Power Levels in the Hokage World

What is she trying to do?

Watching the girl Hand Seals on the ice, Kisame and the White Zetsu all fell into the same question.

The burly mermaid in the ice hockey game still largely retained human features, with his furrowed brows, somber expression, and grave gaze still visible.

Kisame had initially hoped that his Great Shark Bullet Technique would devour Sakura's Ninjutsu in a direct confrontation, thus defeating her in one fell swoop. However, it now seemed that even if she did nothing and let him use it, it would take a considerable amount of time to devour the ice ball, rendering Kisame's confident Great Shark Bullet Technique almost a joke. But would a battle between Kage Level ninjas give him that much time?

Sakura Haruno's Ice Release managed to freeze Kisame's water sphere into ice, turning his home-field advantage into the enemy's, instantly putting Kisame in an extremely disadvantageous situation!

Even with Kisame's mastery of Water Release, his super-large Water Release, unleashed at full power, was suppressed and frozen by Sakura, demonstrating the formidable and domineering nature of her Ice Release.

"What's going on? Ordinary Ice Release couldn't possibly do this!" Kisame had fought against Yuki's people before, and he immediately realized that something was unusual. But how could he know that Sakura Haruno's Ice Release had already incorporated the power of Yin Release to a rudimentary degree, and was developing from Kekkei Genkai to Kekkei Tōta?

If we only consider the power of Ninjutsu, the power of traditional elemental Ninjutsu can generally be distinguished as follows: ordinary Five Elements Release Techniques is weaker than Ninjutsu with Kekkei Genkai, and Kekkei Genkai are weaker than Kekkei Tōta. Leaving aside special cases like Water Gun Technique, this is the general rule in the Shinobi World: Water Release is weaker than Ice Release, Fire Style is weaker than Boil Release, Lava Release, and so on, and the power of these Ninjutsu is all weaker than Mu and Ōnoki's Dust Release.

As for the power of Yin-Yang Release, although it surpasses the Five Elements Release Techniques, it is too unique, mysterious, and unfathomable. Even legendary figures throughout history, such as Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju, have not fully mastered its mysteries, let alone Sakura Haruno, who is still in the exploratory stage. Therefore, it is usually omitted from discussion. Of course, Hashirama Senju's Wood Release must be mentioned. It is actually Kekkei Tōta combining earth, water, and yang attributes, and its power is obviously stronger than the Tsuchikage's Dust Release. Therefore, Kekkei Genkai and Kekkei Tōta that incorporate the power of Yin-Yang Release are superior to ordinary Kekkei Genkai and limits.

If the Hokage world used the worldview of classic fantasy novels from Qidian, then the power levels of Kage Level might look like this: those who only know basic elemental elemental Release Techniques are at the early Kage Level; those who master Yin-Yang Release Secret Technique are at the peak of the early Kage Level; those with Kekkei Genkai are at the mid- Kage Level; and those whose Kekkei Genkai include Yin-Yang Release are at the peak of the mid -Kage Level; Kekkei Tōta corresponds to the high-level Kage Level, and so on...

If that's the case, Kisame's thoughts at this moment should be like this: Damn it! A master who has just entered the mid-stage of Kage Level perfection is actually able to completely suppress me! Although I am only at the early stage of Kage Level, with the power of Samehada, I can completely challenge opponents above my level. Opponents below the high stage of Kage Level should have no chance of defeating me!

Of course, the power levels in Hokage are not so clearly defined. Influenced by factors other than the type of elemental Release Techniques a ninja possesses, there are also Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Senjutsu, Secret Technique, as well as non- Release Techniques Kekkei Genkai, combat experience, combat intelligence, stamina, skills, and even the knowledge a ninja possessed in their previous life... and so on.

The outcome of a battle is determined not only by the difference in strength, but also by factors such as fighting spirit, terrain, and elemental advantages and disadvantages, making it extremely complex.

Therefore, ninjas usually distinguish strength in a very rough way. Those far surpassing ordinary ninjas are considered Jonin- level, the best among Jonin are Elite Jonin, and those far surpassing Jonin are Kage Level. Above that, Super Kage Level are the number one figures, such as the Sage of Six Paths and the God of Shinobi, the First Hokage. As for the distinction between Chunin- level and Genin- level strength, it is not very meaningful because there are too many examples Chunin Genin killing Chunin.

Let's get back to the main topic.

At this moment, Kisame had no time to be shocked, nor did he have the leisure to study why Sakura Haruno's Ice Release was unusual, or whether she had reached the high-level perfection of Kage Level, or any other such nonsense.

He just stared intently at Sakura Haruno's figure standing on the ice, constantly squeezing out more Chakra from his body's potential.

Sakura Haruno's current appearance is completely unrelated to her elegant and charming demeanor before the battle.

The clothes torn with countless holes by Samehada, the wounds that hadn't been treated, the spots of red and black blood and mud, the disheveled hair soaked with sweat and sticking to her cheeks, and the slightly heaving chest all indicated the difficulty of the girl's battle—and even, perhaps, her disheveled state.

However, her momentum did not weaken at all; on the contrary, after crushing Kisame's Water Release with an Ice Release, it gradually rose.

The surging Chakra stirred up a strong wind, making her clothes billow: the hem of her clothes at the waist was flipped up, revealing a glimpse of snow-white skin, and her abs were faintly visible; the sleeve on her right shoulder, which had been torn into strips by Samehada, had long since been casually ripped off by the girl, exposing her slender right arm, and the skin stained with specks of blood appeared even whiter.

She stood high on the ice above Kisame's head, her light green, pure eyes gazing down into the depths that seemed bottomless.

The murderous aura seemed to solidify, permeating the air.

Kisame felt a sudden jolt of danger, a sense of immense peril washing over him. His temples throbbed violently, as if a shrill alarm was ringing in his mind, a voice warning him that the person was extremely dangerous and he should get away from her immediately!

Without needing any warning from his intuition, just looking at the aura of that Chakra, Kisame felt a chill run down his spine. Even if he didn't know what kind of move Sakura Haruno would use against him, as long as he sensed the powerful and pure Chakra in her body, he could guess that the next thunderous strike would definitely carry terrifying power!

At this moment, Kisame's mind raced, and information about Sakura flashed through his mind: her usual techniques, her Ninjutsu habits, and so on.

"Judging from this situation, could it be that..."

In an instant, Kisame found the answer to the question.

"She's going to blow the whole hockey puck up!"

The White Zetsu who were watching the battle also received their answer at almost the same time.

But it was too late.

Sakura Haruno's Ninjutsu was incredibly fast; her slender hands moved like butterflies, leaving afterimages in front of her, and she completed the Hand Seals in less than two or three seconds.

"Goodbye."

The girl spoke softly, faintly, and without emotion.

Tao's astonishing momentum reached its peak in that instant!

Right at her feet, Kisame's eyes widened, realizing what she was about to do. He quickly clasped his hands together, intending to unleash Ninjutsu.

Further away, the White Zetsu's hearts began to race wildly.

"Kisame is finished..."

"How could she still have so much Chakra? Is the Yin Seal really that effective?"

"Don't worry about that... Quick, get buried in the ground!"

Then, the next moment--

"Burst!"

Chakra was released like a burst dam!

Boom boom boom boom boom boom--!

The ice puck, several hundred meters in diameter, instantly transformed into a colossal bomb and exploded with a deafening roar!

In an instant, endless radiance and boundless sound erupted from the ice beneath the girl's feet!

It was as if a thousand Raidō; the dazzling light turned the entire world into black and white.

What a magnificent and terrifying scene it was!

It was simply indescribable. The White Zetsu, who were furthest from the battlefield, all had the same thought at that moment: it was as if a second sun had appeared on the ground.

Even though they were hiding outside their imagined "safe distance," and even though they were ready to hide underground at the first moment, the White Zetsu still paid the price for spying on this super confrontation: an excessive amount of blinding light spread out the instant the Ice Release exploded. Although they immediately closed their eyes, the intense light still easily penetrated their eyelids and reached the retina behind their eyeballs, causing the White Zetsu to be temporarily blinded.

The last image they saw was Kisame leaping out of the ice puck, a giant wall of water erupting around him, followed by a blinding light that turned him into a shadow before completely engulfing him.

Finally, all that remained in my field of vision was a blinding white expanse.

The monitors' swift reaction saved their lives.

Just as the White Zetsu were watching the blind man burrow underground, the shockwave from the explosion swept across like a wall. A gale carrying immense power swept across the land, and even boulders several meters in size succumbed to this force, rising with the wind and whistling through the air, uprooting and smashing everything on the ground, leaving only a scene of devastation.

Even the Uchiha brothers, who were further away, had to pause their battle—or rather, Itachi's one-sided thrashing—and turn to face the raging winds that were sweeping across the land.

"What kind of move is this?" Itachi lowered his body, blocking in front of him with his hand. His expression remained calm and expressionless, but his heart was in turmoil.

He withdrew his gaze from Sasuke, who was crouching awkwardly on the ground, and turned his gaze to the source of the shockwave. With a thunderous roar, a huge mushroom cloud was rising straight into the sky.

Further away, the masked youth hiding in a secluded cave was reviewing Sakura Haruno's information when he suddenly frowned, stood up abruptly, threw the papers on the table, turned to look in the direction of the battle, and narrowed his Sharingan dangerously.

"Hmph... Sakura Haruno..."

The girl's name was uttered from his mouth, word by word.

On the table, a piece of paper with a large image of Sakura Haruno printed on it had been torn in one corner by Obito.

Across most of the Land of Fire, far away in Konoha, a beautiful, long-haired woman's heart skipped a beat. She instinctively looked up in one direction. "Huh? What's going on?"

Her hand tightened, and the baby in her arms immediately burst into tears.

"Ouch, did Mommy hurt you? Don't cry, baby, be good~ how about you keep drinking your milk?"

She quickly concealed the look of doubt on her face and gently comforted the baby in her arms.

And many other ninjas with keen senses who were not far away all looked at the same spot with a strange expression...!

(The title and content seem unrelated? Happy New Year!)