"Putting on a mysterious act, just someone trying to attract attention. Let's see how Shinku exposes him later."
At that moment, from the passage on the other side of the arena, Shinku Yuhi, wearing the standard Konoha Jonin vest and possessing a steady and reserved temperament, slowly walked out.
His appearance immediately drew even more enthusiastic cheers and encouragement from the Konoha side in the stands, forming a stark contrast with the silence that had greeted Isshin's entrance.
"Konoha Jonin, Shinku Yuhi."
"Land of Iron, Isshin of the Ashina Style."
The two stood facing each other at the center of the field and, according to simple etiquette, exchanged their names and schools.
A veteran Jonin referee quickly entered the field. After confirming both sides' identities and the rules, he concisely announced, "The match begins!"
The moment those words fell…
"Boom!"
The ground beneath Isshin's feet suddenly exploded into a circle of spiderweb-like cracks. He was like a heavy cannonball, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound that tore through the air and a heart-palpitating gale, heading straight for Kurenai Yuhi!
That instantaneous burst of absolute speed and pure power far exceeded what had been seen the previous day. He resembled an ancient ferocious beast that had been completely enraged and broken free from all chains.
With only the most primitive physical brutality, he made the front-row spectators feel a suffocating pressure rushing toward them.
"So fast! So terrifying!"
"Is that guy a monster?!"
"Be careful, Shinku-sama!"
The stands immediately erupted into a wave of exclamations mixed with shock and worry.
In the viewing area of the ninja clans, the Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan, Fugaku Uchiha, whose black eyes had originally been calm, suddenly had them replaced by a flash of crimson. Three tomoe slowly rotated within them. His face remained expressionless, but his Sharingan had firmly locked onto the violent figure in the arena.
Not far away, in the Hyuga Clan's area, the head of the main house, Hiashi Hyuga, and his younger brother, Hizashi Hyuga, also silently activated their Byakugan and stared at the situation within the arena.
Inside the field, facing this frontal collision capable of splitting stone monuments, Shinku Yuhi's gaze was as calm as still water. His body moved like willow fluff in the wind, drifting aside at the last possible moment.
The cold flash of the katana brushed past the edge of his clothing, and the gust of wind it carried made the hair on his forehead flutter.
When the strike missed, Isshin's change of move was unbelievably fast. His massive body displayed agility and coordination completely inconsistent with its size. The momentum of the blade did not halt in the slightest, transforming into a continuous sheet of cold light that enveloped Shinku Yuhi.
Shinku Yuhi had already retreated while swiftly flicking both hands.
Several kunai tied with Explosive Tags shot accurately toward Isshin's pursuit path and the openings at his sides.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The Explosive Tags detonated in succession. Firelight and smoke instantly swallowed that small area.
The spectators' hearts rose into their throats.
"Did it hit?"
"With that kind of explosion, it should have…"
However, before the smoke had even dispersed, that burly figure had already charged out like a demon god!
Many parts of his clothing were scorched black and torn. The exposed skin showed obvious burn marks and charring, yet his movements were not affected in the slightest. Instead, his gaze had become even sharper and wilder, once again causing a wave of uproar and incredulous exclamations from the stands.
"My god! He's fine even after that?!"
"Is his body made of iron?!"
"I told you this guy is a monster!"
Shinku Yuhi's expression did not change, as if he had expected it.
Relying on his rich experience and superb Teleportation Jutsu, he always maintained a delicate distance from Isshin, like steering a small boat on the surface of a stormy sea. It looked extremely dangerous, yet he could always avoid the deadly blade at the most critical moment.
He did not clash head-on with Isshin. Instead, he used various throwing techniques and Ninjutsu to patiently maneuver, wear the opponent down, and observe him.
Isshin, on the other hand, seemed to know nothing of fatigue. His offense surged like a tsunami, each wave more violent than the last.
The wind from his blade howled, carving trenches into the ground. His fists and kicks were fierce, and even the air burst with explosive cracks under their force.
The entire central area of the arena was filled with flying sand and stones, smoke and dust swirling everywhere, completely becoming a stage for the release of his personal power.
"He's too strong… Shinku-sama is completely suppressed!"
"He can only dodge, he can't fight back at all!"
"Isn't Jonin Shinku famous for Genjutsu? Why isn't he using it?"
"You think Genjutsu can be cast just by opening your mouth? That samurai is chasing so closely, does he even have a chance?"
"Besides, ordinary Genjutsu probably wouldn't work anyway."
Fugaku Uchiha's three tomoe Sharingan closely followed every movement of the two men, trying to analyze Isshin's swordsmanship and Taijutsu patterns.
Yet he discovered that although the moves looked broad and straightforward, their connections and variations had no fixed pattern at all, being purely based on combat instinct and improvisation, making them impossible to break down using conventional theories of swordsmanship and Taijutsu.
"This astonishing speed, astonishing strength, and instantaneous explosive power…"
Fugaku Uchiha narrowed his eyes slightly. "Since when has the Land of Iron had such a figure?"
"The amount of his chakra… It's extremely enormous."
Hiashi Hyuga said in a deep voice.
Hizashi Hyuga added, "His body, its muscle fiber density, the strength of his bones… It's practically inhuman. Resisting Explosive Tags and Ninjutsu isn't simply relying on chakra defense. His physical body itself is comparable to refined tools. This samurai is not simple."
...
After several rounds of pursuit and evasion, a sharp glint flashed in Shinku Yuhi's eyes!
During one moment when he seemed to be forced into a corner by the sweeping gust of wind, dangerously close to being trapped, he was in fact using Substitution Jutsu to deceive his way out.
Immediately afterward, he had already appeared more than a dozen meters away. His footsteps suddenly halted, and his hands rapidly formed a series of seals before his chest. The chakra's fluctuation suddenly deepened and became tranquil, yet an immense, invisible pressure spread outward.
"Genjutsu: Red Lotus!"
The instant the hand seals were completed, guided by Shinku Yuhi's spiritual power, an invisible yin release chakra cage instantly descended, precisely capturing the berserk figure that had just shattered the substitution log and was about to charge forward again!
Isshin's unstoppable, violent charging figure seemed to crash into an invisible, viscous swamp, abruptly freezing in place!
The ferocious expression on his face solidified, and the focus vanished from his eyes as if his soul had been drawn out.
Under the astonished gazes of countless spectators, nothing seemed unusual in the center of the arena. But in Isshin's eyes, directly affected by the Genjutsu, the scene had already turned completely upside down.
The hard stone slabs beneath his feet began to transform into an enormous red lotus that was slowly rotating!
The petals were crystal clear, yet they emitted a faint glow that could drag one's mind into ruin.
The lotus pedestal firmly bound him in place. His vision began to twist and rotate. The shouts of the spectators and the scenery of the arena rapidly receded and blurred. Only the lotus that continued expanding endlessly remains, slowly closing together, intending to completely devour and crush him!
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