Hearing the slight tremor in Zabuza's question, Kenya couldn't help laughing.
"Am I human?"
He rubbed his chin and gave it some serious thought.
"How should I put it? When it comes to how much meat I can eat, I might not be much like a normal person."
"But fighting someone at your level doesn't even count as a warm-up."
Kenya's casual attitude, his utter disregard for his opponent, stung worse than any insult.
Zabuza gritted his teeth, a flicker of madness flashing through his eyes.
As the demon of Kirigakure, he had fought countless life-and-death battles.
Even with such a vast gap in strength, he would never surrender without a fight.
"Don't get too cocky, brat!"
Zabuza shouted, his hands blurring as he rapidly completed a complex series of hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
With his furious roar.
The seawater beside them churned violently.
An enormous water dragon dozens of meters long, formed from highly pressurized water, roared as it burst out of the sea.
With unstoppable force, it opened its gaping maw and charged straight at Kenya to swallow him whole.
Water Dragon Bullet was an advanced Water Release technique from Kirigakure.
In a moisture-rich environment like the seaside, its power multiplied.
Even a Jonin struck head-on would be crushed to pulp by that terrifying water pressure.
Yet, faced with this spectacular attack.
Kenya merely curled his lip in disdain.
"All that flashy nonsense. Who do you think you're dealing with?"
He neither dodged nor used Armament Haki.
He simply raised his right hand casually and curled his fingers in midair.
The Senju Wood Release Cells within his body activated instantly, but unlike conventional Wood Release.
His chakra did not transform into vibrant trees.
Instead, it became a cold, hard, black substance with a distinctly metallic texture.
"Wood Release: Black Iron Thorns!"
Kenya gave a low shout.
Boom!
The ground split open in an instant.
Several immensely thick, sharp wooden spikes, pitch-black from end to end, burst out of the ground like black lightning!
A cold metallic sheen gleamed across their surfaces, and each was as thick as an adult's thigh.
Shhk!
There was almost no resistance.
Those black iron wooden spikes punched straight through the roaring water dragon with brute force!
Before the black iron wooden spikes, the highly pressurized water was as fragile as tofu, instantly torn into a sky full of spray.
"What?!"
Zabuza's face changed in shock, and before he could react.
The black iron wooden spikes that had torn through the water dragon had already changed direction in midair.
With a heart-stopping whistle, they stabbed viciously toward his position.
"Not good!"
Zabuza instinctively tried to dodge with the Body Flicker Technique.
But to his shock, he discovered that these black wooden spikes were even faster than his Body Flicker Technique!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Several dull impacts rang out in succession.
Four black iron wooden spikes precisely grazed Zabuza's limbs and drove deep into the rock behind him.
They pinned him firmly against the cliff face with his arms and legs spread wide!
Though they had missed his vital points, the tremendous impact still made Zabuza violently cough up a mouthful of blood.
"Bastard!"
Zabuza's eyes bulged with fury as he struggled desperately.
He tried to pry the black wooden spikes apart with his hands.
But to his despair, he discovered that this wood was even heavier than refined steel and wouldn't budge at all.
"What the hell is this stuff?!"
Zabuza ground his teeth.
He abruptly drew the spare refined-steel kunai at his waist and, with all his strength, hacked viciously at the black wooden spike pinning his right arm.
Clang!
Another crisp metallic collision rang out.
Zabuza felt as though the jolt would snap his wrist.
He took a closer look.
The refined-steel kunai in his hand, sharp enough to slice through iron like mud, had actually snapped clean in two!
Yet not even a scratch remained on the black wooden spike.
Not so much as a wood chip had fallen off!
Zabuza froze completely.
He stared at the web of his hand, bleeding from the violent shock, his mind utterly blank.
"Th-this... how the fuck is this Wood Release?"
Even Zabuza's voice was shaking.
"This is clearly Steel Release!"
Though he had never seen the First Hokage's Wood Release, he knew it was used to create trees and forests.
Since when had Wood Release become harder than steel?
And from beginning to end, his opponent hadn't made even a single hand seal!
A wave of one hand had unleashed such terrifying defense and offense.
It utterly shattered everything he knew about ninjutsu!
"Stop wasting your strength."
Kenya strolled up to Zabuza, who was pinned against the rock face.
He patted the thick black iron wooden spike, producing dull metallic thuds.
"My black iron wood is an improved version infused with the properties of Armament Haki."
"With that lousy kunai of yours, you couldn't cut through it even if you hacked away for a hundred years."
Kenya looked down at Zabuza.
His once sunny, easygoing face looked exceptionally cold beneath the shadows now shrouding it.
He leaned forward slightly, the corners of his mouth curling into a devilish smile that seemed capable of freezing a person's very soul.