'Boom! Crackle! Bang!'
Explosions erupted continuously from the dense forest, sending dust and debris soaring skyward, obscuring most of the battlefield and making it impossible to see what was happening within.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Yamato coughed heavily, spitting out a mouthful of thick, dark blood.
Glancing at his numerous injuries and the two unconscious teammates lying beside him, he sighed inwardly.
The mysterious enemy, who had mastered five Ninja Arts, was overwhelmingly powerful—the strongest and most dangerous foe Yamato had ever faced in his shinobi career.
Even after exhausting every ounce of his strength, he had been unable to protect his two remaining subordinates from this relentless enemy.
'Senior Kakashi, please don't let anything happen to you.'
Yamato offered a silent prayer before forcefully suppressing his anxieties. He focused his entire attention on the swirling dust cloud in the distance, his expression hardening.
No sooner had Yamato shifted his gaze than a figure leaped from the dust cloud and unleashed a Fire Release ninjutsu.
"Fire Release: Head Carving Agony!"
A fireball no larger than a fist, but compressed to its absolute limit, blazed with a crimson-yellow intensity. Like a miniature sun, it plummeted with scorching speed.
'Bang!' Upon impact, the fireball instantly expanded, transforming into a raging sea of flames that engulfed the entire area.
The boundless, all-consuming sea of fire sealed off every escape route, trapping Yamato with no way out.
'Wood Release: Wood Dome Wall!'
Yamato's reaction was lightning-fast. He had already formed the hand seals the moment Kakuzu appeared.
As the sea of fire surged toward him, rows of wooden pillars erupted from the ground, curving into a circular dome that shielded him.
The fiery maelstrom slammed into the wooden barrier, unleashing a chain of explosions and the grinding, cracking sounds of wood under immense pressure.
"Not bad, not bad at all!"
Kakuzu clapped his hands, a cruel, excited smile curling his lips.
"But you're still no match for the First Hokage—not even close!"
As he spoke, Kakuzu's hands flashed through another series of seals, the muscles in his arms bulging fiercely.
The next moment, a howling gale erupted. A sphere of highly compressed, high-pressure wind burst forth from his palms, whistling outward with terrifying speed.
The surging windstorm whipped up clouds of dust and debris, the high-pressure sphere following the earlier flames like a shadow.
The flames, which had been evenly matched with Yamato's Wood Dome Wall and even seemed to be losing momentum, suddenly surged as if doused in oil.
In an instant, the flames erupted into a raging inferno. The combined might of wind and fire amplified the impact, intensified the eruption, and heightened the temperature, making it doubly unstoppable!
With a deafening 'BOOM', the Wood Dome Wall finally shattered.
A violent shockwave erupted from the shattered wood, sending countless splinters and searing firestorms spiraling outward in all directions.
Yamato, trapped within the shattered dome, was now exposed.
Yamato stood completely crimson, white steam rising continuously from his body.
He was covered in extensive burns and scalds, blood and sweat seeping from his cracked and reddened wounds.
"Are there any more powerful ninjutsu you haven't used yet?" Kakuzu asked coolly, his voice laced with disdain as he looked down at the battered and burned Yamato.
At that moment, Kakuzu resembled a Platinum-ranked player who had been crushed 0-5 by the top player on the national server.
Enraged, he insisted on slaughtering the AI controlling the same hero used by the server's number one player a hundred times in the training arena before he would relent.
"If this is all you have, you've sorely disappointed me, Konoha's nameless Wood Release ninja."
Kakuzu's gaze locked onto Yamato, who was trembling slightly from pain and injury but stubbornly forced himself to stand.
His eyes seemed cold, yet also held a hint of reminiscence, melancholy, anticipation, and disappointment.
A strange, inexplicable satisfaction stirred within him.
How eerily similar were his past circumstances to those of the Wood Release ninja before him?
Facing the First Hokage, revered as the God of Shinobi by the world, Yamato had fought with every ounce of his strength, wagering his very life, yet he hadn't managed to inflict even a scratch on his opponent.
'This might be where I die.'
After struggling to his feet, Yamato gasped for breath, assessing his injuries.
Though he had been implanted with the First Hokage's cells, granting him vitality and regenerative abilities far beyond those of ordinary humans, Kakuzu's relentless assault had left him critically wounded.
Any other ninja would have perished countless times over by now.
He estimated he could withstand at most two or three more assaults of the same intensity before his body would fail completely, even the First Hokage's cells proving futile.
'I have to stall this guy long enough for Senior Kakashi to take down the other guy. I can die, but Senior Kakashi can't die here.'
After a moment of silent contemplation, Yamato steeled his resolve and addressed Kakuzu: "Now I truly believe you really did fight Lord First."
To buy even a sliver of time, Yamato used respectful honorifics.
"Hmph!"
As expected, Kakuzu's attack froze mid-motion.
He snorted coldly, wanting to hear what this fellow had to say.
"Otherwise, you wouldn't be so fixated on me."
Through their brief clashes, Yamato had realized that Kakuzu possessed the power to eliminate him swiftly.
Yet he deliberately dragged out the fight, clearly proving that he had indeed fought the First Hokage—and suffered a crushing defeat, perhaps even a psychological trauma.
This was likely why Kakuzu was trying to salvage some pride by targeting Yamato, seeking a hollow victory to soothe his bruised ego.
'Pathetic fool!' Yamato mocked inwardly before saying aloud, "However, my Wood Release is only a fraction as powerful as Lord First's. If you're trying to overcome your resentment toward him through me, you're only deluding yourself."
"I have no resentment toward the First Hokage," Kakuzu retorted.
Kakuzu lowered his eyelids, remained silent for a moment, then said flatly, "Your Wood Release merely reminded me of some things. I wanted to see how much of the First Hokage's power you've inherited. From what I've seen, it's... underwhelming."
"That must be a disappointment for you, Senior," Yamato said with a shake of his head and a wry smile. "While I may not have inherited much of Lord First's power..."
His tone shifted, his eyes flashing with resolve as his aura hardened.
"...I have inherited the Will of Fire and the determination to protect the village that Lord First left behind. Don't underestimate the Will of Fire!"
"The Will of Fire? Protecting the village?" Kakuzu murmured dismissively. "Brainwashed, foolish drivel."
'Only money is the eternal truth!'
"Very well, unknown Wood Release ninja. If your performance from here on out satisfies me, I'll spare your life."
___
This Sasuke Is Strange 235 advanced chapters: (5 ch updates everyday)
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