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At this moment, the three jōnin were completely focused on Akimichi Genbu. They paid no attention at all to the four chūnin.
The instant they arrived, they were seized by three Genbu shadow clones that had been hiding underground using Earth Concealment Technique.
The chūnin reacted quickly, detonating the clones with explosive tags—but they hadn't realized these weren't ordinary shadow clones.
They were Lightning Shadow Clones.
The clones detonated, releasing powerful electric currents that shocked them on the spot. At the same time, the electricity triggered the three explosive tags each clone carried.
Three explosions rang out.
The four chūnin were instantly killed.
In the blink of an eye, only the three jōnin surrounding Genbu remained.
"I'll kill you!"
Hattori Heiji was genuinely enraged this time. Of the four dead ninja, two were from Amegakure and two from Iwagakure. That was the only reason the Iwa jōnin had intervened earlier—because two of them were locals.
If the first two casualties had been Heiji's subordinates, would the Iwa jōnin have bothered saving the others?
Water Release: Water Surge!
A massive spiraling torrent erupted around Hattori Heiji and shot toward Genbu at extreme speed.
With nowhere to dodge, Genbu spat out a large mass of mud.Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!
Unlike a normal wall only a few meters tall, this one rose more than ten meters high, completely blocking the water vortex.
Genbu glanced down at the three jōnin and muttered,"These techniques… this visual spectacle… the more I watch, the more it feels like some ancient-versus-modern Hokage showdown from Naruto's past life. Forget it. I need to get serious."
He released the seal on his left wrist. A massive sword appeared in his hand.
This wasn't a light ceremonial blade. The weapon was 2.4 meters long, with an 80-centimeter hilt and a 1.6-meter blade—more like a Han-dynasty war saber than a ninja sword.
Seeing someone under 1.7 meters tall carrying it looked downright absurd.
"Kid, are you planning to juggle with that thing?" Hattori mocked. The other two jōnin laughed.
"Laugh while you can," Genbu replied calmly. "Let's see if you're still laughing later."
He formed seals. Chidori flared to life in his right hand. Lightning wrapped around the blade as he gripped the sword tightly.
"Hongjima Original Technique—Chidori Blade."
He leapt down from the earth wall and charged straight at the Ame jōnin.
The Ame ninja jumped into the water left by his technique and formed seals. A water dragon surged upward, rushing toward Genbu mid-air.
Genbu didn't dodge.
He slashed downward, cutting the water dragon cleanly in half.
Then—Chidori Stream.
Lightning raced through the water and struck the Ame jōnin directly.
Whether the man was foolish or careless, he had jumped into water to avoid lightning—only to amplify it instead. Moments earlier, he had already endured electric shocks from Genbu's clones.
But this was Chidori-level lightning, far stronger than anything he'd faced before.
The jōnin's body was scorched on the outside, yet oddly intact within.
Genbu froze in disbelief.
He hadn't expected to defeat a veteran jōnin so easily. It felt unreal.
As a jōnin, he should have used Body Flicker—but paralysis prevented it.
"Well… I guess physics wins again," Genbu muttered.
Hattori Heiji was stunned. Where did this monster come from? What had been a three-on-one had instantly turned into a two-on-one.
Then something even more shocking happened.
The remaining Sunagakure jōnin fought like a coward—using smoke bombs and evasive movement, retreating nonstop.
Genbu sensed him moving farther and farther away. No ambush. He was genuinely fleeing.
"Brother," Genbu sighed, resting the massive blade on his shoulder, "where's your jōnin pride? Honestly, I didn't even need to draw my sword. I still have three-quarters of my chakra left. Why not hold on a little longer? Maybe the poison would've killed me."
He scratched his head and looked at Hattori."Alright. Looks like we can't fight together anymore."
Hattori was furious.
Ten people had chased this kid. Some were dead. Some had run away.
Only he remained.
He steadied his breathing."Kid… you truly surprised me. But don't think I'm the same as them."
He pulled out a scroll and released its seal. A massive scythe appeared, a chain hidden within its handle.
Hattori spun it smoothly, the blade and chain dancing together.
"My name is Hattori Heiji—eldest disciple of the Ninja World's Demigod, Salamander Hanzō. Now, you'll witness the glory of Amegakure."
In his mind, once this scythe was drawn, Genbu was already dead.
Seeing the purple-black blade, Genbu swallowed. He calmly took out a gas mask and swallowed another antidote pill Tsunade had given him.
"If I remember correctly, that poison came from your teacher."
Hattori did the same—mask on, antidote down."Sharp eyes, kid. You're right. But knowing won't save you. Every swing vaporizes the poison—it seeps everywhere. There's no cure. Your mask only slows absorption. Without our village's antidote, you won't last ten minutes."
"Don't you know villains die because they talk too much?" Genbu cut in, slashing forward."If people can't last ten minutes, why are you waiting? Planning to gas the entire map?"
The scythe clashed with the Chidori Blade. Lightning surged—but was blocked by chakra flowing through the handle.
They closed into brutal close combat.
Sword strikes were heavy and decisive; the scythe was flexible and unpredictable. Dozens of exchanges happened in seconds.
Genbu changed tactics—Fire Release, a massive fireball.
Hattori countered with Water Dragon, extinguishing it.
Genbu followed with Lightning Release, sweeping the ground.
Hattori cut the lightning apart with Wind Release.
Earth spikes erupted. Hattori leapt back—triggering a hidden explosive tag array Genbu's Sharingan hadn't detected.
Genbu was blown apart.
If not for Chidori's stimulation and his extreme burst speed, he'd already be dead.
They separated.
Genbu was breathing heavily. Hattori looked calm.
"He's strong. Truly strong," Genbu thought. "I'm at a disadvantage in both ninjutsu and taijutsu. This old man is the strongest opponent I've faced—just shy of elite jōnin."
Hattori, however, was terrified.
"What kind of body does this kid have? He's fought this long and still hasn't collapsed from the poison?"
He looked at the faint purple mist around them."Has my teacher's poison failed?"
Deciding to end it, Genbu repeated the trick—smoke bombs and shadow clones.
But this time, he didn't run.
Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!
Hundreds of Genbu clones surged out of the smoke, blades raised.
"His chakra… is it even more than mine?" Hattori roared.
He spun the scythe, chain and blade forming an impenetrable barrier. Clones shattered one after another.
Then—
Three massive fire dragons descended from the sky.
Hattori formed seals.Water Release: Water Dragon Barrier!
A giant water dragon rose from his body, colliding head-on with the flames. Steam filled the battlefield.
Genbu burst from underground—but Hattori had anticipated it.
Explosive tags instantly attached to Genbu's body.
Hattori flickered away."Detonate!"
Genbu exploded.
But it was a clone.
At the same moment, another figure emerged from the water behind Hattori.
He swung the scythe—
No explosion.
Instead, the scythe was caught bare-handed.
"What? Impossible!"
Hattori stared in disbelief.
Then he saw it.
A pair of three-tomoe Sharingan.
"This is bad."
He broke free from the genjutsu in just two seconds—but when he tried to move, his legs and the arm holding the scythe were gone.
Only then did he realize—
In those two seconds, Genbu had sliced him apart.
"You lost because you relied too much on your teacher's poison," Genbu said coldly."Your strength and experience surpassed mine—but you never truly attacked me. You only waited for the poison to work."
"Maybe after being poisoned by Salamander Hanzō, you lost the desire to become stronger."
Hattori lay on the ground, pupils dilating.
Why could he resist the poison?Why could he withstand the toxic scythe?
No one answered.
Genbu took the scythe, ended Hattori Heiji's life, and sealed the weapon into a blank sealing scroll.