The blade of the naginata whistling towards Hiruzen was larger than his entire body.
The strong sense of danger made the battle-hardened Hokage of Konoha jump back instantly to dodge the deadly strike.
However, the fierce wind stirred up by the naginata blew his skin into rippling wrinkles as he landed. His gums, unhealthy from too much smoking, were exposed.
Hiruzen was startled.
His hands moved quickly to form hand signs.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
The ground beneath him raised a wall of earth, blocking the fierce wind pushing him back. Hiruzen also leaped to the top of the earth wall, standing several meters high.
Since Whitebeard had already started the fight, as the Hokage of Konoha, he couldn't back down!
"Earth Release: Earth Flow River!" Hiruzen formed another hand sign, the chakra flowing through him, causing his robes to flap.
The ground beneath Whitebeard turned into a muddy swamp, causing him to sink up to his knees.
The muddy swamp flowed rapidly, trying to carry Whitebeard away.
"Increasing the distance..."
Hiruzen felt a sense of relief. He had learned from various reports that Whitebeard possessed extremely powerful close-combat abilities.
Engaging in close combat with such a man was not advantageous.
"Gurararara! Are you trying to give me a mud bath?" Whitebeard planted Murakumogiri into the solid ground beside him, his body, which was being swept away, coming to a halt.
"Don't get too arrogant, this is Konoha! I am the Hokage of Konoha, this is my home turf!"
Hiruzen's eyes flashed with determination.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!" Hiruzen took a deep breath, his chest and abdomen swelling. He spewed a torrent of scorching flames from his mouth, transforming into a river of fire rushing towards Whitebeard.
Hiruzen held nothing back, knowing that this street had already been evacuated of residents. Whitebeard's previous battle with the Root ninjas had destroyed many buildings.
They hadn't been repaired yet.
The flames enveloped the entire street, illuminating Whitebeard's face.
"Gurararara! Why do all ninjas breathe fire?" Whitebeard suspected that his son Ace's Flame-Flame Fruit powers were redundant if ninjas could also control fire with their jutsu.
Whitebeard smiled and swung his naginata, the flames splitting apart from the force of his strike.
But hidden within the flames were five shuriken!
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
Hiruzen's hand signs changed, and the five shuriken multiplied into ten, twenty, forty...
Until there were thousands of them!
Whitebeard broke free from the "Earth Flow River" jutsu and stepped forward to face the storm of shuriken.
Clang, clang, clang—
The shuriken hit Whitebeard's muscular body, only to spark off, unable to penetrate his skin.
Unharmed!
Hiruzen was not surprised by this sight. He had gathered enough information to know that Whitebeard's physical defense was incredibly strong, even more so than taijutsu specialists.
So.
"The shuriken I threw are not just ordinary shuriken." Hiruzen finally managed a smile. "Each shuriken is wrapped in explosive tags."
Boom, boom, boom!!!!
The explosions enveloped Whitebeard, the shockwaves spreading rapidly in all directions.
The partially repaired houses on the street suffered further damage from the blast.
Debris flew everywhere!
The scene was incredibly dramatic!
The commotion had drawn the attention of many ninjas in Konoha. The Uchiha Police Force was rushing to the scene, and the Anbu were also headed in that direction. Danzo's Root, the Hyuga clan, the Sarutobi clan, and the Aburame clan… were also alerted.
They didn't know exactly what was happening, but they would find out by checking the scene.
If enemy ninjas were causing trouble in Konoha.
They could quickly respond.
"No matter how strong someone's physical defense is, they would be gravely injured by this!" Hiruzen said confidently. "Being large may provide great physical strength, but it also makes one a huge, obvious target."
He stopped focusing on the explosions around Whitebeard.
Instead, he wanted to hurry and catch up to Naruto.
"Gurararara! Where do you think you're going?"
"What?!"
The familiar hearty laughter made Hiruzen's eyes widen in disbelief. He looked towards where Whitebeard was.
As the dust settled.
He saw an unharmed Whitebeard, only his skin and cloak covered in dust!
How was this possible?!
Was he made of iron?!
"Although I am a relic of the old era, I am not someone who can be taken down by a few exploding papers!" Whitebeard laughed loudly, his large body leaping high into the air.
Armament Haki wrapped around Murakumogiri, the giant blade reflecting an eerie black light under the moon.
His body then plummeted down.
The naginata came crashing down!
The force of this strike!
Made Hiruzen...
Feel the presence of death!
"Ninja Art: Summoning Technique!!!"
Hiruzen bit his finger, slamming his hand onto the earth wall. The summoning seal spread across the earth wall.
With a shout of "Enma," a tall figure appeared with a puff of smoke!
"Hiruzen, why did you summon me so suddenly... hmm?"
Enma, the summoned Monkey King, noticed the movement above, and his eyes widened.
"Transform!!!"
Without needing Hiruzen's command, Enma sensed the immense danger and instantly transformed into an extended staff.
"Adamantine Prison Wall!!!"
The Adamantine Staff multiplied, forming an iron prison that enclosed Hiruzen within.
At that moment, Whitebeard's naginata came crashing down onto the "Adamantine Prison Wall."
Bang!!!
The loud clash almost ruptured Hiruzen's eardrums. The terrifying force shattered the ground around them into fragments, causing nearby buildings to collapse.
The entire street suffered unprecedented damage.
Leveled to the ground!
The force even spread outward!
Terrifying the nearby Konoha residents.
The shockwave from this strike passed through the gaps in the "Adamantine Prison Wall," making Hiruzen feel as if a mountain was pressing down on him, causing his knees to buckle.
"Hiruzen, what kind of monster did you provoke?"
Enma's solemn voice echoed: "If I had reacted a second slower, you'd be meeting your teacher Tobirama now."
...
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