Linton realized that the gap between him and Enma was truly in their attributes. Enma had a complete advantage in all aspects, making it a tough situation.
Linton's current problem was substantial. Unable to level up, his attributes couldn't increase either. The only way to boost them was by purchasing bloodlines with points. Currently, the only bloodline he found that could increase attributes was Spider-Man's. Facing this situation, Linton glanced at the shop. He could afford the B-rank Spider-Man bloodline, but there was another option: the First Hokage's cells he just obtained.
While Linton pondered, his body continued to act. Battle Sister, clearly not one for subtlety, pulled out a pistol from her backpack and fired two shots at Enma.
"Bang! Bang!" The gunshots had no effect. The moment the trigger was pulled, Enma sensed the danger and raised his staff to block, deflecting both bullets. The force transmitted through his staff surprised Enma slightly, but Linton was even more astonished.
"Damn, is this a cheat?" Linton couldn't help but exclaim.
"Watch out!" The Third Hokage's shout suddenly rang out. Enma paused briefly, then turned around to see Orochimaru lunging towards him. It turned out that Orochimaru, who seemed to be fighting the Third, had abruptly changed his target. His head elongated, a long sword extending from his mouth, and he thrust it at Enma.
The sudden attack caught Enma off guard, but he quickly raised his staff to strike at Orochimaru's head.
"Clang!" A metallic clash echoed as Enma blocked Orochimaru's attack at the last moment, but not without cost. Orochimaru's sword left a gash on Enma's hand, and blood began to flow.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!" Simultaneously, flames erupted from Orochimaru's body. This was the Third Hokage's attack. Orochimaru couldn't fight on two fronts, so while he ambushed Enma, he was also hit by the Third's jutsu. Orochimaru was engulfed in flames, but he quickly retreated and shed the flames like peeling skin.
Orochimaru clearly wasn't unscathed. This shedding technique consumed a significant amount of his chakra. However, he took advantage of the situation to retreat further and pressed against a nearby wall. Suddenly, the wall opened, revealing a hidden passage.
"Go!" Orochimaru shouted at Linton, then turned to leave. This hidden path was obviously his escape route. However, when he turned, he saw Linton charging towards the Third Hokage.
"What are you doing? Go!" Orochimaru was stunned and shouted again. The Third Hokage was at his peak, far stronger than in the original anime. Orochimaru had no confidence in defeating him, which is why he was retreating. He didn't expect Linton to charge forward; it was suicidal.
Linton knew all this, but what could he do? His body was moving on its own. Now that things had come to this, Linton had no choice but to shout at Orochimaru, "You go first, I'll hold them off."
"What?" Orochimaru was taken aback. Hold them off? He couldn't believe Linton would do this. It was already strange that Linton was on his side, and now he was even offering to cover his escape. Even if Linton surrendered immediately after he left, it would still be a serious crime to aid his defection, possibly leading to imprisonment. What benefit was there for Linton? They weren't even that close. Orochimaru couldn't fathom why Linton would help him.
Though puzzled, there was no time to dwell on it. Seeing Orochimaru open the passage, the Third Hokage naturally wanted to stop him. Orochimaru could only glance at Linton before rushing out.
With a loud "boom," the opened door closed itself as soon as Orochimaru left. Orochimaru was indeed ruthless, leaving Linton behind. At this moment, Linton was kicked away by the Third Hokage.
"Suggesting the host use points to repair the body," Battle Sister promptly reminded. Although the Third Hokage's taijutsu wasn't renowned, he was currently at his peak, and his taijutsu wasn't weak either. In any case, he was far stronger than Linton, especially with Linton missing an arm. Battle Sister, likely noticing this, urged Linton to repair his arm quickly.
"Will repairing it allow me to win?" Linton asked.
"Based on the current situation, there is no way to find a winning strategy."
"So if I can't win, can I run? Who designed this idiotic system for you? Can't you put some effort into it?"
"You... why are you helping Orochimaru?" The Third Hokage suddenly spoke, also puzzled by Linton's actions in aiding Orochimaru's escape.
"Then why did you hold back and let him go?" Linton countered. He couldn't tell if the Third Hokage held back, but the anime mentioned that he intentionally let Orochimaru escape. It was likely that the Third could have stopped Orochimaru just now, but he chose not to, following his original intention.
"You..." The Third Hokage didn't expect Linton to see through him. He sighed and said, "He is my disciple after all, even though he has done such things..."
"Aren't there plenty of such things happening in this crappy village? Why don't you go and take care of Danzo?" Linton shrugged.
"Danzo?" The Third Hokage was surprised that Linton mentioned Danzo.
Mid-sentence, Linton suddenly started forming hand seals. His hand seal speed was incredibly fast, almost invisible, as it was automated. If he were doing it himself, he wouldn't even be able to get the hand gestures right.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet!"
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall." The Third Hokage also immediately formed hand seals, blocking Linton's attack. He was truly confused by Linton's actions. He started attacking in the middle of a conversation, and now he wanted to fight? Did he really think he could escape?
"Surrender," the Third Hokage said to Linton. "You have great potential, but you're not my match yet."
Linton wished he could surrender, but that option wasn't available. He wasn't joking; he literally couldn't stop. The only way to stop was to defeat his opponent, but Linton knew he couldn't beat the Third Hokage. At this point, Linton had no other choice but to do his best.
Linton's body charged forward again. Seizing the opportunity, he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan. A burst of black smoke erupted behind him, and a massive humanoid figure appeared, throwing a powerful punch at the Third Hokage.
With a loud "boom," the Susanoo's fist smashed through the Earth Flow Wall the Third Hokage had created. The giant body also crashed through the floor above, causing the entire building to collapse. Linton hurriedly controlled Susanoo to support the falling debris. With his eyes activated, he saw the Third Hokage's figure; he clearly hadn't been hit.
"Is that really Susanoo..." The Third Hokage was slightly stunned to see the massive black skeleton. He had seen it before, but that was when he was a child. He didn't expect to witness someone using this technique again in his lifetime. Although he had heard reports from returning soldiers, seeing it firsthand was a completely different experience.
"Damn, not in the village..." At this moment, Linton's Susanoo had broken through the entire building and appeared on the streets of Konoha. As the Hokage, he couldn't allow such a thing to rampage in his village, especially during wartime, as it could easily cause panic among the villagers.
Originally, the Third Hokage intended to handle this matter discreetly, so no one else was around. However, the situation was now spiraling out of control. He couldn't let things escalate further. Looking at Linton, the caster, the Third Hokage decided to get serious and subdue Linton first.
"Enma!" The Third Hokage beckoned, and Enma, who had also escaped, quickly came to his side. Without any words, Enma, who had cooperated with the Third Hokage for many years, understood his intentions. After a puff of white smoke, Enma transformed into a giant staff. The Third Hokage hoisted the staff onto his shoulder and leaped towards Linton.
Linton was still busy dealing with the falling debris. It was clear that he was far less experienced in combat than Battle Sister.
"Host, the enemy is approaching," Battle Sister reminded him proactively.
Linton looked up and saw the Third Hokage charging towards him. Although the Third Hokage was fast, Linton had the visual prowess of the Mangekyo Sharingan. He instantly locked onto the Third Hokage's position and controlled Susanoo to throw a punch.
However, the punch missed. The Third Hokage dodged the attack mid-air with a maneuver Linton couldn't comprehend. He then brushed past Susanoo's fist, closed in on Linton, and swung the staff with tremendous force.
A metallic "clang" rang out as the Third Hokage's staff struck Susanoo's ribs. It seemed to offer some resistance, but the next moment, the ribs shattered, and the staff pierced through, hitting Linton directly on the head. A bone-cracking sound followed, and Linton was sent flying.
(End of Chapter)