Legend

Hanzo stared fixedly at Senju Genma, while Senju Genma was in no rush to make a move.

Wood Release could absorb chakra; continuing to wait would favor Genma, not Hanzo.

A moment later, Hanzo could no longer restrain himself. His battle with the Sannin had already consumed a significant amount of his chakra, and dragging it out further would be a slow death.

"Water Release: Water Severing Blade!" Hanzo infused his water-style chakra into the sickle in his hand, leaping toward Senju Genma and slashing down from above.

Senju Genma raised his Senju Greatsword, leaped high into the air, and crossed paths with Hanzo.

Genma was secretly startled. Hanzo's strength was immense, and his attack angles were incredibly tricky; had he not mastered the Strength of a Hundred secret technique, he might not have even been able to hold onto his sword just now.

Hanzo continued his offensive with the sickle. He chose not to compete with Genma in raw strength, instead utilizing his superior technique. The longer the fight lasted, the more difficult Genma found it to parry. Several attacks nearly left Genma injured; Hanzo's close-quarters combat skills were superior to his own!

Purple poison mist also began to diffuse through the forest, spreading toward Genma. Hanzo's poison was potent; though inhaling a small amount wouldn't immediately hinder Genma's ability to fight, it still made him feel unwell.

"Sage Art: Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"

After blocking another of Hanzo's attacks, Genma seized the opportunity to create a massive wood dragon. Its target was not Hanzo, but his summon.

The wood dragon appeared unexpectedly from the trees, wrapping itself directly around the body of Ibuse. It slowly tightened, intending to strangle the creature. Hanzo realized Genma's intent, but he couldn't stop the wood dragon in time, forced to watch helplessly as Ibuse died in agony before his eyes.

Hanzo felt a pang of heartache; this was his sharpest tool for dominating the battlefield. Fortunately, he had more than one Ibuse, though raising another one to this size would likely cost a significant amount of resources.

"Kid, you've really made me angry now!" Hanzo narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth. "Sword Technique: Iai Slash!"

Hanzo rushed toward Genma at high speed with his sickle. Genma chose not to confront him head-on, instead using the Body Flicker Technique to evade.

Clang!

The sound of clashing metal rang out. Hanzo used the Water Body Flicker to catch up to Genma, and their weapons collided.

Genma looked at Hanzo again, only to find that the sickle was gone from his hand. The chain connected to the sickle was rapidly coiling toward Genma at a strange angle. Looking back, he saw the sickle flying straight toward his face.

Senju Genma infused chakra into his Senju Greatsword, intending to sever the chain connected to the sickle.

Hanzo didn't remain idle; he quickly formed hand seals, and a water dragon rose from behind him to attack Genma.

Genma noticed Hanzo's move. While swinging his greatsword to sever the chain, he held the blade horizontally in front of him to block the sickle. The thick water dragon followed, but the trees around Genma began to deform. The branches seemed to gain a life of their own, shielding Genma. When the water dragon struck the branches, it dissipated into a flow of water, and the branches were snapped, but Genma himself remained unharmed.

"Kid, you're still too green!"

A non-seal ninjutsu: Water Release: Water Wave Hand!

Without giving Genma a chance to catch his breath, Hanzo used the Water Body Flicker to close the distance in an instant, raising his right hand to release a massive, wave-like torrent of water to strike him.

"This is the end!"

"Not quite yet!" Genma had already arrived behind Hanzo, his greatsword sweeping horizontally.

Hanzo's body appeared to turn into liquid, and the greatsword passed right through him.

Water Release: Water Substitution!

Used by Hanzo, the speed at which his body liquefied and returned to a solid state was in no way inferior to the Hozuki clan's secret Hydrification Technique.

"The Flying Thunder God Technique—did you think I wouldn't be on guard against it? A child's thoughts are so easy to guess! You still have much to learn!" Though Hanzo spoke words of disdain for Senju Genma, his tone was full of admiration.

In his eyes, Senju Genma was truly a young talent. To have mastered a high-level ninjutsu like the Flying Thunder God at such a young age was impressive. It was only his lack of experience due to his age that held him back. If nurtured properly, his future achievements would be limitless, which inevitably stirred a desire in Hanzo to cherish such talent.

Senju Genma replied coldly, "Old man, you'd better worry about yourself!"

Hanzo was still in his middle years and could hardly be called an old man, but just as he was about to retort, he witnessed a strange sight.

The wood dragon that had strangled Ibuse had not disappeared; instead, it had turned its mouth toward him, and a black sphere was forming within it.

He didn't know what it was, but the mere presence of that chakra made his heart palpitate.

If that hit him, he would definitely die!

"Sage Art: Tailed Beast Ball!"

This was a ninjutsu developed by Senju Genma himself. By utilizing extreme chakra shape transformation and compressing yin and yang attribute chakra in a two-to-eight ratio, he had artificially created a Tailed Beast Ball.

However, Senju Genma's mastery over the shape transformation of yin and yang chakra was not yet perfect, so it had taken him quite some time to complete this single sphere.

Although the volume of chakra meant it couldn't compare to a Tailed Beast Ball used by a Tailed Beast, its power was far superior to a Rasengan.

The black sphere flew rapidly toward the two of them. Genma stood where he was, not moving an inch, as if he didn't care about his own life at all. The unobstructed black sphere exploded instantly.

"Damn it, Water Body Flick—"

The massive explosion and shockwave blasted the center of the Deep Forest Emergence into a giant crater.

A minute later, at the edge of the Deep Forest Emergence, a towering tree opened from its roots, and a white-haired figure emerged from the hollow.

"Is it over?"

"Not bad power, though it was just a Wood Clone with fifty percent of my chakra, it still caused such destruction so easily."

The figure that appeared was none other than Senju Genma.

He would, of course, never put himself in such a dangerous position; the one who had been fighting Hanzo all along was his Wood Clone.

"What is that?"

Just as Senju Genma breathed a sigh of relief, he sensed a familiar chakra coming from within the Deep Forest Emergence, which then rapidly vanished.

"He didn't even die from that?"

Senju Genma felt slightly surprised; he hadn't expected Hanzo to be so tenacious as to survive a Tailed Beast Ball.

Did he still manage to use Water Body Flicker? I should have used a Wood Clone to stop him; that way, he wouldn't have been able to escape! Senju Genma felt a twinge of annoyance.

This was his first time using a Tailed Beast Ball in actual combat, and he hadn't thought that far ahead at the time.

"Genma, are you alright?" Senju Genma turned back to see Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya.

"I'm fine, Sister Tsunade. Why have you all come back?"

Orochimaru spoke up, "We had just finished receiving treatment and were rushing back when we heard the explosion. Where is Hanzo? Was that explosion caused by him? Can the Explosive Flame Formation really have such terrifying power?"

"No, I caused the explosion. I was testing out my new ninjutsu. As for Hanzo, he has already fled."

Senju Genma collapsed exhaustedly against Tsunade. His Wood Clone had consumed half of his chakra, and he wasn't trying to enjoy the embrace—he was simply incredibly weak right now.

The three Sannin widened their eyes, their faces filled with disbelief.

The three of them knew Hanzo's strength all too well; it hadn't been long since he had "bestowed" the title of Sannin upon them. How could Genma have defeated him in such a short time?

Tsunade held Senju Genma in her arms with a pained expression, carrying him back to the troops in a bridal carry.

The ninjas in the unit were ecstatic.

Senju Genma had defeated Hanzo, that legendary ninja, the pinnacle of the current ninja world—not just some nobody!

Genma was now the pride of Konoha, having become a new legend himself.

The ninjas cheered his name while simultaneously spreading the title of the White Yasha!

In the nearby Hidden Rain Village, Hanzo stumbled his way back.

"White Yasha, I will remember this grudge!"

In Hanzo's view, he had been defeated by a war of attrition, having fought Senju Genma without rest immediately after defeating the Sannin, so he refused to accept the loss.

The Rain Ninjas were thrown into a panic upon seeing Hanzo return.

They had never seen their leader suffer such grievous injuries.

Hanzo's combat suit was completely shredded, leaving his upper body bare and his skin covered in extensive burns.

"Medical ninjas! Where are the medical ninjas? Where the hell have they all gone?!"

Someone in the crowd let out a roar, and the Rain Ninjas finally snapped out of their shock, rushing off to find the village's medical staff.

Hanzo was the strongest in the Hidden Rain Village and the very foundation of the Rain Ninjas' confidence to fight against the Great Nations; they absolutely could not accept Hanzo dying or losing his ability to fight.