Konoha's Mission Master

As Yakumo gathered his strength, orange-red flames ignited directly in the void, resembling countless budding fire lotuses.

"Sage Art: Wood Release: Blood Soul Armor".

In an instant, Yakumo donned blood-red armor, and at that very moment, the surrounding fire lotuses gradually gathered, transforming the arena into a sea of ​​fire.

"Fire Domain".

"Eternal Sleep Mist".

The lead-gray mist churned and spread.

Grandpa Chongguo's gaze sharpened slightly, and the surrounding temperature instantly rose.

Yakumo only heard a deep and aged voice.

"Such an evil spirit should be purified with a blade."

In the orange-red flames, lead-gray mist churned and rolled under the scorching heat, gradually evaporating due to the high temperature. From the depths of the mist, unknown evil spirits let out painful howls.

Yakumo and Shigekuni exchanged glances, wary of each other.

In this old man, Yakumo sensed a very special aura, as if he had seen the world and all things after experiencing all kinds of hardships, and as if he had a strong command and vision.

It is hard to fathom and hard to understand.

Ancient, weathered, and explosive.

Yakumo's eternal slumber mist has been suppressed and rendered useless, and the will of this most ancient death god is simply unshakeable.

His intelligence attribute is above 90 points.

This is why Yakumo repeatedly failed. Even when there is not much difference in skill, the difference in the most basic attributes, even if it is only five or six points, can directly affect the outcome of the battle.

This time, unlike before, Yakumo has mastered entirely new skills.

"Soul Imprisonment!"

Yakumo spoke softly, and his soul energy spread outwards. As this energy spread, it surged and changed, forming an invisible domain.

The raging flames were gradually compressed and even extinguished.

"What a strange energy."

Grandpa Shigekuni wielded his Zanpakuto, making floating slashes... like a petrel skimming across the sea at an extremely fast speed, without causing any ripples.

The flames, which had been extinguished, reignited and burned fiercely again. The area constructed from soul energy gradually emitted the sound of cracking glass, as if the area was slowly collapsing.

Grandpa Chongguo moved forward as he asked.

"Young man, is there someone you want to protect?"

"of course."

"But... you are still too weak."

The fiery blade was already upon them, and Yakumo swung his sword to parry.

Both were master-level swordsmen, making it difficult to determine a winner instantly during the battle; they could only engage in a prolonged and intense struggle within the sea of ​​fire.

"Young man, only by specializing can you reach the peak."

"Your studies are rather disorganized, making it difficult to reach the peak."

"Don't worry, I have a cheat code," Yakumo thought to himself.

Ding.

As their weapons clashed, Yakumo seized the opportunity to immediately retreat.

"Refined by Holy Light".

"Swastika: The blade is like flowing fire, and the sword is like a residual fire."

Both unleashed their ultimate attacks simultaneously. Yakumo held up the Demon-Subduing Sword, which ignited with pure white flames under his gaze, the two flames clashing and resisting each other.

"Do you also wield fire?"

"I merely borrowed the power of the sun."

"That's interesting."

Grandpa Chongguo's wisdom is undoubtedly beyond that of ordinary people. Unlike the rigid and mechanical first few floors of the arena, he is more flesh and blood and can have normal conversations.

You can even provoke someone with words... but the outcome isn't pleasant.

Yakumo imagined himself being torn into eight pieces.

"A Thousandfold Infernal Hell".

The Zanpakuto was plunged into the earth, the entire arena gradually cracked, countless magma erupted outwards, the temperature of the entire world rose at a terrifying speed, and the blood-red armor appeared to be burning.

"Infinite Infernal Hell... Break!"

Grandpa Shigekuni stood still, his surroundings now an absolute forbidden zone, a move that had defeated Yakumo countless times.

The enemy's attack was simple: to raise the temperature of the entire arena to the level of the sun's surface, burning Yakumo to a crisp.

"Young man, how do you plan to resist this move?"

"There was really no other way before, but now we can give it a try."

Yakumo plans to use the new Soul-Soul Fruit-derived skill, Soul Imprisonment, to fight against Shigekuni's Infinite Fire Prison.

If one layer of Soul Restriction isn't enough, then continue stacking the skill.

"Soul Imprisonment!"

"Soul Imprisonment!!"

"Soul Imprisonment!!!"

One floor, two floors, three floors, ten floors.

Yakumo's soul energy dissipated at an extremely rapid pace, and the superposition of multiple complex soul positions formed an unshakable barrier, forcefully suppressing the flowing lava in the arena into the depths of the underground.

The rolling flames quickly dissipated.

The surrounding temperature dropped rapidly, and there were no more flames.

At this moment, the old man of Chongguo's expression changed slightly, and for the first time, he showed a look of surprise. In his view, the enemy was just unleashing a powerful spiritual pressure.

However, this spiritual pressure actually restricted his fire abilities.

This feels utterly unbelievable.

With a flash of golden light, Yakumo appeared beside Old Master Shigekuni, his Demon-Subduing Blade slashing down mercilessly. After suppressing the burning flame domain in the environment, he began a fierce attack on the enemy.

Furthermore, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique.

The speed increased several levels in an instant, and the golden shadow relentlessly attacked the old man Chongguo, with the frequency of weapon collisions reaching a hundred times per second.

Unable to gain the upper hand after a prolonged attack, Yakumo adjusted his breathing, and his offensive also experienced a very brief pause, which was perfectly seized upon by Grandpa Shigekuni.

"Remnant Fire Sword: Rising Sun Sword!"

The Zanpakuto's blade turned crimson, like a red-hot iron, radiating terrifyingly high temperatures—an attack that would incinerate anyone who made contact with it.

This is the temperature at the core of the sun.

Even though Yakumo's Blood Soul Armor was tough enough, it couldn't withstand that terrifying attack power, so... at this stage, Yakumo couldn't be hit even once.

In addition, he needs to defeat Grandpa Chongguo before his soul energy runs out, otherwise he will definitely be burned to ashes by the Infinite Fire Hell.

Faster, faster, even faster.

Yakumo separated a portion of his soul energy to cover his body, which, combined with the enhancement of his physical body by the soul energy, granted him even greater speed.

"Not bad!"

The old man's long beard was scattered in the air, and his withered body continuously emanated a terrifying pressure, making his hands, which were wielding the knife, even faster than lightning.

This wasn't physical strength, but rather the power of spiritual pressure used to forcibly enhance his body's strength. Come to think of it... shouldn't a Shinigami be a spirit?

Yakumo's blade sliced ​​across the arm; this was the first time he had injured Old Master Shigekuni, and a drop of blood flowed from the wound.

Old Master Chongguo has a physical body! He's a living person!

He is not in the spirit form that Death should be in!

"Injured? I haven't felt pain for thousands of years."

Grandpa Chongguo quickly retreated, trying to create distance.

With a flash of golden light, Yakumo held him tightly, his Demon Subduing Hands targeting various vital points.

Since it is a physical body, beheading is certain death.

This ironclad rule should be unbreakable by the enemy.

But he discovered that the enemy's Zanpakuto was about to be drawn from its sheath, and some powerful force broke through the seal of the Soul Restriction Skill. The surrounding temperature seemed to be rising rapidly, and the shadow of death enveloped Yakumo.

"Retreat, retreat, retreat, retreat!"

Yakumo found himself feeling fear.

"Broken Blade - North - Ashes of Heaven and Earth!"

Grandpa Shigekuni transformed into a burning thread, the end of which pointed directly at Yakumo's heart, as if the two were bound together by fate.

There's no way to dodge it, you can only defend against it.

This is the pinnacle of skill, energy, and even willpower combined.

This is the strongest sword technique, surpassing even the Grandmaster level!

This is a view that Yakumo envies!

Skills can lead to enlightenment; this is not just a saying.

Yakumo saw a clue in his enemy that led to a further advancement in swordsmanship: the fusion of skill and energy, with will or spirit as the harmonizing agent.

But he no longer had time to think.

The flames have arrived, and ashes are scattered.

The scene in the arena was frozen like a black and white photograph.

Yakumo's body regenerated from the ashes on the ground, and four large blood-red characters floated in the sky above.