Chapter 455: Ishiro vs. Nagato
Ishiro and Nagato stood on an empty training ground outside the River Village.
Nagato's Six Paths of Pain were in the Land of Rain, so it was only Nagato's main body who faced Ishiro.
Without the Six Paths, Nagato probably couldn't be classified as "Super-Kage." Of course, if Nagato had developed even higher-level abilities of the Rinnegan, that was another matter.
Looking at the red eyeshadow at the corners of Ishiro's eyes, Nagato spoke: "Is this the Sage Mode you used when you fought Hanzō?"
Ishiro nodded. "Yes. Sage Mode empowers my ninjutsu. It's my strongest state. I can't be careless when sparring with you, Nagato."
"I'm attacking!" As he spoke, Ishiro charged.
Because this was a spar, Ishiro wasn't worried about life-threatening danger, so he wanted to test his own abilities in all aspects. Nagato was a comprehensive opponent, balanced in both taijutsu and ninjutsu, making him perfect for a test.
Therefore, Ishiro's first choice was taijutsu.
As he closed the distance, Ishiro drew his longsword. Even in close combat, he was using swordsmanship. He felt his pure taijutsu, even empowered by Sage Mode, was nothing to brag about.
Nagato understood Ishiro's intention. Facing the first round of sword attacks, he chose only to dodge, not to attack.
Ishiro didn't use sword-ki, just pure swordsmanship. But in the eyes of a ninja at Nagato's level, his technique was full of obvious flaws. In truth, Ishiro himself looked down on his own swordsmanship; he possessed scrolls for higher-level techniques but had never found the time to train.
Under the insight of the Rinnegan, before Ishiro's blade even finished its arc, Nagato had already predicted the attack's trajectory. Dodging was not difficult.
After a flurry of attacks, Ishiro hadn't even touched the corner of Nagato's robes. He began to add other methods.
Pausing for just an instant, he started forming one-handed seals.
"Sage Art: Water Release: Water Pressure Line Technique!"
Seeing this, Nagato no longer just dodged. A sharp, black rod—a receiver—materialized in his right hand.
Using the black receiver as a blade, Nagato began to parry Ishiro's combination of swordsmanship and ninjutsu.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Nagato still did not attack. He simply used the black rod to deflect Ishiro's longsword time and again, sometimes dodging the ninjutsu, sometimes blocking it directly with the rod.
The jutsu Ishiro cast one-handed in close combat were mostly C-rank, but in Sage Mode, their power was no less than A-rank. Yet Nagato still seemed at ease, dodging these A-rank attacks at point-blank range.
Furthermore, his black receiver was special; even if Ishiro managed to break it, it would regenerate instantly.
Ishiro felt powerless in this exchange.
Swish! Ishiro slashed again, and Nagato easily parried it with the black rod.
This time, however, Ishiro didn't follow up with another sword move. A blue sphere of chakra formed in his left palm.
"Sage Art: Lightning Release: Rasengan!" Ishiro roared, thrusting his left hand toward Nagato's waist.
Nagato remained unhurried. His left hand opened and, extending from under his right arm, intercepted the Rasengan perfectly.
A Sage Art: Rasengan, infused with a Lightning-nature transformation, was easily absorbed by Nagato.
This was the first time Nagato had used an ability other than the black receiver, indicating he was no longer as relaxed as before.
Ishiro didn't press the attack, as Nagato seemed puzzled.
"What's wrong?" Ishiro asked.
Nagato replied, "Senjutsu is truly strange. I can absorb normal ninjutsu very quickly, but my absorption speed for senjutsu is clearly much slower."
Ishiro nodded. "Again!"
"Sage Art: Lightning Release: Chidori Stream!" Ishiro coated his longsword with the A-rank Lightning senjutsu.
Nagato initially tried to block it head-on with the black receiver. But as soon as the sword was parried, a bolt of lightning shot from the blade, striking at Nagato.
Nagato was surprised by this attack method. He tried to block it with his hand, but blue light flickered constantly from Ishiro's blade, this time unleashing a dozen streams of lightning at once.
Nagato only managed to block the first one. The others were about to hit him.
"Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push)!" Nagato intoned.
The dozen lightning streams, along with Ishiro himself, were blasted away by the repulsive force.
"Phew..." Ishiro, also capable of gravitational jutsu, resisted the push and stopped himself from flying too far.
"Nagato, you finally used that move. If you hadn't, I would have started doubting my life," Ishiro said.
Nagato nodded. "That Lightning Release of yours is good. The attack is scattered, but with Sage Mode, its power is sufficient. It's an excellent technique for a one-on-one melee."
Ishiro agreed. "Close combat is over. My melee skills are far too lacking compared to yours. Next is long-range offense and defense."
With that, Ishiro began launching ninjutsu of various natures.
Normally, Ishiro wouldn't bother using the five basic natures against Nagato, who could absorb ninjutsu, but the previous exchange gave him an idea. It would be good to have Nagato check his jutsu for flaws.
Besides, he'd discovered that Nagato's absorption of senjutsu was slower than he'd imagined. This was an opportunity.
"Sage Art: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique! Sage Art: Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" Ishiro opened with a Wind-Fire combination.
His goal wasn't to defeat Nagato with this wide-range jutsu, but to obstruct his vision. Seizing the opportunity, Ishiro used the Shadow Clone Technique.
Next, Ishiro, his clones, and his main body unleashed round after round of ninjutsu at Nagato.
At first, Nagato didn't strike back, choosing to absorb most of the jutsu. But he couldn't keep up with Ishiro's casting speed, and senjutsu was difficult to absorb.
Soon, Nagato began firing back with his own ninjutsu.
However, after only two jutsu, Nagato gave up on the exchange. The difference in their casting speed was too great.
Ishiro was using C-rank Sage Art, which had A-rank power.
Nagato had massive chakra reserves and usually poured extra chakra into his jutsu to increase their power. Even so, to counter Ishiro's C-rank senjutsu, Nagato had to use at least B-rank jutsu.
His B-rank jutsu required more hand seals than Ishiro's. His sealing speed was slower.
In the time it took Nagato to cast one jutsu, Ishiro could cast four or five. He was at a severe disadvantage.
In the ninjutsu duel, Nagato was completely suppressed, ultimately relying on the omnidirectional push of Shinra Tensei to weather Ishiro's assault.
"Phew..." Ishiro exhaled, quite satisfied with his performance.
By now, Yahiko and Konan had noticed the commotion and come over to watch.
Watching the battle, Konan sighed. "The gap between me and those two just keeps growing."
Nagato being this strong was one thing, but why was Ishiro's ninjutsu also this powerful? And so fast? Nagato was losing a ninjutsu exchange, which was completely unexpected.
Yahiko said, "They both have all five natures, so they're even on that point."
"But Ishiro is using senjutsu, which allows his C-rank jutsu to rival A-rank. Nagato has to use higher-ranking jutsu to cancel them out."
"Ishiro's hand seals are already fast. With this advantage, Nagato is naturally at a disadvantage. If Nagato couldn't absorb ninjutsu, he would have been forced to rely on Shinra Tensei from the start."
Konan nodded. "Neither of them is going all out yet. Who do you think will win?"
Yahiko replied, "Nagato will definitely win. Ishiro said it himself before: Nagato is the strongest person in the shinobi world right now."
"I'm just wondering how far Ishiro can push him."
At that moment, Ishiro spoke: "Nagato, I'm getting serious now."
Nagato's expression turned grim as he nodded.
"Sage Art: Porcelain Release: Kunai Rain!" Dust Release wasn't suitable for a spar; this was Ishiro's strongest available technique.
"Earth Release: Mud Wall! Earth Release: Fortified Mud Wall!"
Facing a sky-blotting wave of porcelain kunai, Nagato knew dodging was useless. He first cast the faster Mud Wall to buy a precious second. Then, while retreating, he formed the seals for the A-rank Fortified Mud Wall.
The move worked. Ishiro's Kunai Rain slammed uselessly against the cliff-like barrier.
But the greatest power of Porcelain Release was its controllability. Since the frontal assault failed, Ishiro commanded the kunai to change direction.
The rain of kunai split into three groups: two to flank from the left and right, and one to attack from the sky above. With his Mind's Eye, Ishiro didn't even need to visually locate Nagato.
"Summoning Technique!" Nagato summoned a giant, three-headed dog.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Thousands of porcelain kunai struck the hound, but instead of dying, it began to split, multiplying under the barrage, firmly shielding Nagato.
Taking this chance, Nagato summoned several more giant beasts. His own body entered the mouth of a giant centipede, the last one summoned.
While the three-headed dog was still struggling against the kunai rain, the other giant summons charged out from under the barrage, moving around the fortified wall to attack Ishiro.
Ishiro just smiled. Half the kunai rain continued to suppress the dog, while the other half chased the giant centipede carrying Nagato.
At the same time, Ishiro multi-tasked, casting jutsu to attack the other charging summons.
"Sage Art: Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique! Sage Art: Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
Another combination, this time using high-level Sage Art. The resulting wide-area attack surpassed a typical S-rank jutsu in power.
A violent hurricane carrying a sea of fire directly struck the first beast, a giant rhino, swallowing it in an instant.
Poof!
Before it even got close to Ishiro, the giant rhino vanished in a cloud of smoke, clearly having taken critical damage and being forced to return.
"Sage Art: Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave! Sage Art: Lightning Release: Thunder Vine!"
A massive tsunami quickly submerged the second beast, a giant bull. Blinding lightning immediately flashed within the water.
Poof! The giant bull didn't last much longer than the rhino.
"Sage Art: Water Release: Water Cutting Technique!" Ishiro continued to weave seals.
A water-line, hundreds of meters long, slashed through an empty patch of air, stopping at a specific point.
In the next instant, a giant chameleon materialized, right at the edge of the water line.
Poof! The chameleon vanished. Ishiro hadn't harmed it, but Nagato knew he'd held back and dismissed the summon. Ishiro, in turn, dispelled the water line.
Immediately after, a giant, grotesque bird dove from the sky, its sharp beak—as large as a giant chisel—aiming to impale Ishiro.
"Sage Art: Water Release: Water Formation Pillar! Sage Art: Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!" This time, it wasn't a combination, but two senjutsu used in rapid succession.
The Water Pillar enveloped the charging bird, its immense current slowing the beast's dive. By the time the bird broke through the water, its greatest advantage—speed—was gone.
Dozens of wind bullets, like cannonballs, streaked past. The bird was now too slow to dodge.
In the next moment, Nagato dismissed the bird as well.
♧♧♧
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
♧♧♧
-> 35 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.patreon.com/c/Segais
(Just remove the hyphen to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you