Hatake Kenshin watched his opponent turn into earth before crumbling down from his lightning chakra-infused sword strike with a frown.
He instantly became alert, searching for Sarutobi Yuto, who seemed to have vanished from the arena.
But since the referee didn't signal the end of the match, he should still be in this arena, hiding himself well enough to avoid his senses.
It's an Earth clone.
But when did he substitute himself with an Earth clone?
I kept my eyes on him all the tim-
I see.
Kenshin, puzzled by the event, suddenly had a look of realization.
He must have swapped his position with his Earth clone when the flames of his Fire Dragon Bullet Jutsu blocked my vision for a few moments.
Smart move!
But where did he hide?
This stadium has no cover for him to utilize and camouflage himself.
I don't think he transformed himself into a rock or other debris, as nothing catches my eye.
No big rock. No suspicious objects or water lying around. No unidentified things that suddenly showed up.
In that case…
A thought crossed his mind, and Kenshin suddenly looked at the ground.
He must have hidden underground.
I don't have any Earth Release Ninjutsu to deal with opponents hiding underground.
But how long can you hide there, Sarutobi Yuto?
You will come out eventually.
I'm in no rush.
For I can wait here all day!
An imaginary light bulb lit up over Kenshin's head, and he figured out his sly opponent's hiding spot.
Although describing his thought process took time, Kenshin analyzed everything within 2 seconds of the revelation of the Earth clone, showcasing exactly how quick-witted he really was when it came to Shinobi combat.
Meanwhile, Yuto, who utilized the C-rank Earth Release Ninjutsu, Hiding Like a MoleTechnique, to conceal himself underground, finally developed a solid battle plan against Hatake Kenshin based on the available intelligence and his brief exchange with him.
He had to admit. This Kenshin guy was truly terrifying.
Whether it was Kenjutsu or Taijutsu, he probably wasn't Kenshin's match at all. Engaging him in close combat would be a foolish move.
His best bet was to maintain distance and bombard him with a relentless barrage of Ninjutsu to injure or distract him before landing a decisive blow.
Unfortunately, he was no Senju or Uzumaki clan Shinobi, who had ridiculously large chakra reserves, allowing them to spam Ninjutsu and all sorts of high-ranking, chakra-intensive techniques.
Although his chakra reserves were on the higher side, even among the renowned clan ninjas of similar age, it was still not high enough to unleash one Ninjutsu after another as he wished.
So, he had to plan everything well.
Otherwise, wouldn't it be utterly shameful to run out of chakra in the middle of an intense battle, becoming nothing but a dead fish on the chopping board?
No, no…he couldn't let this happen.
As he thought this, his eyes sharpened, and he used a special sensory technique of the Sarutobi clan to uncover the exact location of Hatake Kenshin on the ground.
He quickly formed a series of hand seals to mold a generous amount of Earth Release chakra before placing his hands on the wall of his underground hiding spot.
Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears
Yuto's Earth Release chakra traveled through the ground before merging with the ground where Kenshin was standing.
Kenshin felt the ground beneath his feet tremble a little.
He was confused for a while before a sense of danger washed over him.
He was experienced enough to know that he shouldn't ignore it. Even though he didn't understand what was happening, he decided to move away from his position and jump backward to retreat.
And the moment he jumped back, the earth trembled violently in his previous location before several sharp spear-like protrusions made of solid earth formed within the blink of an eye.
If Kenshin didn't dodge them, he would surely be skewered by these earth spears without a doubt.
But his trouble didn't end here at all.
As soon as his feet landed on the ground, he was forced to retreat again. The place he just landed a few milliseconds ago trembled, and sharp spear-like protrusions were formed again, aiming to hit and restrict Kenshin.
This situation continued for a whole five seconds before stopping. During these five seconds, Earth spears kept popping out to skewer Kenshin like a relentless barrage.
And Kenshin was forced to keep retreating.
However, he wasn't completely unscathed. A few spear-like protrusions managed to hit or scratch his legs, the right side of his stomach, the left side of his body, right below his solar plexus, and his right shoulder.
Fortunately, he was fast enough to dodge them or destroy them with his lightning-infused short sword.
Still, the multiple lacerations on his body made him bleed, forcing him to swallow a blood-stopping pill, which stopped his blood from trickling down from his injured spots.
The pain was real. But he gritted his teeth and waited for his opponent to show up.
He deeply regretted not developing his Earth Release chakra properly to learn useful Earth Release Ninjutsu or any special Lightning Release Ninjutsu to force the opponents hiding underground to come out of their hiding spots.
He vowed to rectify this to cover his glaring weakness.
Otherwise, wouldn't the Iwagakure ninjas from the Land of Earth play him to death?
Unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable.
He wouldn't let this happen.
He would learn every technique available in his clan's library to let the enemies hiding underground experience pain, forcing them to show up on the surface again.
But before he could lament about his misfortune any further, Yuto suddenly came out of the ground, about 10 meters behind Kenshin's back, and jumped high in the air.
Yuto quickly formed a series of lightning-fast hand seals mid-air, exhaled a large amount of orange flame from his mouth, which spun anti-clockwise before forming a whirling fireball that was nearly 3 meters wide.
Fire Release: Flame Whirlwind
Yuto, still mid-air, shot the whirling fireball at Kenshin, whose back was still facing him.
Kenshin felt a wave of heat coming toward him from behind and activated the Body Flicker Technique without even bothering to look back.
His senses screamed at him. Whatever was coming at him was no good news. It was better to dodge first.
Hatake Kenshin's figure vanished from the spot, leaving behind nothing but an afterimage of him.
Just as he moved away, the whirling fireball hit his previous location and exploded with a loud boom.
Booooooom!
The sheer force of the explosion sent mild shockwaves in all directions, causing dust and debris to fly into the air along with flickering tongues of flames.
The spot where the fireball exploded was now filled with multiple spider-web-like cracks as well as a 5-meter-wide and 2-meter-deep crater, effectively showing just how powerful the Fire Release technique was.
From the creation of the fireball to the end of the explosion, all of it happened in the span of a little over one second.
It should have given Yuto enough breathing space to look for Kenshin and hurl another powerful Jutsu at him.
However, he still underestimated Kenshin's battlefield awareness and combat prowess.
Zzzzzzzzzz….crackle~ crackle~
As soon as Yuto's feet landed on the ground, he was immediately electrocuted by a sudden surge of lightning, leaving him temporarily paralyzed.
It was at this moment, Yuto knew that he fucked up.
He tried to see why he was electrocuted without any visible signs of being hit by any Lightning Release Ninjutsu.
In his paralyzed state, even moving his neck a little caused him to suffer from immense pain.
But he still did. And then, he understood the reason for his sudden misery.
He saw Kenshin crouching down while keeping both of his hands on the ground. Lightning currents flickered every once in a while near his hand, and the same lightning spread on the ground around him in the form of a web.
And by the time this web of silent lightning reached his location, he couldn't even see a spark of lightning on the ground. But it was still there.
Clearly, it was the C-rank Lightning Release: Spider Web Jutsu—a deceptively simple but very effective Ninjutsu.
If he were a sensor-nin or had incredible sensory prowess of the Senju or Uzumaki clan ninjas, he might have sensed the almost invisible web of lightning chakra and could have taken proper countermeasures before his feet touched the ground.
But alas! He fell for the trap.
Soon, he saw Hatake Kenshin stand up.
His blade was infused with a dense amount of lightning chakra, making lightning visibly crackle and coil around the blade like elemental serpents.
And then, without wasting any more time, Kenshin dashed forward, approaching him with a breakneck speed.
As long as he could reach Yuto, he would win the match.
Seeing this, Yuto's mind raced.
Damn it.
The match was almost in my pocket.
But a single, unassuming C-rank Ninjutsu turned the tables around.
Hooooo!
Things escalated pretty quickly.
No time to waste.
I have to unleash at least half of my remaining chakra and radiate it outwards to end the paralysis effect of Kenshin's Jutsu.
It's a huge waste of chakra. I may even lose the match because of it.
But if I don't do it now, I won't even have the slightest chance of turning the tables on him.
Fuck it. Let's just do it.
As soon as he finished his inner monologue, he immediately unleashed half of his entire chakra reserve, making the air crackle and dust spread around him.
Whoosh!
The radiating chakra purged the foreign lightning that invaded his body, relieving him from his paralyzed state.
But he had no time to enjoy the freedom.
His opponent was quickly approaching him.
"Now…"
Yuto's eyes shone with a determined glint.
The fight was about to enter its final stage.
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