Fire Release created smoke and dust, obscuring vision.
Earth Release changed the terrain, restricting movement.
Using Wind Release for long-range cutting harassment...
For a time, the entire battlefield became Sarutobi Hiruzen's personal show.
He was like the most experienced hunter, constantly wearing down the prey's stamina and patience with one seemingly insignificant trap after another.
The Third Raikage, A, with all his world-destroying power, felt like a wild bull caught in a spider's web, unable to exert his strength.
No matter where he charged, his path would be blocked by an endless stream of various ninjutsu.
His pride, his speed, was greatly reduced in the face of Sarutobi Hiruzen's god-like predictions and terrain modification.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
A let out a furious roar. He felt like he was being played with.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen! Is hiding like a rat all you know how to do?! If you have the guts, fight me head-on!"
"As you wish."
A calm voice came from above him.
A abruptly looked up and saw that Sarutobi Hiruzen had, at some point, appeared directly above him.
The long staff in his hand had reappeared, growing infinitely large in A's pupils.
"Summoning Jutsu: Enma!"
"Adamantine Staff! Extend!"
Roar—!
A roar from ancient times sounded. The long staff in Sarutobi Hiruzen's hand instantly burst with a brilliant golden light, growing with the wind, transforming into a giant stone pillar that touched the heavens, and came crashing down on A with the force of a mountain.
"Good!"
A was not surprised, but pleased. This was the moment he had been waiting for.
He concentrated all his Lightning Release chakra into his right arm.
He raised his arm and met the falling giant staff head-on.
BOOM—!!!!
The collision of metal and flesh produced a terrifyingly loud bang.
A visible circular shockwave, with the two of them at the center, spread out in all directions.
The earth, under this terrifying force, cracked inch by inch, spreading like a spider's web.
On the city wall, Shimura Danzo looked at the two god-like figures in the center of the battlefield, his heart filled with shock.
Is this... a battle between Kage?
The dust and smoke dissipated.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, holding the Adamantine Staff which had returned to its original size, landed gracefully.
Opposite him, the Third Raikage, A, still stood in the same spot, his arm raised, his breathing slightly ragged.
The ground beneath his feet had sunk by half a meter.
"Hahaha! Exhilarating! Exhilarating!"
A laughed heartily, his eyes filled with excitement. "Sarutobi Hiruzen, you really didn't disappoint me!"
"Likewise," Sarutobi Hiruzen replied calmly.
He knew that the probing just now was over.
What came next was a true life-and-death struggle.
A's smile gradually faded.
He slowly lowered his arm and extended a single finger.
The index finger.
All his Lightning Release chakra began to converge towards his fingertip at a frantic speed.
The lightning wrapped around that finger had condensed to a terrifying degree, emitting a piercing screech.
"Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite!"
A moved.
This time, he was not hindered by any ninjutsu.
He turned into a pure, all-tearing blue bolt of lightning, breaking the sound barrier, breaking the barrier of space.
The earth wall was pierced.
The fire dragon was torn apart.
That bolt of lightning, representing the "strongest spear," stabbed straight at Sarutobi Hiruzen with an unstoppable momentum.
Time, at this moment, seemed to slow down infinitely.
In the eyes of all the spectators in the distance, that blue bolt of lightning had completely engulfed Sarutobi Hiruzen's figure.
Shimura Danzo subconsciously took a step forward, wanting to rush over, but was held in place by that terrifying pressure.
It's over...
This thought rose in the hearts of all the Konoha ninja.
Faced with the Third Raikage's ultimate attack, which concentrated all his power and was known as the "strongest spear."
However, Sarutobi Hiruzen, at the center of the storm, was unusually calm.
His mind was working at high speed.
His eyes were fixed on the finger that was getting closer and closer to his chest, so close that he could already feel the burning, stinging sensation from it.
[Future Simulator has automatically locked onto the best response plan!]
[In three seconds, activate Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld.]
[In two seconds, shift body to the left by 3.7 centimeters.]
[In one second, infuse Wind Release chakra into a kunai, prepare to counterattack.]
All of this was completed in a flash.
A victorious smile had already appeared on the Third Raikage, A's, face.
It was as if he could already see the image of his finger piercing through this old enemy's heart.
However, just as his fingertip was about to touch Sarutobi Hiruzen's Hokage robe.
A sudden change occurred!
The ground beneath his feet, the solid, battle-scarred earth, without any warning, turned into a sticky, bottomless black swamp.
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
It was Sarutobi Hiruzen!
He had actually, at such a critical moment, so covertly cast a ninjutsu!
A was startled. His powerful combat instincts immediately told him something was wrong.
Being trapped in a swamp would greatly reduce his speed and power.
Now!
Sarutobi Hiruzen's body moved.
He did not dodge in a large movement, but at an extremely subtle angle, he shifted to the left by less than four centimeters.
This distance was calculated to perfection.
Rip—!
The terrifying finger that condensed the "strongest spear" grazed past his chest.
The violent Lightning Release chakra tore a huge gash in his Hokage robe and even left a scorched black mark on his skin.
But that was all.
The fatal attack had been dodged by a hair's breadth, in a way that was almost miraculous.
At the same time.
In the instant the two of them passed each other.
In Sarutobi Hiruzen's hand, at some point, an ordinary kunai had appeared.
But this ordinary kunai was now wrapped in a layer of pale green chakra.
"Wind Style: Chakra Flow!"
Without the slightest hesitation, he backhanded a slash.
The tip of the kunai grazed the Third Raikage's arm, which he was temporarily unable to retract after using the "One-Finger Nukite."
Hiss—!
A faint sound, like cloth being torn, was heard.
A shallow white mark appeared on the Third Raikage's bronze skin.
Then, a trickle of blood slowly seeped out from that white mark.
Although it was only a superficial wound.
But this was the first time someone had left a mark on his strongest shield.
The entire battlefield fell into a dead silence.
The Third Raikage, A, slowly stopped.
He turned around, looking at the white mark on his arm in disbelief, then at the man in the Hokage robe in the distance.
His mind was a complete blank.
How is this possible?
How could he have dodged that?
And how... did he manage to hurt me?
The damage was not great, but the humiliation was extreme.
"You..."
A stared deadly at Sarutobi Hiruzen. In his eyes, which were filled with anger, a hint of an emotion called "wavering" appeared.
"You... how did you know?"
He asked the exact same question as Kitsuchi.
He couldn't understand how Sarutobi Hiruzen could have predicted the attack's trajectory and calculated it so precisely.
Sarutobi Hiruzen straightened up.
He looked at A's face, which was filled with shock and confusion, and a smile appeared on his.
In a mysterious tone, he said softly, "I just know you better than you know yourself."
A single sentence made A's heart sink completely.
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