Sure enough, from that blazing ball of fire falling from the sky, a meteor suddenly shot out, hurtling straight toward Konan.
That "meteor" was none other than A.
He appeared slightly disheveled, with some scorched marks on his body.
But in truth, he hadn't sustained any real injury. That explosion just now amounted to nothing in the face of Ai's full-power defense.
"This time, it's your actual body, right?!"
With a loud shout, Ai withdrew three of his fingers, leaving only two extended toward Konan's palm.
Hell Stab: Two-Finger Nukite!
The Hell Stab series, signature move of the Third Raikage, had now been inherited and displayed anew by his own son.
Even from a distance, Konan could sense the sharply focused force slicing through the air.
She knew that she had already been locked on by A.
However, Konan showed no sign of panic.
If A wanted to strike her, he would have to break through her sea of paper first!
Shh-shh-shh-shh-shh!
Paper is fragile. A single sheet of paper can be pierced by even a gentle poke.
But what if there are one hundred sheets, or a thousand sheets?
When countless sheets of paper layer on top of each other, they form a formidable defense.
After all, one may easily chop a single brick in half, but a thick book, stacked to brick-like thickness, is absolutely not so simple to cleave.
Forget cleaving; even tearing it by hand becomes difficult.
Right now, A personally witnessed the terror of such layering. He could clearly feel his power being whittled away by that defense.
As it goes: a single burst of momentum can carry you far, but if that burst is blunted, you lose your drive, and eventually you exhaust yourself.
A's strength remained potent as he pierced the first layer, the second layer, the hundredth layer, and even the five hundredth layer of paper.
But what about the five-thousandth, the fifty-thousandth?
Amassed into a vast "sea of paper," those sheets slowed A down more and more. Finally, his entire body halted, trapped in the frightening ocean of paper.
Then the paper suddenly constricted.
In the next moment, black markings began to appear across the surrounding sheets of paper and converged toward a single point.
It was clear that these markings aimed to seal A within.
Having often followed Hui and received his teachings, Konan might not be a master among masters in Fūinjutsu, but she was certainly no novice.
"Is it over? It seems the Angel is the stronger one after all!"
Someone in the crowd commented, believing that this match had already been decided.
"A is very strong too, but the Angel is just stronger."
"It's a bit of a shame, A seems to have been countered."
"I wouldn't say it's a strict counter; it's more that Konan the 'Heavenly Being' is simply too powerful."
The onlookers spoke up one after another.
Even Konan herself thought that the fight was about to end. Right then, she was jolted by a sudden chill, and her body moved instinctively.
Squelch!
Blood splattered. Up in midair, Konan looked at the cut on her arm, her expression grave.
Down below, light shimmered amid the sea of paper, splitting that paper ocean apart.
It was a streak of blue Senjutsu chakra, slicing like a razor-sharp sword.
A emerged from the paper sea. His hand was now extended with only one finger raised.
Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite.
No, there was more to it than that.
It should be called Hell Stab – One-Finger Wide Blade!
"Unbelievable…he actually had another move like that!"
Someone couldn't help but exclaim, surprised that a battle seemingly concluded had taken such a sudden turn.
"That's amazing. It looks like a blade formed from condensed battle-focused Senjutsu chakra. This technique is really powerful!"
"I've never seen it used before; it must be one of A's original creations!"
"I never imagined A had his own personal Senjutsu. He's never shown it in front of anyone, has he? He's been hiding it quite well."
All around, people began to talk, and soon the whole world was abuzz with discussion.
They were all excited because this battle was not yet over; the outcome between these two top contenders was still up in the air.
Up on the main platform, Hui nodded.
It had already been three or four years since he first spread the Eight Gates Sage Ascension Technique.
A had received his Sage Seal four years ago, during the very first conference, and it was then that he came into contact with Senjutsu.
In four years' time, he had long since converted most, if not all, of his chakra into Senjutsu chakra.
That he could now create his own Senjutsu technique was indeed worthy of recognition.
It truly was A's original Senjutsu technique:
Sage Technique – Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite Blade!
Of course, it was not entirely self-created out of nothing; one could also call it a performance-based variation.
Comparing Sage Technique – Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite Blade to the original Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite is akin to how the Chidori Sharp Spear compares to the Chidori.
It is a more powerful transformation of the original technique.
Moreover, this transformation was even greater than the Chidori Sharp Spear variant, involving not just a change in form but also in essence, because Senjutsu and standard ninjutsu are fundamentally different.
"I didn't expect you could create your own Senjutsu technique as well. Quite surprising."
Konan spoke, her tone and expression making A's face darken.
The way she phrased it almost implied he was somehow unworthy of creating Senjutsu techniques.
"It's a pity you managed to dodge in time."
A continued.
Moments ago, he had hoped to take Konan down in a single strike, but in the end, she had evaded at the last second, thanks to her body's reflexes.
"From now on, I'll fight with everything I have. I'm not going to hold back in this match."
Konan spoke as she raised her hand, and countless sheets of paper appeared.
"Are you planning to use the same tactic as before? It's useless against my One-Finger Nukite Blade. You'll only face the fate of being sliced apart!"
A declared, charging toward Konan.
Yet Konan showed no panic.
With a flap of her paper wings, she easily evaded his attack, while those sheets of paper were swiftly laid out somewhere behind her, hidden.
Sensing something amiss, A realized that since those papers were not being used to attack him, they must be serving some other purpose.
He knew Konan was clearly setting up her "home ground."
Under normal circumstances, the best response would be to leave at once, to get out of the area Konan was trying to control.
But this was a special situation: they were in a regulated match, with restrictions in place.
Konan could set up her home ground, and he had no real way to stop it.
"Damn it!"
He cursed under his breath, increasing his speed further.
If he couldn't prevent Konan from establishing her home ground, only one option remained: defeat her before she finished setting it up.
Unfortunately, though Konan was a woman and not particularly adept in taijutsu, her agility was even greater than A's.
That was because Konan was also among the earliest to receive Hui's Sage Seal, causing her body to evolve far beyond that of ordinary people, including her reaction speed.
The dodge just now was thanks to Konan's intense reflexes: her body responded even before her mind fully registered the danger.
"I told you, in the end, I'm the one who will win this match."
Konan spoke, which prompted A to retort loudly:
"I'm going to be the final winner! I will win this match!!!"
With a grim resolve, A prepared to unleash his secret technique.
He had reasons why he absolutely had to win…