Li was locked in a fierce battle with the Tsuchikage. At this moment, he had to admit that if they were judged purely by strength, Sarutobi was probably no match for this old man. Both were immensely powerful, but although the Tsuchikage only specialized in Earth Release and Dust Release, he had thoroughly integrated Earth Release into his taijutsu.
It could be said that if Sarutobi and Ōnoki were forced into close combat, Sarutobi would surely fall to Ōnoki within thirty minutes. Of course, Sarutobi was more versatile overall. After all, he was proficient in Ninjutsu of every nature. While those Ninjutsu might not have been especially lethal, they allowed Sarutobi to deal with all kinds of enemies.
Moreover, Sarutobi had not formally entered a battlefield for quite some time, whereas the Tsuchikage was a battle maniac. In his eyes, Iwagakure's ninja could indeed sacrifice themselves for the village's interests. At the same time, however, he would not allow the ninja of his village to be sacrificed meaninglessly!
He would personally enter the battlefield to fight. That way, his combat power would not be wasted for nothing, and through battle after battle, the Tsuchikage had naturally become ever more proficient at killing.
Li felt chills run through him. This man's combat instincts were frighteningly developed. If Minato alone had been left to deal with him, the Tsuchikage could probably already predict Minato's landing point perfectly. At that point, forget holding him off for an hour—even ten minutes would have been impossible!
Li could even sense that the Tsuchikage had completely entered his rhythm. As he did, the Tsuchikage's speed became faster and faster, while the frequency of his attacks suddenly surged. Li had no choice but to use the Benevolence Sword to forcibly deflect his attacks.
Li's left hand was