Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 123 Ten Bloodline Limits

Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's battle declaration, Xia Zuo smiled and nodded, saying, "Alright, here I come."

Xia Zuo's figure disappeared, and the next moment he appeared on both sides of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

[Body Instantaneous Movement Technique]

[Clone Technique]

Hiruzen Sarutobi, a veteran Kage-level ninja, instantly recognized the clone on his right and hurriedly turned around to defend against the attack launched by Natsume from the right.

In this unexpected turn of events, Hiruzen Sarutobi not only blocked Natsu's attack but also had the strength to counterattack with kunai.

The two exchanged blows seven or eight times in a second, and then Xia Zuo voluntarily stepped back.

Xia Zuo felt puzzled and couldn't help but ask, "Strange, Hiruzen Sarutobi, your body is indeed decaying, so how come your strength is so much stronger than I expected?"

"Never mind, it's not stronger than expected anyway, everything is under control."

Xia Zuo activated his Swift Escape state. With the support of the dual Emperor Engines, heat surged from his lower back to his entire body, and the hairs on his skin stood on end, suddenly enhancing his perception of the outside world.

In his Swift Escape state, Xia Zuo's attack speed was incredibly fast, completely exceeding Hiruzen Sarutobi's visual capabilities, and he disappeared from his sight.

Since Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't even see him, Natsumi was able to fight him with ease.

First, he knocked the kunai out of the old man's hand, then he repeatedly punched, slapped, and kicked the old man's body and head.

Hiruzen Sarutobi could only rely on his combat experience and intuition to barely block Shaza's attack with his armor and helmet, but he still suffered serious injuries.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, panting heavily, stared at Natsume in astonishment.

After personally experiencing Xia Zuo's high speed, he noticed something amiss and blurted out, "This isn't just a normal speed boost; this is the Swift Release Kekkei Genkai!"

"So that ghost ninja was you too! You've actually awakened two bloodline limits!"

Xia Zuo chuckled: "What do you mean by awakening two bloodline limits? Apart from the Wood Release bloodline limit, I fused all the other bloodline limits on my own."

"Furthermore, the bloodline limits I've successfully fused aren't just two!"

He pointed his finger, and a dazzling blue laser beam instantly struck in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi, knocking his helmet off.

A large hole was shot through the flying helmet, nearly killing Hiruzen Sarutobi.

【Storm Release: Light Fang】

Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowly escaped death; it was the first time in 30 years he had come so close. In a panic, he exclaimed, "That's Cloud Village's Storm Release!"

Xia Zuo didn't give Sarutobi Hiruzen time to be surprised. A large amount of steam suddenly emerged from his body, and the steam created a powerful propulsion.

Boil Escape can only grant a speed far less than Rapid Escape, but the power generated by steam jets is astonishing.

With just one punch, Xia Zuo made Sarutobi Hiruzen stagger, unable to defend himself and only able to dodge backward.

Hiruzen Sarutobi rolled backward and leaped, but Xia Zuo's attacks were relentless, forcing Hiruzen to use the Shadow Clone Technique repeatedly, expending most of his chakra to barely create distance.

He also recognized the origin of the steam and exclaimed, "This is Boil Release from Iwagakure! You've truly fused multiple bloodline limits!"

As he exclaimed in surprise, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly formed hand seals, then pulled out a shuriken and threw it.

[Ninja Art: Hand-held Sword Shadow Clone Technique]

The shuriken split continuously in the air, and in the blink of an eye, it became 128 shuriken, densely covering Xia Zuo.

Because of the flying nature of the shuriken, the attack unfolds simultaneously from all directions, leaving no blind spots.

Xia Zuo reached out and beckoned, causing all the shuriken to tremble violently, then change their flight paths and converge into his palm.

After a burst of white smoke, only a dark shuriken remained.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was solemn as he muttered, "The Magnet Release of Sunagakure can actually directly control my shuriken and shuriken shadow clones."

"How is this possible? This is even more powerful than the Fourth Kazekage's Magnet Release."

Xia Zuo looked at the shuriken in his hand and couldn't help but laugh, thinking of Orochimaru who blocked this technique with just three coffins in the future.

He shook his head and said, "Heh, so the [Shadow Clone Technique] can achieve a 360-degree attack with no blind spots. Your fight with Orochimaru had a lot of theatrical elements."

"It's at least three or four stories high."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, his face filled with fear and wariness, ignored everything Xia Zuo said and asked to himself, "Just how many bloodline limits do you possess?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was proficient in the transformation and transformation of the seven types of chakra, and mastered thousands of ninjutsu, earning him the title of "Professor of Ninjutsu".

Therefore, he still admired the power of bloodline limits and spent his whole life trying to fuse with them, but without any success.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't failed to fuse his bloodline limit, why would he have needed to develop something like the [Combination Ninjutsu: Great Five Escape Combo]?

Combination ninjutsu is not only difficult to master, but also requires an excessive number of hand seals, involves exaggerated chakra fluctuations, and consumes chakra in a manner that is maddening, making it extremely impractical.

Even Hiruzen Sarutobi could only use it two or three times at most, and only on a large-scale battlefield with the cover of many ninjas.

Compared to this, isn't the fast, efficient, and powerful Bloodline Limit better?

The development of bloodline limits, like the succession of the Hokage position, is a knot in Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart that is difficult to untie.

Even knowing the situation was extremely dangerous, he couldn't help but ask.

Xia Zuo didn't hide anything and said, "I have mastered ten bloodline limits, and I am currently developing a higher-level bloodline elimination."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, utterly bewildered, exclaimed, "This...this is impossible—"

"Nothing is impossible. As long as you find the right method, determine the correct direction of qualitative change, and find a suitable fusion core, you can successfully fuse the bloodline limit."

Xia Zuo said with a sneer, "Of course, if no records are kept during the fusion process and the fusion is done entirely based on intuition and luck, the chances of success are indeed very low."

Suddenly, Xia Zuo realized that Hiruzen Sarutobi's distraught state was a bit too much. He frowned slightly and entered Swift Escape mode again to launch an attack.

Hiruzen Sarutobi instantly shook off his dazed state and engaged in a fierce battle with Natsume.

His previous dejected state was indeed an act.

Moreover, while Xia Zuo was speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi must have used some kind of secret technique or secretly taken some kind of secret medicine to greatly enhance his speed and reaction time.

However, his cheeks had an abnormal redness, and his lips were slightly dark purple, and he showed obvious signs of excitement.

Such a burst of power certainly cannot last, but it is a big problem.

Hiruzen Sarutobi has been the Hokage for many years and has mastered countless secret techniques and hidden skills. If given more time, he might be able to break the barrier outside the courtyard.

If he were to break out of the Hokage's residence, it would inevitably cause chaos in Konoha.