Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 193 I Pay to Learn Ninjutsu

While creating distance, his hands were also busy, quickly forming a hand seal. The chakra in his mouth and abdomen was ready to erupt, transforming into a ball of flame that shot towards Kakuzu. Whether it hit or not was secondary; the important thing was to use the force of the flame to create distance.

The fireball, carrying intense heat and pressure, hurtled towards them, but Jiao remained unmoved.

"boom."

The fireball hit directly, kicking up a large amount of dust.

Aokiji himself couldn't believe that his fire-style technique had hit.

When this happens, it's either because they didn't dodge, or because they were too lazy to move, or even because they didn't bother to dodge.

Kakuzu's skills clearly fall into the latter category.

As the thick smoke thinned slightly, the outline of a figure slowly emerged—it was Kakuzu.

Aokiji's pupils contracted as he focused his gaze, noticing Kakuzu's black fist. He recognized the subtle detail; if he remembered correctly, this was Earth Release: Earth Spear, one of Kakuzu's signature ninjutsu.

Every time Aokiji sees Kakuzu use this move, he can't help but think of Armament Haki.

Not only do they look very similar, but their abilities are also quite alike.

By using the earth-attribute chakra flowing within his body, he can harden any point on his body, turning his skin black. This technique combines offense and defense, and it was with this method that Kakuzu managed to block Aokiji's Fireball Technique.

Although this technique is only B-rank, it is quite practical. Aokiji has been eyeing it for a long time. If it weren't for the fact that he doesn't possess earth-style chakra and can't unleash the full power of this ninjutsu, Aokiji would have used his "money power" to buy it directly.

Given Kakuzu's greed, it wouldn't be that difficult to buy a B-rank ninjutsu from him with money.

Uh... Earth element?

Aokiji realized that Tsunade seemed to possess earth-style chakra.

If Tsunade learned this technique, combined with her superhuman strength, the scene would look pretty good.

Kakuzu keenly sensed that Aokiji was distracted and became somewhat displeased: "You dare to be distracted while fighting me?"

Aokiji withdrew his wandering thoughts and focused intently on the present moment.

"Since you just used Fire Release, I'll respond with the ninjutsu you're good at."

Despite being called a sparring partner, Kakuzu didn't really hold back. He slowly formed several hand seals, spat out a small fireball, and it suddenly expanded and swelled after landing.

Fire Release: Head Carving!

Aokiji didn't dare to slack off in the slightest, creating an ice ball that enveloped him from all 360 degrees, and then creating countless sharp ice spikes on the surface of the ice ball.

Ice Release: Ice Release.

This technique is based on the Ice Release: Ice Rock Hall without modification, but its thickness is significantly increased compared to the former, and the surrounding ice spikes can also form a certain buffer, which enhances the defensive effect.

The downside is that unlike Ice Release: Ice Rock Hall, which has a spacious interior to protect nearby companions, this move is generally a defensive technique suitable for single targets.

"boom."

Flames burst and exploded in all directions, expanding in a circular pattern, accompanied by a burst of firelight shooting into the sky, while a cloud of dust obscured the view.

"The old man is serious."

The ice-style magic surrounding Aokiji was mostly melted by the explosion, but fortunately it did not hit his main body. In the mist, Aokiji saw a dark figure nearby and remained motionless.

As the Ice Release technique continued to melt, Aokiji frowned, his Sharingan revealing an object on the ground approaching him.

Um! ?

Aokiji leaped from the ground, flipping and bounding, barely dodging the black lines that suddenly pierced the ground. As the smoke cleared, he could see from the air that the other end of these tentacles was connected to Kakuzu's body.

"Was it dodged?"

Kakuzu's tone revealed surprise that he had been evaded.

With a light tap of his right foot, Aokiji landed steadily and explained to Kakuzu ahead, "My eyes can't see the black tentacles on the ground, but my Sharingan can discern chakra through the color of the ground. I can see those black tentacles filled with chakra very clearly."

"I see, as expected of the Sharingan..."

Kakuzu's voice was calm. He put his hands behind his back, pushed off with his right foot, and charged towards Aokiji.

On the other side, Aokiji saw Kakuzu attacking and strode forward. When the two were close enough, he suddenly drew his sword from its sheath, a flash of white light, and swept it horizontally in a bow stance.

The experienced Kakuzu had already guessed the attack method the moment he drew his sword, and he paused, leaning back to dodge the neck-slitting horizontal slash.

Having missed his first attack, Aokiji pulled back with his right hand, changing the horizontal movement to a thrust, and stood upright to thrust his sword.

Kakuzu tilted his head to the side, dodging the rapier. He then used the earth-style chakra flowing within his body to harden his right hand and parry the Kusanagi sword.

At this moment, the opponent's center gate opened, and he seized the opportunity, clenched his fist and pulled back, gathering his strength, his wrist broke free of his arm, and with the push of the tentacles, his fist slammed into Aokiji's chest.

boom.

The weapon slipped from his hand, and the blue pheasant flew away like tattered cotton.

The Kusanagi sword spun a few times in mid-air before embedding itself in the ground.

The pheasant, lying on the ground, looked up at the sky. Suddenly, a dark shadow loomed over the sun, like a crow taking off in an airplane.

Aokiji turned sideways and barely avoided the attack.

That powerful strike caused the ground to crack and sink.

Aokiji was thrown back by the aftershock and rolled around on the ground a few times before quickly getting up. His eyes were fixed on the dents and cracks in the corner of the blanket that had been stepped on, and he was still shaken. If he had been stepped on by that foot, he would probably have been seriously injured.

Before Aokiji could even catch his breath, Kakuzu immediately launched a second attack, swinging his arm and fist connected to the black tentacles, charging straight forward.

Aokiji stepped back and dodged, turning and shifting sideways to avoid the fist flying vertically. At the same time, he looked around and noticed another hand coming from behind, making a wide turn.

Aokiji anticipated the trajectory, twisted his waist and pushed off with his calves, spinning around to avoid the attack. The moment he landed, he braced his palms on the ground, bent his elbows to gather power, and performed a backflip to leap high into the air. His hand seals were as swift as the wind. Accompanied by taking a deep breath, he spewed out several dragon flame heads, baring their teeth, and swooped down towards Kakuzu on the ground.

Fire Release: Dragon Fire Song Technique!

The head of the flaming faucet was as swift as the wind, and a trace of surprise flashed across Jiaodu's eyes.

Water Escape·Water Formation Wall.

With a flurry of hand seals, a wall of water was erected in front of him, successfully resisting the impact of the flaming dragon head.

"Sizzle sizzle..."

The air was filled with water vapor, obscuring visibility.

Suddenly, Kakuzu sensed a huge creature in front of him, parting the mist and rushing towards him.

Upon seeing this, Kakuzu was shocked to discover that it was actually a ferocious ice dragon.

He didn't dodge, but clenched his fist, twisted his waist to gather strength, and focused his earth-attribute chakra at the tip of his fist.

Earth escape·Earth spear.

Earth Release counters Water Release. Although the Ice Release in front of me is not Water Release, it is still closely related to water.

He slammed his black-dyed fist into the ice dragon's face. The powerful momentum sent his legs slid backward, skidding a meter or so, but that was all.

Aokiji, standing atop the ice dragon, narrowed his eyes in surprise, his expression one of astonishment. He hadn't expected Kakuzu to be so assertive.

A crack appeared on the dragon's head, accompanied by a cracking sound, as if the first domino had been pushed over, and the crack continued to spread throughout the ice dragon's body.

A hint of surprise flashed in Aokiji's scarlet eyes, and he quickly jumped off the ice dragon on his body.

At that moment, the ice dragon's body shattered into ice shards, which scattered on the ground.

After landing, Aokiji stared intently at Kakuzu's fist, which was imbued with Armament Haki.

The power of Kakuzu's basic attack just now must be thanks to Earth Release: Earth Spear.

At the same time, he became increasingly eager for Kakuzu's Earth Release: Earth Spear. Theoretically, Earth Release can harden the body and enhance defense and attack power, so his Ice Release should be able to do the same. If not completely, he should be able to imitate it to about 70 or 80 percent.

To set the stage for his later spending money on Earth Release: Earth Spear, Aokiji feigned admiration and showered him with compliments: "As expected of Brother Kakuzu, my newly developed Ice Release: Crystal Dragon Subduing Technique was easily shattered by your single punch. I am truly impressed."

Kakuzu shook his hand and remained silent, displaying the demeanor of a master. Despite having completely suppressed his opponent, he couldn't feel happy.

Aside from bringing out the thing hidden inside his body, he hadn't really held back much.

In just over six months, Aokiji had clearly become much stronger than when they first met. Judging from Aokiji's growth rate, he felt that if he and Aokiji fought again in two or three years, with neither of them holding back, it would be hard to predict who would win.

The problem is, how old is Aokiji, and how old is he now?

It should be noted that, thanks to the enhancement of the secret technique, his physical functions have always remained at their peak.

He was clearly a genius in his youth...

Thinking about all this, Kakuzu suddenly felt a little depressed. At his age, he was fighting back and forth with a little brat, which made him feel like he had been living like a dog all these years.

"Let's be a little more serious."

While he was still able to fight, Kakuzu decided to teach the brat in front of him a lesson, lest he have no chance later.

"I'm really serious now."

Aokiji looked puzzled. He had his status bar fully open; wasn't that serious enough?

Kakuzu ripped off his clothes, revealing a body that looked as if it had been tailored, which gave Aokiji goosebumps. He thought to himself, "This guy doesn't want to do that, does he...?"

Just as he expected, Kakuzu formed hand seals and released the monsters hidden on his back, which lined up neatly in a row to his side.

Aokiji was under immense pressure, his eyebrows twitching: "Brother Kakuzu, you don't expect me to fight you in this position, do you?"

In the original work, Aokiji always felt that Kakuzu's death was unjust. He lost his original earth-attribute heart at the beginning of the battle, which made it impossible for him to use his best ninjutsu and his combat power dropped sharply. Even so, in a situation where he was fighting against many opponents, he still overpowered Kakashi and beat him up from beginning to end.

Of course, the most frustrating thing is that, in order to highlight the protagonist's cultivation results, with a hundred years of combat experience, they couldn't see through the feint attacks of the protagonist's shadow clones and almost died right away.

Aokiji couldn't imagine how strong Kakuzu would be if he didn't lose his intelligence and possessed all five hearts.

So when he faced Kakuzu at full power, he must have been out of his mind to go and fight him head-on.

He paid Kakuzu to be his sparring partner; he was practically asking for trouble.

Considering Kakuzu's bloodthirsty nature, if he gets carried away during the fight and loses control, things could get really bad.

Seeing Aokiji's face turn green, Kakuzu was in a good mood: "You did a good job just now, so I'll show you a little of my true skills."

Aokiji backed down: "I think we should stop training here."

"That won't do. Since we've taken the money, we have to be responsible for it to the end."

(End of this chapter)