"He's too fast; we can't shake him. We're already far from the Village of Konoha, so let me handle him!"
In the dense forest, Kisame rapidly leaped through the trees, glancing back at Li Chuan, who was effortlessly following, a cruel look in his eyes.
Itachi, beside him, shook his head expressionlessly:
"His strength is formidable. It will be difficult for you to defeat him quickly, and he must have left traces that Konoha Ninja can track. Let me do it!"
Without waiting for Kisame's reply, he suddenly slowed down, then turned and activated his Sharingan Genjutsu on Li Chuan.
Tsukuyomi consumed too much of Itachi's ocular power, so he was currently using a normal Genjutsu.
However, with his Sharingan Genjutsu mastery, even without Tsukuyomi, it would be difficult for an ordinary Jonin to break free.
"Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes!"
Their eyes met, and Li Chuan's body, standing on the tree trunk, instantly froze.
He felt as if he was suddenly pulled into an alternate dimension, where two giant iron stakes descended from the sky, piercing his body to the ground, rendering him immobile.
Yet, facing this situation, a faint smile appeared on his lips.
"What a powerful Genjutsu, but it's useless against me!"
The Golden Core True Essence and Chakra within him rapidly merged, and his eyes instantly transformed into Yin-Yang Eyes, capable of seeing through both the Yin and Yang realms.
"Sage Mode!"
A surge of wild Sage Art Chakra erupted from his body, and the Sharingan Genjutsu instantly vanished.
"What?!"
Sensing his Genjutsu fail and the astonishing Chakra bursting from Li Chuan's body, Itachi's expression immediately turned grave.
He had originally feared Li Chuan would be killed by Kisame, which was why he had taken the initiative to use Genjutsu, hoping to escape, but he hadn't expected the strength Li Chuan displayed to far exceed his imagination.
When did Konoha gain such a powerful Ninja?
"This distance should be just about right. Both of you, come at me!"
Li Chuan, in Sage Mode, stood on the tree trunk and smiled, beckoning to Kisame and Itachi.
He hadn't left any tracking marks as Itachi had thought, because he also didn't want Konoha's rescue squad to find him so easily.
"Itachi, let me handle him. I want to avenge that punch he landed on me earlier."
Seeing Itachi's Genjutsu broken, Kisame, fearing Itachi would directly use Amaterasu to burn the opponent to death and prevent his revenge, quickly stepped forward, formed hand signs, and slammed his hands onto the ground:
"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
His vast Chakra was converted into a massive torrent of Water through Ninjutsu, rushing towards Li Chuan and directly transforming the surroundings into a lake, the most suitable terrain for him to unleash his Ninjutsu later.
Different Ninjutsu have great advantages in different terrains. When fighting, Ninja often choose the terrain that suits them best.
Kisame, however, was formidable. Due to his immense Chakra, which was close to that of a Tailed Beast, he could instantly create the most suitable battle terrain for himself using Ninjutsu.
"Cloud Soaring Technique!"
Seeing the massive torrent of Water rushing towards him, Li Chuan formed a hand seal, and a white cloud rose beneath his feet, carrying him into the air, allowing him to evade the Water's impact.
After the Water calmed, he calmly landed and stood on the surface.
"Water Release: Great Water Arm Technique!"
Seeing this, Kisame formed hand signs, causing his right hand to instantly swell to three times its size, while also drawing Samehada again and fiercely swinging it towards Li Chuan.
"Samehada: Flying Chain Slash!"
The fully unleashed Samehada, bristling with barbs, suddenly extended its hilt like a whip, and the entire weapon swung towards Li Chuan's head, attempting to smash it directly.
Li Chuan, however, moved his feet, and his immense strength caused a massive splash on the Water. His body effortlessly dodged the flying Samehada and glided towards Kisame's position.
Sage Mode greatly enhances the body, Chakra, and Ninjutsu in multiple ways, so Li Chuan's current strength and speed were naturally much greater than when he was previously at the Konoha riverbed.
Seeing Li Chuan closing in, Kisame quickly pulled with force, intending to retrieve Samehada for a second attack.
However, Li Chuan's speed was too great; as soon as he exerted force, Li Chuan's fist had already landed on his chest.
"Bang!"
Kisame's body transformed into a stream of Water and vanished.
At the same time, Samehada plunged into the lake below like a fish.
"A Water Clone? As expected of an S-Rank Rogue Ninja, your battle experience is indeed rich."
A hint of surprise appeared on Li Chuan's face, then he lowered his head, looking at the lake water below, and murmured:
"It seems he's down there."
Presumably, Kisame had already used a Shadow Clone to replace his main body while casting the Exploding Water Colliding Wave.
At this moment, Kisame's main body, hidden in the lake, after receiving the memories from the Water Clone and retrieving Samehada, also changed his expression:
"It seems I can't compete with this guy in Taijutsu."
As a Hidden Mist Village Ninja who had survived countless battles, having just been severely injured by one punch, he would not so easily engage in close-quarters Taijutsu with the opponent again.
So, the one above was just a Shadow Clone, used for probing and stalling for time.
"Water Release: Five Feeding Sharks!"
He clapped his hands, and five sharks formed from condensed Chakra immediately took shape, opening their gaping maws and biting towards Li Chuan above.
Although the opponent's Taijutsu was terrifyingly strong, as long as he was in the Water, he could gain an advantage.
"Then I'll play with you for a while!"
Seeing Itachi standing on the Water's surface with no intention of attacking, Li Chuan clenched one hand into a fist, took a deep breath, his right arm muscles bulging, and then slammed his fist directly into the lake below.
"Xingyi - Cannon Fist!"
It was as if a cannonball exploded in the Water; the powerful impact actually split the lake below in two, and also shattered the five Chakra-condensed sharks into fragments.
One force breaks all methods; when power reaches a certain level, it can also unleash extremely terrifying effects.
Kisame had never encountered anyone who could unleash such terrifying attacks purely through strength.
Even Tsunade Hime, the monstrous strength princess, one of the legendary Sannin, probably couldn't achieve this level.
"Samehada Fusion!"
Seeing the power of Li Chuan's punch, Kisame knew that his Ninjutsu likely posed no threat to Li Chuan. The Five Feeding Sharks earlier was not an ordinary Ninjutsu; a normal Jonin would probably be dealt with in an instant, yet it was nullified by Li Chuan's single punch.
So, he now had to unleash his strongest state, merging with the Ninja Blade Samehada to fully enhance his abilities.
Man and blade became one, and Kisame's entire form changed, transforming into a half-human, half-shark monster.
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
He clapped his hands together, and an even greater torrent of Water than before erupted, and this time, the Water seemed to have a will of its own, forming a giant circular Water Prison externally before filling with Water, encompassing both Li Chuan and Kisame.
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