A civilian version of Amaterasu? It burns everything it touches, but doesn't kill? Well, even the original Amaterasu doesn't seem to kill people either!
"Let's continue this fight outside the city. If we fight here, the commotion will be too much and we don't want to earn the hatred of the Land of Iron." Even though it was just a civilian version of Amaterasu, it boosted Liuli's confidence in facing Hashirama. If it couldn't kill, surely it could still burn away all his Wood Release? The only thing unclear was the energy consumption. Without the Sharingan, the cost of Amaterasu should be quite high.
Before long, the two had left the city, followed by the Four Kage and their bodyguards to observe the fight.
"Brother, let me fight him first," Kakuzu suddenly suggested.
"Hmm?" Liuli knew that Kakuzu had always wanted to challenge Hashirama, but he didn't expect him to make this request now.
Seeing the sincerity in Kakuzu's eyes, Liuli understood his intention—Kakuzu wanted to help him exhaust Hashirama's energy a bit before their real fight.
From Kakuzu's perspective, Liuli was powerful, so powerful that even he couldn't gauge the full extent of his abilities. During the Six Kage Summit, Liuli had revealed powers no one knew he possessed.
But despite Liuli's strength, Hashirama was the God of Shinobi, a figure who dominated an entire era. Kakuzu worried that his brother might not stand a chance.
It wasn't that Kakuzu was being pessimistic—anyone would think the same. Even the other Four Kage believed Liuli might give Hashirama a good fight, but none thought Liuli had any real chance of victory. After all, his opponent was that man.
Liuli was about to refuse Kakuzu's request—after all, with the chakra of the Seven-Tails and the Truth-Seeking Balls at his disposal, he could easily ensure a stalemate. But after a moment's thought, he agreed. Facing the God of Shinobi would surely help Kakuzu grow.
Moreover, thanks to years of Liuli's training, Kakuzu had already achieved mastery over his ninjutsu, wielding it as effortlessly as breathing. With some of his new and unique techniques, perhaps Kakuzu could even catch Hashirama off guard.
The fight began, and Kakuzu engaged Hashirama. However, in the eyes of the Four Kage and Tobirama, it wasn't about Kakuzu's growth at all. They believed Liuli was coldly using his subordinate to drain Hashirama's chakra.
Some even smirked to themselves. Tobirama was especially scornful. Does Liuli really think he can exhaust Hashirama? Hashirama's chakra was as vast as the ocean. Even in the Warring States period, countless elite shinobi had tried wearing him down with waves of attacks—none had succeeded.
To wear down such a monster with a battle of attrition? Clearly, the Water Shadow was still too young.
Kakuzu launched the first strike, appearing in front of Hashirama and throwing a powerful punch. He had chosen to start with taijutsu, knowing that if Hashirama gained distance and started using his Wood Release, the fight would be over before it began.
But his preemptive strike was blocked—a wooden wall rose between them, absorbing Kakuzu's punch without budging an inch. The next moment, the wall transformed into a giant hammer, swinging toward Kakuzu with immense force.
Before the hammer could connect, Kakuzu's form dissolved into a puddle of water—a water clone.
Water clones were advanced versions of the basic Clone Technique, with each village developing its own variations. The Rock Village had their Earth Clone, the Cloud Village their Lightning Clone, and the Mist Village their Water Clone—each a closely guarded secret.
Seeing the water clone, Byakuren's face darkened. The Water Clone was a technique I created, only passed down in the Mist Village. How is it now in the hands of the Water Shadow's bodyguard?
And judging by the execution and hand seal speed, Kakuzu had clearly practiced it for years.
Liuli, watching Byakuren's complicated expression, chuckled inwardly. Though Kakuzu could use all five elemental releases, he currently lacked Earth Grudge Fear and additional hearts, meaning he only had access to Water and Earth styles.
Thus, in their joint training, they mostly focused on these two elements. Kakuzu, however, preferred Water Release, which meant there would likely be more surprises in this fight.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
Kakuzu reappeared behind Hashirama, unleashing a powerful lightning attack. The air around Hashirama crackled with electricity, but when the lightning dissipated, roots of wood extended from the ground at his feet.
"A lightning rod?" Liuli was momentarily stunned. Wood isn't supposed to conduct electricity! How is this possible?
It seemed nonsensical, but the answer soon dawned on him. Though Wood Release was made of wood, it was created from a combination of water and earth chakra. Hashirama didn't often use these individual elements, but that didn't mean he couldn't. By infusing the wood with water chakra, he had made it conductive.
Thinking his attack had landed, Kakuzu let his guard down, only to be entangled by the creeping wooden tendrils.
"Fire Release: Head Hardship!"
Fire was the natural counter to wood. However, since Kakuzu lacked fire chakra, the attack's power was limited, just barely burning away the wooden tendrils.
Freed from the binds, Kakuzu charged at Hashirama again, closing the distance quickly. Hashirama formed a hand seal: "Wood Release: Vajra Wooden Fang!"
A massive log shot toward Kakuzu. It was clear Hashirama was holding back—if he were serious, it wouldn't be just one log.
Kakuzu didn't dodge. Instead, he raised his right hand slightly in defense.
With a sharp crack, the log shattered into splinters, and Kakuzu reached Hashirama.
"Wind Release: Rasengan!"
"What?!" Ishikawa turned to Liuli in shock. Of everyone present, only he knew about this technique. He had heard rumors that Liuli had developed a seal-less ninjutsu, but he hadn't expected him to teach it to others.
"A seal-less jutsu?"
Byakuren, A, and Retto could only feel a powerful wave of wind chakra but saw no hand seals. They could only conclude that it was indeed a seal-less technique.
Given that the shinobi villages were still in their early years, with clans hoarding their secret techniques, the existence of a seal-less jutsu was a shocking revelation.
"This is my seal-less jutsu, Rasengan," Liuli said calmly. "It's not particularly powerful, but its only advantage is that it doesn't require hand seals."
He had copied the Rasengan long ago—it was so well-documented in the original story that it wasn't hard to reproduce.
In the past, Liuli had kept his Rasengan a secret. Without sufficient strength, such a rare technique would only attract unwanted attention. Most people who had seen him use it hadn't lived to tell the tale.
Ishikawa had learned of it by chance but hadn't believed such a thing existed—seal-less ninjutsu was unheard of and defied the logic of the ninja world.
But things were different now. Liuli was no longer an unknown figure. He was the sixth Kage, the Water Shadow, a shinobi powerful enough to stand alongside the Five Kage. And now, it was time to showcase that power.