Victory

The instant the Sprint skill activated, a cool surge appeared out of nowhere within Danzo's body and rapidly flowed through him.

The leap from Rank A to S-Rank was enormous.

An afterimage flashed past. Dodai's eyes could not catch sight of Danzo at all. Instinctively sensing danger, he involuntarily activated his Nintaijutsu.

Deep blue Chakra rapidly circulated through his body as his activated physique darted swiftly to the side.

Bang.

A tremendous boom rang out, followed by a cloud of dust that blotted out the sky. Where Dodai had been standing, a deep fissure had been carved into the ground.

The massive boulder blocking the center of the gorge, which Hizashi Hyuga had been unable to budge no matter what he tried, was split cleanly in two and teetered on the verge of collapse.

Nearby ninjas who had failed to evade in time were caught in the tremendous force and sent flying several meters away.

"Super Strength Fist!?"

Dodai stared wide-eyed at Danzo amid the swirling dust, but his pupils abruptly contracted. He hurriedly dodged to the side again.

Could Danzo actually be from the Senju Clan?

Dodai was deeply shocked.

Danzo's blade light appeared once more where Dodai had originally stood, then vanished.

"No, it's Super Strength Slash."

His voice echoed through the air, yet his figure was nowhere to be seen.

Every slash that triggered a Critical Hit dealt at least twice the damage of his current Rank B strength. Calling it Super Strength Fist would not have been inaccurate either.

Slash after slash, Danzo gave Dodai no chance to form hand seals. He only had an hour, and he had no intention of wasting time stopping to trade nonsense with Dodai.

"So fast!"

Uchiha Fugaku watched Danzo continuously strike at Dodai in horror.

The three black tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly. Even with the perception of the Three Tomoe Sharingan, he could still see only an afterimage.

"You've gotten old, Dodai. You weren't this slow before."

"I remember Kumogakure's Nintaijutsu being quite formidable. Do you think being old means you can rely on your seniority and stop training?"

"You probably can't even beat Konoha's younger generation now."

Chattering away, Danzo continued attacking while relentlessly mocking Dodai.

Dodai's expression grew increasingly ugly. He even began to wonder whether he truly had gotten old and slowed down.

Furious, Dodai tried to counterattack, but every time, he instinctively attacked the place from which Danzo's voice had come—only to miss every single time.

Danzo saw every shift in Dodai's expression. He knew very well that Dodai had not become slower; Danzo himself had simply become faster.

Compared to the speed of the original body's memories, Danzo's current speed had surpassed it by far.

As he continued adapting, Danzo grew faster and faster. Whether it was the frequency of his swings or the movement of his body, he gave Dodai no chance whatsoever to use ninjutsu.

King against king, general against general.

The moment Danzo and Dodai began fighting, everyone else followed suit.

A green figure stood before all the Kumogakure ninjas who wanted to rush forward and assist Dodai.

"Please do not interfere with Lord Danzo's battle."

Facing countless Kumogakure ninjas, Might Guy was utterly fearless.

"Your opponent is me! Konoha's proud Blue Beast!" Might Guy shouted excitedly, declaring the title he had long wished to bestow upon himself.

Although he knew titles carried more weight when given by others, Might Guy still felt that the one he had chosen sounded better.

"You insignificant fodder, get out of my way already!"

Kumogakure jonin Pu Song frowned. Blue Beast?

What stray cat or dog had crawled out from somewhere? Could anyone in the ninja world call themselves by a title now?

The man before him was neither from the Uchiha Clan nor someone of any renown in the ninja world. Pu Song truly looked down on him.

"Fodder? Then let me show you the power of fodder!"

Might Guy roared and directly activated the Eight Gates.

The Gate of Opening, Gate of Rest, Gate of Life, and Gate of Pain—four gates opened at once.

Surging green Chakra emerged around A Kai's body like Nintaijutsu. Burning life itself to make the body faster and stronger—this was the Eight Gates.

Before coming here, Danzo had already lifted the restrictions on Might Guy. He could act freely.

"Nintaijutsu?"

Pu Song frowned. Had the village's secret technique somehow spread to Konoha?

Yet unlike the blue Chakra of Nintaijutsu, A Kai's Chakra was green.

Before he could observe further, the man brimming with powerful, violent Chakra suddenly appeared before him and whipped a kick at him.

Before his pupils could even shrink, Pu Song instinctively raised both arms in front of himself.

Bang!

The tremendous boom caused everyone nearby to turn in that direction.

The sudden surge in A Kai's aura made Uchiha Fugaku pause, eyeing the unremarkable watermelon-headed man with suspicion.

Danzo's guard was merely an obscure nobody. Fugaku had not paid him much attention before, but now he recognized him.

Is this the Eight Gates?

So he was that man's descendant.

Fugaku had also heard of Might Duy's achievements, but they had only briefly piqued his interest before he soon forgot about him.

Their Uchiha Clan was blessed by nature, possessing the noble and powerful bloodline of the Sharingan. They had no need to do something as foolish as burn their lives for strength.

But now, Fugaku felt that the Eight Gates might not be as simple as he had imagined.

The fight between A Kai and Pu Song was one of the more intense skirmishes on this battlefield aside from Danzo's battle, but it was not enough to draw much attention.

Although everyone was fighting fiercely, their attention remained fixed on the center of the battlefield, on the battle between Danzo and Dodai.

Their battle would affect the course of the entire fight.

His senses continuously gathered all kinds of information from the surroundings—the enemy's condition—while his brain constantly analyzed every possibility.

As the battle continued, Danzo's body and mind steadily synchronized, entering a state of extreme excitement yet absolute calm. Both his physical functions and the speed of his thoughts reached their peak.

His combat experience from his previous life and the memories of this life constantly intertwined. His wielding of the long blade became increasingly practiced as Danzo calmly searched for Dodai's opening.

Using words to provoke the opponent was only a minor tactic. The true key lay in what he could do with his blade.

Now!

A cold glint flashed through his eyes. When Dodai hesitated once more because of his words, Danzo suddenly tightened his grip around the long blade, Wind Style Chakra completely enveloping its edge.

One slash swept through, drawing barely any blood.

Dodai stared blankly at Danzo ahead. His mind had already stopped functioning. His gray-white beard spread apart beneath his chin, exposing a distinct line of blood across his wrinkled neck.

Though the battle had only just begun, it had already ended.

Ninja battles did not require so much suppression and explosive power. Though everyone was strong, they were still only flesh and blood.

All it took was finding that fleeting opening the opponent could not evade in time. Victory would then be decided in that instant.

I made it onto the recommended list. Thank you to everyone who voted for me—you are all good people, qwq.