This puppeteer is a bit... well...

Chapter 166 Psychological Game (Please subscribe and vote with monthly tickets)

Ding ding ding ding!!!

On the ruined commercial street, two figures swiftly fought back and forth, their weapons dancing wildly like a whirlwind, colliding and sparking brilliantly amidst the afterimages.

(This guy's physical skills are unbelievable!)

As the battle became increasingly intense, Ryuji's surprise grew.

This guy, who couldn't even dodge a regular shuriken in his battle with Sasuke in the original story, is now evenly matched with me in close combat.

Although it was clear from the exchange that Danzo was slightly less skilled than him, he managed to turn the tide and achieve a draw by relying on his extensive combat experience and Sharingan.

Shouldn't the script be that the fight ends in a swift victory?

Or is it that he is now far from being the same Sasuke he was when he fought Danzo?

No, that's absolutely not true.

Even if one is an anime and the other is real life, if they are top-notch masters, you can still feel their skill level just from the visuals.

My current strength is almost the same as Sasuke's back then, and I even far surpass him in terms of stability and endurance.

Moreover, this is a contest of physical skills.

Ryuji's taijutsu has reached the pinnacle of the ninja world. Even if there are opponents who are about the same level as him, there will be no one stronger than him.

But that's the result.

That only shows that Danzo at this time possessed a corresponding level of physical skill.

Actually, if you think about it carefully, this result is not surprising.

Danzo will be 73 years old during the Five Kage Summit. The Tsuchikage Onoki, who is about the same age as him, can't even walk properly without straining his back. Even if Danzo is in better physical condition, how much better can he be?

Naturally, physical skills, which are closely related to the body, wouldn't be much stronger either.

Moreover, when fighting Sasuke, he activated Izanagi, which would blind one of his Sharingan eyes within a minute, whether he died or not. Rather than wasting time dodging, it was better to try to trade injury for life.

To put it bluntly, Ryuji's perception that Danzo was weak was a misconception created by the Third Hokage.

The fact that the Third Hokage could still unleash such powerful taijutsu at the age of 69 led him to misunderstand the average taijutsu level of this old ninja.

Little did people know that the Third Hokage was an all-around genius who had shown talent surpassing that of the Second Hokage from a young age.

He was even dissatisfied with the talents of the three legendary ninjas, considering them true freaks.

Ordinary people, no, ordinary geniuses, cannot be like him.

If Danzo's taijutsu was truly weak, would he have developed the Wind Release technique "Vacuum Blade," which is clearly only usable in close combat?

That must be a ninjutsu developed through frequent close combat.

……

Ding ding ding!!!

The fight between the two continued.

There are no special moves; the only approach is to find the opponent's weakness and then attack at a speed too fast for the naked eye to see, or to counter the opponent's moves, block their attacks, and then launch a counterattack.

The two fought back and forth on the abandoned street, their extremely fast afterimages making the Konoha ninjas watching from afar swallow hard.

"That Ryuji Ayaki is incredibly strong!" a Konoha ANBU member exclaimed in surprise. "His previous ninjutsu was completely countered, and now he's holding his own in taijutsu. Is he really only 15 years old?"

"Ryuuji Ayaki was already renowned in the ninja world half a year ago, so it's not surprising that he has such a level of skill. What's really astonishing is that the old man who fought him was able to hold his own against him."

A Konoha ninja wearing a green vest continued the conversation of the Anbu ninja, saying, "Speaking of that old man, I feel like I've seen him a few times at the Hokage Building. Is he the head of some secret department in Konoha?"

"You already guessed it's a big shot from the secret service, and you're still asking? Don't you know the rules?" The ANBU ninja was speechless.

The ninja in the standard vest smiled apologetically and said, "Sorry, but after seeing his strength, I was really curious."

"Stop talking, let's go help," said the other ninja. "The outcome is uncertain right now. If we lend a hand, we'll definitely win."

"But... won't our strength just make things worse?" a Chunin hesitated. "I can't even see what's going on between these two. If I intervene, I might accidentally hurt my comrades."

"...Jonin, come with me to help. Chunin, go and besiege that building over there. If we can capture the hostages, it will make him hesitate to act." An ANBU captain hesitated for a moment before giving the order.

People around them responded enthusiastically.

The ninjas watching from a distance split into two teams, each with over a hundred members, and charged toward the building, which was covered in sand, several hundred meters away.

The other twenty or so people rushed towards the battle between Ryuji and Danzo.

Ding!

Their weapons clashed again. Danzo was slightly out of breath, while Ryuji was still breathing smoothly.

He felt the fact that his body was gradually aging.

But a glimpse out of the corner of his eye caught the Konoha Jonin rushing to his aid, and a triumphant smile spread across his face. "You're dead!"

"That's not necessarily true," Ryuji replied confidently. "You haven't forgotten what my profession is, have you?"

Puppeteer!

Danzo thought to himself, his expression darkening.

Puppet masters excel at overwhelming a single enemy and are adept at fighting outnumbered when facing a larger enemy force, making them a class that is never at a disadvantage in terms of numbers.

Sure enough, just as the Jonin who came to provide support were halfway there, an orange beam the thickness of an egg pierced through the abandoned house next to them, and then, like a string of beads, pierced through everyone in the line, finally exploding violently a few meters away.

The towering flames in the distance and the tremors felt here stunned everyone.

Wow, such a powerful weapon exists!

"You should be grateful that they saved your life." Ryuji casually recounted the events that had terrified Danzo and made him feel like he had survived a close call.

He knew it was true.

The War Fortress played a crucial role in the war against the Akatsuki organization, and all the ninja villages investigated its relevant information.

Although the electromagnetic railgun, which is its core and even most powerful weapon, has a long wind-up and a straight-line attack trajectory, it is basically impossible for it to hit a skilled opponent.

However, if someone is there to create opportunities, it's not entirely impossible to hit the target.

If you don't know where this thing is hidden beforehand and are then entangled by an opponent of similar skill level, the probability of being ambushed is over 80%.

No, with something like this secretly targeting you, no one can fully commit to the battle.

As a seasoned veteran, he knows better than anyone what the consequences of being distracted in a battle of equal strength would be.

Danzo immediately gave the order, "Go and deal with the War Fortress. The energy cannon it just fired needs a few seconds to charge up, and its trajectory can only be a straight line. Be careful to spread out."

"yes!"

Upon hearing Danzo's description, all the Jonin were jolted back to reality by the immense power of the energy cannon they had just witnessed.

If a weapon has multiple weaknesses, then even if it is several times more powerful, it will not pose a threat to them.

Seeing out of the corner of his eye that the Jonin had all turned around and followed the attack trajectory to find the Steel Fortress, Danzo turned his attention back to Ryuji.

To his surprise, this guy, who often used despicable means such as language or sneak attacks to win battles, did not take the opportunity to attack him at this moment.

Do you feel confident of victory?

Danzo's face was ashen, and he tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword.

However, in a simple contest of strength, how can a body nearing fifty compare to the body of a young immortal?

He's really overthinking things.

With a half-smile, Ryuji gripped his twin swords, crossed them, and pressed them against Danzo's katana, slowly pushing them towards his chest.

While using force to suppress them, he said, "Do you think your men can defeat the War Fortress?"

Upon hearing this, Danzo's heart skipped a beat.

The entire ninja world received intelligence about how outstanding the War Fortress's performance was in the war against the Akatsuki.

Although it was a surprise attack and the Akatsuki had no countermeasures or weapons, the power of the War Fortress cannot be denied.

He was worried that his men wouldn't be a match for the war fortress when he sent them to deal with it.

But in order not to distract himself, he forced himself not to think about the problem.

But Ryuji's mention of it at this moment, coupled with his confident smile, made Danzo worry about the situation there once again.

He wasn't worried about his men's lives, but rather that they wouldn't be able to hold off the war fortress and would launch a surprise attack from behind while he was focused on fighting Ryuji.

At that point, everything will be over.

When a person is distracted, they cannot give their all.

Ryuji sensed that the opponent's power had weakened from the blade, but he did not take the opportunity to crush him.

Because at this time, Danzo's understanding of the matter was not yet thorough enough.

Taking action at this point will allow him to react in time and make timely adjustments.

Ryuji's eyes darted around, and he continued with a light laugh, "Well, you don't need to worry too much. Although even if there were twice as many Jonin of that level, they still wouldn't be a match for the War Fortress, but they can still hold it off for a while."

Upon hearing this, Danzo subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

When a person relaxes mentally, their muscles also relax.

Although Danzo quickly realized something was wrong, Ryuji had planned ahead and seized this brief moment. He channeled wind-attribute chakra into his twin swords and concentrated all his strength into one point, instantly pressing Danzo's katana into his chest.

Due to the length of the blades and the extended blade shape created by wind-style chakra, the tips of the twin blades pressed into Danzo's shoulder, causing blood to gush out.

"Go to hell!"

Ryuji roared with all his might, leveled his twin swords, and aimed the blades at Danzo's neck, closing them like scissors to cut off his head.

But at the critical moment, Danzo touched the ground with his feet and flew backward.

The wind blade left a thin, bloody gash on his neck, and blood still drifted in the air.

However, it's too shallow.

Danzo covered his neck with one hand and retreated rapidly, his face showing some panic.

"Don't run!"

Long Er's eyes widened, and he looked like a madman as he chased after the attacker, his blade dripping with blood.

On one side, they were injured and retreating, their minds still in a panic; on the other side, they were riding high, pressing their advantage.

Even if the two are about the same speed, given these inherent conditions, the outcome is obvious.

With just a few strides, Ryuji caught up with Danzo and brought his already raised short sword down hard.

(End of this chapter)