"Who are you? And who is this Masked Man you mentioned? Is he the one behind all this?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen tightened his grip on Enma and watched the unfamiliar powerhouse before him warily.
The undisguised hunger in Yu Yuanzhen's eyes told Hiruzen everything he needed to know: he was the target.
He immediately turned and gave a firm order to the Ninja beside him who were about to help.
"He's a level ninety-five powerhouse. I'll deal with him myself! Keep holding back the Nine-Tails. Whatever happens, don't let him fire another Tailed Beast Bomb!"
The Ninja were worried, but they knew how urgent the situation was. They stopped and plunged back into the battle against the Nine-Tails.
"A smart decision."
Yu Yuanzhen offered the faint praise, the battle lust in his eyes burning brighter.
Hiruzen quietly recovered his strength while trying to draw information out of him.
"What exactly do you want? I'm an old man, and I have nothing worth coveting. Have I somehow made an enemy of you?"
"Ninjutsu," Yu Yuanzhen said without the slightest attempt to hide it. "I want Konoha's Ninjutsu legacy."
The answer caught Hiruzen completely off guard.
If you want Ninjutsu, go find the Scroll of Sealing!
Why come here and make things harder for me?
Fortunately, he had already ordered the Scroll of Sealing moved.
And judging by this man's behavior, he certainly wasn't a spy from another Ninja village.
No spy would say something so utterly ignorant.
"How about this? Help me quell the Nine-Tails Incident, and Konoha will treat you as an honored guest! You can choose a few Ninjutsu you like afterward!"
A level ninety-five powerhouse could make all the difference in the Nine-Tails Incident. If Hiruzen could win him over, ending the chaos would be far easier.
But Yu Yuanzhen merely shook his head. Vast Soul Power erupted around him, and nine Spirit Rings—two yellow, two purple, and five black—rose slowly beneath his feet, their dazzling light swirling.
"Once I take you down, I'll have everything I want!"
Yu Yuanzhen wasted no more words. With a thought, he activated his Third Soul Skill. Violent Thunder instantly filled his body, his muscles swelled, and his strength and speed surged as he entered a state of Thunder Rage.
His Seventh Soul Skill followed in a burst. Immense draconic might swept outward as thick azure dragon scales crackling with electricity covered him. His arms became savage dragon claws, a pair of thunderous wings formed behind him, and he transformed into a colossal thunder dragon with an overwhelming presence.
Before his aura had even settled, his First Soul Skill, Thunder Dragon Claw, was ready. Supremely domineering Thunder gathered in his right claw.
His cold gaze locked onto Hiruzen. He shattered the ground beneath his feet and charged straight at the Third Hokage with the force to destroy heaven and earth!
Hiruzen was at his weakest right now. Yu Yuanzhen was certain this all-out strike would bring him down on the spot.
The blue, dragon-shaped figure closed in as swiftly as a thunderclap. Hiruzen's pupils contracted as he rapidly analyzed everything he had seen.
Formidable lightning power, along with a strange ability resembling a beast transformation. Scales covered his body, and his physique had grown larger. Clearly, his physical abilities had been greatly enhanced.
Strange rings of light hovered beneath his opponent's feet, alternating between bright and dim. Each time one lit up, the man's aura surged. As a master of Ninjutsu, Hiruzen immediately judged that every ring corresponded to a different move.
In that brief instant, he had roughly worked out Yu Yuanzhen's abilities and decided how to respond.
At the last possible moment, Hiruzen acted. The black staff in his hands shuddered and abruptly returned to its original form. His Martial Soul, Enma, appeared.
"Old friend, block this one for me!"
"Leave it to me!"
Enma answered and sprang forward. His powerful frame stood squarely before Hiruzen, meeting the oncoming Thunder head-on.
A deafening crash shook heaven and earth. Violent Thunder slammed into Enma, throwing dust and smoke high into the air and making the surrounding ground tremble.
As the smoke slowly cleared, the scene came into view. Yu Yuanzhen stared wide-eyed, disbelief written across his face. "Impossible!"
He had poured his Soul Power into an all-out attack combining three Soul Skills, yet Hiruzen's Martial Soul had stopped it cold without suffering the slightest injury!
He was confident that attack could have easily defeated a lower-ranked Titled Douluo!
He fixed his gaze on the ape. "This is the power you're relying on?"
Hiruzen quietly caught his breath and restored his spent strength as he replied, "This is Enma, the Detached Martial Soul who has been with me for many years."
The words "Detached Martial Soul" jolted Yu Yuanzhen. He immediately thought of his good-for-nothing son, and conflicting emotions welled up inside him.
He drew a deep breath and pushed those thoughts aside, his expression growing graver. "Impressive. Far beyond anything I knew a Detached Martial Soul could do."
But he had also noticed Hiruzen secretly recovering his strength. He had no intention of dragging out the fight.
"Your Martial Soul may be tough as iron, but that doesn't mean you are!"
Yu Yuanzhen held nothing back. He unleashed his strongest finishing move and roared, "Ninth Soul Skill—True Dragon Fury, Shake the Nine Heavens!"
In an instant, nine massive dragons wreathed in endless Thunder formed out of the void. They wheeled and intertwined, becoming a boundless sea of raging lightning. Their deafening roars left Hiruzen's eardrums tingling.
"A wide-area Ninjutsu attack? Good idea! But you're taking too long to charge it! No one's going to stand there and wait!"
Hiruzen had recovered much of his strength. He made his decision at once.
Just as the sea of lightning was about to crash down, his figure blurred. He used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished from where he stood.
Yu Yuanzhen's target disappeared. Startled by the sheer speed, he hurriedly searched his surroundings.
The next instant, a figure appeared beside him. Enma changed form in a flash, becoming a four-sided cage that trapped Yu Yuanzhen inside.
Yu Yuanzhen instinctively exerted his strength to break free, only to discover that the flow of Soul Power within him was being heavily suppressed. His fully charged Ninth Soul Skill was forcibly interrupted.
Before he could understand why, Hiruzen's hands flew through Hand Seals outside the cage. Four identical Shadow Clones appeared, and the five figures, including his original body, took positions around the cage.
"What Ninjutsu is that?" Yu Yuanzhen wondered, alarmed.
Hiruzen did not answer. The five figures moved in perfect unison, each rapidly forming different Hand Seals. Wind, fire, water, earth, and lightning Chakra surged and gathered at once.
"Five Elements Great Barrage Technique!"
Five powerful Ninjutsu of utterly different elements took shape and fused as one. Carrying immense force, they struck Yu Yuanzhen inside the cage all at once!
Before you continue