Chapter 56: "Lucky Win Again, Danzo"
Their fists collided with a dull, heavy thud.
In perfect, unspoken synchronization, neither Hiruzen Sarutobi nor Danzo Shimura utilized ninjutsu or even basic chakra enhancement. They were testing each other's raw physical strength—man to man.
It was a tradition from twenty years ago, a ritual that time and political rivalry hadn't managed to erase. It was their classic opening move.
After the initial trade, they both recoiled, putting distance between one another as if the warm-up were officially over. They stood at opposite ends of the training field.
On the surface, Danzo looked as calm as a frozen lake. But as he reached back into his pouch for a kunai, he surreptitiously rubbed his knuckles.
Damn, that hurt!
Hiruzen's raw strength is off the charts. What's going on? Even with the Yin Seal, he shouldn't be hitting this hard. It's like he's undergoing a literal second prime.
Danzo's mind raced, but his hands didn't slow down. He gripped several shuriken between his fingers, channeling Wind-style chakra into the blades. The translucent wind-blades elongated, humming with a high-pitched scream.
With a violent whip of his arm, the shuriken arced through the air at impossible angles, whistling toward Hiruzen.
ZZZT—!
Lightning erupted across Hiruzen's skin, jumpstarting his nervous system.
Facing the barrage of Wind-style blades, Hiruzen didn't retreat. He watched the trajectories with clinical focus and charged straight ahead. Just as the blades were about to bite into his flesh, he leaped with the grace of a forest ape, spinning through a gap in the attack so narrow it would have been invisible to a normal ninja.
His speed didn't drop for a second.
My reflexes, my cellular activation... Arata thought with a grin. It's just as I suspected. As the village thrives, my 'stats' are literally evolving.
You want to see a 'Hard-Boiled' Hokage, Danzo? I'll show you one.
Danzo narrowed his eyes. "Getting aggressive, are we?"
He wove a blur of hand signs, inhaling a massive lungful of air and molding it with chakra.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
A series of high-pressure air cannons erupted from his mouth, tearing up the earth as they sped toward Hiruzen. Danzo was confident—even for a master of the five elements, switching between the intense Lightning Mode and a defensive counter while under fire was nearly impossible.
Or so he thought.
A massive, multi-layered stone wall erupted from the ground, absorbing the impact of the Vacuum Spheres. Before the dust could even settle, a sea of white-hot fire roared over the top of the wall, fueled by Hiruzen's own Wind-style manipulation.
"Again with the Fire-Wind combo!"
"Hiruzen's Fire Style is the natural predator of my Wind Style... and he canceled his Lightning Mode in a fraction of a second to cast it? Impossible."
Danzo retreated rapidly. His robes were singed black, and the smell of burnt hair filled the air. Specializing in Wind Release, he didn't have a good solution for this kind of complex ninjutsu.
As he dodged the flames, Danzo's fingers moved in another blur of signs. He began compressing a massive amount of Wind-style chakra beneath his tongue.
My Wind Style has evolved too, Hiruzen!
This was his newest breakthrough: Wind Style: Vacuum Heavy Bullet.
By refining the nature transformation to its absolute limit, he had increased the speed and piercing power of his air bullets while making them nearly invisible to the naked eye. It was an ultimate "Counter-Kill" jutsu, designed for the moment an enemy thought they had him cornered.
He had taken the inspiration from their teacher, Tobirama Senju. Specifically, the Second Hokage's "Water Style: Heavenly Weeping," which allowed the user to spit lethal needles of pressurized water from the mouth.
Hiruzen charged through the dying embers of the fire, the lightning flickering back to life around his body.
The Lightning Style Chakra Mode was a tactical masterpiece. It allowed a ninja to treat a fire-ravaged battlefield like a paved track. Without the "shield" of the lightning cloak, any ninja would have to slow down or take damage. Hiruzen didn't slow down.
Danzo turned his back, listening to the whistle of the wind behind him, timing the distance.
Three... two... one...
Danzo spun around with a roar. The Vacuum Heavy Bullets erupted from his mouth with a series of deafening sonic booms, tearing white streaks through the air.
"Got you!" Danzo thought, his heart leaping with triumph. But then, a flicker of worry crossed his mind. Wait... that might actually kill him. I shouldn't have—
Hiruzen didn't have time for Danzo's internal guilt.
He had been 100% focused from the start. He didn't underestimate Danzo for a second. He was the Hokage—he knew that his enemies wouldn't fight fair, and he needed his "Shadow" to be just as lethal as a foreign Kage.
The moment Danzo turned, Hiruzen flared his Lightning Armor to its maximum output. Then, he did something radical.
He "ejected" the lightning cloak, expanding it outward into a spherical barrier of pure electricity. In that same heartbeat, he wove a single-handed sign.
"Earth Style: Obsidian Spear - Full Body Hardening!"
The Vacuum Bullets slammed into the lightning shield. The Wind-vs-Lightning elemental disadvantage caused the shield to shatter instantly, but the bullets lost 80% of their momentum.
Hiruzen twisted his body. Two of the heavy air slugs grazed his shoulder and forearm, letting out a screeching metallic sound as they hit his hardened "Obsidian" skin.
As Hiruzen's feet touched the scorched earth, he slammed his palm down.
BOOM!
A massive pillar of rock erupted directly beneath Danzo, launching the Assistant into the air.
Danzo twisted mid-flight, his eyes locking onto Hiruzen. He saw the sparks dancing around the Hokage and braced for a Taijutsu exchange. He gathered more air in his lungs, molding a Vacuum Blade in his hand.
But Hiruzen didn't lunge. Instead, the lightning faded, and Hiruzen's fingers finished a complex string of Water-style signs.
"Water Style: Giant Water Basin!"
A massive sphere of water erupted from the ground, swallowing Danzo whole and suspending him ten feet in the air.
The tactical exchange was over. Hiruzen had won.
Hiruzen flickered to the side of the floating water prison. His right hand was wreathed in crackling blue electricity.
Water and Lightning. A lethal combination.
Inside the sphere, Danzo struggled, trying to mold chakra for a Body Flicker, but the moment Hiruzen touched the water, Danzo's body went rigid. He began shaking like a leaf in a storm as the current surged through him.
Still, Danzo's eyes burned with defiance. He refused to tap out.
Hiruzen smirked. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and placed it between his lips. He looked at the twitching Danzo and shook his head. "You want to stay in there a while longer? I've got all morning."
I'm not the one getting cooked by high-voltage water, Hiruzen's expression said.
Danzo's face turned a darker shade of purple. Finally, he blinked rapidly—the universal shinobi sign for "I yield."
The water sphere collapsed instantly, splashing harmlessly onto the dirt.
Hiruzen leaned in, catching a stray arc of electricity from the vanishing jutsu with the tip of his cigarette. It ignited instantly.
He took a long, deep drag and exhaled a plume of smoke. "That new trick of yours... the air bullets. Not bad."
"If I hadn't been watching you like a hawk, that might have actually landed. I have to stay on my toes around you."
Hiruzen offered a friendly grin. "Lucky win again, Danzo."
Danzo slumped on the ground, gasping for air. Lucky?
He'd heard the rumors that Hiruzen was up at 4:00 AM every single day. He'd seen the man "practicing" while acting like he was just enjoying a morning stroll.
Cunning Monkey, Danzo thought. You out-work me in the dark and then out-talk me in the light. You think you can fool the Great Assistant?
After a few minutes, Danzo recovered his breath. "You and your 'luck.' Hmph. I didn't expect to win today anyway."
"Want to sit for a minute, or are you getting up?" Hiruzen asked, extending a hand to his old friend.
Danzo hesitated, then gripped Hiruzen's hand. He allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, feeling the strength in Hiruzen's grip.
"Hiruzen," Danzo said, his voice uncharacteristically sincere. "Tell me the truth. Where is the gap? What am I missing?"
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