There was no referee.
The two men's gazes moved, they each gave a slight nod, then began gathering Chakra to start the battle.
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath, his hands flashing through Hand Seals as he gathered a massive amount of Chakra in his throat.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bomb!"
Whoosh whoosh!!
Vast sheets of flame were spewed out by Sarutobi Hiruzen, rapidly forming an orange-red sea of fire in front of him.
The terrifyingly high-temperature flames seemed as if they would ignite everything; even the air was burned until it twisted and warped, forming wave after wave of heat.
As Sarutobi Hiruzen continually poured in Chakra, the range of the sea of fire kept expanding. For a moment, the firelight soared into the sky, dyeing everything around them crimson. The ever-expanding sea of fire rapidly devoured all combustible matter; trees and grass alike were reduced to ash under the ravaging flames.
Very soon, under Sarutobi Hiruzen's control, the sea of fire split into three and turned into three raging torrents of flame, charging at Sosuke from three directions at once.
According to the intel on hand, the Ninjutsu Sosuke was best at was Fire Release Ninjutsu, and Fire Release was also the Nature Transformation Ninjutsu Sarutobi Hiruzen was most proficient in, so Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to probe Sosuke's depth with Fire Release.
Clashing with the same Nature Transformation is the best way to see the level of Chakra Nature Changes and Ninjutsu mastery.
If the result of the exchange showed little difference, then this battle would be his to win.
Although the Nature Transformation Sarutobi Hiruzen was most skilled in was Fire Release, his formidable combat strength had little direct relation to Fire Release; it was because he had mastered thousands of Ninjutsu and Secret Techniques, because he could combine numerous Ninjutsu in the most perfect ways, and because he had no weaknesses—proficient in Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu alike.
However, contrary to Sarutobi Hiruzen's expectations, Sosuke did not use Fire Release to engage in a same-nature Ninjutsu clash with him, nor did Sosuke use Water Release or other Ninjutsu that countered Fire Release.
Sosuke did not use any technique at all; he simply stood where he was, quietly watching Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Is this a Shadow Clone? Since when… how did I not sense anything at all?" Sarutobi Hiruzen instinctively grew wary and scanned his surroundings.
After all, his opponent was Sosuke, the man who had defeated Shimura Danzo and Hanzo; Sarutobi Hiruzen did not believe such a powerhouse would be scared senseless by a single Fire Release.
Sosuke, in the Ninja World, also bore the title of the strongest Fire Release Ninja.
"What the hell is Sosuke up to?" Kakuzu suppressed his urge to take action, frowning as he watched the motionless Sosuke.
He could see very clearly that this guy Sosuke didn't move at all, he didn't even form a single Hand Seal.
"Teacher Sosuke should be performing a kind of Ninjutsu he's never used before," Nagato analyzed.
He could see the Chakra circulating inside Mokgetsu's body.
Although Mokgetsu looked like he hadn't done anything on the surface, in reality he had already used a Ninjutsu.
"What kind of tactic is this?" Orochimaru also couldn't make sense of Sosuke's behavior.
But just like Sarutobi Hiruzen, Orochimaru did not look down on Sosuke because of this.
After all, if Sosuke's strength was lacking, how could he possibly have killed Shimura Danzo?
Orochimaru knew that partner of his quite well. Shimura Danzo cherished his own life immensely; not only was he exceedingly cautious in his actions, he also possessed no small number of life-saving techniques.
Boom!!!
The three massive, raging fire dragons charged up to Mew at the same time, erupting into a vast blaze that submerged Mew completely.
Under the burning of the terrifying high-temperature flames, the ground around Mew turned charred black, while Mew himself was wrapped in an enormous amount of searing fire, his figure almost impossible to see.
"Did we win?" a Konoha Jonin said uncertainly.
To take such a Fire Release head-on— even with Chakra protection, survival would be difficult, unless one possessed a Lightning Chakra Mode as terrifying as the Third Raikage's.
However, to one-shot a famed powerhouse like Sosuke with a single move was still too much like a fantasy, so he wasn't sure.
The flames came quickly and faded quickly as well; soon the fire died down, leaving only scorched black earth— and Mew, completely unscathed.
"Hm?" Sarutobi Hiruzen showed a puzzled expression.
If this Sosuke had been a Shadow Clone that was burned away by the flames, he could still interpret it as Sosuke using some kind of Secret Technique to hide himself while leaving a clone in his place.
But since this was Sosuke's real body, he found it very hard to understand.
At this level of Fire Release, even if the Third Raikage were the one tanking it, there's no way even his clothes would remain intact.
"What's going on, how exactly did he do that?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's mind raced as he tried to search his memory for a Ninjutsu or Secret Technique with a similar effect.
But no matter how he thought, he still couldn't come up with a Ninjutsu that produced a similar result.
Whether it was the Third Raikage's Strongest Shield or Senju Hashirama's seal-less healing, none of them should logically leave even clothing unscathed; it was practically as if the attack hadn't connected at all.
"A Ninjutsu of the same type as Kamui?" Shisui analyzed inwardly.
In the situation just now, he couldn't think of any evasive method besides Void Kamui; the flames had surrounded Sosuke with no blind spots.
Shisui's expression gradually turned solemn. If this was a Ninjutsu of the same type as Void Kamui, then Sarutobi Hiruzen might not gain any advantage at Sosuke's hands.
Having fought Obito, Shisui clearly understood just how dominant Void Kamui was in one-on-one combat.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bomb!"
Seeing Sosuke walking toward him, Sarutobi Hiruzen had no choice but to temporarily set aside his thoughts, hastily forming Hand Seals before slamming his hands onto the ground.
Under the influence of Earth Attribute Chakra, a gigantic earthen dragon head rapidly formed on the ground.
Swish!!
The earthen dragon head opened its jaws wide, spewing out rapid-fire Earth Flow Bullets at high speed.
At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen once again formed Hand Seals, gathering Chakra in his throat.