"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"
On the battlefield between Pakura and Kisame, large-scale water and fire Ninjutsu clashed continuously.
Meanwhile, Uzuki Yugao and Shinnō were engaged in a fierce duel of swordsmanship and taijutsu.
"Hmph, this woman's fire-style jutsu is really troublesome," Kisame chuckled after a few exchanges, seeing the fireballs floating behind Pakura.
He quickly formed hand seals.
"Water Style: Giant Shark Bullet Jutsu!"
In front of Kisame, a massive shark-shaped water bullet instantly took form and surged towards Pakura.
Kisame's Giant Shark Bullet Jutsu absorbs the chakra of any ninjutsu it encounters, growing larger and more powerful.
It was the perfect counter to a ninjutsu specialist like Pakura.
Seeing the Giant Shark Bullet Jutsu, Pakura remained expressionless as she formed hand seals.
"Scorch Style: Halo Hurricane!"
The five scorching fireballs behind Pakura merged into one, transforming into a small, intensely bright white fireball.
With a flick of her fingers, Pakura sent the small fireball hurtling towards Kisame's Giant Shark Bullet.
'Just as planned, let's see you absorb the chakra from this ninjutsu,' Kisame thought with a smirk, controlling his jutsu.
"Snap!"
Just as the fireball was about to collide with the Giant Shark Bullet, Pakura snapped her fingers.
"Boom!!!"
A massive explosion erupted, instantly shattering Kisame's Giant Shark Bullet into a rain of water droplets.
Pakura's Scorch Style can adjust the ratio of wind and fire chakra to produce either evaporative or high-explosive attacks.
Knowing this, and being well-informed by Shishou about the abilities of all Akatsuki members, Pakura was fully aware of the Giant Shark Bullet Jutsu's chakra absorption properties.
Thus, she detonated her fireball just before impact, using the explosive shockwave to shatter the Giant Shark Bullet and preventing Kisame from absorbing its chakra.
"This...!"
Kisame was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected his chakra-absorbing Giant Shark Bullet to be defeated in a head-on clash of ninjutsu. This was a first for him.
Suddenly, Kisame sensed danger and quickly pressed his hands to the ground.
"Wood Style: Wood Locking Wall!"
Several spherical wooden walls instantly rose around Kisame.
Just as the walls formed, several invisible wind blades slashed through them, reducing the wood to splinters and leaving several deep cuts on Kisame's body.
"Scorch Style: Hummingbird Flame!"
Pakura seized the moment, sending two fiery birds flying into Kisame's wooden defenses, where they exploded violently.
Boom!!!
As the wooden walls shattered, a severely scorched Kisame leapt out, turning to see Uzuki Yugao in the distance.
Yugao, engaged in a fierce battle with the Eight Gates-enhanced Shinnō, had noticed the alignment of Shinnō and Kisame in a straight line and unleashed a flurry of wind blades, intending to hit both.
Although Shinnō dodged with his taijutsu, Kisame wasn't so lucky.
If Kisame hadn't protected his neck at the last moment, Yugao's wind blades might have decapitated him.
Nonetheless, Pakura's Scorch Style had left him badly injured.
"That girl Yugao is quite clever," Shishou thought, observing the scene and inwardly praising Yugao.
"Hmph, you two women..."
Kisame shook off Pakura and leapt to the side, glaring at the deep, bleeding cuts and severe burns on his body. His anger flared.
He had considered himself the strongest among the four combatants and had underestimated the two women.
Now, he was the first to be seriously injured, which felt like a slap in the face.
Seeing his mistake cause Kisame's injury, Shinnō broke off his fight with Yugao and moved to heal him with medical ninjutsu.
Yugao joined Pakura, loudly taunting Kisame:
"Sorry, my mistake. I didn't expect your Wood Style to be so weak it couldn't even withstand a few slashes."
"Sister advises you: the depths of Wood Style are beyond your grasp."
After witnessing Shishou's impressive display of Wood Style, Yugao couldn't help but look down on Kisame's attempt.
It couldn't even withstand a few wind blades; such a Wood Style was worthless!
Hearing Yugao's taunt, Kakuzu, who had been silently observing, couldn't help but chuckle.
Kisame had been overly proud of his Wood Style ever since gaining it from Hashirama's cells, which annoyed Kakuzu.
Seeing Kisame humbled, Kakuzu felt delighted.
Hiding in the shadows, Uchiha Obito also scowled, as his Wood Style was similarly unimpressive.
Shishou, using the Hiding in Camouflage Technique among the trees, was amused by Yugao's words.
He also agreed with her.
Wood Style, made famous by the First Hokage Hashirama, required an enormous chakra supply to be effective.
Without Hashirama-level chakra, its full power couldn't be realized.
Wood Style was powerful, but it depended on the user.
Just like in the original story, Yamato, who lacked a large chakra supply, ended up focusing on environmental projects.
Kisame, with only partial Hashirama cells and without Samehada, couldn't wield Hashirama-level Wood Style.
To Shishou, Kisame's Wood Style was child's play compared to his own Tree World Birth.
Similarly, Obito's Wood Style, derived from partial Hashirama cells, was only effective when paired with Kamui to exploit weaker opponents.
But Kamui alone made anything powerful.
And a Hashirama-level chakra supply would make any jutsu formidable.
Moreover, Wood Style ninjutsu wasn't easy to master.
Shishou's quick learning was due to his reincarnated soul, granting him exceptional insight and talent.
Because of this, even those around Shishou who awakened Hashirama's power, like Tsunade and Mikoto, didn't bother with Wood Style.
They focused on perfecting their own specialties.
Being a jack of all trades was less valuable than mastering one.
Hearing Yugao's taunt, Kisame's forehead veins bulged with anger.
He vowed to make this woman pay for her words!
After a swift recovery from Shinnō medical ninjutsu, Kisame formed hand seals and pressed his hands to the ground.
"Wood Style: Thousand-Armed Strike!"
If Yugao said he couldn't grasp Wood Style, he would use it to teach her a lesson.
Countless wooden spikes shot up from the ground, targeting Pakura and Yugao to restrict their movements.
Seeing the mass of incoming spikes, Yugao frowned, stepping forward into a draw stance.
"Sword Technique: Sky Splitting Slash!"