Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!!!!
On the commercial street reduced to ruins, two figures rapidly clashed back and forth. Their weapons danced like a violent gale, colliding amidst a blur of afterimages to produce dazzling sparks.
'His Taijutsu is actually this strong!'
As the battle grew more intense, Ryuji's astonishment grew deeper and deeper.
This guy, who in the original work couldn't even dodge ordinary shuriken during his fight with Sasuke, was actually able to match him evenly in close-quarters combat.
Although he could sense from their exchanges that Danzo's skill was slightly inferior to his own, Danzo, relying on his rich combat experience and the Sharingan, forcibly balanced out the disadvantage in technique.
'Shouldn't the script have been to instantly kill him upon engagement?'
'Or does it mean there's a huge gap between my current strength and Sasuke's when he fought Danzo?'
'No, that's absolutely not it.'
Even if one is from anime and the other is reality, if someone is a top-tier expert, their strength level can still be perceived from the depiction.
Ryuji's current strength is absolutely on par with Sasuke's at that time, even surpassing him far in terms of stability and endurance.
Moreover, this is a clash of Taijutsu.
Ryuji's Taijutsu has already reached the pinnacle of the Shinobi World. Even if there are opponents on par with him, there shouldn't be anyone stronger.
But this is the result.
Then it can only mean Danzo during this period possesses a corresponding level of Taijutsu proficiency.
Actually, if you think about it carefully, such a result isn't strange at all.
Danzo during the Five Kage Summit period in the future was 73 years old. Onoki, the Tsuchikage, who was around the same age, would strain his back even from walking. Even if Danzo maintained his body slightly better, how much stronger could he be?
Naturally, his Taijutsu, which is closely related to physical condition, wouldn't be that strong either.
Not to mention, when fighting Sasuke, he had activated Izanagi. Within one minute, whether he died or not, a Sharingan eye would go blind. Rather than wasting time dodging, it was better to try trading injury for a fatal blow.
To put it bluntly, Ryuji thinking Danzo is weak is an illusion created for him by the Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage, at 69, could still unleash such powerful Taijutsu strength, leading Ryuji to misunderstand the average Taijutsu level of elders in the Shinobi World.
Little did he know, the Third Hokage was an all-around genius who had shown talent surpassing the Second Hokage since childhood.
He was even dissatisfied with the talents of the Sannin; he was a true freak.
Ordinary people… no, ordinary geniuses cannot be like him.
If Danzo's Taijutsu were truly weak, would he have developed the Wind Release: Vacuum Blade, which is clearly only usable in close combat?
That must be a technique developed from frequent close-quarters combat.
...
Ding! Ding! Ding!!!
The two continued their fierce struggle.
No special techniques, just searching for openings in each other's defenses, then launching attacks at speeds barely visible to the naked eye, or parrying and counterattacking, blocking the enemy's strikes before launching a counter.
The two fought back and forth on the ruined street. Their extremely fast afterimages made the Konoha's Shinobi watching from afar swallow hard.
"That Senki Ryuji is actually this strong!" A Konoha's Anbu couldn't help but exclaim. "All his previous Ninjutsu were countered, and now he's completely holding his own in Taijutsu. Is he really only 15?"
"Senki Ryuji has been famous in the Shinobi World for half a year. It's not strange for him to have this level. What's truly jaw-dropping is the old man fighting him evenly," A Konoha's Shinobi in a green flak jacket added to the Anbu's words. "Speaking of that old man, I think I've seen him a few times at the Hokage Tower. Is he some big shot from a secret department in our village?"
"You already guessed he's a secret department big shot, yet you still ask? Don't you know the rules?" The Anbu sounded somewhat exasperated.
The Shinobi in the standard flak jacket smiled apologetically. "Sorry, after seeing his strength, I just got really curious."
"Stop discussing it. Let's go help," Another Shinobi nearby said. "The outcome isn't clear now. If we assist, we're sure to win."
"But... won't our strength actually be a hindrance?" A Chunin hesitated. "I can't even see their movements clearly. If we attack, we might even accidentally harm our ally."
"... Jonin, come with me to assist. All Chunin, surround and attack that building over there. If we can capture hostages, it will make him hesitate," An Anbu Captain deliberated for a moment before giving the order.
The surrounding people responded accordingly.
The Shinobi watching from afar split into two groups. One group of over a hundred charged towards the building wrapped in sand several hundred meters away.
The other twenty or so charged towards the battlefield where Ryuji and Danzo fought.
Ding!
Their weapons clashed once more. Danzo was slightly breathless, while Ryuji's breathing remained smooth.
He felt the reality of his body gradually aging.
But catching a glimpse of the Konoha's Jonin rushing to help from the corner of his eye, a smile of certain victory appeared on his face. "You're dead!"
"That's not necessarily true," Ryuji responded confidently. "You haven't forgotten my profession, have you?"
'Puppeteer!'
Danzo thought to himself, his expression darkening.
Puppeteers excel at fighting many with few when facing a single enemy, and at fighting many with few when facing multiple enemies. It's a profession that never falls into numerical disadvantage.
Sure enough, just as the reinforcing Jonin reached the halfway point, an orange beam as thick as an egg pierced through the abandoned houses beside them. Then, as if skewering kebabs, it pierced through everyone in its line, finally exploding violently nearly a thousand meters away.
The towering flames in the distance and the tremor felt even here stunned everyone.
'Such... such a powerful weapon!'
"You should be grateful they took the hit meant for you," Ryuji stated nonchalantly, a statement that made Danzo's heart pound with fear and feel a sense of narrowly escaping death.
He knew it was true.
Iron Fortress had shone brilliantly in the war against the Akatsuki. All Shinobi Villages had investigated its related intelligence.
Although its core and most powerful weapon, the Railgun, had a long wind-up time and its attack trajectory was a straight line, making it nearly impossible to hit a powerhouse, it wasn't completely impossible to land a hit if someone created an opportunity by pinning the target down.
Without prior knowledge of where this thing was hidden and aimed, and being entangled by an opponent of the same level, the probability of being caught off guard exceeded 80%.
No, with such a thing secretly aiming at you, no one could possibly focus entirely on the battle.
And what are the consequences of being distracted in a battle between equals? As an old veteran of countless battles, Danzo knew all too well.
Danzo immediately issued a command. "You, deal with the Iron Fortress. The energy cannon it just fired requires several seconds to charge, and its attack trajectory is only a straight line. Pay attention to spreading out."
"Yes!"
Hearing Danzo's description, the Jonin all snapped out of their fear of the massively powerful energy cannon.
If it was a weapon with multiple weaknesses, then even if its power were several times greater, it wouldn't pose a threat to them.
Seeing from the corner of his eye that the Jonin had all turned to follow the attack trajectory to find the steel fortress, Danzo shifted his focus back to Ryuji.
What puzzled him was that this guy, who often used words and sneaky tactics to win in battle, wasn't taking the opportunity to attack him now.
'Did he think victory was assured?'
Danzo's face was as dark as water. The hand gripping his sword hilt tightened with more force.
However, in a pure contest of strength, how could a body nearing fifty compare to the youthful Sage Body?
He was really overthinking it.
Ryuji, with a faint smile, gripped his twin swords, crossing them to press down on Danzo's cane-sword, slowly forcing it towards Danzo's chest.
While suppressing him with strength, he spoke. "Tell me, do you think your subordinates can defeat the Iron Fortress?"
Hearing this, Danzo's heart skipped a beat.
How brilliantly the Iron Fortress performed in the war against Akatsuki was known throughout the Shinobi World through intelligence reports.
Although that was a surprise attack and Akatsuki lacked countermeasures and weapons, it still couldn't deny the Iron Fortress's power.
When he ordered his subordinates to deal with the Iron Fortress, he had already worried they might not be a match.
But to avoid distracting himself, he forced himself not to think about that problem.
But Ryuji bringing it up now, coupled with his confident smile, made Danzo worry about the situation over there again.
Naturally, he wasn't worried about his subordinates' lives, but rather that they might fail to pin down the Iron Fortress, and it would then fire a shot at his back while he was focused on fighting Ryuji.
Then it would all be over.
When a person is distracted, they cannot exert their full effort.
Ryuji felt the opponent's strength diminish through the blades, but he didn't seize the chance to overwhelm him immediately.
Because Danzo wasn't distracted enough yet.
Acting now would let him react at the critical moment and make timely adjustments.
Ryuji's eyes shifted slightly, continuing to chuckle lightly. "Well, you don't need to worry too much. Although Jonin of that level, even twice as many, are no match for the Iron Fortress, they can still stall it for a while."
Hearing this, Danzo subconsciously relaxed a little.
When a person's mind relaxes, their muscles also relax.
Although Danzo quickly realized something was wrong, Ryuji, having planned for this, seized that brief instant. He infused Wind Attribute Chakra into his twin swords while concentrating his entire body's strength into one point for an explosive burst, instantly pressing Danzo's cane-sword against his own chest.
Due to the length of the blades and the Wind Attribute Chakra extending the blade form, the tips of the twin swords pressed into Danzo's shoulders. Blood gushed out.
"Die!"
Ryuji roared with effort, leveling his twin swords, the blades aimed at Danzo's neck. They closed together like scissors, about to sever his head.
But at the critical moment, Danzo tapped the ground with his foot and leapt back.
The wind blades left a long, thin cut on his neck. Blood still floated in the air.
But it was too shallow.
Danzo clutched his neck with one hand while swiftly retreating, a panicked expression on his face.
"Don't run!"
Ryuji's eyes widened roundly, appearing frenzied. He raised his blood-dripping blades and gave chase.
One was injured, retreating, his mind in a panic; the other was riding a wave of momentum, pursuing victory.
Even if their speeds were similar, the outcome under such inherent conditions was clear.
In just a few strides, Ryuji had caught up to Danzo. The short sword he had already raised came slashing down fiercely.