Konoha's Hextech Ninja

But most people were just there to watch the battle for the spectacle.

Kurenai, however, was shouting loudly from the side, "Yoruichi-kun, do your best!"

After spending a semester together, Kurenai Yuhi has completely become a fan of Yoruichi Yagami.

She didn't care about the battle at all; she just wanted to see Yoruichi Yagami win.

……

Yoruichi Yagami and Kakashi Hatake stood facing each other in the training ground.

"How should we fight?" Yagami Yoruichi asked. "The same as usual? Or should we be more direct?"

“Since you want to show them your true strength, then treat it like a real battle.” Kakashi Hatake drew his short sword, formed the opposing hand seal with one hand, and said, “You throw the stone.”

In a sparring match between two people, there is usually no referee.

The way to shout 'start' is to throw a stone into the air; when the stone lands, it means the battle has begun.

Yagami Yoruichi nodded, picked up a finger-sized pebble from the ground, and casually tossed it into the air.

As the rubble rose, Yagami Yoruichi held a kunai in his right hand while forming the opposing hand seal with his left.

Neither of them glanced at the flying pebbles; their eyes were completely focused on their opponent.

After a brief ascent, the gravel reaches its highest point, gradually losing its kinetic energy, and falls back to the ground under the influence of gravity, its speed increasing rapidly.

A few seconds later, the rubble fell to the ground, and the two figures disappeared from the spot at the same time, leaving only a faint afterimage.

Bang Bang Bang ~!

The sound of blades clashing rang out continuously, but most of the students in Class 1-A couldn't see the two people's movements at all. They could only see two shadows moving around the training ground, occasionally colliding with each other.

"So fast!"

When Uchiha Tetsuka saw the two fighting, his eyes widened and countless blood vessels appeared, making one wonder if he would awaken his Sharingan at any moment due to the great stimulation.

"His speed is faster than before. At this speed, it's too difficult for me to find an opportunity to unleash my ninjutsu!"

Sarutobi Asuma also had a serious expression. He was one of the few students whose eyesight could keep up with the speed at which Yagami Yoruichi and Hatake Kakashi fought.

During this period, he had been receiving special training from his older brother, and he thought he had grown very quickly.

But unexpectedly, Yoruichi Yagami's growth seemed even more astonishing.

Even Miteke was surprised and shouted, "Kakashi, it seems you haven't neglected your training! Unleash your youth to the fullest, Kakashi!"

Seeing Mattek's excited and tearful appearance, several classmates who were close to him couldn't help but shudder and moved a few steps to the side to keep their distance from Mattek as much as possible.

On the battlefield.

Kakashi Hatake and Yoruichi Yagami clashed, and Kakashi finally found an opportunity to form hand seals while his figure was briefly obscured by the trees.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

An identical Kakashi Hatake appeared beside him, but instead of emerging from behind the tree, he immediately hid, looking for an opportunity.

His main body quickly stepped forward and continued to clash with Yagami Yoruichi's swordsmanship.

“My father said that the main use of shadow clones in battle is to confuse and ambush the enemy. He knew I could use shadow clones, but I shouldn’t have been discovered during that opportunity…”

Kakashi Hatake recalled the key points of using shadow clones in battle and instinctively increased the frequency of his attacks, raising the intensity of their already high-level close-quarters combat to another level.

"Active acceleration?"

Yoruichi Yagami noticed that Kakashi Hatake was adjusting the rhythm of the battle, but for the moment, she couldn't figure out what he was thinking.

Just now, Kakashi Hatake briefly disappeared from her sight. Yoruichi Yagami knew that there must be something wrong with this, but she couldn't conclude that Kakashi Hatake used Shadow Clone Technique based on this alone.

There are so many things that can be done in this brief moment.

Shadow clones, or setting a simple trap, planting an explosive tag, or even doing nothing but a feint to distract oneself, are all possibilities.

Before figuring out Kakashi Hatake's intentions, the best course of action is to find a way to take the battle rhythm back into their own hands.

"In close combat, I have the physical advantage and am not afraid at all. You're the one who should be worried. Let me see what tricks you've prepared."

Yagami Yoru remained completely calm, his kunai flying up and down. He didn't use many techniques, relying purely on brute force to suppress Kakashi Hatake's short sword, leaving him only able to defend and no room for counterattack.

However, Yagami Yoruichi noticed that when Hatake Kakashi was forced to retreat, he intentionally or unintentionally lured himself toward the spot where he had just 'disappeared'.

"There's definitely a problem!" Yagami Yoruichi's vigilance immediately heightened.

Chapter 33 Three Stages of the Water Rage Wave

"We can't follow his lead!"

Before Yagami Yoruichi's brain could process anything, her body reacted instinctively, throwing a kunai at Kakashi Hatake's face.

Kakashi Hatake subconsciously raised his sword to deflect the kunai, but Yoruichi Yagami had already taken advantage of the opening to leap backward, quickly forming hand seals.

After months of hard training, Yagami Yoruichi had already improved her proficiency in Water Release: Water Chaos Wave to an extremely high level. Her hand seal speed and the speed at which she released the ninjutsu were far beyond what she could have achieved when she first learned the technique.

Kakashi Hatake and Yoruichi Yagami had sparred many times, so Kakashi naturally knew how fast Yoruichi Yagami could unleash ninjutsu.

As soon as he saw Yagami Yoruichi begin forming hand seals, he immediately realized something was wrong.

He didn't even bother to put away the short sword in his hand; he simply let go and began to quickly form hand seals as well.

At the same time, a distinct chakra surge came from behind the tree. It was Kakashi Hatake's shadow clone, whose ninjutsu was already prepared and rushed out.

The shadow clone's hands flashed with lightning, the lightning stimulating its entire body, making the shadow clone's speed more than twice as fast as Kakashi Hatake's maximum speed at full power.

Even Yoruichi Yagami couldn't match that speed.

Escape is simply impossible.

There's no escaping it.

As for taking a direct hit, the ball of lightning in Kakashi Hatake's shadow clone's hand, which emitted a sharp scream, looked incredibly lethal and was simply impossible for a flesh-and-blood body to withstand.

In the blink of an eye, the duel between the two reached its crucial moment.

"It really is Chidori, but this voice seems a bit off. Is it because it's not fully developed yet?"

A thought flashed through Yagami Yoruichi's mind.

Kakashi Hatake's shadow clone rushed forward extremely fast, arriving in front of Yoruichi Yagami in the blink of an eye, his right hand holding a ball of lightning, intending to stab Yoruichi Yagami in the chest.

Just then, Yagami Yoruichi completed the final '卯' hand seal.

Chakra, almost tangible, gathered around Yagami Yoruichi, transforming into a large amount of water at a visible speed.

Nine jets of water shot out, blocking the path of Kakashi Hatake's shadow clones from all angles.

Stimulated by the lightning chakra, Kakashi Hatake's shadow clones became incredibly fast, but his consciousness and reaction speed were clearly not keeping up with the surge in speed.

Faced with such a close-range water burst, he had no time to react and was struck by nine water jets, causing his shadow clone to instantly dissipate.

After defeating the shadow clone, the nine water pillars merged into one and swept towards Kakashi Hatake's main body.

"Earth Release-Earth Flow Wall!"

A mud wall rises from the ground, with three cute dog heads carved on top of it.

The seemingly thin earthen wall was incredibly sturdy, remaining unmoved by the impact of the water flow and perfectly withstanding Yagami Yoruichi's attacks.

"My speed has improved a lot, but my reaction speed is not fast enough. I can't react in time to the enemy's counterattack."

"If we could react a little faster and dodge the turbulent water, we could have won in one fell swoop."

Kakashi Hatake absorbed the memories transmitted back after the shadow clones dissipated, still pondering the scene of their recent battle.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that after the water hit the earthen wall and spread to both sides, the trajectory of its flow seemed somewhat abnormal.

It doesn't look like it's spreading out naturally.

Furthermore, the dense chakra fluctuations within the water were clearly perceptible to him at this distance, even though he wasn't a sensory ninja.

"not good!"

Kakashi Hatake's eyes widened instantly, realizing what was happening.

But it was too late.

On the other side.

Yoruichi Yagami formed a strange hand seal, making a fist with one hand and raising her thumb, while the palm of her other hand wrapped around the fist from below.

It is the 'front' seal in the Nine Syllable Mantra.

Yagami Yoruichi studied the Nine Syllable Mantra for several months, and although she didn't achieve anything particularly remarkable, she could at least manage to do it.

As the 'forward' hand seal was formed, Yagami Yoruichi clearly felt that the connection between himself and the chakra contained in the 'Water Release: Water Chaos Wave' that had already been released was becoming clearer. He was even able to control this part of the chakra that had been transformed into ninjutsu to a certain extent, causing it to change its form further.

"Mizuranpa-jitsu!"

Without hesitation, Yagami Yoruichi mobilized the water that had already spread out to both sides, bringing it back together into two columns of water that swept towards the back of the earthen wall.

Despite the earthen wall blocking her view, Yoruichi Yagami could not see the location of Kakashi Hatake's main body.

But that doesn't matter. As long as the area behind the earthen wall is completely covered, Kakashi Hatake will have nowhere to hide.

Such a short time is not enough for him to use another defensive ninjutsu.

As expected, when faced with the oncoming water column, Kakashi Hatake did not choose to block it head-on, but instead jumped onto the earthen wall to avoid it.

However, taking both feet off the ground is itself an extremely risky move.

If the enemy launches a pursuit at this time, there will be nowhere to gain leverage in mid-air, and there will be no way to dodge.

Yoruichi Yagami maintained the 'forward' hand seal and once again mobilized the chakra contained within the Water Chaos Wave.

Three stages of Mizuranpa!

A column of water shot up from the ground, chasing after Kakashi Hatake in mid-air.

Just before it was about to hit Kakashi Hatake, the water automatically dispersed, and it didn't actually hit him.

Although the Water Release: Water Chaos Wave is not very powerful, if you were to take a direct hit, you would inevitably have to spend a few days in the hospital.

Since the outcome has already been decided, there's no need to go to such lengths.

With lingering fear, Kakashi Hatake stepped onto the tree trunk and used it to leap back to the ground.

"I lost again." Kakashi Hatake looked at Yoruichi Yagami and said somewhat dejectedly, "I thought my new ninjutsu would defeat you before you could even react."

“Your intentions are too obvious.” Yagami Yoru bluntly pointed out Kakashi Hatake’s mistake: “Now that I’ve noticed you’ve hidden your Shadow Clone Jutsu, I certainly won’t follow your lead. Besides, this ninjutsu of yours is a close-combat type. Although it’s fast and powerful, your reaction speed isn’t fast enough. Once the enemy has the strength to retaliate, it will put you in danger.”

“That’s why I chose to use Shadow Clone Jutsu to perform this technique.” Kakashi Hatake didn’t hold back much, sharing his thought process with Yoruichi Yagami: “Using Shadow Clone Jutsu, even if it fails, at most I’ll lose some chakra. However, it’s very difficult for me to keep this technique stable in the hands of Shadow Clone Jutsu right now. This time it was an exceptional performance; usually, the Shadow Clone Jutsu will dissipate on its own halfway through.”

"actually……"

Kakashi Hatake hesitated for a moment before saying, "Even in the most perfect situation, I can only keep the shadow clones active for a maximum of two seconds. Beyond two seconds, no matter how perfectly I control the ninjutsu, the shadow clones will inevitably dissipate."

Chapter 34 Chidori's Flaw

Hearing Kakashi Hatake's words, Yoruichi Yagami was not surprised at all.

The unique feature of the Shadow Clone Technique is that the shadow clones will dissipate as long as they suffer a certain degree of injury.

The criteria for judging this 'certain degree of injury' are very low; basically, a minor scrape is all it takes.

The technique 'Chidori' uses lightning-attribute chakra to stimulate cells, thereby unleashing astonishing speed, which in itself causes some damage to the body.

For a ninja, such damage is negligible.

But when it comes to Shadow Clone, the problem becomes much bigger.

If you lose control even slightly and exceed the limits of the Shadow Clone Technique, the Shadow Clone Technique will simply dissipate.

No matter how perfectly controlled, it is impossible to maintain it for a long time.

Kakashi Hatake's shadow clone only maintained the 'Chidori' state for less than a second.

Although it was dispersed by Yagami Yoruichi's Water Release ninjutsu, even without Yagami Yoruichi's attack, that shadow clone could not have maintained the 'Chidori' state for more than three seconds.

three seconds.

Judging from the speed that Kakashi Hatake's shadow clone just showed, it could only travel a few hundred meters.

If you want to avoid enemy attacks, this distance will be even shorter.

“Using it with your main body is the best option, but your reaction speed can’t keep up with your body speed,” Yagami Yoruichi said. “You have two choices: either find a way to improve your reaction speed, or change the direction of this ninjutsu, such as making it a long-range attack type, so you don’t have to worry about the enemy’s counterattack. Or you can spread the lightning chakra throughout your body, increasing your speed and defense at the same time, which can also help you avoid the enemy’s counterattack to some extent.”