"What did he just say!?"
"Hey, is this guy serious?"
"He wants to face Susanoo head-on?"
After hearing Shinji's words and watching him stroll toward Sasuke's purple Susanoo as if taking a leisurely walk, the onlookers' eyes widened in unison.
With the Akatsuki's growing activity, Susanoo, the powerful dojutsu representing the Mangekyo Sharingan's might, had shone brightly in the shinobi world.
It was a constant presence in major battles.
During the last great battle in the Land of Grass, Akatsuki's "B" had used Susanoo to withstand a meteor crashing from the sky!
So when Sasuke's purple Susanoo appeared on the training ground, though not as grand as Akatsuki's "B," it was still enough to awe everyone present.
Not only did the students and villagers gasp in shock, but even the Third Hokage and others watching from afar felt its intimidating presence!
This made Shinji's calm demeanor, as he faced Susanoo directly, seem utterly incomprehensible to the crowd.
"Teach others how to deal with Susanoo?" Sasuke snorted. "Shinji, stop resisting. Against my Mangekyo Sharingan, your three-tomoe Sharingan makes all resistance futile…"
Before Sasuke could finish, Shinji flashed forward, closing the distance to Sasuke's Susanoo. Then, he unleashed a powerful punch directly at the skeletal, half-formed Susanoo!
Thud.
With a tremendous crash, under the crowd's stunned gazes, the Susanoo struck by Shinji's fist was forced back seven or eight meters, causing Sasuke, standing beneath it, to stagger back two steps.
"How… how is this possible?!"
Regaining his balance, Sasuke's face was filled with disbelief.
To push back his Susanoo with just the power of a fist—this was something he'd never even considered.
Shinji, looking at the unscathed Susanoo, murmured with slight regret, "Not enough power, huh…"
Using taijutsu against Susanoo wasn't unimaginable.
In the original timeline, Tsunade and the Fourth Raikage had both faced Susanoo with taijutsu, and Isshiki even used taijutsu to knock Sasuke out of a fully-formed Susanoo.
So, as long as one was strong enough, there was no issue with using taijutsu against Susanoo.
Setting aside Isshiki, an Otsutsuki, both Tsunade and the Fourth Raikage had records of damaging Susanoo with taijutsu.
For Sasuke's current skeletal-form Susanoo, Tsunade's "Monster Strength Punch" or the Fourth Raikage's "Lightning Release Chakra Mode" could likely cause significant damage.
Shinji had just used the Seventh Form of the Twelve Palaces, "Shrink Step," and the Third Form, "One Strike," yet only managed to push back Sasuke's Susanoo. This showed that, in terms of destructive power, Shinji was still a step behind Tsunade or the Fourth Raikage.
While Shinji felt regret, the onlookers didn't see it that way.
"This kid…"
Asuma dropped his dismissive attitude, his gaze toward Shinji growing much more serious.
If he were in Shinji's position, facing Sasuke's Susanoo, he wouldn't have many options either.
Kurenai looked at Guy. "Guy, what taijutsu is this? Eight Gates Release?"
Guy shook his head. "It's not Eight Gates Release. To achieve that level of power, you'd need at least the Fourth Gate, the Gate of Pain. His taijutsu is more like Tsunade-sama's Monster Strength Punch!"
"Monster Strength Punch?" Kakashi narrowed his eyes, thinking, Could Yakumo have secretly taught Shinji Tsunade-sama's technique?
Kakashi wasn't the only one with this suspicion.
Shizune turned to Yakumo. "You didn't teach him the Monster Strength Punch, did you?"
Yakumo, her Koryugan activated, shook her head repeatedly. "Of course not! Besides, what Shinji just used wasn't Monster Strength Punch. The technique's force application is completely different. It's a taijutsu secret technique I've never seen before!"
On a distant high building.
Jiraiya asked Tsunade, "Can you tell what it is?"
Tsunade frowned. "I've never seen this taijutsu. It's not Eight Gates Release, nor is it my Monster Strength Punch…"
"My Frog Kumite could achieve a similar effect, but what he's using clearly isn't Frog Kumite!" Jiraiya said, his brow furrowing.
Having lived through two Shinobi World Wars, they had seen most taijutsu secret techniques from the various villages. Yet, racking their brains, they couldn't figure out what taijutsu secret technique Shinji used to push back Sasuke's Susanoo.
On the field.
Recovering from his shock, Sasuke roared, "Shinji, you're too arrogant!"
With that, he urged Susanoo to swing a fist at Shinji.
Shinji smirked and met it head-on.
Boom.
Another massive crash echoed through the training ground, and amid the rising dust, Sasuke's Susanoo was pushed back again.
As the dust cleared, the crowd saw that Shinji was now holding a glowing orb in his hand.
"Rasengan!?"
Naruto gasped, blurting out in shock.
Sakura's face was full of disbelief. "How does Shinji know the Rasengan?"
The jonin turned their gazes to Kakashi.
Kakashi shook his head, offering no explanation.
In the distance.
Almost simultaneously, Tsunade looked at Jiraiya. "What's going on?"
Jiraiya pondered for a moment. "The Rasengan's principles aren't that complex. It requires technique and precise chakra control. With the Sharingan and his expertise as a medical ninja familiar with human anatomy, having seen Naruto use the Rasengan so many times, it's not surprising he could steal it."
Tsunade considered this and nodded in agreement.
For a true genius, not only was stealing a ninjutsu possible, but even creating an entirely new one wasn't out of the question.
As the First Chair of the shinobi academy, Uchiha Shinji was clearly such a genius!
Sasuke, pushed back again, was nearing hysteria. Losing with his Mangekyo Sharingan would be an unbearable humiliation.
But before he could react, Shinji flashed in front of his Susanoo again.
This time, Shinji wasn't holding the glowing Rasengan from before. Instead, he gripped a whirling Rasenshuriken!