There were no fluctuations of ninjutsu.
No sensory-type kekkei genkai.
Even Sakumo Hatake's memory of using Genjutsu Release had already been erased by Arin.
Theoretically, he should have been completely incapable of detecting Arin's movements.
And yet—
Simply by closing his eyes, he had managed to track him perfectly.
Even cheating had limits.
BOOM!!
The air exploded with a thunderous shockwave.
Despite possessing overwhelming physical strength, Arin failed to suppress Sakumo Hatake.
With a powerful swing, Sakumo sent him flying backward.
Arin flipped midair before landing steadily on the ground. The long blade in his hand gradually turned invisible again as he kicked off the sand and charged toward Sakumo once more.
His genjutsu distorted the opponent's five senses.
In theory, Sakumo's senses should have been in complete chaos.
Yet every time Arin approached—
Sakumo blocked every single strike.
The two figures crossed repeatedly.
Sakumo Hatake kept his eyes shut, but his blade accurately intercepted the invisible sword every single time.
The concealment effect of Arin's Hidden Release genjutsu had become completely useless.
The two moved so fast they became overlapping afterimages.
White flashes and transparent winds intertwined continuously.
The surrounding desert was torn apart.
White sword slashes and wind-forged blades ravaged the entire battlefield.
The two collided once more before separating.
"Ptui."
Arin spat out a mouthful of blood.
His body now bore numerous bloody slash wounds.
In contrast, Sakumo Hatake remained completely unharmed, aside from a small cut on his face with blood slowly trickling out.
"You really are troublesome," Arin muttered as he looked toward Sakumo.
This guy was far more difficult to deal with than the Kazekage.
When fighting the Kazekage, Arin still had room to recover from mistakes.
Against Sakumo Hatake—
A single mistake would decide the entire battle.
If Arin's own speed had not been equally absurd, he would have already been killed.
"Hey," Arin said seriously, "even as enemies, I still want to ask."
"How exactly are you breaking through my genjutsu?"
No matter how much he thought about it, he could not understand how Sakumo was resisting his illusions.
"Instinct."
Sakumo Hatake kept his eyes closed while facing Arin's direction.
Despite not opening his eyes, Arin still felt an intense sense of being watched.
"What a ridiculous answer."
Arin spread his hands once more.
Two rapidly spinning tornadoes appeared beside him.
"Wind Release: Windless Zone."
The two tornadoes collided and rapidly expanded outward, enclosing both Arin and Sakumo Hatake inside.
"There's no oxygen inside this area anymore," Arin explained calmly.
"If you can't defeat me, you'll eventually suffocate."
Outside, the tornadoes spun wildly, connecting heaven and earth.
But within the center—
There was no oxygen whatsoever.
Arin could maintain his own oxygen supply through chakra consumption.
Sakumo Hatake could not.
Sakumo immediately understood he could not afford to drag this battle out any longer.
He charged straight at Arin.
His body transformed into a white crescent.
The genjutsu had not been dispelled.
It had completely locked onto Arin.
The white crescent closed the distance at terrifying speed.
A mirror-like surface suddenly appeared before Arin.
His Yin Release could reflect attacks.
It worked extremely well against energy-based attacks—
But against physical force, its effectiveness was much weaker.
Arin continuously created wind walls in front of the mirror, attempting to delay the approaching white crescent.
But he could not stop it.
Sakumo Hatake reached the mirror smoothly and swung his blade with full force.
Inside the mirror—
A reflected Sakumo simultaneously swung his own blade.
The mirror vanished.
It transformed into another white crescent that collided directly with Sakumo's attack.
Inside the windless zone, no sound escaped outward.
The two white crescents collided violently.
But cracks rapidly spread across the reflected crescent.
"That's honestly a little unfair."
Crack—crack—crack.
The mirrored crescent shattered into fragments of white light.
Meanwhile, Sakumo's attack did not stop in the slightest.
He continued charging toward Arin.
Left with no choice, Arin raised his blade to block.
BANG!!
Arin was blasted backward.
Just as he was about to crash into the wind wall, an opening suddenly appeared in it, allowing him to fly straight out.
Sakumo sensed something and immediately opened his eyes, attempting to pursue from above.
But the wind wall healed too quickly.
Before he could leap out, the opening had already sealed shut completely.
Landing outside the tornado, Arin let out a long breath.
"Now let's see how you escape."
White Fang's attacks did not have a massive destructive range—
But their power was genuinely terrifying.
This guy could honestly be called the greatest duelist in the ninja world.
"My lord."
At that moment, four Root ninja arrived while dragging along two captured ninja.
The two prisoners were tightly restrained, completely incapable of resisting.
Both remained silent, though despair was visible on their faces.
Arin ignored them.
A wind rope formed in his hand and dragged the spy's corpse back toward him.
Earlier, during the battle between Arin and Sakumo, the corpse had been blasted far away.
Now it returned.
Arin looked silently at the mangled corpse missing arms and legs.
Even after death, this poor guy still couldn't rest peacefully.
Not my fault.
Blame Danzo.
He gave the order.
If Danzo ever became Hokage—
Arin absolutely intended to become the ultimate non-stick pan Hokage.
He looked back toward the tornado.
Inside, Sakumo Hatake had already begun moving again, transforming into a white crescent and slamming directly into the wind wall.
"That's Wind Release at my absolute maximum output," Arin sneered.
"It won't break that eas—"
Crack.
Tiny fractures suddenly appeared across the tornado wall.
The cracks rapidly spread outward.
The white light suddenly intensified.
BOOM!!
The tornado exploded apart completely.
Arin fell silent.
Sakumo Hatake knelt on one knee, breathing heavily twice before looking toward Arin and the others.
"I really underestimated you, Konoha's White Fang," Arin said gravely.
He was currently calculating the outcome if both of them fought at full strength.
Probably sixty-forty.
Sakumo six.
Him four.
That was already the same ratio he had against the Kazekage.
But his own strength had grown considerably since then.
And it was still sixty-forty?
Then what the hell was the point of his growth?!
Ridiculous.
"So, White Fang…"
Arin smiled lightly.
"Why aren't you attacking?"
The transparent blade in his hand rested against one of the prisoners' necks.
"Don't worry about us!!" the two Root ninja roared desperately.
"White Fang-sama!! Prioritize the mission!!"
Sakumo Hatake looked toward the corpse beneath Arin's feet.
The intelligence was hidden inside that corpse's clothing.
Very thoughtfully, Arin kicked the corpse toward Sakumo.
"So, White Fang of Konoha…"
"This is what you want, right?"
His blade lightly cut into one prisoner's neck, drawing blood.
"Then what about your companions?"
Arin smiled brightly.
Cruelly.
Maliciously.
This was all Danzo's fault.
He was merely violating his conscience slightly to do something he personally disliked.
Really.
Hahaha.
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