Amegakure.
On the rooftop of a moderately tall building near the center of the village.
Hanzō of the Salamander stood with a cold, sharp gaze, masked and armored, gripping a chained scythe in one hand as the "Kaede" before him dissolved into a puff of white smoke.
"A Shadow Clone, huh?"
He turned his head, scanning the village. Activating his sensory ability, he quickly detected identical chakra signatures spread all throughout Amegakure.
A flicker of surprise passed through his eyes.
"This many…?"
There were far too many clones. Each one possessed chakra reserves nearing the level of a Chūnin. Combined, their total chakra far exceeded that of a typical shinobi, this was already on par with Tailed Beast-level chakra!
As Hanzō assessed the battlefield with his sensory abilities, his expression suddenly shifted. He sensed a new chakra signature, same origin as the clones but on an entirely different scale, bursting forth and speeding rapidly in his direction.
"So fast!"
Hanzō's pupils shrank as he registered the incoming presence.
Within ten seconds, the source had entered his line of sight. Looking up, he saw a figure bathed in silver light standing at the edge of a taller rooftop, staring down at him.
That figure held a Kusanagi Sword, its blade crackling with arcs of lightning. Though the man appeared young, the chakra he exuded was nearly equal to Hanzō's own!
"So you're the Silver Flash who took down the Third Raikage… Intruding into my village, are you here to kill me? Hmph, but taking this old man's head won't be so easy!"
Hanzō glared coldly at Kaede.
But,
In the next instant, his expression changed dramatically as a streak of silver light shot from the rooftop toward him, like a flash of death cutting through the air.
He couldn't even follow the speed with his eyes!
Shhk!!
Kaede blurred past Hanzō, the two crossing paths in a flash before Kaede landed behind him.
"You're talking too much..."
Kaede maintained his sword swing posture, glancing coldly over his shoulder at Hanzō.
Hanzō, still holding up his scythe, had managed to sense Kaede's trajectory and used his exceptional taijutsu and combat instincts to block the attack.
But he had only managed to block one strike.
Shhk!!
In the blink of an eye, dozens of clean, crisscrossing cuts appeared all over Hanzō's body, as if he had been slashed countless times in an instant.
Kaede's Atomic Slash.
Splash!
Hanzō's body, now diced into countless pieces, shimmered with a strange glint in his eyes, before dissolving into flowing water and scattering across the rooftop.
A Water Clone!
At that very moment, the ground beneath Kaede suddenly shifted like a swamp. Explosive tags emerged and clung to his legs, rapidly wrapping around him.
"Detonate!"
Hanzō appeared on another rooftop nearby, forming a hand seal with one hand. His tone was icy, and a gleam of killing intent flashed in his eyes.
BOOM!
In an instant, the explosion engulfed Kaede, consuming him in flames and smoke.
"Was that all?"
Hanzō narrowed his eyes at the scene. From what he sensed, there were no other chakra signatures identical to the one just hit. That meant it was indeed Kaede's real body.
Still, he remained cautious. No way the Silver Flash who defeated the Raikage could go down that easily.
As the smoke cleared...
He finally saw the aftermath.
Kaede stood barefoot amid the smoldering debris, his clothes and pants charred, his shoes reduced to ash, but strangely, his feet and lower legs were completely untouched, smooth and pristine as if untouched by the blast.
"What?!"
Hanzō's eyes widened in disbelief.
He had clearly sensed Kaede taking the full force of the explosion. The damaged clothing confirmed it, yet the man's body was utterly unscathed!
"You sensed me rushing in and immediately set up a sensory barrier, used a Water Clone to mask your presence, and laid a trap of explosive tags… Even placed it right behind the clone, where you knew I'd strike."
Kaede stared calmly across the distance at Hanzō and said coolly, "As expected of the man called a demigod of the ninja world. Looks like you won't be easy to take down in one blow."
Whoosh!!
As his words fell, Kaede flicked his sword forward, sending a brilliant arc of silver light slicing through the air toward Hanzō like a falling moon.
Getsuga Tenshō!
Without hesitation, Hanzō dodged back to avoid the deadly slash. Then, forming a one-handed seal, he brought his hand up before his chest.
"Body Flicker Technique."
Shhk!
In an instant, Hanzō's figure vanished, causing Kaede's powerful slash to miss completely.
Kaede's attack cut through empty air. He narrowed his eyes, scanning the surroundings, but Hanzō was nowhere in sight. He tried to sense Hanzō's chakra, but came up with nothing.
"Fire Release: Earth Eruption!"
A voice rang out from an unknown direction.
Suddenly, the ground beneath Kaede bulged violently as if a volcano were about to erupt.
Kaede's form flickered, and he reappeared on a nearby rooftop, narrowly evading the blast.
"Just as I suspected," came Hanzō's cold voice from the shadows, "You excel in speed and possess an enormous chakra reserve… but lack powerful sensory abilities. That's your weakness!"
Hanzō, hidden and cloaked in chakra suppression, observed Kaede's location with razor focus. He was a shinobi known as a demigod in the ninja world, master of taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu, including advanced sensory techniques.
Even before this battle, Hanzō had deduced that Kaede lacked sensory skill, since he needed so many Shadow Clones just to search for Hanzō's location. That meant his sensory range was either nonexistent or severely limited.
And just as expected,
The moment Hanzō hid his chakra, Kaede immediately lost track of him.
"This brat… His speed is the fastest I've ever seen, and his chakra is absurdly vast… But if you can't even locate me, how many of my attacks can you possibly avoid?"
Hanzō narrowed his eyes, forming another hand seal.
Shhk!
From a nearby water pipe, a sharp water blade erupted, slicing horizontally toward Kaede at point-blank range.
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