"How is this possible?!"
Within Zabuza Momochi's heart, waves of shock surged even more violently than the towering waves before him!
As one of Kirigakure's former top assassins, his understanding of ninjutsu far surpassed that of ordinary people. He knew exactly what casting ninjutsu instantaneously meant. It meant the caster's control over chakra had reached the absolute pinnacle, a height countless ninja could never attain in their entire lives!
Yet this Konoha genin before him, who looked no older than twelve or thirteen, had not only cast ninjutsu instantaneously, but had unleashed a terrifying Fire Release he had never seen before, powerful enough to rival an A-rank Water Release!
This had completely exceeded everything he understood!
However, the rapidly shifting battlefield left him no time to think or be shocked.
Before his horrified eyes, the crimson fire dragon formed from pure explosive energy collided thunderously in midair with the enormous water dragon he took such pride in!
BOOOOM!!!
The expected scene of water and fire clashing and annihilating each other did not occur.
Instead, a terrifying spectacle worthy of being called divine punishment unfolded, one that everyone present would remember for the rest of their lives!
HISSS-HISSS-HISSS!!!
An unbearably piercing sound of evaporation instantly rang across the entire sky!
The instant Zabuza's Water Dragon Bullet, formed from high-density chakra and river water, touched Shengu Xuan's fire dragon, it was like an ice cube falling into a blazing steel furnace!
It did not hold out for even a single second!
Starting from its head, the enormous water dragon was instantly vaporized and evaporated at a speed visible to the naked eye!
This was not a contest between water and fire. It was the meaningless, one-sided... annihilation of lesser energy before a higher divine authority!
The Dragon Talisman commanded the divine authority of combustion! Its essence was pure, ultimate destructive energy!
Zabuza's Water Release, on the other hand, was ultimately nothing more than using chakra to manipulate the form of naturally occurring "water."
The two were not even on the same plane!
ROOOAR!!!
The crimson fire dragon let out a heaven-shaking roar. It evaporated the entire water dragon with unstoppable force, then continued hurtling toward the figure on the water, who had gone completely still, without losing any of its might!
"Not good!"
Under the threat of death, Zabuza's combat instincts finally overpowered the shock in his mind.
He wanted to dodge!
But it was already too late!
The fire dragon was too fast and covered too wide an area. It had completely sealed off every escape route!
"Damn iiiit!"
At the brink of death, Zabuza unleashed his full potential. He plunged the Kubikiribōchō in his hand into the water and once again rapidly formed hand seals!
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
Boom!
The entire river beneath his feet seemed to be drawn into motion, forming an enormous wall of water several meters thick in front of him!
This was the strongest defensive ninjutsu he could muster!
Yet all of it remained futile before the Dragon Talisman's divine authority.
BOOOM!!!
The crimson fire dragon slammed into the enormous wall of water!
This time, an even more terrifying and spectacular sight erupted!
Endless clouds of scalding white steam, hot enough to instantly melt steel, shot into the sky like a nuclear explosion!
In that brief instant, the entire river was brought to a full boil!
Hiss, hiss, hiss...
The river churned violently. Countless fish and shrimp were cooked in an instant and floated to the surface, their white bellies turned upward.
An enormous domain of thick steam instantly formed around the point of impact, covering hundreds of meters in every direction!
Visibility instantly dropped to zero!
The entire world became nothing but a white, scorching chaos filled with vapor!
"Aah! It's hot! It's hot!"
Struck by the scalding steam, Naruto howled from the heat and hurriedly ducked behind a tree.
Sakura and Tazuna also screamed and scrambled for cover.
Kakashi and Sasuke immediately coated their entire bodies in chakra to resist the searing heat, but their faces were still filled with indescribable shock.
"Just... one strike..." Kakashi stared at the steam-filled hell before him, which resembled a fairyland yet concealed deadly danger, his voice painfully dry. "Not only did it counter Zabuza's Water Dragon Bullet, it also changed the environment of the entire battlefield..."
Sasuke's Sharingan turned with difficulty within the thick mist. He could clearly sense the violent fire-nature energy in the air, along with the heat that seemed almost capable of burning space itself to nothing.
Was this... Shengu Xuan's true power?
The previous strike at the training ground had been pure "detonation," turning the earth to glass.
But this time, it had been a head-on clash of ninjutsu!
The result was still... utter domination!
Complete, utterly unreasonable domination!
Sasuke's heart trembled.
It was not fear, but an overwhelming fervor mingled with awe, yearning, and jealousy!
For the first time, he understood with such clarity how simple his pursuit of revenge would become if he possessed power like this!
Within the dense steam.
"Cough... cough, cough..."
Zabuza knelt on one knee on the water, his entire body severely scalded. Huge patches of skin were hideously red, swollen, and blistered, leaving him in a wretched state.
He coughed violently. Every breath he drew made his lungs feel as though they were about to catch fire.
He had lost.
He had suffered an utter defeat.
The Water Release he took such pride in was nothing more than a child's toy before this monstrous Fire Release.
His opponent had not even formed a single seal!
How was he supposed to fight this?!
But the Demon was the Demon precisely because of his fiendish tenacity and ruthlessness.
"It's not... over..." Zabuza clenched his teeth and forced the words through them.
He slowly rose to his feet. The horror in his eyes gradually gave way to an even colder, more frenzied killing intent.
Since I can't win a contest of ninjutsu...
Then I'll use what I do best... assassination!
"Hidden Mist Technique!"
Zabuza poured the last of his chakra into the surrounding steam that Shengu Xuan had "created," so thick it would not disperse.
In an instant, the chakra throughout the steam-filled domain grew even more chaotic, completely cutting off outside perception!
Zabuza's figure silently melted into the white world.
The Silent Killing Technique was activated!
Within this dense mist, where visibility was zero and his chakra filled the air, he was the absolute ruler! He could silently appear behind any enemy and slit his throat!
"Kakashi! And you, brat! Your time has come!" Zabuza's voice seemed to come from every direction, filled with venom and confidence.
"Everyone, be careful! Stay close to me!" Kakashi immediately shielded Naruto, Sakura, and Tazuna behind him, his Sharingan scanning their surroundings warily. But in this white world, even the Sharingan's effectiveness had been reduced to a minimum.
Sasuke also stood back-to-back with Kakashi, forming a defensive formation with him as he watched for attacks that could come at any moment.
Everyone was tense to the extreme.
Except for one person.
Shengu Xuan still stood where he was, without moving at all.
Sensing the mist around him, so thick he could not see his hand before his face, and listening to Zabuza's self-important declaration, he revealed a strange little smile, as though he were looking at an idiot.
"Playing hide-and-seek in front of me?"
Shengu Xuan slowly raised his head. Within the white mist, two eerie crimson points gleamed in his pitch-black eyes.
It was not the Sharingan, but a deeper, more sinister red light.
"Haven't you gotten something wrong?"
"Do you think this is your home ground?"
Shengu Xuan held out one hand and lightly snapped his fingers.
Snap.
"Don't you know..."
"That in darkness and shadow, I am... the only god?"
The instant his words fell.
Before Kakashi's and Sasuke's horrified eyes, the shadows beneath their feet, the shadows of the trees, the shadows of the rocks... every shadow distorted by the light within this steam-filled domain began churning violently like boiling water!
Gurgle... gurgle...
Pitch-black Shadow Ninja with crimson eyes, wielding all manner of weapons, silently "grew" out of those shadows, one after another!
They ignored the scalding steam and the chaotic chakra.
Within this white world, their pure-black figures and crimson eyes stood out all the more starkly, and looked all the more... terrifying!
Just as Zabuza was about to launch his assassination, he suddenly felt a chill behind him.
He whipped his head around and saw a pitch-black figure that had appeared behind him at some unknown moment. The coldly gleaming katana in its hand was less than a centimeter from his neck.
And hundreds upon thousands of such figures crowded densely around him in every direction!
Zabuza's body instantly went rigid.
Beneath the bandages on his face, his eyes, filled with slaughter and cruelty, revealed an emotion called "despair" for the first time.
"Wh-what... what kind of monster... is this?!"
Before you continue