"He hit him!"
"Shinichi has the upper hand!"
"Well done! Shinichi!"
Thunderous cheers erupted from the stands. Many people stood up excitedly, as if they had seen the dawn of victory.
Shinichi's gaze was sharp. How could he miss such a chance to press the advantage?
Chakra burst beneath his feet. His figure chased forward like a shadow following form, the long blade in his hand thrusting straight toward the opening exposed by Isshin as he retreated!
However, at the instant the blade tip was about to reach his body…
"Ha!!!"
A furious shout erupted from Isshin's chest like the roar of an ancient ferocious beast. His right foot stomped downward fiercely like a giant elephant trampling the earth!
"Boom!!!"
The entire arena seemed to tremble along with it! Centered on his right foot, the incomparably solid ground was as if struck by an invisible giant hammer. It suddenly sank and exploded, forming a huge pit several meters in diameter!
At the same time, a visible, raging wave of violent chakra erupted from his body like a stormy sea, sweeping outward in all directions like a tangible hurricane!
Shinichi, who was pursuing, only felt an irresistible and immense force crash head-on into him, as if he had slammed directly into an invisible wall of steel!
The blade he used to block emitted a strained buzzing sound under the burden. His entire body was blasted away like a kite with its string cut by the shockwave formed purely from the eruption of chakra. He rolled several times in midair before barely adjusting his posture, sliding several more meters backward before finally stopping.
"What?!"
"That chakra?!"
Exclamations once again echoed throughout the arena.
"My blood is starting to boil!"
Isshin's bold, unrestrained roar, filled with battle intent, rolled across the arena together with the still-unsettled waves of chakra.
With a swing of his right hand, in the next instant, a ferocious and exaggerated weapon had already appeared firmly within his grip, a halberd whose blade flickered with a cold, ghostly gleam!
"Here I come, ninja of Konoha!"
The moment those words fell…
Boom!
The ground beneath his feet, the already cracked stone slabs, was violently forced upward by an invisible power from below, then completely exploded!
A deeper and wider crater than before suddenly blossomed open.
Shattered stones and dust erupted upward!
And that towering figure had already shot into the sky with the violent force of that stomp!
While in midair, he raised the halberd high above his head. The bulging muscles across his body and the boiling chakra were all poured into his right arm.
The halberd blade tore through the sky, producing a shrill scream that made one's scalp tingle, as if even the air itself were being ripped apart and repelled by its mass and speed, pushing visible white air waves to both sides!
As if holding a bolt of furious lightning falling from the heavens, or like a legendary giant axe capable of splitting mountains, Isshin condensed his immense power, speed, battle intent, and chakra into this descending strike. Toward the area where Shinichi stood below, without any fancy technique, but with utter devastation, he smashed it down!
Before the halberd blade even arrived, the wind pressure created purely by its terrifying mass and horrifying downward momentum had already descended like a tangible meteor, forcibly pressing the ground around Shinichi downward, causing it to cave in and crack inch by inch!
At the critical moment, Shinichi gripped the sword hilt with both hands, raising the long blade horizontally above his head.
Chakra surged into both his arms and the blade as he used the flat of the sword to meet the descending, destructive blow!
"Clang!!!"
An unprecedentedly enormous explosion resounded throughout the arena!
It was as if two iron mountains had collided. Blinding sparks and a visible ring-shaped shockwave erupted from the point of impact!
Crack!
A faint yet heart-shattering crisp sound came from the blade in Shinichi's hands.
In the next instant, it was as if his entire body was struck head-on by a locomotive traveling at full speed. His feet left the ground as he shot backward!
Shinichi's body plowed a deep trench dozens of meters long across the ground. Shattered stones shot out like cannon shells in all directions, striking the distant barrier with loud banging sounds!
Finally, his back slammed heavily against the hard stone wall at the edge of the arena with a dull thud, barely stopping his retreat.
'About time… the next exhibition match should begin…'
...
The smoke and dust slowly dispersed.
Shinichi straightened his body again, and he slowly raised his right arm. The standard katana made of refined steel in his hand had already completely shattered, turning into countless fragments scattered across the ground.
He took a deep breath, glanced at the only remaining hilt in his hand, and, without hesitation, casually tossed it aside like throwing away trash.
"This kind of power is too terrifying!"
"Even the sword shattered!"
"This is bad! Is Shinichi going to be okay?"
On the stands, a wave of gasps and worried exclamations erupted. Many people nervously stood up, their palms filled with sweat.
"Ha!"
At the center of the arena, the samurai who had landed the blow let out a satisfied low roar.
With one hand, he pulled the halberd out of the deep crater he had smashed into the ground, then casually swung it, shaking off the gravel and dust stuck to the blade.
However, he did not take advantage of the moment to pursue the attack.
Instead, he simply planted the heavy halberd beside him, the tip lightly touching the ground with a dull thud.
He merely waited quietly, his gaze seeming to say: Go get a new weapon, and we will continue.
"Huh? He didn't continue attacking?"
"Is he waiting for Shinichi to get a new weapon?"
"Th-this guy actually has some martial virtue?"
"But earlier, when he used a gun and stepped on toes, he didn't seem that good…"
A murmur filled with surprise and slight reconsideration spread through the audience.
Although his previous methods were still looked down upon, this gesture of halting the attack while holding an absolute advantage and waiting for his opponent to reorganize unexpectedly matched the audience's expectations of the etiquette of samurai duels from the Land of Iron.
On the high platform, the third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, watched the scene with a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.
After pondering for a moment, he raised his hand to signal. An Anbu who had been standing silently in the shadows behind him immediately stepped forward half a step and bowed, awaiting orders.
It was his eldest son, Shinnosuke Sarutobi.
"Shinnosuke."
The third Hokage took out a scroll from his robe and handed it to him.
"Go. Give this iron staff to Shinichi."
During the time Enma trained Shinichi, it was not just physical conditioning. He had also taught him the staff techniques of the Adamantine Monkey Clan.
The third Hokage knew that Shinichi's mastery of staff techniques was also extremely superb, no less than his swordsmanship.
As soon as these words were spoken, not only did Shinnosuke freeze slightly, but even the two advisors beside him, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, showed obvious surprise.
The iron staff!
Of course, they knew what that was.
It was the weapon the third Hokage had used most often in his youth, forged entirely from a special metal, heavy and resilient.
Most people believed the third Hokage's symbolic weapon was the Adamantine Nyoi, but it was actually a transformation of the Monkey King Enma and could not be used at any time or place.
Moreover, even as a master of staff techniques, the third Hokage had not been born knowing staff techniques; he had to practice them regularly.
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