Chapter 977: ...bearing the pressure that one should not have to bear at this age

Aura is something that cannot be seen or touched, yet it is inextricably linked to one's strength.

In the original story, Orochimaru once used his own aura in the Forest of Death during the Chunin Exams to pin Sasuke down, making him unable to even move.

This is the aura suppression brought about by a crushing disparity in strength.

Although the Third Kazekage had already attained Kage-level strength at a young age and used his sand-manipulation ninjutsu with supernatural skill, there was no doubt that compared to the two titans who dominated the Ninja World, he still appeared somewhat immature.

In fact, the Third Kazekage's sudden intrusion was originally a good opportunity to alleviate the standoff.

But clearly, the Third Kazekage was simply unable to grasp this opportunity.

When it comes down to it, it is still a matter of strength. The logic is simple: as the saying goes, when the snipe and the clam grapple, the fisherman reaps the benefit.

If the Third Kazekage's strength had been sufficient, reaching a level on par with Hanzo of the Salamander and the Third Raikage, then under his intrusion, the two would certainly not have dared to continue their standoff.

This is because both knew in their hearts that continuing the standoff would only provide an opportunity for the suddenly appearing third party to benefit, so they would tacitly cease their actions.

An invisible crisis might have been dissipated into nothingness.

But now, the awkwardness lies in the fact that the suddenly intruding Third Kazekage's strength was clearly inferior to Hanzo and the Third Raikage, and the worst thing he could have done was to release his own aura, joining the confrontation between the two and causing the three's energies to lock in a stalemate.

This is like two heavyweight boxing champions grappling in the ring, while an unknown fighter suddenly inserts himself between them. It matters not whether he intended to challenge them or attempt to separate them.

But clearly, he was still slightly unqualified and lacked sufficient weight to make the two stop and extinguish their momentum.

This resulted in the two "champions" not taking this third party seriously at all; instead, the most likely outcome was that the two champions would unanimously attack this third party who didn't know when to quit.

The final result would only be that this struggle would continue, and the intruding third party would passively become the "factor" that determined the winner of the two sides' struggle.

Consequently, Hanzo of the Salamander narrowed his eyes slightly and was the first to increase the efficiency of his chakra circulation. Purple chakra energy continuously overflowed from his body, and his long, ink-green hair, which draped over his shoulders, began to stir without wind. His terrifying aura instantly climbed to another level.

"Swoosh!"

And in the Third Kazekage's perception, within the previously gloomy and terrifying sea of poison on the left, a surge of extreme sharpness that made one's spine chill suddenly churned up!

This sudden and unexpected escalation of aura caused the Third Kazekage's pressure to suddenly double.

That was not all; on the other side, the Third Raikage seemed to understand something as well, and he also began to increase the aura on his body in unison.

"Crackle, crackle."

A sound of surging electric current appeared in the air, and a large amount of purple lightning suddenly overflowed from around the Third Raikage. This was the Lightning Armor that passively manifested when the Third Raikage pushed his chakra to its peak state!

The Third Raikage's already explosive aura also climbed in a straight line as if it had taken a rocket, and an aura that seemed to want to destroy everything erupted from his body.

"Boom!"

For a moment, the Third Kazekage only felt a series of explosions coming from his right side. He looked over and felt that the purple "Lightning Swamp" on his right had already turned pitch black.

At this moment, the arrogance and high spirits on his face were gone; all that remained was endless solemnity and pressure, and cold sweat had unknowingly soaked his back.

Between these two massive auras, he felt as helpless and insignificant as a lone boat in a storm.

The pitch-black Iron Sand domain, which he had been able to barely support, began to be compressed and eroded bit by bit, and it was visibly on the verge of shattering and collapsing.

The Third Kazekage gritted his teeth, a trace of unwillingness flashing in his eyes. At this moment, the veins on his forehead were throbbing, and the indignation in his heart reached its peak.

Under such an intense collision of auras, if he still hadn't recognized the identities of the two people putting pressure on him, then he would have been a Kazekage for nothing.

The man on the left, whose aura was like a sea of poison and radiated heaven-shaking sharpness, was undoubtedly Hanzo of the Salamander from Amegakure.

And the iron-tower-like giant on the right, who was like a bolt of lightning in the human world, was naturally the Third Raikage of Kumogakure.

After knowing their identities, the Third Kazekage could accept even less that he was being firmly suppressed by the two, to the point where it looked like he was about to be directly crushed.

He was the Kazekage! The man who stood at the pinnacle of the Land of Wind! When had he ever suffered such a great humiliation!!!

Even though he was being targeted by both sides at this moment, how could he yield?

"No!!!"

He roared in his heart, showing no intention of giving up, and forcibly drove the chakra in his body to boost his aura, attempting to forcibly withstand the auras of the two Super-Kage level powerhouses.

Unexpectedly, under the Third Kazekage's desperate efforts, he actually managed to withstand it for a moment. Although the Iron Sand domain was suppressed into a sorry state, it still existed tenaciously between the "Sea of Poison" and the "Lightning Swamp."

"Boom!"

The Third Raikage and Hanzo of the Salamander narrowed their eyes simultaneously and once again boosted their auras regardless of the cost.

·· ····Seeking flowers··· ····

"Not good!"

Pressure like Mount Tai crashed down onto the Third Kazekage's shoulders. Caught off guard, his body shook violently a few times, and he was about to lose his support.

At this critical moment, two arms slowly supported the Third Kazekage's shoulders!

It was the Third Kazekage's capable assistants, the Sunagakure ninja Rasa and the Sunagakure ninja Ye Cang.

These two naturally knew the danger the Third Kazekage was facing at this moment, so they provided assistance to their Kazekage without regard for anything else.

It must be said that both Rasa and Ye Cang were outstanding talents of Sunagakure in the future. With the full help of the two, it actually had a certain effect.

Within the Iron Sand domain, scorching vacuum energy and dazzling gold-dust particles appeared one after another, helping the Third Kazekage alleviate some of the pressure.

With the help of the two assistants, the Third Kazekage once again found a way out of a desperate situation.

But this scene made the "audience" on the other side extremely anxious.

As the saying goes, those involved are confused, while the bystanders are clear.

The Third Kazekage had intruded into the situation himself and didn't understand the circumstances, but as the host and a bystander, how could Mifune not understand the crux of the matter?

Right now, Hanzo of the Salamander and the Third Raikage were suddenly increasing their power, not because they wanted to make things difficult for the Third Kazekage, the intruding third party.

It was because they were once again competing against each other using the Third Kazekage as the medium.

That's right, they were treating the Third Kazekage as the "battlefield" for their confrontation.

Whether it was the Third Raikage or Hanzo of the Salamander, both were heroes who had dominated the Ninja World for many years.

With strength at their level, it was difficult to even find a recognized opponent in daily life.

Suddenly seeing an existence with similar strength, it was inevitable that they would feel the urge to compete. Following that was a problem: as the saying goes, one mountain cannot hold two tigers; there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts.

Unless there was an existence that both could sincerely admire to suppress them, such figures meeting together would inevitably lead to a contest of superiority.

But even if one does not respect the monk, one must respect the Buddha; Mifune naturally did not have the face to make the two stop, but this "Buddha" referred to someone else, and this person was, of course, the initiator of this Ninja World Summit—Mizunuki Ryosuke.

In any case, out of respect for Mizunuki Ryosuke, it was impossible for the Third Raikage and Hanzo of the Salamander to directly fight to decide the outcome.

The contest of "aura" became an effective means for the two to determine who was superior. ===== CHAPTER 979 =====