Hanzō of the Salamander vs. Hiruzen Sarutobi (Part 1)

The chain in Hanzō's left hand swung continuously, sealing off the space around him without a single gap. The incoming giant shuriken were repeatedly knocked to the ground, shattering into piles of fragments.

As Hanzō ran, his chakra gradually began to boil, all the chakra in his body continuously gathering in his right hand. Then, a massive chakra blade aura slashed heavily toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Sword Technique: Sky-Piercing Quickdraw Slash!!!"

The surging blade aura instantly broke through the dense swarm of shuriken and continued slashing toward Hiruzen Sarutobi without losing any momentum.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was not flustered in the slightest. This was still merely a stage of mutual probing—after all, what ninja opened with their ultimate move? Standing still, Hiruzen Sarutobi calmly formed three hand seals in an instant: Snake, Boar, Dog.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi opened his mouth and spat a mass of mud formed from earth-nature chakra transformation onto the ground. It swiftly became a brown earthen wall blocking his path.

"Boom!"

The blade aura arrived in an instant and struck the earthen wall. After a brief stalemate, the wall shattered, but the power contained within the blade aura had nearly been exhausted as well.

Using the blade aura to clear the way, Hanzō reached Hiruzen Sarutobi at that moment. He swung the sickle in his hand and viciously slashed at Hiruzen Sarutobi's neck. Hiruzen Sarutobi ducked beneath the blow, then swept a leg straight at Hanzō's lower body.

At this point, Hiruzen Sarutobi suffered from having no weapon. He could only use a kunai to face Hanzō's sickle, struggling to hold him off. After several exchanges, several cuts had been carved into Hiruzen Sarutobi's Hokage robes.

Under Hanzō's relentless pressure, Hiruzen Sarutobi had several chances to form hand seals, yet none of them succeeded. In the end, left with no choice, he deliberately exposed an opening to Hanzō, hardened his body with Earth Release, and took one of Hanzō's slashes head-on. Borrowing the force of the strike, he swiftly retreated.

The spectators discussed the battle among themselves. Although both sides were still probing each other and had yet to reveal their true strength, Hanzō's effortless demeanor and Hiruzen Sarutobi's rather bedraggled appearance still left everyone shocked by Hanzō's formidable power.

After leaving the range of Hanzō's sickle, Hiruzen Sarutobi abruptly threw off his Hokage robes, revealing the black skintight combat uniform beneath. Its shoulders were fitted with silver armor plates connected to the back and engraved with the character for "Fire." Two vertical ninja tool pouches were strapped to his back, while a purple silk sash bound his waist. Mesh guards covered his forearms and calves, and his right arm bore layered green armor.

Then he slowly removed his Hokage hat, revealing the ninja cap beneath, its sides fitted with layered green armor. At that moment, a gust of wind swept past, causing the two extra-long straps behind the cap to flutter. Hiruzen Sarutobi said calmly to Hanzō, "This boring mutual probing is meaningless. Show your true strength, Hanzō!"

After their brief exchange, Hanzō had gained some understanding of Hiruzen Sarutobi's strength.

"Then the second round begins!" As Hanzō spoke, he completed the hand seals for the ninjutsu he had prepared.

"Water Release: Exploding Water Shock Wave!"

"To use a Water Release of this scale in a place without water... incredible!" someone among the spectators exclaimed.

A simple B-rank ninjutsu produced an A-rank effect in Hanzō's hands. Surging waves rushed toward Hiruzen Sarutobi. Seeing the enormous range of the technique, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew he could no longer evade it, so he decisively remained where he was and began forming hand seals.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Rampart!"

As an upgraded version of Earth-Style Wall, it would normally require several Earth Release ninja working together to use. Yet Hiruzen Sarutobi performed it alone with ease, truly living up to his title as the Professor of Ninjutsu.

An earthen wall like a city rampart rose from the ground, standing firmly without being washed away and forcing the water to flow around it. Hanzō looked up to see Hiruzen Sarutobi standing atop it.

"Fire Release: Great Flame Technique!"

From his elevated position, Hiruzen Sarutobi used this secret Fire Release ninjutsu passed down through the Sarutobi Clan for generations. Fierce, scorching flames rapidly crashed down toward Hanzō.

Having already created a suitable battlefield, Hanzō had no desire to meet the attack head-on. He raised one hand before his chest, chakra erupted, and he vanished from where he stood.

"Water Release: Water Body Flicker!"

A faint smile appeared on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face as he watched Hanzō flicker away. It turned out that while the Earth-Style Rampart had blocked the attack, it had also obstructed Hanzō's vision. Hiruzen Sarutobi took the opportunity to create two Shadow Clones and used Earth Release to hide them underground.

Just as Hanzō, who had flickered away, came to a stop, one of Hiruzen Sarutobi's Shadow Clones appeared behind him and unleashed its ultimate move right in his face.

"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"

A sharp spear of lightning shot from the Shadow Clone's mouth, piercing toward Hanzō.

Sensing the violent chakra fluctuations behind him, Hanzō hurriedly dodged. However, False Darkness still grazed his left arm. Though he was not injured, the numbing sensation of lightning coursing over him slowed his movements.

Having succeeded with one strike, Hiruzen Sarutobi prepared to press the attack. The other Shadow Clone, which had just been hiding, appeared beside him and began forming hand seals together with him.