Forest of Death.
The ANBU dispersed the handful of shinobi who happened to be training there and stationed themselves at the four corners, forming a tightly sealed perimeter.
Several Hyūga ANBU activated their Byakugan and continuously scanned the surrounding area.
After all, shinobi battles were battles of intelligence...
If the Hokage had not explicitly stated that he didn't care, then their duty was to ensure that nobody witnessed Hiruzen's fighting style, preventing any information from leaking.
Though in truth, Hiruzen didn't really care.
Unlike shinobi who possessed highly specialized combat systems of their own, Hiruzen didn't have any particularly distinctive traits. His advantages were primarily found in his raw stats...
And raw stats weren't something worth researching. What you saw was what you got.
As Orochimaru had guessed, the techniques Hiruzen excelled at were mostly ordinary, orthodox jutsu.
He simply knew more of them than anyone else.
The real reason Hiruzen wanted the match kept secret was to spare Hanzō's dignity.
He was worried that Hanzō might also be one of the shinobi world's many lunatics.
The man had only recently recovered some of his fighting spirit. If he lost too badly during their spar, and did so in front of a large audience of Konoha shinobi, Hiruzen worried he might snap from the humiliation...
But in a private setting, with very few spectators, losing was something a person could accept.
More importantly, the arrangement produced an interesting effect.
The harder Hiruzen beat Hanzō, the more Hanzō would end up thinking the Hokage was a genuinely decent man.
Clearly he was this strong, yet he had never tried to use Hanzō as a stepping stone to build his own reputation...
This was simply a spar between brothers!
Wouldn't a bond naturally form under those circumstances?
At this point, Hiruzen no longer needed to establish his authority among Konoha's shinobi through displays like this...
What he did need was a Land of Rain shaped into Konoha's image.
Besides.
Hiruzen glanced at the eager-faced Tsunade and smiled faintly.
Wasn't she here?
With such a completely unrestrained loudspeaker around, it was only a matter of time before every shinobi in Konoha learned about this anyway. Hiruzen had no intention of telling Tsunade to keep quiet.
"It's been a long time, Hanzō-san..."
Standing beside Tsunade, Orochimaru spoke in a low voice.
"Oh, it's Orochimaru."
Hanzō glanced at him and nodded.
Just a junior.
"Hmph..."
Orochimaru snorted and turned toward Hiruzen.
"Sensei, would you allow me to fight in your place?"
"You, honestly... I already said there was no need for you to come."
Hiruzen waved his hand with a smile.
"Besides, Hanzō-dono didn't come to Konoha to set up a challenge arena. He's here to verify the convictions behind our respective strengths with me. What would it even mean for you to fight in my place?"
"Konoha and Amegakure will become brothers bound by blood in the future. Remember that. You need to broaden your perspective a little more, especially since you'll be looking at things from that position sooner or later."
Hiruzen spoke softly.
Orochimaru froze.
Sensei was giving him guidance on becoming Hokage again...
Dangerous.
Hanzō, meanwhile, gave Orochimaru a somewhat surprised look.
So the successor had already been chosen...
"Hokage-sama, even so, I still ask that you fight with everything you have."
Hanzō spoke in a deep voice.
"Please use this opportunity to correct the flaws born from my years of complacency."
Hiruzen's eyes lit up.
That was exactly what he wanted to hear...
What was the point of stopping short?
"Alright, you two step back."
"Shall we begin?" Hiruzen asked as he looked toward Hanzō.
Hanzō nodded, and the two men faced each other.
The dense canopy of the Forest of Death blocked out nearly all sunlight.
Massive ancient trees stood intertwined, their twisted branches forming a web overhead. Only the central area had been artificially cleared, creating a huge circular training ground.
Sunlight filtered through the forest, scattering fragments of light across the surface of the deep lake nearby.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Only the occasional chirping of cicadas echoed through the air, yet the atmosphere steadily grew more and more murderous.
Tsunade and Orochimaru watched in silence.
Even after several years of growth, neither of them had yet reached the top tier of the shinobi world.
Hiruzen and Hanzō, however, were two of the most respected powerhouses in existence.
Simply observing a serious battle between them would be immensely beneficial to both their training and their understanding.
The two men locked eyes.
Slowly, they raised their hands and formed the Seal of Opposition.
It was the traditional sign of a friendly spar.
And the moment the seal was completed—
Hanzō moved.
Chakra erupted through his body and surged into his legs and feet. Following a bizarre trajectory, he shot toward Hiruzen at incredible speed.
The razor-sharp chain-scythe in his hand silently angled toward Hiruzen.
Orochimaru and Tsunade narrowed their eyes simultaneously.
That strange footwork and terrifying speed...
Those were exactly what had caused them endless trouble back then.
Powerful ninjutsu?
Devastating Monster Strength punches?
None of it mattered if you couldn't hit your target.
Hiruzen stood firm, completely unperturbed by Hanzō's charge. Calmly, he drew a single kunai.
Clang!
The kunai collided with the chain-scythe, scattering sparks into the air.
Hanzō's heart skipped a beat.
What shocked him was how effortlessly Hiruzen had tracked and intercepted the attack.
After all, Hanzō's blade techniques were precise enough to cut through a shinobi's hand seals!
'His speed is a little faster than Minato's, though not by much. Then again, Minato is still young...'
Holding only a kunai, Hiruzen continuously exchanged blows with Hanzō's chain-scythe.
Their movements blurred into afterimages.
Each collision showered sparks through the air like a blacksmith's forge erupting to life.
Watching the exchange, Orochimaru and Tsunade both drew a quiet breath.
Sensei was still the same Sensei.
And Hanzō was still the same Hanzō.
The intensity of their close-quarters combat remained terrifying.
'What's going on? Isn't he afraid of my chain-scythe? Why is he so relaxed...?'
A thought flashed through Hanzō's mind.
With a flick of his wrist, the chain-scythe abruptly changed direction at an impossible angle.
Under normal circumstances, even opponents who could match Hanzō's reaction speed struggled to defend against the unpredictable attack paths of his weapon.
Empowered by chakra and exquisite blade techniques, even the slightest mistake would allow the blade to slice open an opponent's skin, leaving them bleeding immediately.
As the chain-scythe continuously shifted its angles of attack, Hanzō constantly altered his rhythm as well, making it impossible for his opponent to grasp his true speed or strength.
The resulting pressure gradually accumulated.
And once enough pressure built up, it would distort the opponent's movements, creating the opening he needed to wound them.
Hiruzen simply raised his kunai again and blocked the attack without even blinking.
There was no fear in his eyes.
Only appreciation for his opponent.
'This swordsmanship... these reflexes... and that wealth of combat experience...'
'Setting aside the advantages Flying Thunder God grants, he stimulates my combat instincts even more than Minato does.'
That was Hiruzen's honest assessment.
But Hanzō was becoming increasingly confused.
A kunai against a chain-scythe should have been a disadvantage.
The contact area and reach of a kunai were vastly inferior. It wasn't even a true close-combat weapon. A single mistake during an exchange should have resulted in injury.
'No...'
'Hiruzen isn't feeling any of the pressure I'm creating!'
'It's like he's completely unafraid of getting injured. And because he's not afraid, he feels no pressure. That's why he's able to block my chain-scythe with nothing but a kunai!'
Hanzō had never expected Hiruzen to literally trade blows with him using only a kunai.
Where were his ninjutsu?
This was supposed to be a probing exchange.
How had Hiruzen ended up following his rhythm while remaining completely unfazed?
It was bizarre.
It almost felt as though Hiruzen were treating him like a junior, using the spar merely as a specialized training session to sharpen his own skills.
And honestly, Hanzō wasn't entirely wrong.
Hiruzen was the definition of a well-rounded shinobi.
The Hokage himself wasn't even sure where a true qualitative leap in his strength would come from anymore, so he simply improved every aspect of himself simultaneously.
The gifts Konoha had given him didn't allow for weaknesses in any area.
He had to develop comprehensively.
As a result, Hiruzen wasn't particularly concerned with the form a spar took. As long as his opponent was skilled enough to refine his abilities, it was worthwhile.
As for why Hanzō felt he wasn't affected by pressure...
It was because Hiruzen genuinely believed that even if the chain-scythe hit him, it would probably leave little more than a scratch.
And if necessary, he could always activate his Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
With that kind of confidence, his hands naturally remained steady.
The two exchanged another powerful clash.
Then Hanzō voluntarily retreated some distance away.
"Back then, Jiraiya lost his patience after being worn down like this by Hanzō and ended up taking a slash across the abdomen..."
Tsunade exhaled slowly and spoke in a low voice.
"You remember, don't you, Orochimaru?"
"Of course I do."
Orochimaru nodded.
"And it wasn't just Jiraiya. Didn't your shoulder get cut the same way? That injury delayed your use of medical ninjutsu afterward, and the situation only got worse from there..."
Orochimaru's expression grew complicated.
Back then, when the three of them had fought Hanzō, it had been during a torrential downpour. Hanzō's bizarre Body Flicker Technique and Water Release had toyed with them from start to finish. They hadn't even managed to touch the corner of his clothing...
"Do you feel it?" Orochimaru asked quietly.
"It's almost like we're watching Sensei give us a demonstration lesson..."
"He seems to be teaching the two of us—his students—how to deal with an opponent like Hanzō."
Tsunade nodded lightly.
Hanzō...
The man who had defeated the three members of Team Hiruzen and bestowed upon them the title of the Sannin...
Was now fighting Hiruzen himself.
The student had lost, so now the teacher had arrived to settle the score for Team Hiruzen.
The scene really did give off that feeling...
Even though nearly ten years had passed.
Their voices weren't loud, but in the stillness of the Forest of Death, they were clearly audible.
Hanzō paid them no attention.
At this moment, all of his focus was fixed on Hiruzen.