Hanma's Trump Card

Tsunade slowly rose to her feet like a ferocious lioness, spat out a thick clot of blood, and stared coldly at Hanma.

Hanma paid no attention to Tsunade's gaze. In truth, there was no distinction of gender among powerful shinobi. Going all out was the greatest respect he could show Tsunade.

Without any hesitation, Hanma swiftly widened the distance between them. Until he understood Setsuna's ocular technique, he needed to avoid its edge.

"Clan head, you still had a surprise this big?" Hanma looked at Setsuna with a constipated expression.

He had never imagined something like this would happen. An old man like Setsuna actually possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan?

Setsuna was brimming with vigor, as though he had returned to his invincible youth at twenty. He replied proudly, "Youngster, I merely inherited a sliver of Uchiha's glory."

Hanma's mouth twitched. Give the old man an inch and he'd take a mile—even his Warring States Period manner of speaking had come out.

The situation was gradually becoming clear. Both Tsunade and Setsuna had displayed strengths in both offense and defense, and with Setsuna's bizarre ocular technique added in, Hanma's plan to force one of them out of the fight had fallen through.

It seemed Hanma's chances of winning had now dropped to their lowest point.

Setsuna smiled and looked at Hanma.

"For all this time, you've been fighting with nothing but pure physical strength and that strange Blood Qi.

"Where is your Chakra? Where is your Nintaijutsu? Surely you aren't arrogant enough to think you can defeat the two of us with taijutsu alone?"

Most of the observing Jonin slowly nodded, especially Hyuga Tenzo.

With the Byakugan of the Main Family, he had long noticed Hanma's peculiarity. This man actually did not use Chakra in battle!

Hanma sighed. Looking at Tsunade, who was already unable to hold herself back, he brought his hands together and suspended the effects of the "Heaven and Earth Furnace" Entry.

Because he intensely despised the shinobi trait of high offense and low defense, Hanma kept the "Heaven and Earth Furnace" active almost constantly, using it to continuously strengthen his body with his own Chakra.

It was not that Hanma did not understand ninjutsu. On the contrary, he had some grasp of all Five Elements Ninjutsu, and his attainments in Nintaijutsu could be considered among the very best in the Shinobi World.

But if he fought with the Five Elements Ninjutsu, where would he gain the experience needed to accumulate taijutsu Entries?

Besides, against most enemies, three punches and two kicks were all it took. There was no need to waste Chakra.

Over time, Hanma had grown accustomed to defeating enemies with taijutsu alone and rarely used Release techniques anymore.

Because of what he knew about the Otsutsuki from his previous life, Hanma deeply understood that if one had not learned Senjutsu, Chakra would be of negligible use in the later stages.

He had no means of acquiring Senjutsu, but he possessed the Entry System. He could fully match—or even surpass—the Six Paths through the path of taijutsu.

For that very reason, he had developed a mild obsessive compulsion. He was unwilling to waste even a trace of Chakra and wanted his body to advance as quickly as possible.

Hanma sighed, though a hint of excitement was in his voice as he said:

"Then, Clan Head, Tsunade, I'm going all out."

Violent arcs of electricity curled around Hanma's body. Massive amounts of Lightning Release Chakra frantically gathered around him, lashing the air and producing restless crackling sounds.

Hanma let out a long howl as Blood Qi merged with Lightning Release Chakra. The deep blue Lightning Armor was stained with dark red Blood Qi, while the Chakra no longer being drawn away by the Entry rapidly filled the armor, making it increasingly larger and more powerful.

Setsuna stared wide-eyed through his Mangekyō Sharingan. Having once possessed the Susanoo known as the "Power of a God," he actually sensed a faintly similar essence within that Lightning Armor.

The scarlet arcs roared as they swelled to five meters tall. Hanma was engulfed by the current, his figure no longer visible.

The observing Jonin all wore expressions as if they had seen a monster. Yūhi Shinkō seemed to realize something. "Is the reason Genjutsu cannot interfere with him because he normally doesn't use Chakra in battle?"

White Fang, who had remained silent all this time, looked at the several-meter-tall scarlet sphere of lightning and slowly said, "Chakra is the foundation of shinobi. Even taijutsu shinobi are no exception."

Seeing that Tsunade's injuries had already been healed by Setsuna's Mangekyō Sharingan, Jiraiya's expression gradually calmed as well.

"Hanma and I have sparred since childhood. That bastard must have developed some secret technique that lets Chakra continuously strengthen his physical body.

"Ever since I turned sixteen, I realized the rate at which his strength grew was completely wrong."

The scarlet lightning sphere in the arena had already expanded to over ten meters tall. The lightning on its surface was gradually showing signs of losing control, spreading outward into the surroundings.

Tsunade and Setsuna retreated several steps when they heard Setsuna ask with renewed pride, "Young descendant of the Senju, what do you think of the Uchiha clan's Mangekyō Sharingan?"

Tsunade did not argue. She looked at her completely healed body and said in agreement, "The Mangekyō truly is extraordinary."

Then she paused before adding, "Old man Setsuna, take care of your health. If you feel unwell later, come find me."

Setsuna smiled at her words. The bond between shinobi truly had to be forged through battle.

Still, Tsunade was worthy of being the direct heir of the Senju. Her understanding of the Uchiha was deeper than that of many Uchiha themselves.

Setsuna pointed at the lightning sphere, a trace of helplessness appearing on his face. "What is he doing? Is that a defensive ninjutsu? Why do I feel like his Chakra has gone out of control? He isn't going to explode, is he?"

Tsunade frowned as she watched, equally at a loss.

"I don't know any long-range attack ninjutsu. Even your Majestic Destroyer Flame was useless when it hit him head-on, much less now."

After a pause, she added, "Don't worry. With such a massive Chakra expenditure, he wouldn't be stalling for time to prepare for another fight, would he?

"Today, we have to defeat that bastard who has no sense of decorum at all!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the giant ball of lightning, which had swelled to twenty meters, stopped expanding. Its surface emitted a fine, steady hum. The sphere gradually contracted, its lightning slowly solidifying and compressing into a roughly humanoid shape.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Hanma's deep voice came from within the lightning.

The crimson lightning compressed further, revealing a texture as solid as matter. Surging Chakra washed over the armor, and with every sweep, the Lightning Armor became finer and more solid.

Finally, after several breaths, Hanma appeared before everyone like a demon god.

Hanma's surging scarlet Lightning Release Chakra overflowed from his body, forming the outermost layer of protection.

He himself wore a blood-red lion helmet, with a thick protective belt wrapped around his waist. Ferocious demon heads protruded from both shoulders. The main armor was formed from tightly layered plates, with thick heart-protecting mirrors on both the front and back. On his feet were high-topped, thick-soled combat boots.

This was Hanma's own "Susanoo," created from the models of ancient Chinese Mingguang Armor and Mountain Pattern Armor, using his Lightning Release Nintaijutsu and Blood Qi.

The air was filled with the scorched smell of lightning and the stench of Blood Qi. A true contest was about to begin.