Hand-to-Hand Combat (Happy New Year)

Let's skip over the story of the lovesick couple in Konoha for now.

Let's shift our focus from Konoha back to the ocean, Senri away, between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire.

The storm, which had raged for more than half a month, was nearing the end of its life and was slowly shrinking and weakening.

The storm gradually subsided.

However, in a small area of the sea near the Land of Water, although the wind and rain gradually subsided, the waves remained strong and turbulent.

Whoosh, whoosh... whoosh!

The towering waves can reach hundreds of meters high, and the seawater they stir up is so high that it blots out the sun. It is like a wall of water that stretches across the sky. Accompanied by a dull thud, it explodes on the calm sea from time to time, stirring up huge waves on the tranquil surface!

The scene resembled two enormous, astonishing sea beasts chasing and frolicking on the surface of the ocean, causing the water to surge and the waves to rise high.

But once the waves crashed down and the sea became calm, where did this gigantic beast come from, churning between the sea and the sky?

What appeared in the vast sea were clearly two elegant women, their clothes fluttering in the wind.

Soaring high in the sky, with her pure white wings fluttering behind her, Konan, with her graceful figure and Akatsuki's White Tiger beauty, exudes an imposing aura.

Standing gracefully on the sea, her hair swaying in the wind, her figure slender as a willow, yet her eyes are as cold as frost, her killing intent as sharp as Konoha — this Jonin, Sakura Haruno.

The overwhelming waves and the deafening noise were merely the aftershocks of their fight.

There were no flashy Ninjutsu clashes, only a fierce close-quarters battle, yet the fighting between two Kage Level powerhouses was still so earth-shattering!

This is largely thanks to Sakura Haruno's unique Taijutsu attack techniques.

Derived from Tsunade's Monstrous Strength Technique, it incorporates some techniques from Wing Chun and Hinata's Gentle Fist from her previous life, supplemented by Sakura's unique auxiliary Secret Techniques, and finally fused together in life-and-death battles with various Kage Level powerhouses, giving birth to Sakura Haruno's unique Nintaijutsu.

Nameless.

She never named this powerful Nintaijutsu, but that didn't diminish its strength.

The essence of Sakura's Nintaijutsu lies in its ability to manipulate Chakra with extraordinary precision, imbuing it into every muscle fiber to achieve astonishing speed, power, and accuracy.

Its overwhelming power is something that those who have faced it head-on are probably most aware of.

A sweeping whip kick can create a sonic boom out of thin air; a forward punch can blast a deep crater into the sea!

The rapid, ear-piercing roar and the abruptly sunken sea surface were the best testament to the power of his Nintaijutsu!

In theory, Konan's Dance of the Shikigami can transform her body into the form of paper to become immune to physical attacks, giving her an invincible advantage and completely countering Sakura Haruno's Taijutsu.

This was her true belief before she set off on this trip.

However, it wasn't until she actually faced Sakura Haruno that Konan realized how formidable her opponent was.

Extraordinary reaction speed, concise and efficient punching and kicking movements, and unstoppable Taijutsu power!

The battle between the two women quickly escalated to a point that Konan hadn't anticipated.

This wasn't what she had imagined!

Despite theoretically possessing an absolute advantage, Konan... actually got into a fierce battle with Sakura Haruno, causing the situation to reach a stalemate!

Konan did not crush Sakura Haruno; in fact, her opponent was barely holding on. Konan had truly given it her all, yet she only managed to fight the girl to a standstill, with neither side gaining the upper hand.

What was expected to be a quick and decisive battle turned into a bitter struggle.

In this battle, neither side could gain the upper hand, and neither could even effectively injure the other...

Whoosh whoosh!

Konan's attacks were relentless; her face was as delicate as a flower, but her sword light was as ruthless as a venomous snake.

She wielded the power of the Dance of the Shikigami with unparalleled skill, transforming herself into thousands of flying paper pieces before suddenly solidifying her body to unleash a fierce and ruthless sword strike from various bizarre and even impossible angles, making it impossible for anyone to defend against!

Boom boom boom!

Sakura Haruno's pretty face turned cold, and a murderous intent emanated from her.

She pushed the effects of the Secret Technique Cherry Blossom Impact to the limit, causing her nerve reactions and thought speed to accelerate to the extreme. During the battle, the girl's vision noticeably slowed down, as if time had been stretched out; although the opponent's attacks were fierce, under the gaze of Sakura's green eyes, Konan's sword light seemed like an insect struggling in slime, becoming dull and slow.

Sakura Haruno handled the unpredictable and chilling sword light of the Angel of Dawn with ease.

The power of Nintaijutsu was fully demonstrated in this battle.

With punches, whip kicks, hidden kicks, and elbow strikes, amplified by her Monstrous Strength, each of the girl's attacks was powerful and imposing, carrying a surging momentum and unparalleled might. They crushed Konan with overwhelming force, forcing her to continuously deplete her Chakra and enter the state of Dance of the Shikigami, shattering her attacks into fragments and making them difficult to organize.

From the very beginning, the battle created a bizarre situation where neither side could hit the other.

Neither can do anything about the other.

In the blink of an eye, accompanied by strange noises and huge waves coming from the center of the battle, the two had exchanged dozens, even hundreds of blows.

Konan grew increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed.

This stunningly beautiful woman has always kept a low profile within Akatsuki, giving the impression of being more of a pretty woman by the leader's side. But in reality, her strength should not be underestimated. In terms of strength, she can undoubtedly be ranked among the "Kage" level ninjas. Her Paper Release Secret Technique can even make her immune to physical attacks. Back then, it Konan who personally Teuchi Sasori and brought him into the Akatsuki.

Its strength is evident.

Even within the Akatsuki, which is full of powerful members, she is a top-tier fighter!

However, even with such a master and Secret Technique prepared in advance to completely counter his opponent, he still couldn't defeat that pink-haired girl with a frosty expression!

On the contrary, despite having an overwhelming advantage, she became bogged down in the battle...

Whoosh!

He swung his sword once more.

Launching an attack from an absolute blind spot, Konan slashed out with her sword, its light flickering like a venomous snake's tongue, its ruthless and vicious nature making it difficult to defend against. But Sakura Haruno reacted even faster, dodging almost the instant Konan waved her hand. The latter's sword light grazed Sakura's calm face, and the girl's indifferent expression at that moment seemed more like contempt.

As she turned her head to dodge, Sakura Haruno's arm swung out with the rotation of her body, her pink hair fluttering. She bent her arm and raised her elbow, delivering a fierce elbow strike back to Konan.

Boom!

"So fast... so strong!"

The thought flashed through Konan's mind the instant she transformed into flying paper.

A sense of astonishment gradually rose within her.

The next moment, her exquisitely made-up and stunningly beautiful face twisted and deformed under the immense force, instantly becoming ferocious and terrifying. Then, it transformed into countless paper scraps, which were powerless against the force, and scattered across the sky.

Suddenly, the waves surged up, and water droplets and flying paper instantly filled half the sky!

Glug glug.

Under the cover of a flurry of white paper, Konan manipulated some of the paper to submerge in the water, quietly forming half of her figure directly beneath Sakura Haruno.

Whoosh!

Konan's attack suddenly erupted from directly beneath the girl's feet, and the bright sword light seemed to engulf Sakura Haruno in an instant!

This was the closest Konan the entire battle.

The girl had no idea that Konan would risk getting the paper wet from the seawater by launching an underwater attack, so she wasn't very careful about what was under her feet.

But in the end, she managed to lift her foot just in time, narrowly avoiding the sharp sword light that slashed out from underwater.

Sakura snorted coldly.

"Nintaijutsu: Heavenly Guard Leg!"

BOOM!

The raised foot slammed down heavily, transforming the petite, jade-like foot, imbued with Monstrous Strength, into a murder weapon. The heel struck the sea surface, and the immense power instantly reduced Konan to countless blank sheets of paper, creating a huge crater on the calm sea surface, as well as several towering waves that rose higher than buildings.

Rumble!

This time, Konan did not choose to continue to solidify her body and attack again.

After being blasted apart, the white paper flew rapidly and reformed into a woman's slender figure a short distance away.

The Angel of Dawn slowly flapped its wings and flew in mid-air.

She withdrew from the battle voluntarily.