The battle between Wang Hao and the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, remained deadlocked. Although Wang Hao was slightly at a disadvantage, he showed no signs of defeat and continued to fight the Third Hokage with great skill, even inflicting numerous wounds on Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.
What's strange is that the wounds on the Third Hokage's body healed instantly the moment they appeared, a healing speed comparable to the Strength of a Hundred Technique developed by Princess Tsunade in the future, making him practically immortal.
The appearance of this immortality made the Third Hokage's battles even more enjoyable. If Wang Hao hadn't gradually adapted to the strangeness of the Sword of the Thunder God during this time, he might have really been defeated.
In summary, the Third Hokage's current strength is no less than that of his teacher Second Hokage Tobirama Senju.
While Tobirama Senju may not possess the unparalleled strength of his elder brother Hashirama Senju or Madara Uchiha, he was not far behind. He simply lacked large-scale ninjutsu like Susanoo Wood Release. In one-on-one combat, he was in no way inferior to Madara Uchiha or Hashirama Senju.
Therefore, it's really difficult for Wang Hao to defeat this old guy now.
Of course, this is without using any secret techniques; otherwise, it would be a piece of cake to hang this old guy up and beat him.
However, it would be difficult for him to defeat that old guy Hiruzen Sarutobi in this battle, otherwise he would be feared by the entire Shinobi World, and he would likely face a joint attack from the five great ninja villages. The current Land of Iron would have no chance of withstanding that attack.
He didn't want to lose the foundation he had worked so hard to build, so he needed to strike a balance to ensure that Leaf maintained its status as the number one Shinobi World and was not viewed with hostility by the other four great ninja villages.
With Leaf keeping an eye on him and drawing the attention of the Shinobi World, he was able to develop his business in the Land of Iron.
As for the Third Hokage's immortality, it was actually created by that so-called inherited sword energy. Don't be fooled by its powerful effect, which makes him seem like an immortal being; in reality, it's a powerful regenerative ability gained by sacrificing his own potential and even his lifespan.
Human cell division has its limits, and wound healing accelerates the speed and frequency of this cell division. The powerful regenerative force stimulated by the inherited sword energy consumes even more of the cell division energy.
If the recovery loss under normal conditions is one, then the loss stimulated by this inherited sword energy is ten. Over time, it will inevitably cause unimaginable damage to oneself and make one age faster.
After all, although the Chakra cultivated by ninjas is extremely powerful, it cannot nourish the body, and their lifespan is not longer than that of ordinary people. Such loss of lifespan is quite fatal.
However, this was exactly what he had planned; that old guy Hiruzen Sarutobi would regret it later.
The battle on their side was a stalemate, but the battles elsewhere were quite strange.
Orochimaru, have you noticed that these samurai are getting stronger the more they fight?
Having narrowly dodged a Swordmaster's slash, Jiraiya, panting heavily, asked Orochimaru beside him.
"You only realized it now? What an idiot!"
With a sneer, Orochimaru licked his lips and looked at the figure fighting his teacher in the center of the battlefield. He figured the source of all this trouble was that man.
He knew very well that the enhancement of those warriors from the Land of Iron was not due to the use of some explosive secret medicine or technique, but rather that they had genuinely become stronger; at least he had not seen any side effects so far.
Even as a ninja, he found this method of becoming stronger quite interesting.
You're the idiot!
Jiraiya snapped back, "Forget it, forget it," then followed Orochimaru's gaze to Wang Hao, who was locked in fierce combat, and realized that the source of the problem must lie with this man.
He was no stranger to the samurai of the Land of Iron; he had even fought a Swordmaster two years ago, so he was naturally familiar with the samurai of the Land of Iron.
While samurai excel at head-on combat, they certainly don't possess this incredible ability to grow stronger with each battle; there must be some other reason for this.
Currently, in the entire Land of Iron, only Wang Hao, who is known as the strongest warrior in a thousand years, is the most enigmatic. Even if this abnormality is not orchestrated by him, it must be inextricably linked to him.
Thinking of this Jiraiya help but worry. If things were really as he thought, it would be very difficult to win this battle.
Indeed, the effects of the legacy that Wang Hao had passed on to many warriors Swordmaster were finally beginning to show. After this period of bloody battles, all those who had not died had made great progress, and a small number of them had even broken through their existing realm limitations.
The samurai army grew stronger with each battle, quickly turning the tide from being initially overwhelmed by the Leaf ninjas to a draw, and even eventually showing signs of suppressing the Leaf ninjas.
This alarmed the Leaf ninja, further lowering their morale.
Sensing the change in the battle situation, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was engaged in fierce combat with Wang Hao, was greatly alarmed. He quickly used a Body Flicker Technique to withdraw from the battle. After glancing at the entire battlefield, his expression darkened.
The situation is absolutely terrible!
"You despicable brat, this battle ends here. We'll fight again another day!"
After a moment's thought, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, decisively chose to cease hostilities, leaving behind a few perfunctory words before quickly leading the Leaf ninja out of the battle and retreating into the Earth Release walls behind them.
The state of those Land of Iron samurai legions is too strange. If we can't figure them out, this battle is impossible to win.
Therefore, a temporary ceasefire must be implemented, and plans should be made only after the situation has been thoroughly investigated.
" Shameless old scoundrel, next time I will surely take your head!"
Wang Hao also shouted a polite remark but did not pursue the enemy.
Although he still had a lot of energy left, the warriors of the Land of Iron under his command were nearing their limit, and even the Swordmaster were exhausted.
Continuing to fight under these circumstances would inevitably result in heavy losses, which is not what he wants to see.
At this moment, it is best to arrange for everyone to rest and recover from their losses, while also treating the wounded to minimize damage and prepare for the next battle.
What are the statistical results?
Sitting upright in the main tent, Wang Hao asked in a deep voice.
"Reporting to the Admiral, in this battle, our side suffered 307 dead, 189 seriously wounded, and the rest suffered minor injuries of varying degrees, but these did not affect our ability to fight."
Two hundred Jonin from Leaf died at our hands, and countless Chunin and Genin perished.
Mifune excitedly announced the results, and the many Swordmaster sitting on both sides also showed joy, clearly quite satisfied with the outcome.
After all, that's Leaf, the strongest ninja village in the Shinobi World. Their Jonin are mostly from ninja clans with Kekkei Genkai or inherited secret techniques, making them much stronger than ordinary Jonin.
Facing such a formidable enemy, the fact that they managed to kill two hundred Jonin with such losses is already a remarkable achievement.
"The seriously wounded will be treated at all costs, and the bodies of the dead will be properly preserved and sent back after the battle. Now, everyone, rest well and reflect on what you have learned in this battle. Next time, I will end this war completely!"
Wang Hao gave the order, and everyone immediately stood up in response. They then left to deal with the aftermath of the battle and prepare for tomorrow's battle.
Three hundred men!
After everyone left, Wang Hao, who was sitting in the main seat, couldn't help but sigh.
Although he had long been accustomed to death, he was still deeply saddened by such a loss.
After all, he was one of the instigators of this war, and he had to bear some responsibility for the sacrifices made.
"Don't worry about it. You've done very well. After all, that's Leaf, the strongest village in the Shinobi World. If you're not satisfied with this result, where would you put the face of the First Hokage, the God of Shinobi?"
Kurosawa Shichirō, who remained in the main tent, smiled and comforted them, "We owe a great deal to the battle formations you passed down. Otherwise, our casualties would have been twice as high, or we might have been wiped out."
Moreover, this battle is for the future of our samurai and the hope of the entire Land of Iron, so you have done nothing wrong, nor do you need to deny your own will; otherwise, it would be an insult to us."
That's right, Wang Hao added battle formation techniques to the inheritance he passed down to everyone, and these battle formation techniques are most suitable for fighting on the battlefield.
"I'm just feeling a bit sentimental!"
With a sigh, Wang Hao turned his gaze to his teacher, noticing the blood-stained bandage on the other's chest, and asked curiously, "Teacher, have you met a formidable opponent?"
As the saying goes, "When one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven," and as his cheap teacher, Wang Hao certainly wouldn't be stingy.
When he challenged the ancient Ancient Sword Dao styles of the Land of Iron, he always took Kurosawa Shichirō with him, and they exchanged ideas and gave each other guidance on many occasions.
Kurosawa Shichirō is now a mid-level peak Swordmaster, and has even faintly touched the realm of High-Dan Swordmaster.
His strength was second only to his and Mifune's in the Land of Iron. With such strength, how could he have suffered such severe injuries? He became curious about his teacher's opponent.
"It's White Fang of the Leaf! No wonder he's the man the Four Great Shinobi Villages have ordered to abandon their missions if they encounter him without being punished. Today, this old man of mine almost fell into that kid's hands."
Speaking of today's opponent Sakumo Hatake, even with Kurosawa Shichirō's composure and mental strength, he couldn't help but feel lingering fear. Clearly, he had suffered a great loss at Sakumo Hatake's hands today.
"That's not right! White Fang may be strong, but he shouldn't be able to hurt you like this, right?"
With a slight frown, Wang Hao knew of Sakumo Hatake's strength. Although he was very strong, it was impossible for him to seriously injure Kurosawa Shichirō. Clearly, there was another hidden story behind it.
"He's a Sword Dao genius whose talent was wasted on being a ninja. He's rapidly absorbing my Sword Dao essence during battle, growing stronger with each fight, and is already close to breaking through to the High-Dan Swordmaster!"
Kurosawa Shichirō was quite impressed with this, considering him a Sword Dao genius no less than Mifune.
"The tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled by the wind; White Fang's sword will soon be broken!"
Wang Hao was taken aback at first, then sighed with regret, and his opinion of Sakumo Hatake dropped another notch.
That guy was indeed a rare Sword Dao genius; if he had lived in ancient times, he would definitely have become a Great Swordmaster.
Unfortunately, this person's emotional intelligence is too low. He was warned last time, but he still showed his sharp edge. This battle has probably reached the limit of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's, patience.
In particular, the inherited sword energy he gave to Hiruzen Sarutobi still has a huge potential pitfall. Once that pitfall explodes, Hiruzen Sarutobi will find it even harder to tolerate Sakumo Hatake who can threaten his position.
"..."
Kurosawa Shichirō was puzzled, but seeing that Wang Hao was unwilling to say more, he didn't press further, but he kept these words in mind.