The Four Kage at Their Wits' End

Inside the circle surrounded by white light, the atmosphere was heavy as lead.

Danzo said coldly, "How arrogant. But it doesn't matter. Your death is only a matter of time."

Du Yang stood alone in the center, facing Konoha's strongest fighters: Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hokage Advisor Shimura Danzō, the Sannin Jiraiya and Tsunade, and two elite Anbu squads.

The Third Hokage and Jiraiya in his normal state were powerful Kage-level fighters, while Jiraiya in Sage Mode could even touch the threshold of the Super Kage level.

Neither Danzo nor Tsunade could be treated as an ordinary Kage-level fighter, either.

What's more, there were also two troublesome squads of elite ninja.

In other words, his opponents this time could truly be called Konoha's top fighters.

Even after using his ability twice, Du Yang was no so-called invincible ninja.

That was because his own chakra reserves were limited.

Like Kakashi and the Third Hokage at present, his chakra reserves were only at level six.

The Clone Technique and the Transformation Technique, even as low-level E-rank jutsu, consumed a certain amount of chakra each time they were used.

In a sense, only ninja could possess supernatural power in this world.

That was because only one Chakra Fruit had ever been produced, and Kaguya had consumed it.

What's more, even someone as powerful as Uchiha Madara, at the Super Kage level, and Otsutsuki Kaguya, at the Six Paths level, had been defeated.

Without a protagonist's plot armor, you were just an ordinary person.

Du Yang couldn't afford to waste chakra, either.

Of course, he only intended to kill one person, frame Danzo, and find a way to plunge Konoha into chaos.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Du Yang with unmistakable killing intent and said, "Uchiha Du Yang, you incited a rebellion, murdered your clansmen, took your clan members hostage as you defected, and now you dare to spout such nonsense.

"Surrender and accept Konoha's judgment. It's your only way out."

Du Yang's gaze swept calmly over Hiruzen. He chuckled. "Ridiculous. You're the ones who gave the Uchiha no way to survive."

"Silver-tongued as ever." Danzo snorted, a cold glint in his single eye. "Hiruzen, why waste words on a traitor like him? Anbu, take him down first."

Hiruzen Sarutobi considered it briefly, then gave a slight nod.

At his signal, the two Anbu squads sprang into action.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

The ninja in one Anbu squad formed hand seals together. Several blazing fire dragons roared forward in three directions—left, center, and right—charging at Uchiha Du Yang.

The other squad took positions at the four corners of the encirclement and swiftly hurled kunai and shuriken fitted with Explosive Tags at Du Yang.

At the same time, Du Yang formed hand seals in an instant.

The next moment, he entered the state of Triple Inverse Life, his entire body transforming into qi.

"Scatter."

Du Yang spoke coldly and brought his palm down. A wall of qi appeared at once.

The several vicious, roaring fire dragons slammed into the qi wall just a few feet in front of him. They abruptly froze, then vanished soundlessly like dust scattered by a fierce wind, without even a spark flying out.

"What?!"

The pupils of the Anbu ninja who had used Fire Release shrank. They had no idea what kind of jutsu Du Yang had used, or how he had dispelled their fire jutsu so effortlessly.

At the same time, the explosive-tagged weapons flying in from every direction entered a radius of about three meters around Du Yang. White qi enveloped them, and the seals on the Explosive Tags suddenly dimmed, as if they had lost all chakra and become ordinary scraps of paper.

The weapons themselves seemed to lose most of their momentum, clattering to the ground without posing any threat.

Two Anbu ninja who had been preparing to launch a surprise attack suddenly sprang out from Du Yang's blind spots.

But Du Yang seemed to have anticipated their movements. He shifted slightly, just enough to evade their attacks, while his hands brushed over their wrists like butterflies flitting through flowers.

"Hmm?"

The two Anbu instantly leaped back.

But once they steadied themselves, they only managed a muffled groan before sensing their chakra flow fall into disarray. Then blood poured from all seven orifices, and they died.

In the blink of an eye, the Anbu's first probing attack had been completely neutralized with casual ease. They hadn't even forced Du Yang to take a single step back.

The four Kage-level fighters had seen it all.

To them, the jutsu Du Yang had used was bizarre in the extreme.

"Just as I thought. Something's off." Tsunade clenched her fists, her bold eyebrows lifting. "His jutsu can break down chakra on a physical level. Those things that look like white gas can't be touched."

Jiraiya watched him with a grave expression. "That's not all. His whole body looks like white gas. It seems ordinary jutsu can't hurt him."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart tightened, and he quickly changed tactics. "Don't get close. Cover him with long-range jutsu, and watch how he responds."

"Use a sealing jutsu to test him."

In an instant, four Anbu ninja took positions at the four corners around Du Yang. They quickly formed hand seals and shouted in unison, "Sealing Technique: Four Violet Flames Formation!"

Four walls of violet flame rose from the corners and swiftly closed in toward the center, intending to trap Du Yang in a smaller area and restrict his movements.

Du Yang swept his arm across, breaking through all four walls of violet flame in an instant.

Hiruzen Sarutobi formed hand seals.

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"

The ground heaved, and a dragon's head made of mud emerged, lunging to swallow Du Yang.

Tsunade drove chakra into the ground with her foot, creating a shockwave that surged along the earth toward Du Yang.

Jiraiya joined in as well. He opened his mouth and spewed a large amount of viscous Toad Oil, though he didn't attack Du Yang directly.

It could serve to distract Du Yang, and later help Jiraiya use Fire Release.

Du Yang gave a cold snort. From the spot beneath his feet, a layer of radiance rippled outward like water, instantly spreading several meters around him and forming a domain like a barrier.

Hiruzen's Earth Dragon Bullet entered the domain, its speed visibly slowing. Fine cracks appeared across its surface, and it was instantly reduced to nothing.

Tsunade's shockwave entered the ground, but when it touched the radiance of Triple Inverse Life, it vanished like a bull made of mud sinking into the sea. It had no effect whatsoever on Du Yang's footing.

Jiraiya's Toad Oil splashed against the domain's radiance but did not penetrate. Instead, it slid down the barrier of light and pooled along the domain's outer edge, unable to get inside.

"I think his current state is extremely unusual, a bit like being immune to all techniques," Tsunade analyzed. "But maintaining it must consume a great deal of chakra. Let's see how long he can keep it up."

Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly assessed the situation. "Increase the power and frequency of your attacks. Wear him down."

"Jiraiya, prepare that jutsu. Danzo, keep him occupied."

Danzo nodded and began forming hand seals, summoning Cursed Binding Chains. In combination with the Four Violet Flames Formation, they harried Du Yang from every direction, striking at him repeatedly.

Hiruzen Sarutobi also intensified his attacks, alternating between Wind Release, Fire Release, and Earth Release, but the Radiance Domain blocked them all.

They were like the most seasoned hunters, circling the perimeter of an unknown beast's territory, probing, wearing it down, and searching for a weakness.

"Had enough testing?" Du Yang said. "If that's all you've got, then it's my turn."

The Radiance Domain, which had been motionless in defense, suddenly contracted inward, compressing into itself before abruptly expanding outward and erupting.