92

"That little trick of yours can't fool my senses!" Aizen sneered.

With Kyōka Suigetsu still in a downward position, he slashed at Rasa's back with lightning speed! The moment Rasa used the Sand Substitution, Aizen's spiritual network instantly detected his true location. While pretending to attack the sand clone, he had stealthily closed in on Rasa's actual body.

Shing! In a life-or-death situation, Rasa managed to contort his body and avoid a fatal blow from Aizen. However, a deep gash was torn across his back! Blood gushed out uncontrollably!

Thud! Severely wounded, Rasa's body slumped into the water below with a heavy splash!

Seeing this, Aizen smirked, preparing to dive into the water and finish him off.

"Magnet Release: Desert Layered Funeral!" A weak voice called out, and countless grains of golden sand erupted from the water, forming countless sand spikes that spread rapidly across a hundred-meter radius!

Although the power and range of this technique were insignificant compared to the Third Kazekage's, it was enough to force Aizen to retreat.

In the water, Rasa, having barely managed to execute this move, didn't have time to celebrate its effectiveness. His hands quickly formed a seal.

"Magnet Release: Quicksand Waterfall Flow!" A torrent of fine golden sand engulfed Rasa, carrying him down into the depths. The sand flowed around his body, propelling him into the ground with continuous friction and crushing force! Using his remaining consciousness, he desperately fled towards the Sunagakure army!

"Damn it, this Aizen is far more formidable than the intel suggested! His speed, attack, defense, and perception are all superior to mine, even as a true Jonin. This guy's talent is no less than Minato Namikaze's!" As he fled, Rasa's mind was still reeling from the shock of Aizen's overwhelming power! He wasn't just any Jonin, but one who had mastered his Kekkei Genkai! Even among Jonin, he was considered a formidable force!

Yet, he had been utterly outmatched by Aizen, a mere special Jonin! This was a testament to Aizen's immense potential, even among the ranks of geniuses!

It's worth noting that, at levels above special Jonin, although the ninja world didn't have specific combat power classifications for each rank, generally speaking, there were four levels of combat power within each rank! Even super Kage-level and Six Paths-level powerhouses were no exception! These levels were: average, strong, peak, and finally, invincible!

Take Jonin as an example: a newly promoted Jonin, who had only mastered basic Jonin techniques, would be considered to have average Jonin-level combat power. These were essentially the standard, run-of-the-mill Jonin. Jonin who had mastered powerful secret techniques or possessed Kekkei Genkai were considered strong Jonin. For example, Jonin from major clans like the Hyuga, Ino-Shika-Cho, etc., were stronger than ordinary Jonin.

As for peak combat power. This level was also known as top Jonin! It was no longer something achievable through mere bloodline or secret techniques! Only true prodigies possessed this level of power!

Among the shinobi encountered thus far, only Ryuken, Zashi, and a few others. Possessed peak-level combat power within the Jonin rank! This level of power already granted the ability to fight across ranks, a feat that ordinary shinobi could not achieve! Such individuals were rare in the entire ninja world!

In fact, within each ninja rank, shinobi with average combat power were the norm, while strong ones were relatively rare!

And then there was the most terrifying, invincible combat power! As the name implied, this level of power represented invincibility within the Jonin rank or any other ninja rank! Under certain conditions, they could even outright kill opponents of the same rank! Fighting across ranks was as easy as breathing for them, posing no challenge at all.

Among those Aizen had encountered, only Minato Namikaze, Nawaki Senju, and Sakumo Hatake possessed this invincible level of combat power within their respective ranks. These individuals were peerless geniuses, capable of dominating an entire era! Under normal circumstances, such talents might not even appear for decades. This level of combat power could even allow them to take down opponents a whole rank above them!

Some incredibly formidable invincible combatants could even defeat opponents multiple ranks above them! The most quintessential example of this was Aizen himself!

Of course, it's worth noting that although peak-level combat power within the Jonin rank granted the ability to fight across ranks. At the Kage level, only invincible-level combat power truly allowed one to contend with an average super Kage!

This was because the higher the ninja rank, the more drastic the difference in power between each rank became! Especially at the super Kage level, the power gap was even more immense!

As for special Jonin and below. Since the strength of Chunin and Genin was relatively low, there was no need for specific combat power divisions. Individuals like Minato and Nawaki. Upon becoming Genin, they instantly possessed the combat power of elite Chunin. In such cases, the concept of combat power division was meaningless.

In his battle with Rasa, even if Aizen had only used his normal state, he still possessed invincible-level combat power for a special Jonin.

And due to the overpowered nature of his spiritual network, Aizen's perception abilities were exceptional. This allowed him to easily overwhelm Rasa, who was only a strong-level Jonin.

In that moment, even without using Shunpo, Aizen effortlessly evaded the Gold Dust Imperial Funeral attack with his sheer speed alone. Simultaneously, the ever-expanding fluctuations of his spiritual network had clearly detected Rasa's fleeing form.

"You forced me out of the ground just now, and now it's my turn. Fate can be quite ironic, don't you think?" Aizen said with a playful smirk.

Then, Aizen submerged into the water, half-crouching on the riverbed, and after forming a hand seal, he pressed one hand against the ground! "Earth Release: Earthquake!"

Instantly, the earth around Rasa seemed to be affected by an unseen force, beginning to crumble and constrict the surrounding space! With each passing moment, the earth trembled as if an earthquake was about to strike!

This was a secret technique specifically designed to counter Earth Release users! It was particularly effective against enemies who burrowed underground. Aizen had obtained this jutsu from the belongings of the original owner's mother.

Facing this technique, the already weakened Rasa's eyes filled with despair.

"Scorch Release: Steaming Murder!" But just as Rasa was about to succumb to the earthquake, a clear voice rang out from above Aizen!