Chapter 671: Infinity That Cannot Be Crossed!
There was no referee.
The two exchanged glances and nodded at each other, then began gathering chakra and entered battle.
Hiruzen took a deep breath, quickly formed hand seals, and concentrated a large amount of chakra in his throat.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Large waves of flame were spewed out by Hiruzen, rapidly forming an orange red sea of fire in front of him.
The terrifying high temperature flames seemed ready to ignite everything. Even the air burned and distorted, forming rolling waves of heat.
As Hiruzen continued pouring out chakra, the range of the sea of fire kept expanding. For a time, firelight soared into the sky and dyed everything nearby fiery red. The constantly spreading sea of flames rapidly devoured every combustible object in its path. Trees and grass were reduced to ash beneath the raging blaze.
Soon, under Hiruzen's control, the sea of fire split into three, transforming into three violent streams of flame that charged toward Sōsuke from three directions at once.
According to the known intelligence, Sōsuke's most proficient Ninjutsu was Fire Release.
Fire Release was also Hiruzen's most proficient chakra nature transformation Ninjutsu, so Hiruzen wanted to test Sōsuke's depth with Fire Release.
Confronting the same chakra nature transformation was the best way to gauge both chakra nature transformation and Ninjutsu skill.
If the difference in this clash was not significant, then Hiruzen would surely win this battle.
Although Hiruzen's most proficient chakra nature transformation was Fire Release, his powerful combat ability had little to do with Fire Release alone.
It was because he had mastered thousands of Ninjutsu and secret techniques.
Because he could combine countless Ninjutsu perfectly.
Because he had no weaknesses and was proficient in Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu.
However, to Hiruzen's surprise, Sōsuke did not use Fire Release to clash with him in a same nature Ninjutsu battle, nor did he use Water Release or any other Ninjutsu that countered Fire Release.
Sōsuke did not use any visible method.
He merely stood still and quietly watched Hiruzen.
"Could it be a Shadow Clone? When did that happen? I didn't notice it at all."
Hiruzen subconsciously observed his surroundings with vigilance.
After all, his opponent was Sōsuke, the man who had defeated Danzo and Hanzō. Hiruzen did not believe that such a powerful individual would be frightened silly by a single Fire Release.
Sōsuke was known throughout the Ninja World as the strongest Fire Release ninja.
"What is Sōsuke doing?" Kakuzu suppressed the urge to act and frowned as he watched Sōsuke, who remained motionless.
He could see clearly that Sōsuke had not made a single move, not even a hand seal.
"Teacher Sōsuke must be performing a Ninjutsu he hasn't used before," Nagato analyzed.
He could see the chakra circulating within Mugetsu's body.
Although Mugetsu appeared to be doing nothing on the surface, he had already used Ninjutsu.
"What kind of tactic is this?" Orochimaru also could not understand Sōsuke's actions.
However, like Hiruzen, Orochimaru did not underestimate Sōsuke because of this.
After all, if Sōsuke's strength were lacking, how could he have killed Danzo?
Orochimaru knew his partner very well. Danzo was extremely cautious when it came to his own life. Not only did he act carefully, he also possessed many life saving techniques.
Boom!
Three large, violent fire dragons simultaneously charged toward Mugetsu, unleashing a massive amount of flames that engulfed him.
Under the burning force of the terrifying high temperature flames, the ground around Mugetsu turned scorched black. Mugetsu himself was wrapped by a great mass of flame, making his figure difficult to distinguish.
"Did he win?" a Konoha jonin asked uncertainly.
Taking such a Fire Release directly, even with chakra protection, would make survival difficult unless one possessed a terrifying Lightning Release Chakra Mode like the Third Raikage.
However, instantly killing a renowned expert like Sōsuke was too fantastical, so he could not be certain.
The flames came quickly and dispersed just as quickly, leaving behind only scorched earth and a completely unharmed Mugetsu.
"Hmm?" Hiruzen showed a puzzled expression.
If this Sōsuke was a Shadow Clone and had been burned away by the flames, he could still understand it as Sōsuke using some secret technique to hide and leaving a clone in place.
But if Sōsuke was the original body, Hiruzen found it very difficult to understand.
With this level of Fire Release, even if the Third Raikage took it head on, his clothes would not remain completely intact.
"What is going on? How did he do that?"
Hiruzen's thoughts moved rapidly as he tried to recall similar Ninjutsu or secret techniques from his memory.
However, no matter how much he thought, he still could not come up with any Ninjutsu that had a similar effect.
Neither the Third Raikage's strongest shield nor Senju Hashirama's unsealed healing should, in theory, leave one's clothes completely undamaged.
It was almost as if the attack had not hit him at all.
"Is it a Ninjutsu similar to Kamui?" Shisui analyzed in his mind.
In that situation, he could not think of any evasion method other than the intangible Kamui, because the flames had completely surrounded Sōsuke without leaving any blind spots.
Shisui's expression gradually became serious.
If it was a Ninjutsu similar to the intangible Kamui, then Hiruzen might not fare well against Sōsuke.
Shisui, who had fought Obito, clearly understood how powerful the intangible Kamui was in one on one combat.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
Seeing Sōsuke walking toward him, Hiruzen could only temporarily put aside his thoughts. He quickly formed hand seals and slammed his hands onto the ground.
Under the effect of Earth Release chakra, a giant mud dragon head rapidly formed on the ground.
Whoosh!
The mud dragon head opened its mouth wide and continuously spat out rapidly flying mud bullets.
At this moment, Hiruzen formed hand seals again and concentrated chakra in his throat.
"Combination Ninjutsu: Earth Dragon Flame Flow!"
A large amount of flames spewed from Hiruzen's mouth, attaching fire to the mud bullets spat out by the mud dragon head and further enhancing their power.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
A large number of mud bullets coated in high temperature flames shot toward Mugetsu like a rain of arrows, covering everything around him.
But Mugetsu seemed completely oblivious to the attack. He maintained his unhurried pace and continued walking toward Hiruzen.
Rumble!
The flame bullets from Earth Dragon Flame Flow struck the ground and Mugetsu, causing bursts of explosions as if dozens of explosive tags had been detonated at the same time.
The dust and smoke created by the fierce explosions obscured Mugetsu's figure, making it impossible to observe the latest state of the battle.
At that moment, a sudden gust of wind thinned the smoke and dust, revealing Mugetsu's body, completely unharmed.
Boom!
The flame bullets were still exploding, but strangely, the explosions had no effect on Mugetsu. They did not even slow his steps.
Hiruzen frowned slightly, feeling a trace of pressure.
This was a Ninjutsu he had never heard of or seen before, and to him, it was both powerful and unknown.
"What kind of Ninjutsu is this? It's so bizarre?" Homura's smile vanished, his expression turning serious.
When Sōsuke blocked Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, a large amount of flame had obstructed his vision, so he had not understood what had happened.
Now, with Sōsuke openly strolling through Hiruzen's Combination Ninjutsu, Homura realized that Sōsuke might be even stronger and harder to deal with than he had imagined.
"No, it isn't like Kamui."
Shisui activated his Sharingan and observed carefully, discovering that while Sōsuke's Ninjutsu effect was very similar to the intangible Kamui, its essence was very different.
The reason intangible Kamui could not be attacked was because it transferred the body into the Kamui Dimension.
But Sōsuke was different.
Hiruzen's Ninjutsu seemed to hit Sōsuke's body, but upon closer inspection, the flame bullets exploded when they were still two or three centimeters away from Sōsuke.
Compared to Obito's intangible Kamui, Sōsuke's Ninjutsu was more like forming a shield around his entire body to block all attacks.
"Such a powerful Ninjutsu, and he never used it before. He hid it really well," Kakuzu could not help exclaiming.
This made Kakuzu curious about one thing.
How much strength had Sōsuke used to defeat Hanzō?
"No wonder he wasn't flustered at all back then," Kakuzu thought, recalling the crisis that had almost caused Ninshū to perish.
Thinking about it now, Sōsuke definitely had not used his full strength back then. He would not have needed that much effort to fight Hanzō.
It was probably to leave them with a profound lesson that he had made such arrangements.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Seeing that Earth Dragon Flame Flow could not inflict effective damage on Sōsuke, Hiruzen quickly retreated while forming hand seals to create two Shadow Clones.
"Combination Ninjutsu: Lightning Water Dragon Bullet!"
One Shadow Clone used Water Dragon Bullet, while the other used Lightning Release, quickly creating a large water dragon covered in lightning.
Hiruzen's main body took out a shuriken from his ninja tool pouch, his eyes fixed on Sōsuke. He wanted to understand the details of Sōsuke's Ninjutsu.
Unlike fire, water had the property of permeating everything. And this was an electrified Water Dragon Bullet. Once touched by the water, one would be paralyzed.
If even Lightning Water Dragon Bullet had no effect on Sōsuke, then most of Hiruzen's Ninjutsu would be useless.
Roar!
The water dragon, covered in arcs of lightning, looked even more intimidating than an ordinary Water Dragon Bullet. Its roar seemed as if it wanted to tear apart everything in sight.
However, facing the aggressive Lightning Water Dragon Bullet, Mugetsu still did not dodge.
Hiruzen's heart sank at the sight.
Clearly, the Lightning Water Dragon Bullet also could not do anything to Sōsuke's Ninjutsu. Otherwise, how could Sōsuke dare take it head on?
Whoosh, whoosh!
Before the Lightning Water Dragon Bullet could hit Sōsuke, Hiruzen unleashed his chakra and threw the shuriken in his hand.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
Under the effect of Hiruzen's chakra, the shuriken multiplied from six to twelve, then from twelve to twenty four. In the blink of an eye, their number became terrifyingly large, filling the air with dense shuriken.
Boom!
The Lightning Water Dragon Bullet struck Mugetsu and exploded violently, scattering lightning infused water. The powerful force caused cracks to spread across the ground beneath Mugetsu's feet.
Immediately afterward came thousands of shuriken.
Under Hiruzen's immense strength and chakra enhancement, even ordinary shuriken possessed the power to shatter wood and pierce stone. With tens of thousands of such shuriken, their terrifying force was unimaginable.
Bang, bang, bang!
A continuous series of impacts rang out. The ground where Mugetsu stood looked as if it had been bombarded, with craters of various sizes everywhere.
Yet Mugetsu himself remained unharmed, continuing to walk toward Hiruzen.
A fine layer of sweat appeared on Hiruzen's forehead, and his expression became more serious than ever before.
The Lightning Water Dragon Bullet combined with his full power Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique had failed to leave even a scratch on Sōsuke.
This was truly too exaggerated.
He had to admit that he had underestimated Sōsuke.
Sōsuke was probably not just a powerful individual skilled in Fire Release. It was simply that Sōsuke's previous opponents had not been strong enough to force him to reveal his other techniques.
"Unexpectedly strong. What kind of ability is this?" Orochimaru's gaze toward Sōsuke was filled with curiosity.
Human life was so fragile. Orochimaru wanted immortality precisely because he had witnessed too many deaths.
However, immortality was still too far away for him. What he needed now were powerful life saving techniques to prevent him from perishing midway.
"How is this possible? Attacks of this magnitude have no effect!" The Konoha jonin watching were stunned.
The battlefield was clearly in ruins, yet Sōsuke, who had withstood several waves of Hiruzen's attacks, did not even have a single tear in his clothes.
At first, they had thought this would be an easy and simple escort mission. After all, how could their powerful Third Hokage possibly lose to a ninja from a small country?
Now, it seemed uncertain.
Perhaps they would even need to intervene in the battle.
If Hiruzen fell into a disadvantage, they certainly could not just watch. Agreements were nowhere near as important as the life of a Kage.
The Ninshū ninja who had followed Mugetsu all showed excited expressions.
They had long been prepared. If Sōsuke was no match for Hiruzen, they would fight to the death to help Sōsuke escape.
However, it seemed they had underestimated their Teacher Sōsuke.
Facing Hiruzen, the Third Hokage who commanded respect throughout the Ninja World, Sōsuke was not at a disadvantage at all. He even seemed slightly stronger.
Hiruzen used various Ninjutsu and secret techniques to attack, while Sōsuke casually blocked the attacks as if strolling through a garden. It was clear who was more at ease.
"He will win. Teacher Sōsuke will definitely win!"
This was the cry in the hearts of many Ninshū ninja at that moment.
"So strong!" Rōshi showed a shocked expression.
Even as a perfect Jinchuriki, Rōshi absolutely could not guarantee that he could defeat Hiruzen. He would be more likely to guarantee his own death.
The reason Tailed Beasts were important was not because Jinchuriki were stronger than Kage. In fact, most Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages could suppress their village's Tailed Beast.
It was because Tailed Beasts represented a special and long lasting powerful entity.
And yet Sōsuke had actually gained some advantage in his battle against Hiruzen.
How could this not surprise Rōshi?
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Hiruzen's two Shadow Clones erupted with chakra from their feet and launched attacks on Mugetsu from different directions.
Since Ninjutsu did not work, then they would try Taijutsu.
However, under Mugetsu's Transparent World, the movements of Hiruzen's Shadow Clones were completely exposed.
Bang!
He slightly shifted his body, dodging the punch from Hiruzen's Shadow Clone attacking from the left. At the same time, his right hand shot out like lightning and accurately grabbed the Shadow Clone's wrist. With a squeeze, he crushed the Shadow Clone.
At that moment, the other Hiruzen Shadow Clone, who had circled behind Mugetsu, seized the opportunity and struck fiercely. It swung a kunai and stabbed toward Mugetsu's back.
Bang!
However, Mugetsu seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. His body twisted in an incredible way, not only dodging the attack, but also kicking the Hiruzen Shadow Clone and causing it to explode.
"His Taijutsu is also quite impressive."
Hiruzen, who had been trying to gather information on Sōsuke, wore an even more serious expression.
"Summoning Technique!"
Hiruzen did not dare be careless. He directly gathered chakra and used the Summoning Technique to summon Enma.
The powerful Enma was an important part of his strength.
After a few exchanges, Hiruzen already knew that Sōsuke was not an opponent who could be easily dealt with.
He had to go all out.
Otherwise, let alone avenging Danzo, Hiruzen himself might be in danger.
....
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