Chapter 10

Sosuke's sudden outburst of terrifying speed left everyone watching shocked!

Afterward, they were drawn to the arcs of electricity that emerged from his body as he moved.

In the blink of an eye, Sosuke had already appeared behind Sakumo, and his sword was swinging straight at his back.

However, Sosuke's attack didn't work.

Sakumo's right hand moved slightly, drawing his short blade halfway from its sheath—just enough to block Sosuke's strike perfectly.

With just a simple movement, Sakumo blocked the attack, making him realize that his opponent was truly a master of kenjutsu.

He had somehow adapted to Sosuke's super speed in just a single exchange.

However, what Sasuke didn't know was that Sakumo was equally shocked at this moment.

He could somewhat see some patterns in Sosuke's kenjutsu, but his speed was something he had never seen before in his life!

Even though he seemed to block Sosuke's attack easily, he was still shocked and asked in surprise, "Lightning Release Chakra Mode?!"

This lightning-fast movement reminded him of someone he had fought before—the Third Raikage!

Sosuke was also enveloped in lightning as he moved like Third Raikage.

In fact, Sakumo had only managed to block the strike thanks to his vast combat experience. 

Since he had fought the Third Raikage before, he instinctively reacted. Even though his eyes couldn't track Sosuke's speed, he instinctively blocked the strike!

However, this jutsu was similar to the Lightning Release Chakra Mode and made him completely take him much more seriously.

Sosuke's current speed alone was enough to pose a serious threat to an elite jōnin. 

The surrounding shinobi, who had been merely watching, all swallowed nervously.

As experienced shinobi who spent years on the front lines, they were far beyond the level of academy students.

However, with just a single exchange, they could already tell how powerful Sosuke was!

"This Sosuke really wasn't bragging—just his speed alone might be the fastest in Konoha!"

"I doubt even Sakumo-sama is this fast!"

"If his kenjutsu is as good as the rumors say, then Sosuke might very well become another top-tier powerhouse for Konoha!"

"I don't think his kenjutsu can match Sakumo-sama. Just look at how effortlessly Sakumo-sama blocked that strike!"

...

The people watching kept chattering, but inside the duel, Sosuke and Sakumo both fell silent.

He was thinking about how to win this fight while Sakumo was waiting for him to make a move and wanted to see what other tricks he had!

In the next instant, Sosuke increased the speed of his attacks, moving even faster than when he fought the Elite Jonin before!

Sakumo truly lived up to his reputation as a low Kage. Even though he wasn't as fast as Sosuke, he still blocked every single attack perfectly!

He didn't simply block head-on and always countered just before Sosuke's blade could land, as if he could instinctively predict the critical moments in his attacks and disrupt them at once.

'So this is the Hatake-ryu kenjutsu…'

As he continued attacking, Sosuke couldn't help but praise Sakumo's kenjutsu in his mind.

Sakumo's kenjutsu was impressive, but it couldn't hurt him.

Since he had already figured out that Sakumo relied on counterattacking at the perfect moment, Sosuke decided to increase his attack speed to the absolute limit!

Sure enough, even Sakumo started to struggle. For the first time, Sakumo could no longer defend against the attacks and was forced to defend passively!

The battle between the two left the surrounding shinobi utterly dazzled. 

Sosuke's speed was simply too fast, and he barely caught him on the left. And in the blink of an eye, he was already behind Sakumo.

"At this speed, is there anyone in the entire shinobi world who can match him?"

"Sakumo-sama is the truly terrifying. He hasn't been hit even once!"

"Well, Sakumo-sama is low Kage-level, and Sosuke is only a Tokubetsu Jōnin. If Sosuke reaches a higher level, this fight might look completely different!"

"it looks like Jiraiya-sama was right—Sosuke's kenjutsu really isn't any weaker than Sakumo-sama's!"

...

However, Sosuke got a little too confident too soon.

Sakumo had only been defending up until now to observe Sosuke's kenjutsu and hadn't even attacked yet!

Suddenly, the short sword in Sakumo's hand was covered in White Light Chakra, and with just one powerful slash, he sent him flying over ten meters!

Watching Sosuke crash into the distance, Sakumo didn't hold back his praise and said, "Your kenjutsu is impressive, but your strength is still lacking. If you can elevate your level even further, perhaps we could truly fight on equal ground."

Sosuke quickly got back on his feet, but his expression had become noticeably more serious as he stared at him.

They were both specialized in kenjutsu, but while Sosuke excelled in speed, Sakumo had not just speed but also incredible strength and endurance.

That seemingly effortless slash earlier had already been almost too much for Sosuke to handle.

Unfortunately, Sosuke didn't have time to improve his raw power. Otherwise, with Garp's fighting skills, he was confident that he could quickly reach a level where he could go toe-to-toe with Sakumo.

Just then, Sosuke felt something on his face. He wiped it with his hand and realized—it was blood! Sakumo's blade had left a wound on his face during that last attack.

Sosuke's eyes widened in shock because his body was supposed to be elementalized. Even if he didn't actively use his ability, physical attacks shouldn't have been able to harm him at all.

Suddenly, Sosuke shifted his gaze toward Sakumo's short blade, noticing a faint layer of White Light Chakra flickering around it.

'The Goro Goro no Mi's weakness is only rubber… but could it be that White Light Chakra can also bypass my elementalization and strike my real body?'

This discovery made him feel a bit lucky, and he discovered this weakness during a duel rather than in a real battle. 

Otherwise, if someone had ambushed him with chakra, he might have died without even knowing how he died.

Sakumo finished speaking and stopped holding back. After being pressured for so long, he was starting to get really fired up!

"It's my turn to attack!"

Hearing Sakumo's words, Sosuke quickly focused again.

He was well aware that his raw strength was weaker, and Sakumo's kenjutsu was already at its peak. Otherwise, that previous attack would never have been able to cut him despite his successful block.

As he charged forward, Sosuke didn't back down and rushed to meet him head-on!

To everyone watching, the two of them seemed to vanish completely. 

Those who were almost at the level of an Elite Jonin could barely catch glimpses of their movements.

The battlefield was now filled only with the sharp clashing of blades, ringing out in rapid succession.

...

1st Bonus Chapter - 200

2nd Bonus Chapter - 500

3rd Bonus Chapter - 1000