No matter how powerful a jutsu is, it requires chakra as the energy source to maintain its power. Tsuchiguki's Earth Dragon, including the rock giant before Sakumo now, were the most powerful earth-style ninjutsu that Sakumo had ever encountered. Otherwise, it would be unreasonable that Sakumo couldn't cut through the joints of the rock giant in their earlier battle.
To sustain such a powerful earth-style jutsu, an enormous amount of chakra is needed. What's more, the rock giant has the ability to self-repair, but even that recovery requires chakra.
When Tsuchiguki heard Sakumo's words, he realized that Sakumo might be planning to adopt a war of attrition to win the battle. Although Tsuchiguki possessed a larger-than-average chakra reserve, he wasn't confident he could defeat Hatake Sakumo before the rock giant's power faded.
This tacit admission of inferiority didn't mean Tsuchiguki had given up. Victory in battle isn't always determined by sheer power alone.
The rock giant swung its massive fist, smashing it down at Sakumo, who looked small in comparison.
"Boom!"
The punch created another deep crater in the ground, several meters in diameter and nearly three meters deep. The entire battle circle, which spanned hundreds of meters, shook slightly. This demonstrated the immense power contained within the rock giant's punch—a terrifying force that no human body could withstand head-on.
Sakumo's figure reappeared some distance away just moments before the fist landed. He glanced around; originally, no ninja dared to approach within tens of meters of the battle due to the intensity. However, even that distance couldn't withstand the rock giant's size and destructive power.
"Everyone, retreat quickly!" Sakumo shouted, his voice enhanced by a special ninjutsu, allowing it to be heard even hundreds of meters away.
The rock giant's punches continued, giving Sakumo no time to rest.
"Boom!"
The ground shook once again as Sakumo dodged with his speed. He glanced back at the battlefield; despite the Konoha ninjas' attempts to retreat after his warning, the Iwagakure ninjas seemed to have received orders to keep them engaged within the danger zone.
"They want to limit my movement," Sakumo muttered, seeing through Tsuchiguki's intentions.
"What's your next move, Hatake Sakumo?" Tsuchiguki observed Sakumo's slightly tense expression through the gaps in the rock giant and grinned.
Minato, at the edge of the battlefield, could vaguely observe the situation. With his sharp insight, he quickly understood what Sakumo was facing.
"Is he trying to use this to prevent Senior Sakumo from dodging?" Minato pondered, but his face showed no concern for Sakumo. This powerful ninja, soon to be known as "Konoha's White Fang," was even superior to some of the strongest ninjas Minato had encountered. This tactic and ninjutsu alone wouldn't be enough to force him into a corner.
"You're willing to ignore the safety of your subordinates, Tsuchiguki. You are not worthy of being the leader of the Rock Ninja Force!" Sakumo's face darkened for the first time in his battle with Tsuchiguki, not because he was cornered, but because of the recklessness of his opponent.
The rock giant's attacks would undoubtedly strike Konoha's ninjas, but the Rock Ninja Village's own forces wouldn't escape unscathed either.
"Once you step onto the battlefield, you must be prepared to sacrifice your life at any time. Trading your life for the interests of the country and the village is the essence of being a ninja!" Tsuchiguki's wild laughter echoed, his words echoing a common sentiment in the ninja world.
Ninjas were tools to safeguard the interests of their country and village.
But Sakumo disagreed. Although he couldn't deny the harsh reality, his expression revealed his deep anger as he replied, "Even so, allowing your subordinates to die and be injured unnecessarily, when it could be avoided—this cannot be called being a ninja."
"Naive fool! Let's see how you protect your subordinates!" Tsuchiguki's laughter rang out as the rock giant's fist descended once more.
Swish!
Sakumo's eyes flashed as he dodged to the side.
"You can't escape!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The battle between the two ninjas continued, shaking the ground with each exchange. Sakumo's range of movement was gradually shrinking to within tens of meters. Although the rock giant hadn't landed a blow on him yet, its continuous attacks were compressing his movement space.
"Just as expected," Sakumo thought, his face calm. The reason he had been able to dodge the rock giant's attacks wasn't just due to his speed. He noticed that with each strike, the rock giant's speed and strength were gradually decreasing. The range of its destruction was diminishing, growing weaker with each attack.
Finally, the moment came when the rock giant swung its fist down, and this time, Sakumo had no intention of dodging.
Swish!
Blue lightning flickered on Sakumo's chakra short sword. He stepped forward, using the momentum to rush up and slash down with his sword, meeting the rock giant's fist head-on.
Bang!
A loud noise echoed through the air, followed by a surge of lightning and flying debris.
Swoosh!
Sakumo was blown back by the impact, leaving a nearly ten-meter-long skid mark on the ground. A trace of red blood trickled down the corner of his lips.
The rock giant's right arm was also more than half-shattered in the collision. However, since its body was made of rock, Tsuchiguki formed a seal inside the giant, causing the rocks on the ground to accumulate and gradually restore its broken arm.
Seeing the blood on Sakumo's lips, Tsuchiguki's face lit up with indescribable joy. He had finally injured Hatake Sakumo!
"Heh." A smile appeared on Sakumo's face, though.
"Under continuous fierce attacks, the destructive power and defensive capabilities of this rock giant have significantly decreased," Sakumo noted to himself. His previous strikes couldn't even sever the giant's joints, but now he had blown off half of its arm. Even though the collision had injured Sakumo, the damage wasn't serious.
Just as he expected.
While Tsuchiguki was filled with pride, Sakumo, who was standing before the rock giant, began forming hand seals with both hands.
"What's he doing?" Tsuchiguki was momentarily stunned but then suddenly realized something was preventing the rock giant's arm from fully repairing. Additionally, Hatake Sakumo was now forming hand seals with both hands, and his chakra short sword, which he never left out of his hand, had disappeared.
"Chichi!"
At that moment, in the half-broken arm of the rock giant, Sakumo's chakra short sword was embedded a few inches deep, emitting faint arcs of lightning.
"Hatake Secret Jutsu: Lightning Rampage!"
With a shout that sounded like a raging thunderclap, an intensely bright blue light suddenly erupted from the chakra short sword embedded in the giant's arm. The violent sound that followed made everyone's heads buzz, as the light and noise enveloped the battlefield.
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