Explosive Aura

"Ha!"

After spinning around, Qinglong slammed Ibuse hard into the ground.

"Boom!"

The ground cracked, chunks of earth flew up, and a huge crater appeared.

Qinglong let go of Ibuse. Its tail was covered in dense bumps, and holding it was disgusting.

Feeling its tail freed, Ibuse quickly burrowed underground.

It moved so swiftly and smoothly that it almost seemed afraid!

By the time Ibuse and Hanzo appeared again, they were in another corner. As usual, Ibuse emerged by spewing another cloud of poison gas.

Qinglong had already attacked, and Hanzo hurriedly swung his Chain Scythe.

But they were too slow!

"Boom!"

Ibuse was punched flying again. Hanzo's scythe struck empty air, and then Qinglong punched him too. The two of them were immediately subjected to Qinglong's full-on assault!

Qinglong's attacks were too fierce and fast. As soon as one attack was repelled, another was already upon them.

The watching ninjas could sometimes see only a blur of figures. They were sure they wouldn't last even one round against such a relentless assault, and wouldn't even get the chance to perform a jutsu.

Tsunade was even more astonished. She stared at the battlefield and spoke to Shizune.

"Did you see that?"

"That kid Qinglong seems able to launch another attack with just a light touch of his foot against the ground. No matter how far away his target is, he reaches them in a single leap!"

"Yes!"

Shizune had seen it too, and her expression was grave.

"From that distance, pushing off with his foot should leave a huge mark on the ground. But that doesn't seem to happen with Qinglong!"

Tsunade kept her eyes fixed on the fight as she slowly voiced her theory.

"Could it be that he can fly?"

"Using Magnet Release to propel himself the instant he touches down."

Shizune didn't answer. Tsunade didn't sound entirely certain either, because both of them felt there had to be more to it!

"Boom!"

Hanzo could no longer withstand Qinglong's assault. He vanished using the Water Body Flicker Technique, while the giant Ibuse burrowed underground.

"Did they disappear?"

Standing in the crater, Qinglong spoke calmly. He stepped out and walked into the clearing, looking around.

Suddenly, the ground shook, and a gigantic mouth burst through the earth beneath Qinglong, swallowing at him.

Qinglong leaped high to dodge Ibuse's gaping maw, but a chain appeared again, coiling toward him.

But how could Qinglong let him get his way this time? He kicked the bell-shaped head of the chain, sending it flying along with the chain. Then, while still in the air, he clasped his hands together and plunged down, swiftly evading the scythe Hanzo swung overhead and smashing down hard on Ibuse's head!

"Boom!"

The force of the punch drove Ibuse's entire head into the ground. Qinglong then tapped his foot against its head, his figure trailing a blur as he attacked Hanzo again.

In his panic, Hanzo once more turned into a puddle of water and vanished. Qinglong's punch slammed into the ground, leaving another huge crater.

"Whoosh!"

Hanzo had appeared behind Qinglong and brought his scythe down.

"Sword Technique: Iaido Slash!"

"Boom!"

A flash of blade light split the earth, but Hanzo was struck by another punch and sent flying.

This time, Qinglong didn't stop. He pressed the attack with a flurry of blows.

One punch, two punches, three punches, four... He hit Hanzo ten times in a row! If Qinglong hadn't controlled his strength, he might have beaten Hanzo to a pulp.

Qinglong's figure then darted in from every direction, attacking them. Hanzo was forced to defend himself, though it was almost useless. In just a short while, he had taken countless punches.

At last, he found another opening to use the Water Body Flicker Technique and vanished into a puddle of water.

"Hanzo, what other tricks have you got? Use them!"

Qinglong stood on the battlefield, still the same person, speaking in the same tone. But he gave off a completely different impression now: a genius boy capable of overpowering Hanzo.

Countless Amegakure ninjas secretly wiped away their sweat, relieved they hadn't attacked the kid earlier. Otherwise, they would have been the ones getting skewered by an umbrella. They even felt fortunate for the ninja who had used Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet and been seriously injured. If he could come over and witness this, he'd probably be scared to death!

In the distance, at the edge of the battlefield, Hanzo and Ibuse appeared again. Both were covered in wounds. Ibuse lay half on its side, panting, while Hanzo crouched beside it for support. They were both in a sorry state, their former bearing gone.

That was with Qinglong holding back. After all, nearly everyone in Naruto was made of paper!

Ibuse took a deep breath, opened its sack-like mouth, and spewed out a long stream of poison gas.

Soon, the poison gas had spread across almost the entire battlefield, and it was still expanding. Hanzo and Ibuse stood deep within its thickest reaches.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Hanzo's wild laughter rang out from the heart of the poison cloud.

"So what if you're unbeatable in close combat? I've covered this entire battlefield in poison gas. I may not be able to beat you, but I, Hanzo, am undefeated!"

Faced with this situation, even Tsunade furrowed her brow. During the Second Ninja Wars, Amegakure had endured pressure from so many nations because Hanzo had used this very trick to hold back their armies of ninjas.