Legend

Hanzo stared intently at Senju Genma, but Genma made no move to attack.

Wood Release could absorb chakra. If they kept waiting, the situation would only grow worse for Hanzo and better for Genma.

After a while, Hanzo finally couldn't hold back any longer. Fighting the Sannin had already drained a great deal of his chakra. If he kept dragging things out, it would be a slow death.

"Water Release: Water Severing Blade!" Hanzo infused the sickle in his hand with Water Release chakra, then leaped toward Senju Genma and slashed down at him from above.

Senju Genma raised the Senju Greatsword and leaped high into the air, passing Hanzo in midair.

Genma was secretly alarmed. Hanzo was incredibly strong, and his attack angles were devilishly tricky. If Genma hadn't learned the Strength of a Hundred, he might not even have been able to keep hold of his sword.

Hanzo kept up his assault with his sickle. He didn't try to match Genma's strength, instead relying on his superior technique. The longer they fought, the harder Genma found it to defend himself. Several of Hanzo's attacks had nearly injured him. His close-combat skills were better than Genma's!

Purple poison gas spread through the woods, reaching Genma as well. Hanzo's poison was potent. Genma had inhaled a little, and though it wouldn't affect his ability to fight for now, 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 gigantic wood dragon. Its target wasn't Hanzo, but his summoning beast.

The wood dragon suddenly emerged from the trees and wrapped itself around Ibuse, slowly tightening its coils in an attempt to crush it to death. Hanzo realized what Genma was doing, but couldn't stop the dragon in time. All he could do was watch helplessly as Ibuse died in agony before his eyes.

Hanzo felt a pang of grief. Ibuse was his greatest weapon on the battlefield. Fortunately, he had more than one. Still, raising another Ibuse of the same size would probably take a great deal of resources.

"Kid, Uncle's really getting angry now!" Hanzo narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. "Sword Technique: Iai Slash!"

Hanzo charged at Genma at full speed, sickle in hand. Genma didn't meet him head-on, instead dodging with the Body Flicker Technique.

Clang!

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

Genma looked at Hanzo again, only to find that the sickle in his hand had disappeared. The chain connecting it to the sickle coiled toward Genma at a strange angle, moving with incredible speed. Glancing back, he saw the sickle flying straight toward his face.

Senju Genma infused the Senju Greatsword with chakra, intending to cut through the chain.

Hanzo wasn't idle either. He quickly formed hand seals, and a water dragon rose behind him and attacked Genma.

Genma noticed Hanzo's movements. As he swung the greatsword to cut the chain, he held it in front of himself to block the sickle. The massive water dragon came crashing in, but the trees around Genma began to twist and change. Their branches seemed to come alive, shielding him. The water dragon smashed into them and dispersed into a torrent of water. The branches snapped, but Genma himself was hardly hurt.

"Kid, you're still too green!"

A hand-seal-free jutsu: Water Release: Water Wave Hand!

Without giving Genma a chance to catch his breath, Hanzo used Water Body Flicker to close the distance in an instant. He raised his right hand and unleashed a massive wave of water that surged toward Genma.

"This is the end!"

"Not yet!" Genma had already appeared behind Hanzo and swept his greatsword at him.

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

Water Release: Water Substitution!

When Hanzo used it, his body liquefied and returned to solid form just as quickly as the Hozuki Clan's Hydrification Technique.

"Flying Thunder God Technique? You thought I wouldn't be on guard? It's so easy to guess what a child is thinking! You still have a lot to learn!" Hanzo spoke as if he looked down on Senju Genma, but his tone was full of praise.

In his eyes, Senju Genma was undoubtedly a prodigy. At such a young age, he had already learned an advanced ninjutsu like the Flying Thunder God Technique. He simply lacked experience because of his age. With proper training, his future would be limitless. Hanzo couldn't help feeling that he wanted to recruit such a talent.

Senju Genma said coldly, "Old man, you should worry about yourself!"

Hanzo was still middle-aged, hardly an old man. He was about to retort when he noticed something strange.

The wood dragon that had crushed Ibuse hadn't disappeared. Its mouth was aimed at him, and a black sphere had formed inside it.

He didn't know what it was, but the chakra alone made his heart lurch.

If that hit him, he would definitely die!

"Sage Art: Tailed Beast Ball!"

This was a jutsu Senju Genma had developed himself. By manipulating chakra's form to an extreme degree, he mixed and compressed chakra with Yin and Yang Release in a ratio of two to eight, creating a Tailed Beast Ball artificially.

But Genma's control over the form of Yin and Yang Release chakra wasn't good enough yet, so it had taken him quite a while to finish even one Tailed Beast Ball.

Although its power couldn't compare with a Tailed Beast Ball used by a tailed beast because of the difference in chakra volume, it was still far stronger than a Rasengan.

The black sphere flew swiftly toward the two of them. Genma simply stood where he was without moving, as if he didn't care about his own life at all. The unimpeded black sphere erupted in a violent explosion.

"Damn it, Water Body—"

The tremendous explosion and shock wave blasted a huge crater into the center of Deep Forest Emergence.

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

"Is it over?"

"Not bad. A Wood Clone with only fifty percent of my chakra caused this much destruction so easily."

The figure who appeared was none other than Senju Genma.

Of course, he wouldn't put himself in too much danger. The one who had fought Hanzo the entire time was his Wood Clone.

"What was that?"

Just as Senju Genma was letting out a sigh of relief, he sensed familiar chakra coming from within Deep Forest Emergence. Then it vanished quickly.

"He survived that?"

Senju Genma was a little surprised. He hadn't expected Hanzo to be so lucky as to survive a Tailed Beast Ball.

"Did he still manage to use Water Body Flicker? I should've had my Wood Clone stop him. Then he wouldn't have gotten away!" Senju Genma was frustrated.

This was his first time using a Tailed Beast Ball in actual combat, and he hadn't thought things through.

"Genma, are you all right?" Senju Genma turned around and saw Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya.

"I'm fine, Big Sister Tsunade. Why did you come back?"

Orochimaru said, "We rushed back as soon as we finished treating our injuries, and we heard the explosion. Where's Hanzo? Did he cause that explosion just now? Could Explosive Flame Formation really be that powerful?"

"No, I caused the explosion. I was testing my new jutsu. As for Hanzo, he's already escaped!"

Senju Genma collapsed against Tsunade, exhausted. His Wood Clone had consumed half of his chakra. It wasn't because he wanted to enjoy being held by Tsunade. He was just extremely weak right now.

Tsunade and the others all stared at him wide-eyed, unable to believe it.

They knew how powerful Hanzo was. Not long ago, he had "bestowed" on them the title of Sannin. How much time had passed since then, and Genma had already defeated him?

Tsunade held Senju Genma close, then carried him back to the unit in her arms.

The shinobi in the unit were ecstatic.

Senju Genma had defeated Hanzo—the legendary shinobi, the pinnacle of the shinobi world. He wasn't just some nobody!

Genma had become the pride of Konoha's shinobi and a new legend.

The shinobi cheered his name, and spread the tale of the White Yasha!

In Amegakure, not far away, Hanzo staggered back into the village.

"White Yasha, I'll remember this grudge!"

In Hanzo's eyes, he had defeated the Sannin, then fought Senju Genma without a break and lost only because he'd been worn down by successive opponents. He wasn't willing to accept the defeat.

The shinobi of Amegakure saw Hanzo return and panicked.

They had never seen their leader so badly injured.

Hanzo's combat uniform was completely torn. His upper body was bare, and large areas of his skin were badly burned.

"Medical ninja! Where are the medical ninja? Where the hell are they?!"

Someone in the crowd roared, and the Amegakure shinobi finally snapped out of it. They hurried off to find the village's medical ninja.

Hanzo was the strongest in Amegakure and the source of the confidence that allowed its shinobi to fight the great nations. They absolutely couldn't accept Hanzo dying or losing his ability to fight.