manynovel Chapter 78 Fierce Battle, The Third Hokage
Chapter 78 Fierce Battle, The Third Hokage
Chapter 78 Fierce Battle, The Third Hokage
Faced with Hiruzen Sarutobi's counterattack with a powerful fireball, Hiko Akutagawa originally intended to use a water barrier to block it, while also creating smoke to take advantage of his Byakugan.
But the indestructible Vajra Ruyi Staff that had just brushed past him suddenly stretched out a hairy hand and grabbed at Akutagawa Hiko.
Akutagawa Hiko had no choice but to change his move. Chakra surged from the pressure points on his hands, forming a chakra aggregate in the shape of a lion. He used this force to push past the outstretched claw, heading straight for Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"What's the difference between this and one against two?!"
Akutagawa gritted his teeth inwardly. This was simply cheating. This ape demon could even partially transform. Although he already knew this information, its sudden appearance was still quite frightening.
Knowing that his advantage lay in intelligence, Akutagawa Hiko, true to his persona as a ninja who was not good at ninjutsu duels but was proficient in taijutsu, spun around on the spot, used the Kaiten technique to deflect the falling shuriken, and struck out with a palm.
"Explosive tags?"
Akutagawa Hiko struck Sarutobi Hiruzen with a palm strike, but the feel was very strange.
Sure enough, he turned into a puddle of mud, and an explosive tag was stuck to his arm.
Left with no other choice, a layer of ice condensed at the point where the explosive tag touched the clothes, spinning and flying towards the sweeping ape demon.
Taking advantage of the explosion's cover, Akutagawa Hiko once again pressed forward, taking advantage of Hiruzen Sarutobi's old age and frailty, and wielding his Bagua Palm with great force.
While blocking Hiruzen Sarutobi's whip kick with one hand, a huge Bagua diagram unfolded beneath his feet. He turned sideways and struck the Enma from behind, who was trying to sneak up on him, with a Bagua Empty Palm. The Enma, having nowhere to get a foothold, spun away.
Gentle Fist targets pressure points and internal organs, making it a special attack technique against the human body. No matter how much training most ninjas undergo, their internal organs remain quite vulnerable. If the elderly Third Hokage were hit, Akutagawa Hiko would gain a complete advantage.
However, as a well-known ninja clan in Konoha, the Hyuga clan's fighting style was something that Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi could not possibly ignore.
It's not necessarily for defense; even if it's for better war deployment and role definition, a thorough understanding is still necessary.
To Akutagawa Hiko's surprise, he hit the target very quickly.
As Akutagawa Hiko pressed his palm against Sarutobi Hiruzen's chest, Sarutobi Hiruzen also grabbed Akutagawa Hiko's hand, and two more Sarutobi Hiruzens emerged from the ground.
Thinking of a certain sealing technique, Akutagawa Hiko felt a tightness in his heart. The more he used to enjoy using Shadow Clone Jutsu, the more he now hated this ninjutsu.
Akutagawa Hiko quickly formed hand seals and activated the Ice Release: Demonic Mirror Ice Crystal Technique, instantly escaping the encirclement of the shadow clones.
Emerging from another mirror in the sky, he looked at the emerald green pyramid-shaped barrier and felt a wave of fear.
Luckily, I reacted quickly, otherwise I would have been trapped inside. Also, this shadow clone is really sturdy; it didn't fall apart after taking a blow.
Upon landing, Akutagawa Hiko didn't hold back at all, picking up a giant rock and throwing it directly at Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had just tried to trick him.
The rumbling sound echoed throughout the space, but Akutagawa Hiko dared not be careless at all. His Byakugan never relaxed for a moment, and he quickly caught sight of Sarutobi Hiruzen standing on the rock, looking down at him.
With the distance just right, Hiruzen Sarutobi used his most proficient combination ninjutsu, unleashing a massive wave of burning mud that swept towards Hiko Akutagawa, leaving him nowhere to hide.
Akutagawa Hiko chose to defend with ninjutsu. With the influx of chakra, Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall rose from the ground, dodging the combined ninjutsu and once again placing him at the same altitude as Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The magic mirror that trapped the ape demon was completely shattered, but it doesn't matter, the broken pieces are still usable.
Akutagawa Hikaru's figure weaved through the fragments of the demonic mirror, reaching Hiruzen Sarutobi's side once again with incredible speed.
He threw out his shuriken and explosive tags in an attempt to block her movement.
Unfortunately, Hiruzen Sarutobi, wielding the Enma weapon, simply swung his staff in a flourish, deflecting all the hidden weapons and shuriken, and then used his long reach to overpower Akutagawa Hiko.
Although close combat can help defend against Hiruzen Sarutobi's complex ninjutsu, the combination of Enma and Hiruzen Sarutobi is virtually unbeatable; one wrong move and you'll be sent flying by Enma.
Landing on the rocky city wall he had created, Akutagawa looked up and saw that the five Hiruzen Sarutobi had already completed their hand seals. Judging from the flow of chakra, they belonged to five different attributes.
[Five Elements - Great Consecutive Bullet Technique]
Akutagawa Hikaru suddenly remembered Hiruzen Sarutobi's signature ninjutsu and ran away without thinking.
The violent explosion terrified Akutagawa Hiko. The rock wall he had created with a large amount of chakra collapsed with a deafening roar, not even lasting a second.
Akutagawa Hiko had specially thickened it, and the base of the rock wall was firmly connected to the underground rock and soil layer. The surface was also covered with a layer that could absorb the aftershocks of the ninjutsu explosion, but it was still no match for this existence that could be called the Third Hokage's finishing move.
Ice crystal mirrors once again littered the battlefield, and Akutagawa Hiko's figure moved back and forth among them, using his original assassin skills only to save his own life.
Having completely widened the distance, Akutagawa Hikotsuki truly realized how terrifying this Hokage was. He could use various combination ninjutsu with ease, and Hiruzen Sarutobi had almost pushed the power of the Five Elements ninjutsu to the limit of a non-bloodline ninja.
This ninja would be absolutely terrifying in terms of lethality on the battlefield.
Akutagawa Hiko's left eye quietly transformed into a square-shaped eye socket, and the shuriken formed from ice crystals rushed towards Sarutobi Hiruzen in a very illogical trajectory.
The Vajra Ruyi Cudgel swept out, forming an indestructible barrier. Upon impact, the ape demon felt a slight pain, but the Ice Hand Sword shattered instantly.
Akutagawa Hiko used a Body Flicker Technique to rush into a complete magic mirror, and the next instant he emerged directly from the broken ice shuriken, his ice kunai only ten centimeters away from Sarutobi Hiruzen.
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi was prepared. With a Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, he pushed Akutagawa Hikaru away. However, the wind blades in the wind were detected by Akutagawa Hikaru's Byakugan and were not cut into pieces like Gekko Hayate.
"Damn it, I've used this trick before—"
Before the Fourth Shinobi World War, intelligence warfare between ninjas was of paramount importance. For ninjas with rich combat experience, gathering intelligence during battle and countering their opponents was almost an instinctive operation.
Akutagawa Hiko, who had an absolute advantage in this aspect, was able to fight Sarutobi Hiruzen to a standstill without even using the Kaleidoscope.
However, as the battle progressed, Hiruzen Sarutobi gained more information, which became very disadvantageous for Hiko Akutagawa.
"We must finish this quickly!"
Akutagawa Hiko's hand speed increased to another level. He slammed his hands on the ground, and a rock golem covered in ice crystal armor rose from the ruins of the collapsed city wall.