Hanzo suddenly realized—compared to his former self, had he become too overthinking and calculating now, to the point of forgetting his own convictions?
And this kid in front of him, so young, yet radiated such brilliant conviction that even Hanzo couldn't look straight at it.
"So this is it? The power that allowed him, whose chakra was nearly depleted, to fight me this far... is belief?"
Taking a deep breath, Hanzo's gaze hardened once more. "Kid, thank you for helping me recover my lost self!"
Seiki blinked, puzzled. Why? What did he do?
He had the feeling that Hanzo seemed to have imagined something incredible just now.
[Water Release: Water Dragon Biting Explosion!]
A giant water dragon surged from beneath the surface. Hanzo stood atop its head, diving like a predator sinking its teeth into Seiki.
"Elder Chiyo! Please cover me!"
"You kids are going all out like this. Looks like I, this aging woman, have no choice but to gamble with my life too."
Saying this, Chiyo manipulated nine puppets, piecing them together in a special formation until they transformed into a Gundam-style form.
Of course, because one puppet was damaged, the transformation wasn't complete.
Even so, the new colossal puppet still brought great shock, with many shinobi watching in awe.
"Good grief, what is that?"
"It certainly looks impressive! Elder Chiyo actually has such a technique!"
"Can it even fuse?" Seiki showed slight surprise before leaping onto the shoulder of the huge puppet.
The Gatai threw a heavy punch, obliterating the water dragon with one hit.
Hanzo stepped on the splashing water, soared through the air, and swung his sickle as he charged toward Seiki.
Bending his legs slightly, Seiki launched himself like a cannonball.
[Sword Art: Flash Swift Slash!]
[Monstrous Strength: Supreme Unmatched!]
At the point where fists met sickle, ripples of air burst outward.
In the next moment, wild shockwaves radiated in all directions.
Many nearby ninja were blown away by the force, even the Gatai swayed slightly.
Yet the two fighters weren't the least bit affected; as soon as landing, they rushed at each other again without hesitation.
Within seconds, the pair clashed dozens of times.
"No wonder he's the man who could directly overpower the general of the Land of Iron! Without Sage Mode amplification, I really can't match him in taijutsu!" Seiki inwardly sighed. No wonder he was called the *Half-God* at the peak of the shinobi world—the enemy's strength was terrifying. Even combining forces with Chiyo, they barely held an advantage.
Still, Seiki didn't feel discouraged.
His body was still developing, so comparing himself to prime-condition Hanzo was inherently unfair.
Besides, it was only about taijutsu.
"To remain even against me in this state—no shinobi among the Sannin at your age rivals you!" Hanzo couldn't help praising. "But alas, still so naïve!"
[Water Release: High-Pressure Water Gun!]
[Sage Art: Condensed Rasengan!]
Like a boulder splitting a river, the Sage Art Rasengan cleaved straight through the highly pressurized jet of water. Streams flowed sideways.
However, just as Seiki charged straight at Hanzo with a Rasengan in hand, the Rasengan suddenly vanished as if it had run out of fuel, and even the sage markings on Seiki's face began to fade away.
Time's up!
"Exited Sage Mode, have you?" Hanzo remarked, a faint smirk forming on his lips. "If I'm not mistaken, that immunity to poison came from Sage Mode. Now, you're—"
But before he could finish, the sage markings on Seiki's face rapidly reappeared, even faster than they had faded.
Instantly, Hanzo's smile froze in place.
"Why are you able to use Sage Mode again so soon? No, wait—why do you still have chakra left?" Hanzo exclaimed, eyes wide open in disbelief. This made no sense at all!
"Belief has the power to create miracles!" Seiki declared solemnly, bluffing with a straight face.
After a brief surge of fury and disbelief, Hanzo quickly composed himself.
The battle aura Seiki exuded was nothing compared to what it had been before.
"So that's a flawed version of Sage Mode, forced by draining your life potential? You really are decisive for a brat!"
Seiki's expression turned odd. Obviously, Hanzo had mistaken his one-time Sage Mode for some kind of Kinjutsu like the Eight Gates.
But this played to his advantage—it spared him the need to explain further.
Meanwhile, the Gatai puppet beside them launched a rocket-propelled punch. Hanzo easily dodged it, then attacked Seiki with a combination of blade strikes and hand seals.
In an instant, the fight between the two men and the puppet resumed fiercely.
This time, however, Seiki clearly found himself at a disadvantage.
After only a few clashes, he was blasted back by a Water Release technique from Hanzo.
"Is he finally reaching his limit?" Hanzo exhaled, but remained alert, continuing to drain Seiki's stamina with long-range Water techniques.
Seeing that Seiki, who had previously sent enemies flying several times over, was now being suppressed so brutally, the allied shinobi on the battlefield felt deeply guilty.
"Lord Seiki, recall your summoned beast already! You've done more than enough!"
"People like us ordinary ninja aren't worth this kind of sacrifice!"
Not only them, even the Rain Country ninjas were moved.
"Does this guy really fear no death?"
"Maybe it's foolish, but it's the kind of foolishness worth respecting!"
Unseen to them, two hidden groups also noticed this scene.
"He actually went this far for the sake of fellow ninja!" Yahiko, watching from afar, exclaimed in awe. "Perhaps this belief is exactly what Rain Country has been lacking!"
"Sacrificing everything to protect his comrades, huh?" Konan murmured, lips pursed. "What a truly inspiring man."
"What should we do? Should we go save Seiki?" After recovering from the shock, Yahiko panicked. "As a friend, I probably should step in, but Hanzo is still a Rain Country figure after all..."
As Yahiko hesitated, Nagato beside him calmly stated, "He will win."
Yahiko gasped, quickly asking, "Did Seiki hold back his strength?"
Nagato shook his head, "I don't know."
Yahiko twitched his mouth slightly, "Then why are you so sure?"
"Didn't he already say it himself?" Nagato firmly believed. "Peace can only be achieved by ending this war quickly! How could someone with such conviction ever give up his own life so easily?"
Yahiko's eyes widened. "You mean Seiki wasn't acting on impulse, but actually planned from the beginning to end the war while rescuing his comrades?!"
At the same time, a black figure began emerging from underground.
"Exactly! Pound him—harder than before!"
Black Zetsu was practically bursting with delight. Just when he was racking his brain for a way to trap this guy, an opening dropped right into his lap outta nowhere.
As far as he's concerned, as long as they're not completely dead, [Yin-Yang Release] can always bring 'em back.
"Once I beat him half to death, I can latch onto him, fake his death vibes, and smuggle his body right under their noses… Heh heh, after a thousand years of rotten luck, it's finally my turn to catch a break!"
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