The Gap in Experience!

"All right! The game of chase ends here! Water Style: Water Flow Whip!"

Hanzō the Salamander had chased Uchiha Jin all the way beyond Amegakure. Seeing that there was no one else around, he immediately made his move!

Earlier, Hanzō the Salamander had carelessly allowed Uchiha Jin to escape his residence and enter Amegakure. Concerned that his unique nature might affect the many civilians in the village, Hanzō the Salamander had restrained himself from acting!

Now that they had left Amegakure, Hanzō the Salamander naturally had no more reservations!

Hanzō the Salamander swung the iron chain in his hand. A rushing current clung to the chain, multiplying its attack range severalfold as it lashed toward Uchiha Jin ahead of him!

Ordinary water had little attacking power, but once water flowed at high speed, its terrifying destructive force could split metal and shatter stone!

Especially in the hands of Hanzō the Salamander, the God of Shinobi, a mere Water Flow Whip displayed power no weaker than an S-rank ninjutsu, leaving smooth furrows across the ground!

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Uchiha Jin dodged a strike from the water whip. Without forming seals, he turned and spat a fireball at Hanzō the Salamander!

The fireball swelled with the wind, becoming a colossal sphere twenty meters in diameter in the blink of an eye!

Feeling the fireball's scorching heat, Hanzō the Salamander did not dare slack off. He yanked the iron chain and controlled the Water Flow Whip as it lashed toward the gigantic fireball!

With a piercing hiss, vast amounts of water vapor billowed up, and the enormous fireball was split in two by the Water Flow Whip!

But Hanzō the Salamander had no time to celebrate, because behind the giant fireball was a Sea of Fire!

"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"

The Flame-Flame Fruit not only greatly increased the power of Uchiha Jin's Fire Release Ninjutsu, but also allowed him to use most Fire Release Ninjutsu without forming seals!

As long as he had enough Chakra and stamina, Uchiha Jin was a ninjutsu machine gun!

"Fire Release with this much power... Water Style: Water Prison Wall!"

Hanzō the Salamander was utterly astonished by the power of Uchiha Jin's Fire Release Ninjutsu!

With just those two Fire Release Ninjutsu, Hanzō the Salamander could already feel that the surrounding air had become much drier!

Uchiha Jin's training in the Nature Transformation of fire-attribute Chakra had reached an extremely high level! His mastery of Fire Release even surpassed Hanzō the Salamander's mastery of Water Style by a considerable margin!

As a result, although Water Style countered Fire Style, Hanzō the Salamander had no choice but to use Water Style of the same level to offset Uchiha Jin's Fire Release!

Moreover, Hanzō the Salamander had noticed that Uchiha Jin had not formed seals when using those two Fire Release Ninjutsu!

He did not know how Uchiha Jin had managed it, but if Uchiha Jin did not need to form seals when using other ninjutsu as well, then things would be troublesome!

Against an opponent like this, he absolutely could not trade ninjutsu head-on!

A massive Water Wall rose around Hanzō the Salamander and collided with the onrushing Sea of Fire!

Great amounts of water vapor rose up, and the area was soon shrouded in thick mist!

"Iai Slash!"

Although the water vapor obstructed vision, Uchiha Jin, with his Sharingan, was even more restricted by it than Hanzō the Salamander!

And as a qualified ninja, Hanzō the Salamander was actually more accustomed to operating in secret!

An environment with limited visibility like this was no different from operating in secret!

Relying on his powerful perception, Hanzō the Salamander used the Body Flicker Technique to appear before Uchiha Jin and unleashed his signature move!

But this time, Hanzō the Salamander still did not aim for Uchiha Jin's vital points!

With a soft crack, the kunai in Uchiha Jin's hand broke in two, and one of his arms flew away with it!

"Looks like I'll need to find a good sword after I get back!"

Uchiha Jin frowned slightly and drove a fist wreathed in blazing flames hard into Hanzō the Salamander's face!

"Fire Fist!"

The flames exploded, and Hanzō the Salamander's body turned into Clear Water before instantly evaporating!

"You're using... the Fire Transformation Technique?!"

Hanzō the Salamander appeared some distance away, staring in astonishment at the flames burning from Uchiha Jin's severed arm!

Ninjutsu that Elementalized the body to evade damage did exist. For instance, Kirigakure's Hōzuki Clan was famous for its Water Transformation Technique!

But throughout the Ninja World's long history, only the Hōzuki Clan had developed the Water Transformation Technique. Elementalization of other attributes simply did not exist!

This showed just how precious an Elemental Transformation Secret Technique was!

And now that Hanzō the Salamander had seen another Elemental Transformation Secret Technique, how could he not be shocked?

"More or less!" Uchiha Jin's severed arm re-formed. He looked calmly at Hanzō the Salamander and said, "Will Senior Hanzō continue?"

Uchiha Jin had not come to Amegakure to make an enemy of Hanzō the Salamander!

The reason he had fought Hanzō the Salamander was simply to display his strength and earn the standing to speak as an equal!

Without strength, let alone listening to what you had to say, others would not even spare you a second glance!

The strong were respected. That was true between people, and it was true between nations. That was how this world worked!

As the Leader of the Land of Rain, who had long struggled to survive between the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Wind, Hanzō the Salamander should understand that deeply!

"What, after exchanging merely two or three moves with me, you think you've earned the standing to speak with me as an equal?" Hanzō the Salamander sneered. "Judging by your mastery of Fire Release Ninjutsu, you must be Uchiha Jin, the Red Sun who has recently risen to fame in the Ninja World, right?"

"Your Konoha New Generation keeps producing one rising star after another, but when it comes to experience, you're still far behind!"

"Don't forget, my strength, Hanzō the Salamander's strength, has never been ninjutsu. It's poison!"

Although Hanzō the Salamander's Taijutsu and ninjutsu were both extremely formidable, what had given him the confidence to declare war on the Three Great Nations of Fire, Earth, and Wind during the Second Shinobi World War was his mastery of poison!

Hanzō the Salamander's poison had made the Three Great Nations of Fire, Earth, and Wind suffer dearly!

If the Land of Wind had not produced a Chiyo, and the Land of Fire a Tsunade, Hanzō the Salamander might truly have established the Land of Rain's position in one stroke during the Second Shinobi World War!

He could have made the Land of Rain the Sixth Great Shinobi Nation that no Other Country could ignore!

Hanzō the Salamander continued, "From the very beginning, I mixed Compound Toxin into my Water Style Ninjutsu! And your Fire Release evaporated all that poisoned water into vapor!"

"This entire area was already filled with my poison without you realizing it! And you unknowingly inhaled those toxins into your body!"

"By my calculations, the poison in your body should have already taken effect!"

"Uchiha brat, can you still use Chakra now?!"

The more Hanzō the Salamander spoke, the more pleased he became. He looked at Uchiha Jin as though he were a lamb waiting for slaughter!