"Hiss, this guy's strength is even greater than yours." The Ape Demon gasped as it hit the ground.
The weight of the Adamantine Stick increases as it enlarges, and the fact that Sarutobi Hiruzen can wield it so easily shows he possesses extraordinary strength.
But that punch from Sosuke just now was so powerful that the Ape Demon felt as if it was hit by a meteorite.
"Cough, cough." Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly got up, unable to stop himself from coughing up blood.
Although the transformed Adamantine Stick blocked Sosuke's attack, it was still incredibly heavy and painful for his body.
"Huff." Sarutobi Hiruzen panted heavily, and before he could plan his next move, he saw Sosuke destroying the Shadow Clone that was blocking his pursuit.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart sank to the bottom.
He realized he underestimated Sosuke. Although the Dead Demon Consuming Seal is powerful, it's extremely difficult to accomplish mutual destruction if there is a huge difference in strength.
"Go!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen swung the Adamantine Stick, tossing it toward Sosuke.
No matter how difficult, as the Third Hokage, he could not give up.
Provoking the Ninja Sect was a major mistake, but what's done is done and cannot be changed. The only thing he can do is to strive for mutual destruction with Sosuke.
If Sosuke lives and he dies, then Konoha's peak path will once again be shrouded in fog.
Sarutobi Hiruzen believed that as long as Mokgetsu had time, he wouldn't be worse than Sosuke, and might even become stronger, but the problem was Sosuke might not give Mokgetsu the time to grow.
The Adamantine Stick thickened and lengthened while flying, turning into a massive rod that struck toward Sosuke in the blink of an eye.
"Lighting Release: Sixteen Pillar Binding Jutsu!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen ran while gathering Chakra and quickly formed hand seals to perform ninjutsu.
He had already given up on using offensive ninjutsu, realizing that even his strongest Five Release Great Volley couldn't harm Sosuke.
Instead, sealing techniques and barrier techniques might work, giving Sarutobi Hiruzen a chance to use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to achieve mutual destruction with Sosuke.
As the Adamantine Stick approached Mokgetsu, it quickly split into multiple shadow clones. Dozens of giant Adamantine Sticks slammed toward Mokgetsu.
Meanwhile, the ground continued to rumble, and thick stone pillars with lightning surged up.
"Great Black Heaven!"
Mokgetsu ignored the oncoming giant shurikens, lightly glanced at the approaching Adamantine Stick, and instantly seven or eight gigantic black cubes descended around Mokgetsu, crushing the Adamantine Stick along with its shadow clones to the ground.
Boom!!
The enormous rumbling sound erupted, and the slammed Ape Demon suffered severe injuries, forced to exit the transformation state. Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately disconnected the Summoning Technique, and the Ape Demon disappeared into white smoke in front of everyone.
"Even the Ape Demon couldn't withstand it." Orochimaru speculated that the cubes Sosuke summoned weren't simple.
In Orochimaru's understanding, the Ape Demon was a top-tier Summoning Beast, stronger than his Manda.
Boom!!
Under the assault of numerous black cubes, many of the Thunder Pillars created by Sarutobi Hiruzen shattered.
Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly retreated and gathered Chakra.
"This guy can use so many at once." The more Sarutobi Hiruzen fought, the more he found Sosuke unfathomable.
"No choice, I have to gamble!" Sarutobi Hiruzen knew he no longer had the choice, his hands moved rapidly.
Even if forcibly using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal might not seal Sosuke, he had no choice but to attempt.
Because if he didn't use it now, his condition would worsen, making it even harder to achieve mutual destruction with Sosuke.
And if he used it now and let Orochimaru join the battle, there might still be a chance to kill Sosuke.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was grateful that Mitokado Homura came along; otherwise, with only Orochimaru, Shisui, and several Jonin, they might not be effective.
Because on the Ninja Sect side, there were Kakuzu and Nagato.
Although single combat was his proposal, Sarutobi Hiruzen could no longer care, bearing some infamy was better than damaging Konoha.
"Dead Demon Consu..."
Just as Sarutobi Hiruzen was about to form the last seal, Sosuke's speed suddenly escalated several notches, disrupting Sarutobi Hiruzen's plan.
According to his estimation, the distance between them allowed him to form three more seals without issue.
Bang!
An incredibly heavy force swept over, and Sarutobi Hiruzen was sent flying backward, spitting out a mouthful of blood in the air, landing on the ground.
"Lord Third!" The Konoha Jonin showed disbelief.
Their incredibly powerful Third Hokage was unexpectedly defeated, losing to a ninja from the Land of Rain in a one-on-one battle.
Swish, swish!
The Konoha Jonin couldn't stay calm, drawing their weapons and gathering Chakra.
Their leader was about to fall, so they couldn't care about the rules anymore.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!
Mitokado Homura promptly pulled out the scroll he had prepared, summoning a bunch of shuriken with explosive tags attached and tossed them towards Sosuke to hinder his pursuit.
"Summoning Technique!"
Orochimaru gathered Chakra and summoned Manda.
Shisui quietly activated the Mangekyo Sharingan and subtly approached Sarutobi Hiruzen, ready to use Kamiyakao-no-mikoto to protect Sarutobi Hiruzen's life.
"Almighty Push!"
Nagato, who had been closely monitoring the battlefield, flashed forward at breakneck speed, sending all the explosive tag shurikens flying.