Bloodbath

Facing the surging steel spears, I was about to dodge to the side, but...

With my current Battle Aura and Haki strength, blocking an attack like this would be no problem. Constantly taking hits could also help these two powers grow.

In the end, I still chose to dodge left. I did not yet know my opponent's strength, and any unnecessary injury could alter the course of the battle.

"Can you dodge that? Then how about this!"

Suddenly, Kanasi rapidly formed hand seals. It looked like some extremely difficult ninjutsu was coming, so I quickly raised my ninja sword and tensed up to meet it.

"Steel Release: Scatter Steel Bullets!"

Once his seals were complete, a chunk of pitch-black steel condensed before Kanasi. Then, it rapidly broke apart into dozens of tiny steel pellets.

Judging by the name of his ninjutsu... they were probably projectiles with extremely high speed!

Sure enough, the steel pellets shot toward me the next moment at a speed the naked eye could not track, just like bullets fired from a gun.

I combined Observation Haki with Water God Style swordsmanship, turning my sword aura into flowing water as I raised my concentration to its peak.

I swung out fluid slashes, continuously intercepting the incoming steel pellets. In less than the blink of an eye, I managed to deflect every last one of them without incident.

However, their speed and power made it difficult to adjust my sword path, so I could not send the steel pellets back at Kanasi.

"What an interesting sword art. This technique that knocks attacks away should be Water God Style, right? No wonder Man-God has taken an interest in you—you really do have considerable strength!"

He had really stripped me bare. All my information had been exposed.

Unlike Sword God Style, the two major schools of Water God Style and North God Style could not be raised to Saint Level through a Mythical Zoan Fruit's physical enhancements alone.

His entire body was covered in steel, and with that confident look, my sword probably would not be able to hurt him easily. That meant Sword God Style's advantage was gone.

Even that One-Sword Style: Misfortune Harbor Bird from earlier had failed to inflict any damage, and the steel pellets had only been knocked down rather than shattered.

This guy really was my natural enemy at this stage...

Wasn't the world of Naruto supposed to be high offense and low defense? Susanoo was one thing, but what the hell was this armored warrior nonsense?

Since Kanasi showed no sign of making a move, I tested him by charging forward at a speed inferior to Silent Sword and bringing my blade down.

Kanasi could not react to that speed. Yet when my sword, wrapped in Armament Haki and Dragon Saint Battle Aura, slammed down, it rang out with the sound of steel colliding.

Still, a small amount of blood flowed out. It seemed I could at least inflict superficial wounds.

The moment I swung, I immediately pulled back. In the next instant, sharp steel pillars erupted from the ground.

If I had hesitated for even a moment, my body would have been pierced through by those spears. A steel lance at zero range was no joke!

After I pulled back to around fifteen meters away, Kanasi suddenly stopped moving.

Before, whenever he had the chance, he would try to attack me. But now, he had suddenly frozen and made no move at all.

It seemed the effective range of his ninjutsu was around fifteen meters. At the very least, I could relax a little at this distance.

With his whole body encased in steel, I could not use Sword God Style to end this quickly. I could only drag this into a battle of endurance.

Without knowing how much chakra he had, the correct assumption was that my stamina would run out before his chakra did.

So I absolutely could not waste any extra strength.

The key to victory was conserving my stamina while continuously forcing him to make moves, exhausting his chakra, or...

Learning another way to use Armament Haki in this battle—making the Haki flow and form a truly invisible suit of armor.

Turning Armament Haki into the complete form of Ryuo.

After determining the range of Kanasi's ninjutsu, Qingyue began circling around that boundary with Kanasi at its center, constantly searching for a chance to break through.

Kanasi, in contrast, had not moved at all from beginning to end. He merely remained half-crouched in place with his left hand resting on the ground.

The instant Kanasi's gaze failed to keep up, Qingyue immediately rushed forward and unleashed a Reverse Kesa Slash from the lower right as he closed in.

"Clang—"

The slash wrapped in Armament Haki and Dragon Saint Battle Aura could even cut through Susanoo, yet it only left a shallow bloody mark on Kanasi's steel-covered body.

When the slash failed, Qingyue immediately tried to retreat, but he suddenly felt an immense pulling force gripping his feet.

The ground around him instantly became soft and viscous, and Qingyue's body slowly sank down!

"Mud Release: Mud Swamp. Besides Bloodline Selection, I have other Bloodline Limits too!"

Restricted by a Mud Swamp even stronger than Yellow Springs Swamp, Qingyue failed to escape immediately.

Seizing the opportunity, Kanasi immediately activated the chakra within his body. Four sharp steel pillars erupted from the Mud Swamp, shooting straight for Qingyue's heart and throat!

At the critical moment, Qingyue unleashed his Dragon Saint Battle Aura to its utmost limit in one burst, forcibly breaking free from the Mud Swamp's restraints and barely dodging the steel spears as they grazed his body.

"Don't think you can escape!"

Before Qingyue had fully left the range of his ninjutsu, Kanasi formed hand seals and let out a furious roar.

"Steel Release: Iron Lotus!"

In an instant, Qingyue's Observation Haki gave a frantic warning. Almost at the same moment he leaped up, an Iron Lotus made of steel spears exploded beneath him.

If that attack had struck him while he was unprepared, steel spears would have pierced straight through his entire body.

With Steel Release, an all-in-one offensive and defensive technique, and Mud Release, a support-type ninjutsu... his Bloodline Selection is made of fire, earth, and water. Mud Release should be water and earth. Perhaps there are also releases formed from fire and earth, as well as water and fire.

After pulling back to around fifteen meters again, the two sides fell into another deadlock.

I had to watch out for Mud Release even in close combat. It truly countered close-range fighters perfectly!

A heavily armored mage—I could not think of a better description. Crowd control, high burst damage, and defense even tougher than mine.

There was no doubt that this guy possessed Shadow Level strength.

That reincarnator Man-God had it way too good. He had casually picked up a Shadow Level pawn like this.

At this stage, an ordinary Shadow Level fighter still carried tremendous weight, not to mention that his fighting style countered mine so thoroughly.

The moment I entered the fifteen-meter range again, Iron Lotuses exploded beneath my feet in rapid succession.

I could only maintain uninterrupted high-speed movement. Otherwise, I could easily be controlled by Mud Release or struck by an Iron Lotus.

And the closer I got to him, the stronger Steel Release became.

At close range, the explosive force of those steel spears could pierce through my Dragon Saint Battle Aura and Haki defenses. Since he was Man-God's apostle, he might even be able to use other Bloodline Limits.

If he brought out something like Lava Release to control the field, things would become troublesome. I could only find a way to learn Ryuo and deal with his defenses.

Or... develop my Fruit ability until I could wield the power of Wind and Snow, Lightning, and Flame.

Would I master a new power and defeat him first, or would he defeat me before then...

This had turned from a battle of endurance into a race.