Naruto: Cultivating to Immortality

Chapter 108 True Strength

Although Sakumo Hatake aspired to become Hokage, his feelings for Konoha far outweighed his desire to become Hokage. If he believed that becoming Hokage would cause turmoil in Konoha, he could simply give up, as long as nothing unexpected happened to Konoha.

But when Hatake Sakumo arrived, he saw Hyuga Kanan attacking Konoha ninjas, including Konoha high-ranking official Shimura Danzo. In his eyes, Hyuga Kanan had become an unexpected threat to Konoha.

Konoha was peaceful before, but since Hyuga Kanan's return, the village's leadership has clashed with him multiple times. To maintain Konoha's stability, Hatake Sakumo needs to help eliminate those who threaten the village. In his eyes, Hyuga Kanan has become a threat to Konoha's stability, and seeing that he intends to attack Konoha's ninjas, he has decided to remove this destabilizing factor.

The stability of Konoha is paramount. Protecting Konoha's peace and stability has always been Sakumo Hatake's ninja way, and he will not allow anyone to affect Konoha.

Now that he needs to use all his strength to eliminate the opponent, he will no longer hold back.

Trapped in the Frosty Castle, Hatake Sakumo suddenly stopped swinging his short sword, sheathing it to his chest. At the same time, his aura surged wildly, becoming incredibly sharp. The chilling air that approached him was instantly shattered by this aura, and arcs of electricity crackled on the short sword. As the current grew stronger, it began to appear on the sword, emitting a sound like the chirping of birds.

Then, Sakumo Hatake began to wield his short sword and move.

Sensing the violent and sharp aura, Hyuga Kanan knew that Hatake Sakumo was beginning to unleash his true power. As a pure swordsman, the strength he had just displayed was completely unrealistic. Although his slashes were powerful, being trapped by such a simple trick clearly didn't match the sword intent he exuded.

Sensing the incredibly sharp aura emanating from Hatake Sakumo, even feeling his own spiritual energy being sliced ​​as he approached, Hyuga Kanan's vigilance rose to a new level. At the same time, his Byakugan locked onto Sakumo's figure. He knew that Sakumo's storm-like offensive was about to begin.

"Whoosh!" Hatake Sakumo, who had been locked onto by Hyuga Kanan, flashed away instantly, his Byakugan not even being able to fully discern his movements. This surprised Hyuga Kanan as well; it was the first time he hadn't been able to clearly see his opponent's actions even when using his Byakugan at full power.

Within the Frost Castle, Hatake Sakumo's figure transformed into a bolt of lightning, his short sword transforming into a longsword crackling with lightning, countless pulsating currents extending outwards and emitting a cacophony of bird calls. With a mere swing at the ice crystal wall before him, it was as smooth as a hot knife through butter; the previously impenetrable ice wall was instantly shattered, the cracks continuing to spread outwards.

A gap nearly a meter wide appeared in the Frost Castle in an instant, clearly indicating that the opponent's attack had directly pierced through the nearly ten-meter-long ice crystal wall, and the blade's aura had not yet dissipated, still heading towards Hyuga Kanan's figure.

Hyuga Kanan's lips curled slightly as he casually waved his hand, shattering the incoming blade of light. The blade had lost much of its power after piercing the ice wall and posed no threat to Hyuga Kanan.

Even after his frost fortress was pierced, the opponent still had the strength to attack him, and Hyuga Kanan sensed the ferocity of the attack's intensity. However, this attack was far from sufficient; his own technique wasn't just ice; it also incorporated sealing and barrier techniques he had learned during his time with the Hyuga clan. Its regenerative abilities were incredibly strong; if he couldn't directly shatter the frost fortress, it would quickly recover.

Sure enough, the castle that had just been cleaved began to recover rapidly, returning to its original state and completely restoring all the cracks caused by the attack.

Sakumo Hatake's face darkened as he looked at the restored ice crystal wall. He knew that with ordinary slashes, it would be impossible for him to escape this trap. He had originally intended to conserve some strength, since he would have to face Kanan Hyuga directly after escaping. If he expended too much energy now, defeating him wouldn't be so easy. But there was no time to consider that now. If he didn't leave quickly, his energy expenditure would be enormous, and his opponent could attack him at will.

"With such strong resilience, I'll ensure it has absolutely no chance to recover!"

After muttering something under his breath, Hatake Sakumo's aura calmed down, but became even more focused. At the same time, the arcs of electricity crackling on the short sword in his hand subsided, and even the birdsong that had been agitated by the thunder disappeared. Only the sharp aura emanating from him grew more and more pronounced.

Seeing this from outside, Hyuga Kanan knew he could finally witness the full power of this swordsman. A smile appeared on his face as he continuously reinforced the Frost Castle's defenses with the barrier techniques he had learned. At the same time, he shouted loudly towards Hatake Sakumo inside the Frost Castle:

"Come on, let me see just how sharp Konoha's White Fang's fangs are. Let me also witness what kind of performance Konoha's strongest warrior can deliver."

Countless runes continued to be added to the Frost Castle, making the original dark blue frost even deeper, and at the same time, it began to slowly shrink. It was clear that Hyuga Kanan wanted to test whether the defensive power of the water element rules enhanced by the barrier technique and sealing technique could withstand the thunderous attack that the opponent was about to use.

The frost castle, which spanned several hundred meters in radius, continued to shrink until it became a castle less than a hundred meters wide. At the same time, the dark blue ice crystals turned pitch black, with runes constantly flowing across them.

Several figures suddenly appeared around them; they were Hiruzen Sarutobi, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade. Hyuga Kanan had already spotted them.

But Hyuga Kanan ignored them, still keeping his eyes firmly on Hatake Sakumo in the Frost Castle.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was extremely grim. He had clearly realized that the two people fighting him were far stronger than him. However, he didn't intervene. He wanted the two to continue fighting, ideally both of them to be severely injured, or even better, to die together.

Orochimaru kept licking his lips, realizing that the power unleashed by the two completely surpassed his own. However, he wanted to see just how powerful they could be. In his view, their displayed strength could point him on the path to further improvement and also reveal the true extent of the gap between them.

Jiraiya gave a wry smile, clearly not wanting internal strife within Konoha, as both of them were pillars of the village. He also pondered whether using his immature Sage Mode could stop them.

Tsunade was somewhat worried. Hatake Sakumo was a key figure supported by their Senju clan, and if anything unexpected happened, their previous plans would be ruined. Moreover, such a major conflict with Hyuga Kanan, who represented the Hyuga clan, meant that the Hyuga clan might not support them.

Sakumo Hatake's aura had become incredibly sharp, causing cracks to appear in the surrounding space. His silver-white short sword had turned a deep purple, and the chakra within it had become tangible. He lightly stomped his foot on the ground, and the short sword in his hand began to dance with his body. The speed appeared very slow, but wherever the blade passed, the surrounding frost vanished as if swallowed up.

"Crash!" The Frost Castle began to shake continuously. The ice crystals became unstable, the runes on them began to crumble, and the space itself began to tremble. The Frost Castle became more and more stable, but countless cracks appeared, and it was on the verge of shattering completely at any moment.

When Hatake Sakumo swung his short sword a second time, the Frost Castle finally gave way, rapidly crumbling and collapsing. It shattered completely, then was obliterated by the blade's aura. Simultaneously, two bottomless ravines appeared in the ground, as if swallowed whole by the blade's energy, which continued to spread outwards, relentlessly eroding the surrounding trees and soil.

Meanwhile, Hyuga Kanan's divine sense was constantly observing the opponent's attack. The attack had clearly exceeded the space's capacity, causing it to shatter slightly. Even the divine sense that approached the blade's edge was directly shattered by it, and the frost in the Frost Castle was completely obliterated by the blade's edge, continuing to spread towards him.

Hyuga Kanan had witnessed just how sharp Konoha's White Fang's fangs were. With his current strength, he had no chance of withstanding such an attack. If it hit him directly, he would at least suffer severe injuries, and if he couldn't dodge in time, he might even be killed.

However, Hatake Sakumo's attack posed very little threat to him. Firstly, its speed was extremely slow, and secondly, it required constantly gathering power to concentrate on a single point, giving him ample opportunity to dodge. His opponent probably hadn't yet mastered this technique, hadn't reached the point where he could use it at will; otherwise, he would have to run away immediately. It's just that his opponent was truly a pure swordsman; this kind of attack, concentrating all his sword intent into a single point, was far more powerful than he had imagined. If he were to be ambushed with this move, it would be truly troublesome.

After shattering the Frost Castle, Hatake Sakumo immediately withdrew his aura. He stood still and took a few deep breaths before returning to normal. He then gripped his short sword tightly again and charged towards Hyuga Kanan. His figure flashed rapidly, and countless bird cries rang out once more.

Hyuga Kanan was not to be outdone, and countless ripples of water appeared around her as she met the attack head-on. Although her Byakugan couldn't completely see through her opponent's movements, her spiritual power could scan them completely. If her body could keep up with her opponent's speed, she could completely suppress him.