Without the burden of the Sharingan, Kakashi's strength was unclear to Aoba. However, with Kakashi's family swordsmanship added into the mix, he was genuinely concerned that Kakashi might take down Danzo with a single blow, wasting a precious Revival Coin.
As Kakashi engaged, Aoba also drew his sword to face the surrounding ROOT ninjas.
The moment he began to move, he felt a stiffness in his head, causing his actions to falter.
In the next second, a dozen shuriken struck his body.
Boom, Aoba's body exploded into a cloud of smoke.
Far away in the mountains, Fū's face grew serious. The mental power was formidable; he had nearly used all his strength, but the opponent still managed to break free from his Mind Transfer Jutsu almost immediately.
Such mental power was already comparable to his own, who had trained in family secret techniques. Moreover, the opponent used Shadow Clones to cover their escape as they broke free.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu."
Aoba dodged the initial attack and immediately countered with a large-scale Fire Release technique.
Every ninja dreams of a powerful area-of-effect jutsu. Aoba had longed for such a scene for a while. Unlimited chakra and wide-ranging ninjutsu—this was the true essence of a ninja in his mind.
Water Style: Water Barrier Jutsu.
By accident, Aoba recreated a famous scene from Madara's battle against the ninja coalition.
However, the scene was merely a scaled-down version. his current ninjutsu power was still not on par with someone like Madara.
But because Root had sealed the area with barriers, the Root ninjas could not scatter and had to endure the attack.
Dozens of Water Barrier Jutsus rose to barely block Aoba's Fire Style attack. But the next second, Aoba formed hand seals again.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu."
Another powerful Fire Style technique was unleashed. However, this time he did not fully complete the technique.
A black mist suddenly surged from the ground, heading straight for his body.
"Bugs!"
Aoba's eyes narrowed slightly. He then pinpointed an inconspicuous figure in the crowd.
Torune Aburame, one of Danzo's two trusted aides. Along with Fū, he was Danzo's right-hand man.
Their style was different from traditional ninjas; they used family secret techniques. However, he never underestimated these specialized ninjas, especially the Aburame clan with their unusual insects.
Just looking at those bizarre insects made he uncomfortable, let alone having them touch him.
His physical strength was currently very powerful, but insects were incredibly troublesome.
"Lightning Style: Static Field."
Aoba rarely used his Lightning Style technique.
An invisible force field expanded centered around his body. Sparks began to flicker in the air as the flying insects in the forest were struck by the electrical field.
A massive static field now surrounded Aoba. Any living being entering this field would be electrocuted.
However, the electrical damage was not severe. It had no fatal effect on humans, only causing minor paralysis.
The current was wild and unrestricted. If a lethal current were used, it would not be possible to maintain such a large and stable static field.
Moreover, this technique was originally developed with Deidara as the hypothetical enemy.
Indeed, although Aoba had not yet faced the Akatsuki directly, he was already preparing for them.
Among them, Deidara was a high-priority target in his mind. Deidara could fly, and his clay bombs were particularly troublesome.
The Static Field technique was specifically designed to counter Deidara's clay bombs. Once activated, Deidara's clay bombs would be rendered ineffective.
In the recent battle, he found this technique also highly effective against the Aburame clan's insects.
Even specially trained insects couldn't match humans in vitality. Moreover, the Aburame clan had never specifically bred insects resistant to lightning.
So, with the Static Field active, the insects falling from the sky looked like rain.
Torune was also bewildered. Even with his extensive combat experience, he had never encountered a technique developed specifically for insects.
His insects were specially bred and flew very fast. Conventional ninjutsu, whether Wind Style, Fire Style, or Water Style, always had blind spots.
These poisonous insects needed only a few to completely incapacitate the enemy.
But the Static Field's 360-degree coverage was extremely unfriendly to insects.
And it was too late to withdraw the insects now. Aoba's chakra was abundant. The entire barrier was covered by the Static Field.
Torune could feel the pervasive tingling sensation. The Static Field covered the entire area, leaving no escape for the insects.
Torune even needed to channel chakra to protect himself, preventing the insects within his body from being killed by the Static Field.
Meanwhile, other Root ninjas who had finally escaped the Dragon Flame Jutsu charged forward.
If it were Aoba before the transplant of Hashirama's cells, such a group attack would have been overwhelming due to insufficient chakra. He would only be able to rely on swordsmanship.
In close combat, no matter how skilled one was, facing a large number of enemies was always perilous.
But now it was different. With Hashirama's cell transplant completed, he could be considered a powerhouse.
Holding the Kusanagi Sword, a top-tier weapon, he used the Void Slash technique. A visibly long wind blade swept across the battlefield.
Without chakra constraints, Void Slash had become akin to a basic attack for him.
Aoba was beginning to understand why Madara dared to charge into a coalition of ten thousand ninjas.
When you have overwhelming advantages in chakra, ninjutsu, and physical strength, numbers are difficult to compensate for.
Just like now, as he charged into the crowd and casually used Void Slash, the opponents scrambled to defend or evade with various ninjutsu.
He didn't even need to use other methods. After three slashes, the enemy started to suffer casualties.
Wood Release: Advent of the Forest."
Hidden among the crowd, Yamato took action. He was also one of Danzo's trump cards.
Dozens of large trees emerged from the ground, encircling Aoba. Aoba looked at the two-hundred-square-meter Wood Style barrier and almost laughed out loud.
"This... can it even be called Wood Style?"
"Wood Release: All-Encompassing Forest."
The surrounding trees began to twist as if alive, trying to bind Aoba.
Aoba's sword blade was surrounded by a swirling vortex, which rapidly expanded.
The violent tornado covered the entire green area and pulled in the Root ninjas who were trying to ambush Aoba.
Within the tornado, Aoba's body soared into the sky.
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Currently on Chapter 104 - A Funeral