Blood Battle

Facing the surging steel spear, 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 both powers grow.

In the end, I still chose to dodge left. I still did not know the extent of his strength, and any unnecessary injury could change the course of the battle.

"You can 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 my nerves in preparation.

"Steel Release: Scatter Steel Bullets!"

After he completed the seals, a chunk of pitch-black steel condensed in front of Kanasi. Then, it rapidly broke apart into dozens of tiny steel pellets.

Judging by the name of his ninjutsu... these were probably projectiles with extreme speed!

Sure enough, the steel pellets shot toward me the very next instant at a speed too fast for the naked eye to catch, just like bullets fired by pulling a trigger.

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

I swung out flowing, water-like slashes, continuously intercepting the incoming steel pellets. In less than the blink of an eye, I narrowly but safely managed to deflect every one of them.

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

"What an intriguing sword style. This technique of knocking attacks away should be Water God Style, right? No wonder Lord Man-God has taken an interest in you. You really do have some skill!"

He had truly 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 merely by using a Mythical Zoan Fruit to enhance my physical abilities.

His entire body was wrapped in steel. With how confident he looked, my sword probably would not be able to hurt him easily. That meant Sword God Style had lost its advantage.

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

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

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

While Kanasi showed no intention of making a move, I tested him by rushing forward and swinging my blade at a speed second only to Silent Sword.

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

Still, a little blood seeped out. It seemed I could at least inflict superficial wounds.

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

If I had hesitated for even an instant, my body would have been pierced through by those spears. Steel lances attacking from a distance were one thing, but steel spears at point-blank range were no joke!

After I retreated to around fifteen meters away, Kanasi's movements suddenly stopped.

Before this, whenever he had an opportunity, he had always tried to attack me. Yet now, he suddenly stood still and did nothing.

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

His whole body was covered in steel, so I could not use Sword God Style to finish this quickly. That meant I could only drag this into a prolonged battle.

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

Therefore, I absolutely could not waste any extra strength.

The key to victory was to conserve my stamina while constantly forcing him to use techniques, exhausting his chakra, or...

Learning another method of using Armament Haki during this battle—making Haki flow to form a truly invisible suit of armor.

Making Armament Haki officially become the complete form of Ryuo.

--

After determining the range of Kanasi's ninjutsu, Qingyue began circling around its boundary with Kanasi at the center, constantly seeking an opportunity to break through.

Kanasi, meanwhile, had not moved at all from beginning to end. He merely remained half-crouched in place, his left hand pressed against the ground.

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

"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 to work, Qingyue immediately tried to retreat, but he suddenly felt an immensely powerful suction force gripping his feet.

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

"Mud Release: Mud Swamp. Besides Kekkei Tōta, I have other Bloodline Limits as well!"

Restricted by a Mud Swamp even stronger than Yellow Springs Swamp, Qingyue was unable to pull himself free immediately.

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

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

"Don't think you can escape!"

Before Qingyue had completely fled his ninjutsu range, Kanasi formed hand seals and shouted.

"Steel Release: Iron Lotus!"

All at once, Qingyue's Observation Haki screamed a warning. Almost at the same moment he leaped up, an Iron Lotus formed of steel spears suddenly exploded beneath him.

If he had been hit by that move without any preparation, his entire body would have been skewered by steel spears.

[With Steel Release, a technique that combines offense and defense, and auxiliary ninjutsu like Mud Release... his Kekkei Tōta consists of fire, earth, and water. Mud Release should be water and earth. Perhaps there are also releases formed from fire and earth, or water and fire.]

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

--

I had to watch out for Mud Release even in close combat. It really was the perfect counter to close-range fighters!

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

Without a doubt, this guy possessed Shadow Level strength.

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

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

The moment I stepped into the fifteen-meter range again, Iron Lotuses instantly exploded beneath my feet, one after another.

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 power of those steel spears could pierce through my Dragon Saint Battle Aura and Haki defenses. After all, he was Man-God's apostle; he might even be able to use other Bloodline Limits.

If he brought out something like Lava Release for battlefield control, things would get troublesome. I could only find a way to learn Ryuo to deal with his defense.

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

Would I master a new ability and defeat him first, or would he defeat me before that happened...

This had turned from a prolonged battle into a race.