The Battle in the Dueling Arena

In Black Zetsu's view, the Ōtsutsuki Clan was undoubtedly invincible.

An existence so feared even by his mother Kaguya must be incredibly powerful.

Upon seeing Isshiki, he was certain once again that even having witnessed his mother's power, he still felt a chill run down his spine when facing Isshiki directly.

He was certain that such Strength was enough to crush even the most powerful figures in the world, including Madara and Hashirama.

But now, Izuna actually managed to hurt him?

First, he forced the opponent back with Kunai, then he stabbed at the eye with his bare hand.

It was just pure Taijutsu, yet within two rounds, it left a bloody mark on Isshiki's face.

Black Zetsu was incredulous.

Isshiki ignored the silence of the voice coming from inside his sleeve.

He took another step back, dodging Izuna's follow-up whip kick, trying to create some distance.

He needed space, and he needed to reassess the fighting style of the person in front of him.

The brief exchange of Taijutsu just now told him that Uchiha Izuna's combat skills were very high, on a completely different level from ordinary Ninjas, and he showed no panic when he saw the Black Rods.

In other words, he may know what his moves are and may be very familiar with his fighting style.

This is very dangerous, because if your tactics are figured out, it means the other party may know where your weaknesses lie that you yourself are unaware of.

To defeat this kind of person, you have to give it your all.

But before he could even raise his hand, an immense, almost ferocious, Chakra pressed down from behind Izuna.

Madara's Susanoo.

The corridor was too narrow, barely wide enough for a skeletal arm.

But one hand is enough.

A giant blue Chakra fist descended from the sky, smashing towards Isshiki's head.

The air was compressed so hard it made a popping sound, and the cracks in the walls instantly spread to the ceiling.

At the same time, Izuna was also closing in.

He didn't retreat or create distance; instead, he pressed forward head-on, the Mitsudomoe in his Sharingan elongating into Mangekyō Sharingan, as if he were about to unleash some kind of Dōjutsu.

The corridor space was completely locked.

With Isshiki, decisive move, the wedge on his chin was removed.

Black lines spread from his jawline to his cheekbone, and a Chakra that didn't belong to this world exploded out.

He clenched his right fist, using no technique, just pure power to unleash a punch aimed at Izuna who was approaching from directly in front of him.

Izuna reacted faster than he expected; his fist missed Izuna's face and instead struck Izuna's crossed arms.

Immediately following was an explosive burst of force from the punch.

The shockwave spread outwards from the center of the fist, tearing apart the ceiling, walls, and floor of the corridor in an instant.

Wood chips and stones were carried outwards by the blast wave, making the entire corridor look as if it had been exploded in the middle by a bomb.

Izuna's body was blasted away by the force of the punch, flying through the broken wall and the flying dust, and then flying backward.

Madara stepped forward and used Susanoo to support Izuna, but they were both thrown back by the shockwave. The Susanoo arm was forced back by the shockwave, and fine cracks appeared on the surface of the skeleton.

They were thrown all the way to the playground by the impact.

The cave entrance shattered, and smoke and dust billowed into the sky.

Gravel and timber fell from above, crashing onto the Dueling Arena floor with dull thuds.

The Ninjas in the Dueling Arena who were clearing out the remaining White Zetsu all looked up at the arena below.

They saw three figures fly out of the shattered building.

Ban flipped twice in the air, and when his feet landed, they plowed two long furrows in the sandy soil of the playground.

Izuna stood amidst the dissipating blue Chakra fragments, shook his numb arms, and looked up at the figure in the smoke and dust.

Madara landed beside him, the first rib of Susanoo had reformed, and blue Chakra burned around him.

Amidst the smoke and dust, Isshiki slowly emerged.

His white robe fluttered in the gust of wind, the deep lines on his chin had spread all over his body, and his expression was not good.

"To have driven me to this point, it seems you've already prepared for death."

Ban wanted to say something.

Based on his assessment of the battlefield, the priority should be to have Hashirama and Tobirama clear out the White Zetsu and escort the civilians and Delegation to a safe area.

The white-clad man before them was incredibly strong, strong enough to punch through the entire corridor with a single blow, strong enough that even Susanoo n't withstand a single burst of power from him.

If we can stall for another ten seconds or so, and ask who he is, who sent him, and whether he has any other tricks up his sleeve besides White Zetsu, the rest of the battle will be much easier.

Ban's lips twitched slightly, as if he was about to speak.

But Izuna had already rushed out.

He picked up the two knives that the vengeful boy had thrown down from the edge of the Arena.

He transformed into a black shadow, launching a direct Isshiki.

He was moving even faster than before in the corridor; the dust he kicked up behind him couldn't keep up with his silhouette.

Isshiki narrowed his eyes, raised his right hand and waved it forward, at the same time three thin, Black Rods flew out of his sleeve.

The Black Rods enlarged as it approached Izuna, intending to slow Izuna down and test how much Izuna actually knew.

Without even hesitating, Izuna moved sideways as if guided, precisely avoiding the three Black Rods.

Seeing Isshiki, he swung his arms twice more, but both attacks were easily dodged.

He realized that his trick had been seen through and wouldn't work.

Izuna's sprint speed did not decrease in the slightest, and he was already close behind.

With a twist of his body, the cold glint of the blade traced an arc, cleaving straight at Isshiki's face.

With Isshiki, he raised his hand to block, the Black Rods held horizontally in front of him, the knife striking the Black Rods and sending sparks flying.

The two began to attack each other.

Isshiki attempted to use the advantage of amplifying and shrinking the Black Rods to deliver a fatal blow, but Izuna, wielding twin swords, seemed to merge into the air like a ghost, dodging while simultaneously delivering a deadly slash.

The fierce battle between the two sides was as graceful as a dance performance, so fast that even the Uchiha Clan with Sharingan had to concentrate to keep up.

A blurry black figure and a blurry white figure, the faint glow of the Black Rods and the illusory flashes of the twin swords mingled together, making it impossible to intervene; one could only wait and see who would prevail.

After more than a dozen moves, Izuna finally found Isshiki weakness in Isshiki's attack. He instantly released his dented sword, clenched his right fist, knuckles protruding, and punched Isshiki's Isshiki raised arm.

The power of this punch was completely different from before.

The Chakra fluctuations in the air were compressed to their limit in an instant, and then exploded.

The punch sent Isshiki flying off the ground, and a dull thud came from his arm as if bones were cracking.

Monster Strength with Senju.

His white robes billowed in mid-air Isshiki he tried to adjust his posture, but Izuna wasn't about to give him that chance.

As he struck Isshiki, he caught up and, using his full weight and the force of his dive, slammed Isshiki into the ground.

A large crater several meters in diameter was punched into the sandy ground, and cracks spread outwards like a spider web.

Smoke and dust billowed into the sky, and gravel rained down all around.

Izuna landed right there, and he stomped down into the pit, aiming his Isshiki at the bottom.

He rolled to Isshiki side, barely avoiding the kick that would utterly destroy the terrain.

His white robe was covered in mud, his long hair was loose over his shoulders, he braced himself with one hand and leaped back several meters, landing with a less composed air than before.

"You—" Isshiki began, but before he could finish speaking, a thick tree trunk burst from the ground on the side and coiled around his right arm like a snake.

The rough texture of the tree bark cut into his skin, pinning his entire arm firmly to the ground.

The ends of the trunk continued to grow, sending out thinner branches that wrapped around his shoulders and wrists, making a creaking sound as wood was being tightened.

Hashirama made his move.

On the other side, a black shadow silently extended from the ground, like a living snake, slithering along the texture of the sandy soil, and instantly disappeared beneath Isshiki's feet.

The Nara Clan's Shadow Possession Jutsu solidified into a black anchor at his ankle, fixing his legs in place.

The shadow continued to spread upwards, wrapping around his knees, slipping into his sleeves, like countless invisible chains pinning him to his current position.

It was Nara Shikyou crouching behind the Ruins, his ten fingers interlaced to form a shadow, the veins on his forehead throbbing slightly.

Just then, a whooshing sound came from behind Isshiki.

Tobirama's Kunai pierced Isshiki's face, and in the next instant, he appeared out of Kunai had been.

His right hand had already grasped another Kunai, his center of gravity leaned forward, and the tip of the blade was aimed straight at Isshiki's neck.

The entire movement was fluid and seamless, with no pause between the Flying Thunder God teleportation and the strike; even the air itself was sliced open by the attack, leaving a sharp, buzzing sound.

Those movements were so familiar, so familiar that they triggered my PTSD.

His pupils contracted sharply in that instant, and the skeletal arm of Susanoo instinctively rose up, almost bypassing Izuna and smashing directly at Tobirama.

The Flying Thunder God Slash, the move that killed Izuna.

But it didn't work.

Isshiki disappeared.

Tobirama's Kunai sliced through the air, cutting through the void.

His body lurched forward half a step due to inertia. He immediately activated his full senses, his rose-red eyes searching for the enemy's location, assuming he had jumped to another place.

But the shadow of Lujing still lingers.

Nara Shikyou's interlaced fingers remained in place; his shadow was still connected to something, and the tactile sensation of the spell told him that his target was still in place, neither breaking free nor moving.

The end of the shadow was firmly anchored to something unseen.

"He hasn't disappeared!" Lujing's voice came from behind the Ruins, tinged with obvious confusion and tension. "I can still feel him; he's right there!"

Tobirama reacted extremely quickly.

If it hasn't disappeared, then it has shrunk.

His brain made this decision in less than 0.1 seconds, and his body reacted simultaneously.

Jump back to create distance and regain visibility.

But it was too late. A cluster of Black Rods pierced the ground beneath his feet, at a tricky angle, aiming straight for his vitals from his blind spot.

Tobirama twisted his body in mid-air to avoid his heart, but the Black Rods still pierced through his limbs and emerged from his back, bringing with it a cloud of blood.

He was pinned in mid-air. His Chakra became chaotic for a moment, and the Flying Thunder God technique dissipated at his fingertips.

Tobirama couldn't help but curse, "Damn it!"

The shadows suddenly converged in the direction of Isshiki.

Lujing felt a lightness in his hand, as if someone had completely pulled his shadow away from the other end.

He looked down at his hands in shock, then looked up at the end of his shadow, and blurted out, "Holy crap, it got sucked away?"

Just then, Izuna arrived.

As he charged at him, he grabbed Tobirama by the back of his Tobirama and threw him backward like a sack of potatoes.

Madara was in that direction, Susanoo's skeletal hand opened to catch Tobirama.

Tobirama groaned, blood still seeping from the severed Black Rods on his body, but he didn't curse. He just glanced at Madara with a complicated look in his eyes.

But Ban ignored him, put him down, and immediately went forward to help.

Izuna held the sword he had picked up from the Arena. The blade was dented and chipped, with nicks and chips from its collision with Isshiki's Black Rods.

He gripped the broken knife, then suddenly stopped, his shoe grinding a short groove into the sandy ground.

His Sharingan locked onto the location of Isshiki shrunken sword, and without any hesitation, he aimed the tip of his sword in that direction and plunged it in with pinpoint accuracy.

Isshiki was no way to dodge it, so just as the blade was about to pierce through, his body expanded back to its normal size, and then shrank the blade in Izuna's hand.

The instant Izuna lost his sword, he changed his move, his downward momentum undiminished. He braced himself on the ground with his hand, and his heel made intimate contact with Isshiki's face, sending him flying once again.

The Wood Release of the Hashirama was shattered by the impact, and this time the Isshiki was blasted into the wall below the viewing platform.

The next second, a giant Torii descended from the sky, pinning Isshiki to the ground.

Then several more blows came crashing down, completely forcing Isshiki to his knees.

Hashirama's hand was pressed on the ground, and around his palm were the incantations for Summoning Jutsu.

Gate of the Great God! Seal!

Isshiki was horrified to find that he couldn't break free.

The suppressive power of the Gate of the Great God pressed in from all directions, as if to crush his Chakra along with his bones.

He tried to shrink his size, but Hashirama's Sealing Jutsu locked his Chakra tightly, preventing him from releasing even a fraction of it.

Madara, activating Susanoo, approached, a blue longsword materializing in his skeletal hand, the blade aimed at Isshiki, ready to strike.

Just before the blade fell, Isshiki's figure vanished into thin air.

He was swallowed whole by a pitch-black spatial rift.

The Gate of the Great God still exists, but the target of its suppression is no longer there.

Hashirama couldn't help but curse, "This guy has so many weird and strange moves! It's so annoying!"

Madara's pupils contracted sharply. His first reaction was not to sheathe his sword, but to instantly expand his Susanoo from its skeletal state to cover his entire body.

Sure enough, the next second a portal silently opened beside him, and several Black Rods shot out from it, firmly embedding themselves in Susanoo's ribs. Cracks of blue Chakra spread outwards from the point of impact.

Madara gritted his teeth, thinking, "Space-Time Ninjutsu?" His gaze swept across the training ground, and he roared towards the stands, "Get down here! Quickly heal your brother!"

Hashirama was about to make a move.

Isshiki burst out of the portal and kicked Susanoo's protective layer.

The force of that kick far exceeded any of the previous attacks in the corridor. The blue Chakra shell shattered at the point of contact, sending fragments flying. Susanoo, along with his Susanoo, was sent flying.

He was not given Isshiki chance to land.

He opened the portal again along the trajectory of Madara's backward flight, teleported directly above Madara, and with a flick of his fingers, Black Rods rained down like a storm.

One nail after another was driven into Ban's shoulders, arms, thighs, and abdomen, pinning him to the sandy ground of the playground, rendering him unable to move.

Madara's Chakra instantly became disordered within his body, and the blue light of Susanoo dissipated from his body.

He stared with those Sharingan, his eye sockets bloodshot, and a low growl escaped his lips, but his body was sealed by Black Rods so tightly that he couldn't even lift a finger.

The next second, he was carried away by Izuna, escaping Isshiki's pursuit.

Tobirama suddenly looked down at his own body.

The Black Rods inserted into his limbs had disappeared.

He looked up in the direction of Ban and saw the Black Rods stuck all over Ban's body. He then looked around at the other iron rods that were still there but were lighter in color than the others, and his mind instantly made a deduction.

It seems that the number of those Black Rods is limited, and he cannot use them at will.

"Big Brother!" Tobirama and roared towards the stands, "He only has a limited number of Black Rods that can seal Chakra!"

Hashirama had already jumped down from the stands, and when he landed, he created a shallow crater in the ground, heading straight for Isshiki.

Black Zetsu peeked half his head out from Isshiki's sleeve, his voice so low that only Isshiki could hear. "You've used up Truth-Seeking Orb of the Sage of Six Paths. You shouldn't have used them when you were interrogating that Uchiha. Now we're too far apart, I can't sense them anymore."

Isshiki's expression was somewhat unpleasant.

His greyish-white pupils swept over Hashirama and Tobirama who were approaching, before finally settling on Izuna.

As soon as Izuna finished settling Madara, the Mangekyō Sharingan pattern in his Sharingan began to slowly rotate.

He no longer had a knife in his hand, but his center of gravity was very low, clearly indicating that he was ready to charge forward again at any moment.

Isshiki paused for a second, then made a decision.

Retreat.

Another portal opened behind him, and the dark spatial rift swallowed him up like a giant mouth.

He wanted to say something, but when his gaze met Izuna's, his pupils contracted sharply.

As Izuna's Mangekyō Sharingan slowly turned, it transformed into more complex patterns, and tears of blood flowed down its surface.

Then the space around him shattered.