Being forced back so easily was due to his footing on the tree trunk. With the trunk breaking under the pressure, Sakumo had no stable ground to stand on and had to bear the relentless force from Ye Zi.
Lightning surged through Ye Zi's blade, his eyes flashing with cold intent.
However, as the lightning reached Sakumo, it seemed to vanish, as if absorbed by something, with no numbing effect at all.
Ye Zi's expression changed slightly, and he immediately stopped the flow of lightning.
Suspended midair, Sakumo had no intention of explaining. His expression remained unchanged as he suddenly withdrew his sword, removing the force applied from Ye Zi's blade.
Ye Zi's eyes narrowed, twisting his wrist to bring his sword, Chijin, back defensively rather than striking Sakumo, as Sakumo's blade closed in with incredible speed.
"So fast!"
Clang!
The thought flashed briefly, drowned out by the clash of steel.
White Fang and Chijin met again, but this time, they separated instantly, only to meet again from different angles. The result was another collision.
In midair, Ye Zi and Sakumo's blades clashed repeatedly, sending sparks flying as they exchanged blows within a heartbeat.
A fierce fighting spirit lit up Sakumo's usually impassive gaze.
In terms of swordsmanship alone, Ye Zi was not far behind him, and they shared a similar style—both had honed their basic movements to the utmost.
This mastery was due to Ye Zi's long years of rigorous training and countless real battles.
With only four hours of sleep per day, Ye Zi spent the rest of his time either training or on missions. He never studied formal sword techniques but focused solely on improving his sword speed.
He practiced basic movements—slashing, cutting, sweeping, stabbing—and used Lightning Release to enhance his body, speeding up his attacks in battle.
This was the same path Sakumo had walked. But in addition to these foundational skills, Sakumo's sword style was augmented by the Hatake clan's unique swordsmanship.
White Fang pressed down on Chijin gliding along the blade to emit a shower of sparks, heading straight for the guard.
Ye Zi remained unperturbed, lifting his sword to deflect White Fang upward, breaking Sakumo's offensive.
However, as White Fang pulled back, without even touching him, Sakumo's blade managed to slice through Ye Zi's lightning armor, leaving a deep gash on his left cheek that began bleeding heavily.
Ye Zi only realized he was injured when the pain hit him. Confused by this strange occurrence, he decided against continuing the close combat.
With his protective Lightning Dragon Armor, how did he get injured?
While puzzling over this, Ye Zi's lightning armor transformed into a dragon that lunged at Sakumo. Sakumo calmly raised White Fang, which glowed with bright chakra, blocking the dragon's jaws.
Unclear on the cause, they broke apart.
Whoosh!
Sakumo was forced downwards by the Lightning Dragon, and his body tilted as the dragon clamped onto White Fang.
The dragon's purpose was to drive Sakumo toward the ground, putting Ye Zi at a higher elevation.
From midair, Ye Zi used his twisting momentum to throw Chijin at Sakumo like a spear, landing on a nearby branch before kicking off the trunk for a follow-up attack.
The thrown Chijin shot at Sakumo like a javelin.
With the dragon still pinning him down, if Sakumo didn't break free in time, Chijin would pierce through the dragon and stab him directly.
Even faced with this peril, Sakumo's expression didn't waver. White Fang suddenly released a violent gale, shattering the dragon into dissipating energy in an instant.
Then, Sakumo raised his sword to deflect Chijin. With a clang, he altered its trajectory, sending it past his shoulder and into the ground behind him.
After landing safely, Sakumo turned, only to see Ye Zi launching another assault.
As he threw Chijin Ye Zi had kicked off the tree trunk, breaking it with the force. The resulting recoil propelled him forward, following Chijin closely.
Wood Release...
While hurtling forward, Ye Zi deftly formed hand signs, causing square wooden pillars to sprout from his palm like snakes towards Sakumo.
A shadow loomed as the pillars descended.
"The First Hokage's Wood Release… so the intel was accurate."
Sakumo exhaled lightly, his arm a blur as he swung White Fang, slicing through the thick wooden pillars before they even touched his blade.
"So, it's Wind Release."
Ye Zi cut off his connection to the pillars, stepping on one to use the Body Flicker Technique, arriving beside Chijin embedded in the ground, and grabbed it.
Simultaneously, Sakumo shattered the Wood Release pillars and turned, raising his sword toward Ye Zi with a calm expression.
Ignoring the pain in his cheek, Ye Zi felt the bleeding begin to slow as the wound gradually healed.
From their brief exchange, he realized Sakumo's strength and speed were on par with his own. Was he achieving this level through pure taijutsu?
Every master swordsman needed strong taijutsu; without it, even the best sword techniques were useless.
Since Sakumo wasn't using Lightning Release, Ye Zi hadn't realized he was using it differently, a low-cost yet equally effective style.
He had assumed Sakumo's taijutsu alone was strong, but now he knew his Wind Release technique extended his blade length, even slicing through the Lightning Dragon Armor.
In their earlier clash, had the angle been slightly different, the deep wound on his cheek could have been on his neck.
Such a short blade, yet Sakumo wielded it with devastating precision. Ye Zi looked at him impassively as fresh blood slowly soaked his shoulder.
In this brief encounter, Ye Zi had tasted defeat. Even though he now knew the technique was Wind Release, it didn't change the fact. Only by fighting Sakumo could he feel the immense pressure from that short blade.
At any moment... that small White Fang could bypass his defenses and strike a critical point.
Starting now, he would need to guard carefully, especially since his lightning's paralyzing effect had no impact. It seemed the lightning was absorbed.
The main issue was that his Lightning Dragon Armor couldn't withstand Sakumo's Wind Release. Was it a density problem? If they clashed again, he'd need to reinforce his chakra density locally to block the Wind Release.
Ye Zi glanced past Sakumo toward the ongoing battle between the Konoha ninja and his allies, realizing he needed to widen the distance.
The moment Ye Zi shifted his gaze, Sakumo's eyes flashed. He vanished, reappearing in an instant to strike Ye Zi's vitals.
Even in the brief moment Ye Zi's gaze wavered, Sakumo seized the opening.
Ye Zi's expression shifted. With split-second reflexes, he blocked White Fang with Chijin while his other hand formed a seal.
"You leave no opportunity unexploited!"
Ye Zi glared coldly at Sakumo's impassive face up close as lightning coursed through his body, with its density increased at specific points.
Sizzle...
A soft sound, and Ye Zi remained unharmed.
"Remarkable."
Breaking his usual silence in battle, Sakumo couldn't help but voice his admiration.
As he finished speaking, a unique light emerged from Ye Zi's shoulder, emanating from his very soul.
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Currently on Chapter 369 - Victory and Defeat