Battle at the Dueling Arena 2

The portal disappeared.

Isshiki left the spot at the last moment before the space shattered.

The crack closed, and he looked at Izuna, a hint of apprehension flashing in his greyish-white pupils for the first time.

"Damn spatial abilities."

Hashirama was so angry at those words that he laughed. He was already close by, his fist, crackling with Chakra, aimed at Isshiki's face. "Do you have the right to say that?"

Isshiki raise of the hand to block.

The moment the forearm and fist collided, a shockwave exploded from the point of contact, causing the surrounding pebbles to bounce up.

He grabbed Hashirama hand and twisted it outwards. Hashirama easily flipped his wrist and broke free, while his other hand reached down towards Isshiki's ribs.

With Isshiki upward knee strike, the fist's trajectory was deflected, and at the same time, the palm was raised to smash towards the collarbone Hashirama.

The two exchanged more than a dozen moves at extremely close range.

Hashirama's Taijutsu was wide and powerful, each punch seemingly capable of smashing through the ground, but Isshiki's counter-attacks were more skillful than his.

Before Hashirama's fists could land on him, something would always deflect them, dissipating most of their force. Each of Isshiki's counterattacks would also land precisely during the gaps in Hashirama's weight shifts.

Hashirama is no match for him in Taijutsu; this conclusion doesn't require exceptional eyesight to discern. The experience accumulated by the thousand-year-old monster hidden beneath Jigen's skin in close combat far surpasses that of Hashirama thirties.

Hashirama could do was engage in a prolonged battle, preventing him from escaping, and then open the portal again if the opportunity arose.

Izuna squatted down next to Madara, grabbed the Black Rods stuck in Madara's shoulder with both hands, and pulled it outward with force.

The Black Rods made a wet, sticky sound as it was pulled out of the muscle. Ban groaned and squeezed out a trickle of blood from his clenched teeth.

Izuna didn't stop; the second and third sticks came quickly and steadily.

After all the Black Rods were pulled out, his Mangekyō Sharingan spun again, and his Dōjutsu was activated. The Black Rods were shredded into a pile of black fragments in front of him by spatial power.

Isshiki sensing the connection being broken, Ichishi's expression darkened.

Madara frowned as he looked at the blood streaming from Izuna's left eye. He reached out to touch Izuna's face, "Izuna, you..."

But Izuna ignored him, finished what she was doing, stood up, turned around, and joined the battle.

His method of joining was very simple.

He cut in from the side between Hashirama and Isshiki, kicking Hashirama in the Hashirama just as he was about to be impaled by the iron rod, sending him out of the fighting circle.

The iron bar was enlarged, but it could only roll futilely to the ground.

Hashirama didn't react at all, and his whole body slid seven or eight meters before his feet landed. After he stood up, he looked down at the shoe print on his waist, then looked up at Izuna, his expression as if he had been kicked by his own cat.

Isshiki didn't miss this gap.

He took a half-step back the instant Izuna kicked Hashirama away, and fully extended the wedge.

The wedge-shaped lines started from his chin and spread outwards, covering his entire face like black tattoos and climbing up his forehead.

His Chakra texture changed, the air around him became heavy, and the pebbles on the sandy ground began to float upwards against gravity.

A horn burst from the top of his head, curved like a scimitar, and grew out, encircling his entire scalp.

Haeharu's lips twitched as he witnessed this scene from Izuna's perspective.

Her voice echoed through everyone's Mind Links, disdainfully saying, "Ugh—it's so ugly."

There was a moment of silence in the Link.

Madara chuckled. Hashirama, who was rushing towards Madara, paused, and even Tobirama almost lost his composure.

Izuna, however, remained unresponsive.

Hashirama, Hashirama placed Madara and Tobirama together and used the Healing Mystical Palm Technique, enveloping the two of them in the green light of the Medical Ninjutsu.

Chakra that had been disrupted by the Black Rods within Tobirama's body gradually calmed down.

He sat leaning against the pile of rubble, his Sharingan fixed on Izuna's direction, without uttering a sound.

Izuna did not continue his attack, but stopped about ten meters away from Isshiki. The Mangekyō Sharingan pattern in his Sharingan slowly rotated, as if he was reconfirming something.

Upon Isshiki laughed.

"It seems you also know how terrifying I am in this state." Isshiki raised his right hand, his five fingers slowly clenching, and a soft cracking sound came from the knuckles.

Her long, flowing hair floated slightly in the aftershocks of Chakra.

The horn above his right forehead curved like a scimitar, casting an ominous shadow in the sunlight.

"It would have been so much better if you had let me go earlier." His voice was still so calm, so calm it sent chills down your spine. "Now that you've pushed me to this point, are you prepared to die in battle?"

Izuna's answer was simple: he raised his left hand, palm up, and hooked his fingers in his own direction, the meaning couldn't be clearer.

Come.

Isshiki's smile vanished.

His figure swayed for a moment, and then he appeared in front of Izuna in the next instant.

Izuna turned his head, and the force of the punch grazed his ear.

He took a half step back with his right foot, followed by his left foot, and avoided the second punch with minimal movement. At the same time, his right hand jutted out from the knuckles and slammed into the inside of Isshiki's elbow joint.

With Isshiki, he pulled his elbow back and thrust his knee upward, deflecting Izuna's punching path.

The two men's arms were entangled at extremely close range, their wrists, elbows, and shoulders all exerting force simultaneously and being neutralized by each other.

Izuna changed his move, lowering his body and sweeping his left leg towards the supporting leg of the Isshiki.

Isshiki leaped up to dodge, twisted his waist in mid-air, and lashed his right leg like a whip toward Izuna's head.

Izuna raised his hand to block, his shinbone colliding with his forearm bone with a dull thud.

The impact propelled him backward by half a meter, carving two parallel furrows into the sandy ground.

He would seize the Isshiki On Time and throw an iron rod as thin as an embroidery needle.

Izuna tried to dodge, but he was just a hair's breadth away. He threw the needle much faster than before, and it still hit his arm.

Black Rods, as thin as a cow's hair, pierced into Izuna's forearm from the outside, then enlarged, penetrated the muscle, and emerged from the inside of his forearm.

Izuna's right hand instantly lost sensation.

Isshiki didn't let this opportunity slip by.

The instant the Black Rods struck, he lunged forward, his left fist brimming with the raging Chakra of his Karma form, aiming straight for Izuna's chest.

Izuna made the most rational choice the moment his arm went out of control.

His whole body fell backward, letting the fist graz his clothes.

He flipped backward twice, supporting himself with one hand, and when he regained his footing, his right hand was hanging at his side, the Black Rods still embedded in his arm.

Instead of pulling it out, he raised his left hand and clenched his fist again.

Just then, a hand patted him on the shoulder from behind.

Izuna turned back.

Madara arrived without anyone noticing, and blue Chakra from Susanoo gathered around him.

Black lines also appeared on Hashirama's face, indicating that he had activated Sage Mode.

From the stands, Raisuke shouted, "The evacuation is complete!"

Before the Daimyo and his Envoys left, they witnessed Izuna's acceptance of the challenge.

Wakako's hands were clenched tightly on her sleeves, her knuckles turning white.

She turned to look at Long beside her, her voice low. "Will they be alright?"

Ryu stood half a step to her side, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan always open.

"Madam, there's no need to worry," Ryu replied. "Our Konoha Ninjas are far stronger than you imagine."

Wakako's hand remained firmly on her sleeve.

Of course she knew they were very strong.

She had witnessed the immense power of Madara and Hashirama, enough to alter the very fabric of the landscape.

Izuna knocked the challengers off the Arena one by one.

Although Tobirama hasn't shown his Strength yet, how could someone who can serve as the head of the Guard Corps be weak?

But at this moment, they all looked disheveled, covered in dust and blood.

Daimyo Yuan Yusheng lifted her onto the Cheshire Cat's back, taking one last look at the shaking Dueling Arena before mounting her.

His brows furrowed, and the corners of his mouth were pressed into a straight line.

He had never been to the battlefield.

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire doesn't need to fight personally; that's the job of the Ninjas.

But he also understood that the situation was not optimistic.

Even though he was just a mortal, he knew that the chances of winning were slim.

And there's another question: who exactly is this enemy?

Those white things attacked anyone they saw, indiscriminately, regardless of whether they were Ninjas or civilians, or from Konoha or other countries. Although they were very weak, easily killing even ten-year-old Ren, they were still enemies.

Konoha had just been established, Hashirama had only donned the Hokage hat yesterday. They had no motive to stage a massacre at their most important celebration, especially since people in Konoha had also died.

This attack could only have been carried out by external forces.

Yuan Yusheng turned his gaze away from the playground and slowly swept it over the Four Nations Envoys standing not far away.

The Envoy from the Land of Wind was whispering something to his confidant, the Envoy from the Land of Lightning was stroking Black Hound, the Envoy from the Land of Water had already mounted Large Deer, Ishimi from the Land of Earth was frowning as he looked towards the playground.

Each one is a suspect.

As for the reason? It's too easy to guess.

They simply don't want to see the Land of Fire rise to power. If the Land of Fire too strong, it will pose a huge threat to them.

Even if I have no intention of invading other countries, they will worry about it every day.

Yuan Yusheng believed that if they could find a powerful ally like the guy in the white robe currently on the field, they would definitely make their move.

Ishimi understood the look that Yuan Yusheng, and immediately turned to the tall Rock Ninja beside him and whispered a few words to him.

Naiwa Rock Ninja nodded and walked into the Ninja ranks to select helpers.

Not only Iwagakure, but also the envoy from the Land of Lightning, after a brief hesitation, nodded to the guards behind him. The Cloud Village ninjas discussed for a few moments and then selected two people to head towards the dueling arena.

The Envoy from the Land of Water did not speak, but the Ninja behind him exchanged a glance with Mizuno Kazuhiko, and silently jumped off the stands, heading towards the Dueling Arena.

The Land of Wind Ninjas had already released their puppets and fired poison needles at Isshiki.

Having witnessed the battle just now, they were even more certain that Konoha was no match for them.

Even though they looked disheveled, they knew that none of these four people were people they could afford to offend.

If Konoha loses, they might be able to take advantage of the chaos and take a bite out of the Land of Fire.

But if Konoha hadn't lost, and they had stood by and watched the whole thing, then when things were Settlement after the war, no one could say for sure whether they would be held accountable.

They didn't want to be misunderstood by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and bring unwarranted disaster upon their country.

The Ninjas who went down into the arena knew they probably couldn't be of much help.

They had witnessed the power of the Isshiki firsthand; even Hashirama couldn't gain an advantage, so they would likely not be able to withstand even a single blow.

But someone has to go.

Moreover, they must go to help Konoha deal with that white-clad man, not hide in the stands and wipe out the remaining White Zetsu; otherwise, this gesture would be in vain.

Ōnoki squeezed out of the crowd, his feet already gathering Chakra for the Light-Weight Rock Technique, and his body floated slightly in the air.

Before he could even fly away, a hand landed on his shoulder.

The older Rock Ninja crouched down and said to him, "Ōnoki, you can't go."

"I have to go," Ōnoki said urgently, shaking off his hand. "I'm the only one who can be of any help here. If anyone else goes up—"

He paused, the second half of his sentence stuck in his throat, unable to be uttered.

Because the older Rock Ninja looked at him with only calm in his eyes.

He patted Ōnoki on the shoulder, turned and nodded to the older woman. The two of them jumped down from the stands and headed towards the Dueling Arena.

The female Rock Ninja running at the front had already begun forming hand seals, preparing to unleash Earth Release: Sealing Isshiki the moment she entered the firing range.

Ōnoki stood there, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

You... will die...