Hashirama Senju dodged quickly. A slash grazed the tip of his nose and split the ground in the distance.
"Your fists, fingers, and feet have all become deadly weapons!"
"Impressive, young man!"
Hashirama Senju praised him.
He lunged forward again, this time drawing the Short Blade at his waist.
Whoosh!
Xia Le dodged. With a flick of his hand, he drew his own Short Blade and swung.
Clang clang clang clang!
A string of sparks burst between them.
The two Short Blades collided in a rapid flurry as their wielders flashed, shifted, and darted around each other.
The entire battlefield had become their Colosseum.
Around them, the Kage's damaged bodies slowly recovered as they watched the fight intently.
A moment later,
Hashirama Senju suddenly retreated ten meters and sheathed his Short Blade. His expression turned grave. "There's no need to keep testing each other, young man."
"Show me your true strength!"
"Danzo would never have gone to such lengths against you if this were all you could do."
Xia Le laughed and swept his gaze over every Kage present.
"Sorry!"
"You're just not putting enough pressure on me."
"Even the legendary Ninja God, Hashirama Senju, will disappoint me if this is all he can show."
"And you won't come close to forcing out my true strength!"
Hashirama Senju's expression changed. Beside him, Tobirama looked furious.
"That brat's far too arrogant!!"
Tobirama shouted.
"But he can back it up."
"If this were a battle against us while we were alive, most of the Kage here would be taken out in an instant."
Hashirama Senju sighed.
The Kage around him looked grim when they heard that.
But there was nothing they could do. The gap between them and Xia Le was Dimension-Level, impossible to bridge.
Even that brief close-quarters exchange had made