length.

At that moment, the tendrils from Bokrug's jaw extended again, wrapping tightly around Isobu's short neck.

Isobu's neck was unarmored, relatively soft—and now, under the crushing pressure of the tendrils, it began to visibly compress. The tendrils even deformed its muscles.

Bokrug was trying to tear Isobu's head clean off with its tendrils!

Neither Bokrug, the lizard-type beast, nor Isobu, the turtle-type, were particularly agile—they were both massive creatures.

At a time like this, size and strength determined dominance.

And in both, Bokrug had the clear upper hand.

More and more tendrils coiled around Isobu's neck. Though Isobu's neck was usually just a short stub, it was now being forcefully stretched to nearly the same length as its head—and still stretching!

If not for the strong flexibility of its inner flesh, Isobu's head would have already been torn off.

But the neck couldn't stretch forever. Feeling the crushing pressure, Isobu prepared to unleash its ultimate move.

It slowly opened its pitifully small jaws, and inside, red and black chakra began to gather.

Its aim—Bokrug's head!

"That's a Tailed Beast Bomb!" shouted Kabuto from the ground, recognizing the move.

The principle behind the Tailed Beast Bomb was simple: it was a highly compressed ball of chakra. But its destructive power was enormous, easily enough to level a mountain.

At this distance, Isobu's Tailed Beast Bomb was practically guaranteed to hit, dodging was out of the question.

And Bokrug, not knowing what a Tailed Beast Bomb was or its devastating power, made no attempt to retreat.

As the bomb rapidly formed, it shot out of Isobu's mouth like a cannon, straight toward Bokrug's head.

And then, something happened that left everyone speechless.

Bokrug suddenly opened its jaws wide, and swallowed the Tailed Beast Bomb whole!