Rolling yellow sand shrouded the entire sky above the Land of Swamps amid violent winds.
From time to time, thunderous, ear-splitting booms rang out.
They suppressed the roars of countless demons across the land and the commotion caused by various large-scale combined ninja techniques.
This was Crocodile and Shinnō's battlefield.
The two continuously clashed, crossed paths, and clashed again with unimaginable speed and power.
Every collision unleashed terrifying force, blasting the surrounding windblown sand and empty air into visible ripples that spread outward.
Yet before the aftershocks could fade, identical ripples would explode elsewhere.
"What a troublesome bastard. Not only is his healing ability close to Muzan Kibutsuji's, but that black energy can even nullify the rule power of 'desiccation.'"
Crocodile found the battle difficult.
Shinnō's strength and speed were actually manageable.
By fusing the two forbidden medical techniques, 'Body Activation' and 'Body Regeneration,' with Void's demonic Chakra, he had developed a secret ultimate technique called 'Flesh Transmutation.' This gave him the formidable ability to open the Gate of Death of the Eight Gates Released Formation without dying.
But the power of the Eight Gates Released Formation varied enormously depending on who used it.
Shinnō himself had never seriously trained in Physical Arts.
All his current power had been piled up through various secret techniques and demonic Chakra.
As a result, though he looked imposing and radiated extraordinary momentum, Shinnō was in fact severely holding back this entire 'build.'
Just think about it—if Might Guy, the Jonin from the original work, had Shinnō's 'build' that allowed him to open the Gate of Death at will, what kind of performance would he show?
Thus, in direct exchanges, Crocodile had basically suppressed the Shinnō before him from start to finish.
However, while Shinnō's Physical Arts were lacking,
he was a medical ninja