"Combined Ninjutsu: Earth Dragon Flame Stream!"
A massive amount of fire spewed from Sarutobi Hiruzen's mouth, attaching itself to the earth flow bullets shot from the earth dragon's head, further amplifying their power.
Whizz, whizz, whizz!!
Numerous earth flow bullets, engulfed in intense flames, rained down like arrows towards Mokgetsu, completely surrounding him.
Yet Mokgetsu seemed oblivious to the attack, maintaining his steady pace towards Sarutobi Hiruzen, unhurried.
Boom!!
The fire bullets from the Earth Dragon Flame Stream struck the ground and Mokgetsu, triggering a series of explosions, as if dozens of explosive tags had been detonated simultaneously.
The fierce blasts produced a cloud of dust, obscuring Mokgetsu's form and making it impossible to monitor the latest developments in the battle.
Then, a sudden gust of wind blew the smoke away, revealing Mokgetsu's unscathed body.
Bang!
The fire bullets continued to explode, but strangely, the explosions had no effect on Mokgetsu, not even slowing his stride.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's brows furrowed slightly, feeling a twinge of pressure.
This was a Ninjutsu he'd never heard of or seen before, strong and unknown to him.
"What is this Ninjutsu, so bizarre?" Mitokado Homura's smile faded, his expression turning serious.
With the flames obstructing his view as Sosuke blocked the Fire Dragon Flame Bomb, he couldn't comprehend what was happening.
Now, Sosuke strolled leisurely amid Sarutobi Hiruzen's combined Ninjutsu, making Mitokado Homura realize that Sosuke might be even stronger and harder to deal with than he imagined.
"No, it's different from Kamui."
Shisui activated his Sharingan and observed carefully, discovering that Sosuke's Ninjutsu resembled Void Kamui in effect, but differed significantly in essence.
Void Kamui allows the body to be transferred to Kamui Space to avoid attacks, but Sosuke's is different.
Though Sarutobi Hiruzen's Ninjutsu seemed to hit Sosuke, upon closer inspection, the fire bullets exploded two to three centimeters before reaching him.
Compared to Obito's Void Kamui, Sosuke's Ninjutsu was more like a shield enveloping his entire body, blocking all attacks.
"Such a powerful Ninjutsu, never used before, hidden so deeply." Kakuzu couldn't help but marvel.
This piqued Kakuzu's curiosity about how much power Sosuke used to defeat Hanzo.
"No wonder he wasn't worried back then." Kakuzu recalled the crisis that nearly doomed the Ninja Sect.
In hindsight, Sosuke clearly wasn't going all out; defeating Hanzo didn't require such effort.
Perhaps it was a deliberate arrangement to leave them with a profound lesson.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Seeing the Earth Dragon Flame Stream ineffective against Sosuke, Sarutobi Hiruzen rapidly retreated, forming hand seals to create two shadow clones as he moved back.
"Combined Ninjutsu: Lighting Water Dragon Bomb!"
The two shadow clones, one using Water Dragon Bomb and one using Lighting Release, quickly conjured a gigantic water dragon brimming with electricity.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's true form drew shurikens from his ninja pouch, eyes fixed on Sosuke, aiming to grasp Sosuke's Ninjutsu details.
Unlike flames, water flows seamlessly, and this is an electrified Water Dragon Bomb—contact with the water would result in paralysis.
If the Lighting Water Dragon Bomb proves ineffective against Sosuke too, most of Sarutobi Hiruzen's Ninjutsu would be rendered useless.
Roar!
The electrified water dragon appeared more menacing than a regular Water Dragon Bomb, its roar seeming to threaten to shred everything in front of it.
Yet, facing the aggressive Lighting Water Dragon Bomb, Mokgetsu remained unmoving.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart sank at the sight.
Clearly, the Lighting Water Dragon Bomb couldn't counter Sosuke's Ninjutsu, otherwise Sosuke wouldn't dare to face it head-on.
Whizz!!
Before the Lighting Water Dragon Bomb could collide with Sosuke, Sarutobi Hiruzen unleashed chakra, flinging shurikens.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Under Sarutobi Hiruzen's chakra influence, each shuriken multiplied: six became twelve, twelve became twenty-four, and in an instant, the numbers turned terrifying, filling the air densely with shurikens.
Boom!!
The Lightning Water Dragon Bomb exploded violently on Mokgetsu, with electrified water scattering everywhere. The immense power caused cracks to form on the ground beneath Mokgetsu's feet.
Immediately following was an onslaught of thousands of shurikens.
Under the power and Chakra enhancement of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the ordinary shurikens carried enough force to pierce wood and stone, and there were tens of thousands of such shurikens. The terror of their power was imaginable.
Boom boom boom!!!
A continuous crash echoed, and the ground where Mokgetsu stood seemed like it had been bombarded by a bomber, full of craters of various sizes.
Yet Mokgetsu himself was completely unharmed, continuing to walk toward Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's forehead began to sweat slightly, his expression turning unprecedentedly grave.
The Lightning Water Dragon Bomb combined with the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu he unleashed at full strength couldn't even scratch Sosuke. This was incredibly exaggerated.
He had to admit he underestimated Sosuke.
Sosuke probably wasn't just an expert in Fire Release. It was just that Sosuke's previous opponents weren't enough to force him to use other methods.
"Unexpectedly strong, what kind of ability is this?" Orochimaru's gaze toward Sosuke was filled with curiosity.
The fragility of human life drove Orochimaru, having witnessed too much death, to seek immortality.
However, immortality was still too far away, so he now needed powerful survival techniques to prevent himself from dying prematurely.
"How could it be that even this level of attack is ineffective?" The Konoha Jonin spectators were dumbfounded.
Though the battlefield had become a mess, Sosuke, who withstood several waves of Sarutobi Hiruzen's attacks, didn't even have a tear in his clothing.
They had thought this would be a simple escort mission, assuming their mighty Third Hokage couldn't possibly lose to a ninja from a small country.
Now it seemed that might not be the case, and they might need to step in and intervene in the battle.
If Sarutobi Hiruzen fell to a disadvantage, they certainly couldn't just stand by idly. What good were agreements compared to the life of a leader?
The ninjas of the Ninja Sect accompanying Mokgetsu showed expressions of excitement.
They had already prepared themselves that if Sosuke couldn't fend off Sarutobi Hiruzen, they would help Sosuke escape at all costs.
However, it seemed they had underestimated their teacher, Sosuke.
Facing the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who held sway over the Ninja World, Sosuke wasn't at a disadvantage at all and was faintly more dominant.
Sarutobi Hiruzen used various Ninjutsu and Secret Techniques to attack, yet Sosuke blocked the attacks as if taking a pleasant stroll, the ease between them obvious.
"He will win, Sosuke-sensei will definitely be victorious!" This was the shout in the hearts of many Ninja Sect ninjas at the moment.
"So powerful!" Roshi showed a shocked expression.
Even though he was a perfect Jinchuriki, Roshi couldn't guarantee a victory over Sarutobi Hiruzen, he could only foresee a certain defeat.
The Tailed Beasts were important not because Jinchuriki were stronger than the Kage, but because most of the Kage from the Five Great Ninja Villages could suppress the Tailed Beasts of their village. Tailed Beasts represented special, lasting power.
But Sosuke gaining some advantage in the fight against Sarutobi Hiruzen — how could that not astonish Roshi?
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two of Sarutobi Hiruzen's shadow clones launched an attack on Mokgetsu from different directions, Chakra bursting from their feet.
If Ninjutsu was ineffective, then perhaps Taijutsu would be worth a try.
However, under Mokgetsu's Transparent World, the movements of Sarutobi Hiruzen's shadow clones were fully revealed.
Bam!
He slightly side-stepped to dodge an incoming punch from the shadow clone on the left. Simultaneously, his right hand shot out like lightning, accurately grabbing the shadow clone's wrist and squeezed, causing it to explode.
At this time, another Sarutobi Hiruzen shadow clone, who had maneuvered behind Mokgetsu, seized the opportunity and thrust a kunai toward Mokgetsu's back.
Bam!
However, Mokgetsu seemed to have eyes on his back, his body twisting in an incredible way, not only evading the attack but also kicking the shadow clone to pieces.
"His Taijutsu is also quite impressive."
Attempting to gather information on Sosuke, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression became even more serious.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen dared not be careless, directly focusing Chakra and using Summoning Technique to bring forth the Ape Demon, a vital component of his power.
After exchanging a few moves, Sarutobi Hiruzen realized Sosuke was not an opponent who could easily be defeated, and he needed to go all out.
Otherwise, let alone avenging Shimura Danzo, he might find himself in danger.