Naruto: Cultivating to Immortality

Chapter 73 Shadows and Shadows

The two third-generation Kage, gazing at each other from afar, both wore solemn expressions, but neither uttered any further words.

Both knew that this battle would determine the outcome of the war between the two ninja villages.

Konoha does not want the Mist Ninja to have a foothold on the mainland, as that would pose a significant threat to the Land of Fire and reduce the interests of the Konoha ninja.

The Hidden Mist Village has not yet achieved its objective in launching this war, and it is impossible for it to give up now. As long as it can defeat this Hidden Leaf Village force, it can directly divide the Hidden Leaf Village force, allowing the Hidden Mist Village force to divide and devour the Hidden Leaf Village force, and make the Hidden Leaf Village admit defeat to the Hidden Mist Village and obtain the long-desired foothold on the mainland.

After glancing around again, the two no longer hesitated and simultaneously began forming hand seals, preparing to launch an attack.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet Technique!"

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

The two simultaneously unleashed ninjutsu attacks on the opposing forces, signaling the start of war. Both sides' troops began to move, shattering the previous calm and igniting shouts of battle.

Several enormous fire dragons roared in and attacked, and the Mist Ninja dared not be careless in the slightest.

The leading group of Mist Ninja, along with several Mist Ninja squads, quickly stepped forward, their faces solemn, and their hands rapidly forming hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Wall Technique!"

A series of sturdy water walls rose from bottom to top, firmly blocking the massive fire dragon that was hurtling towards them. When the fire dragon made contact with the water walls, accompanied by a hissing sound, the fireball cooled and the water evaporated, creating a large amount of water mist.

Meanwhile, the Konoha team also watched as the giant water dragon roared towards them, and the Konoha squad also quickly formed hand seals.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall Technique!"

Walls of earth rose from the ground, firmly blocking the roaring, massive water dragon. The water dragon collided with the earthen walls, creating a deafening roar. The water dragon disintegrated into streams of water, and fragments of rock from the already damaged earthen walls fell to the ground, stirring up clouds of dust.

Using the smoke and mist as cover, the Third Hokage and the Third Mizukage charged at each other at high speed, clearly intending to pull each other off the battlefield and settle the score one-on-one.

"Water Release: Exploding Water Wave!"

Not far from the battlefield, the Third Mizukage rapidly formed hand seals, spewing out a large amount of water from his mouth, forming a rapidly surging wave that aimed to overwhelm the Third Hokage, who had not yet regained his footing.

As the waves approached, the Third Hokage remained calm and mobilized his chakra, spitting out some grayish-brown mud before slapping the ground with both hands.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall Technique!"

Instantly, a massive rock-like wall rose from the ground to block the onrushing waves.

The Third Hokage instantly leaped onto the massive earthen wall, gazing at the Third Mizukage across from him. This was a probing attack between the two; neither had intended to eliminate the other directly.

The Third Mizukage wasn't surprised to see this. If he could be defeated by an attack of this magnitude, then he wouldn't have become Hokage. He had just wanted to test the waters before the opponent was ready.

The Third Mizukage drew his ninja sword from behind him and, while channeling chakra into his legs, launched a rapid taijutsu attack.

After channeling a large amount of chakra into his legs, the Third Mizukage moved with lightning speed, his figure disappearing from his original spot in a flash, instantly reaching the crest of the exploding water wave, his legs firmly planted on the water's surface as he glided towards his opponent with the wave.

Standing on the stone wall, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, knew from this scene that the opponent was preparing to end the probing and officially begin a full-scale attack.

This suits him perfectly. He needs to defeat the enemy quickly to boost the morale of the Konoha ninja forces and also to defeat the Mist Ninja more quickly, driving them into the sea.

He took out a shuriken and threw it quickly at his opponent, while simultaneously forming hand seals with rapid speed.

"Ninja Art - Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"

The shuriken that was flying rapidly toward the Third Mizukage instantly split into multiple parts, quickly covering the entire area and creating a blanket attack.

The Third Mizukage was somewhat surprised to see the shuriken raining down on him. His opponent was using this ninjutsu to slow down his attack and give him more time to prepare.

But the Third Mizukage had no intention of stopping. He stretched out a hand and pressed it on the water's surface, instantly creating a huge wave that swallowed all the shuriken in front of him, while continuing to charge rapidly towards his opponent.

With a light touch of the crest of the wave, his figure vanished in a flash.

When the Third Mizukage reappeared, he was standing right in front of the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Holding a knife in his right hand, with water flowing continuously on the blade, he swung it down heavily!

"Water-Severing Blade!"

The Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, vanished instantly. The Third Mizukage's slash missed its mark, and without pausing, he leaped backward, returning to the crest of the wave.

He sheathed his ninja sword, quickly formed several hand seals, and then slammed his hands down onto the water's surface.

"Water Release - Water Whip Technique!"

Amidst the surging waves, countless drops of water rapidly formed ropes and rushed towards one direction—the very spot where the Hokage had reappeared. Clearly, with so much water around, the Mizukage could instantly sense the location of his opponent.

The Hokage stood still, neither retreating nor dodging, but quickly formed hand seals. Then, his chest suddenly swelled up, and a huge amount of chakra rapidly gathered in his chest before he opened his mouth.

"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

A massive wave of fire erupted from its mouth, heading directly towards the surging ocean waves. Clearly, the Hokage had realized that the opponent's initial use of Exploding Water Wave wasn't intended to attack him, but rather to create a large amount of water, forming terrain and an environment advantageous to him. Therefore, he was now using a powerful Fire Release ninjutsu to directly disrupt the environment and terrain created by the opponent.

The fiery waves from their mouths collided violently with the ocean waves created by their water escape technique.

The momentum of the waves was abruptly halted, making a hissing sound, and the burst of water vapor instantly filled the surrounding forest. The figures of both sides quickly disappeared into the water vapor.

A large amount of water evaporated, and the waves on the ground disappeared completely, leaving only a wide ravine.

The Third Mizukage leaped onto a tree, the branches at the top obscuring his figure. He drew his ninja sword again, and chakra surged into it, forming a high-speed, flowing water blade.

The temporary restriction of vision is actually a very good situation for the Mizukage. After all, the Mist Ninja are best at using Mist Ninja Techniques to make everyone lose sight of them, and then using Silent Killing Techniques to launch a surprise attack.

It's fair to say the Mizukage knew all along that his opponent would use a powerful ninjutsu to directly break through his initial Water Release technique, thus undermining his home-field advantage. But the Konoha Hokage is probably most skilled in Fire Release ninjutsu! Therefore, attacking with Fire Release would allow him to create a water mist without consuming chakra, regaining control of the battlefield.

The Third Mizukage once again raised one hand high, unleashing a burst of chakra.

"Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!"

The water vapor has been further amplified, forming a mist. Now it's so thick that you can't see your hand in front of your face, and the surrounding area is shrouded in a dense fog for hundreds of meters.

The Third Mizukage gripped his ninja sword, closed his eyes, and began to carefully sense his surroundings, pinpointing the Hokage's location. He prepared to use the Hidden Mist Ninja's signature silent assassination technique to inflict damage. Even if he couldn't severely injure the opponent outright, he could at least gain a decisive advantage.

Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi also noticed that the fog, which should have been dissipating long ago, was becoming increasingly thick and the visibility was getting worse. He realized that the opponent had used ninjutsu to increase the density of the fog, making the visibility even worse. He immediately realized that he had been tricked by the opponent again. The Mist Ninja were good at fighting in dense fog, and this had become the opponent's home ground.

However, the Hokage, who was very confident in his strength, had no worries. He only needed to wait quietly for the opportunity to attack. Although his sensory abilities were not as strong as those of a specialized sensory ninja, he still had basic senses and could sense when the opponent took action.

Moreover, the opponent may not know that I have sensory abilities, so as long as I make good use of this information gap, I can give the opponent an opportunity to hurt them and end the battle more quickly.

"Water Blade!"

The Hokage, who was waiting for the other party to make a move, suddenly sensed a figure moving rapidly in front of him. In the blink of an eye, a figure leaped into the air, a ninja sword in hand pointing directly at him, slashing fiercely with an incomparably sharp aura.

Hiruzen Sarutobi swung his kunai, blocking in front of him, and in a defensive stance, the sound of the kunai shattering was heard in an instant.

The ninja sword has a water blade formed by rapidly flowing water-style chakra!

Seeing the ninja sword rapidly approaching him, Hiruzen Sarutobi hurriedly leaped backward, quickly dodging the attack and returning to the ground.

Looking at the broken kunai, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled wryly. His opponent had no information about him, but he had no information about his opponent. He had sensed the attack and prepared to defend, intending to counterattack. However, the opponent's attack strength was clearly beyond his expectations, capable of severing his kunai in one blow, leaving him no chance to retaliate and only able to dodge.

Both sides are Kage-level powerhouses, and among the top Kage-level powerhouses. As long as they have the advantage in information, they can firmly hold the upper hand in the battle.

However, neither side has accurate information about the other's strength, so they can only re-enter the probing phase and gather the most accurate information about the other's strength.

Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately gathered a large amount of chakra, quickly formed hand seals, and then faced the water mist in front of him.

"Wind Release - Great Breakthrough!"

A fierce gust of wind suddenly erupted from Hiruzen Sarutobi's mouth, instantly dispersing the surrounding water mist. The wind also carried some wind blades that shot out in all directions.

The mist was directly blown away by the gale, and the surrounding trees were cut down by the accompanying wind blades, turning the area into a wide-open space where the two figures stood again.

They confronted each other again.