Hizashi Hyuga, possessing the Byakugan and exceptional insight, naturally wouldn't let this fleeting opportunity for a counterattack slip by.
At the very instant Isshin was forced back by the recoil and his body momentarily stalled, Hizashi stopped his reversal spin.
The moment the defensive barrier dissipated, chakra erupted beneath his feet, and his figure shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, charging straight toward Isshin!
While sprinting, he brought together the index and middle fingers of his right hand, forming a sword finger.
The vast chakra within his body gathered and compressed toward his fingertips at an unprecedented density and speed!
A dazzling pale-white light ignited at his fingertips, so brilliant it was almost blinding, as if a miniature chakra star were contained within it. The chakra fluctuations it emitted caused the surrounding air to tremble faintly!
Eight Trigrams: Hazan Strike!
A rarely used offensive Hidden Jutsu within the Gentle Fist system, and the most concentrated attack of them all!
By condensing the chakra of the entire body and the understanding of destructive power focused on a single point into one finger, and precisely guiding it through the Byakugan, it released a penetrating strike like an ultra-condensed chakra laser beam!
Its power was enough to pierce through the hardest rock and destroy the core structure of a mountain!
This finger thrust straight toward Isshin's shoulder, which had been exposed wide open due to his staggering backward posture!
All the perceptive ninjas held their breath, already foreseeing the terrifying result of that piercing attack.
But just at the critical instant when the dazzling finger strike of the Eight Trigrams: Hazan Strike was about to touch Isshin's clothes…
A sudden change occurred!
Isshin's body, which appeared to be staggering from the recoil, suddenly contracted inward, as if every muscle, bone, and even his skin had instantly completed some strange tightening and transformation!
A cold, dense metallic luster suddenly flashed across the exposed parts of his skin, like steel refined a hundred times!
Bronze Head and Iron Arms!
The unique innate ability of Isshin was activated!
At the moment the attack approached, his entire body completed a high-intensity metallic transformation!
"Bang!!!"
The dazzling pale-white finger strike landed solidly on that metallic body!
There was no dull sound of flesh being pierced. Instead, a loud and crisp metallic roar rang out, like a heavy hammer violently striking a massive bronze bell!
Hizashi felt that the hardness transmitted from his fingertip was beyond imagination.
Immediately afterward, a piercing, bone-deep pain shot from his fingertip up his arm; his finger bone had broken!
If not for the chakra protecting it, the recoil from that metalized body would probably have destroyed his entire arm.
But beyond the intense pain, what shocked him even more was the terrifying recoil force that followed!
"Crack!"
The faint sound of bone fracturing was drowned out by the subsequent thunderous noise.
Boom!
That violent power, originating from the full force of his Eight Trigrams: Hazan Strike, but completely rebounded back at him, surged backward along his arm!
The sleeve at Hizashi Hyuga's right arm was the first to fail, shattering inch by inch into fluttering fragments of cloth!
Immediately afterward, his entire body was blasted backward as if struck head-on by an invisible giant hammer. He shot through the air uncontrollably, tracing a parabola before finally crashing heavily onto the stone-paved ground dozens of meters away, dust billowing everywhere.
"Pfft!"
A sweetness rose in Hizashi's throat as blood surged upward, but he forcibly swallowed it back down.
Struggling, he propped himself up with his left arm. His right arm hung limply at his side, numb and in intense pain from fingertip to shoulder blade, completely devoid of any other sensation. All he could feel was the burning sting and weakness coming from his bones and chakra pathway system.
Hizashi Hyuga gritted his teeth, cold sweat seeping from his forehead. He barely managed to stabilize himself on one knee and raised his somewhat blurry gaze.
A cold sensation suddenly pressed against his forehead without any warning.
It was a section of dark, rough metal pipe, still carrying the faint warmth of gunpowder smoke.
At some unknown time, Isshin had already closed the distance. In his left hand, he firmly held a firearm that he had somehow taken out again, and its muzzle was pointed directly at the center of Hizashi's forehead.
He lost.
He completely and utterly lost, beyond any dispute.
On the viewing stands, there was absolute silence.
Countless spectators widened their eyes and opened their mouths, yet not a single sound came out.
Many Chunin and Jonin had faces filled with disbelief and shock.
What was that metallic sheen that suddenly appeared?
A Ninjutsu?
A Kekkei Genkai?
Or some Hidden Jutsu they had never heard of?
It not only completely defended against Jonin Hizashi's Eight Trigrams: Hazan Strike, but it even rebounded it back!
This completely overturned their understanding of defensive Ninjutsu!
Wait… it was the same just now!
Many sharp-minded ninjas suddenly recalled the previous duel.
Earlier, Jonin Shinku's Genjutsu had clearly taken effect on the enemy, and that samurai had indeed fallen into the stiff paralysis of the Genjutsu.
But just at the moment when Shinku was about to win, he strangely awakened and directly completed a counterkill.
That feeling was very similar to what they just felt!
In situations that appeared to be absolute advantages, situations where victory seemed certain, the outcome was instantly reversed by the opponent through some unreasonable and incomprehensible method!
This samurai from the Land of Iron, this Isshin of the Ashina Style, how many secrets was he hiding?
Where exactly was the bottom line of his strength?
In the ninja clan viewing area, Hiashi Hyuga also frowned deeply. He had seen it clearly just now: Hizashi's Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation had been perfect, the counterattack timing he seized had been precise, and the power of the Eight Trigrams: Hazan Strike was beyond doubt.
But how… How did it turn out like this?
What exactly was the technique that the samurai used just now?
Steel Style!?
It didn't seem quite right…
"What is that? Steel Style?"
On the high platform, advisor Koharu Utatane frowned tightly, her expression even uglier than before.
As a high-ranking Konoha official with extensive experience and knowledge, she naturally knew that some special Kekkei Genkais existed in the Shinobi World, among which was Steel Style, which could harden the body.
"How could a samurai from the Land of Iron possess this kind of ability?"
"From the performance, it does indeed resemble the rumored Steel Style Kekkei Genkai, hardening the body to resist or even rebound physical attacks."
The third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, slowly exhaled a mouthful of smoke. "However, it feels slightly different as well, though I can't quite tell exactly why for now…"
But why does this sense of familiarity feel so strong…
The third Hokage frowned inwardly.
Homura Mitokado pushed up his glasses, the gaze behind the lenses extremely solemn.
"No matter what that is, Hiruzen, the current situation… is becoming difficult to handle."
Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent.
In the arena, Isshin pointed his firearm at Hizashi's forehead. His expression was calm; there was no pride in victory and no deliberate mockery, only a detached indifference as if he had simply completed a certain challenge.
He slowly spoke. His voice was not loud, but it clearly spread throughout the entire arena: "You have already lost, ninja of the Hyuga clan."
Hizashi's face was pale.
Feeling the coldness at his forehead and the intense pain in his right arm, he slowly closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he opened them again and said, "I concede."
Inside the arena, as Hizashi Hyuga's words of surrender fell, the spectators fell into a brief silence, almost like a vacuum.
But this silence was soon drowned out by an even more turbulent and complicated wave of discussion.
This time, anger still existed, but it was clearly mixed with an unmistakable shock and wariness.
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