Tic-tacTic-tac From the blood blade gripped in Chino's hand, drops of blood fell, producing a sizzle corrosion sound the moment they touched the ground.
Anything they came into contact with—be it soil, trees, or rocks—was scorched!
"Hm?"
Shinji let out a soft exclamation.
No doubt about it.
The blood blade in Chino's hand could not only change its shape and length at will, making it unpredictable and hard to defend against, but the blood coating the blade didn't seem ordinary either. It appeared to possess some kind of scorching ability.
If it touched flesh, it would likely cause some serious pain.
Shifting his gaze, Shinji noticed that beside Ryuzetsu, those lantern-sized fireballs had once again appeared.
The power of Ryuzetsu's Fire Release was somewhat beyond his expectations.
After all, Shinji himself was a master of Fire Release techniques—Uchiha clansmen were famously adept at playing with fire. For Ryuzetsu to earn a decent evaluation from him meant her mastery of Fire Release was indeed noteworthy.
"Interesting, but if this is all you've got, it won't be enough to hurt me!"
Shinji smirked.
Ryuzetsu and Chino's performance made him feel he no longer needed to hold back.
Boom. With a sudden stomp, he cracked the ground beneath him. Lifting the upheaved rock slab with both hands, he hurled it fiercely toward Ryuzetsu.
Seeing this, Ryuzetsu immediately directed her Fire Release to smash into the incoming slab.
Boom, boom, boom. In an instant, countless fireballs crashed into the rock slab, accompanied by a thunderous roar, shattering it completely!
But before Ryuzetsu could catch her breath, Shinji's figure burst through the fragmented slab, closing in on her in a flash.
"What!?"
Ryuzetsu froze, instinctively moving to meet Shinji's attack.
In a one-on-one fight, Shinji naturally held the upper hand, suppressing Ryuzetsu in just a few moves! At that moment, Chino's support arrived.
Shinji, having anticipated this, grabbed Ryuzetsu's arm, pulling her in front of him and using her body to block Chino's incoming blood blade.
Fearing she might harm Ryuzetsu, Chino hurriedly retracted her blade.
Shinji's lips curled into a smirk as he pressed his attack on Ryuzetsu.
Ryuzetsu could only hastily defend herself, but in close-range taijutsu combat, she—a shinobi without dojutsu Bloodline Limit—stood no chance against Shinji, who possessed the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Chino tried several times to join the fray, but Shinji skillfully used Ryuzetsu's body to keep her at bay, outside the battle circle.
Despite it being two against one, Shinji leveraged his superior insight and experience to forcibly turn it into a one-on-one situation.
Chino, with her sharper perception, was blocked by Ryuzetsu's body, only able to swing her blade and retract it repeatedly, frustrated and helpless.
Conversely, Ryuzetsu—adept at Fire Release and suited for support and long-range attacks—was trapped in close quarters by Shinji, unable to break free.
It didn't take long.
After landing several hits, Shinji used his Palm Sage Technique to sever the muscles in Ryuzetsu's arms and legs, noticeably slowing her speed and strength.
"Hmph!"
Shinji let out a soft grunt, preparing to deal a heavy blow to Ryuzetsu.
Seeing this, Chino panicked. Ignoring the risk, she dispelled the blood blade that might accidentally harm Ryuzetsu and lunged forward, attempting to force her way into the fight.
This was exactly what Shinji had been waiting for. Seizing the opening created by Chino's rushed advance, he abandoned Ryuzetsu—whose threat level had significantly diminished—and activated the Twelve Palaces, delivering a powerful punch toward Chino.
Boom. With a muffled sound, Chino was sent flying by Shinji's strike, crashing through several trees before barely coming to a stop.
"Chino!"
Ryuzetsu cried out in alarm, momentarily letting her guard down.
Whoosh. Shinji flickered behind Ryuzetsu. Before she could react, he spun and delivered a kick, sending the barely-turning Ryuzetsu—who had no time to dodge or block—flying.
The entire forest finally fell silent.
Only the rustle of leaves stirred by the wind and the sizzle of the blood from Chino's dispersed blade, scorching the ground, remained.
Shinji glanced at the ground, thinking to himself, Tch, to think she can manipulate the Ketsuryugan's blood-control ability to this extent!
At that moment, Ryuzetsu and Chino struggled to their feet, limping toward Shinji.
In that exchange, Shinji hadn't held back, so both were genuinely injured. However, for the two of them—who had been injected with Blue Higanbana No. 1 and trained in the Twelve Palaces—this level of injury wasn't a big deal. A few days of rest would see them fully recovered.
Shinji sized them up and gave his assessment, "Your performance wasn't bad!"
"Really?"
"Awesome!"
Hearing Shinji's praise, Ryuzetsu and Chino were thrilled.
Nodding lightly, Shinji commented, "Your taijutsu is basically up to standard. What's left is daily training and accumulating combat experience."
Ryuzetsu and Chino beamed, their injuries forgotten in their joy.
Shinji turned to Ryuzetsu, "Your Fire Release techniques are impressive, but they lack flexibility. Your integration of taijutsu and ninjutsu isn't great. With your current chakra control, improving shouldn't be hard as long as you put in the effort."
"I understand," Ryuzetsu nodded thoughtfully.
Shinji then looked at Chino, asking, "That blood manipulation earlier—was that the power of your Ketsuryugan?"
"Huh?! I awakened it?"
Chino was stunned.
Shinji sighed, exasperated, "You didn't even realize you awakened your Ketsuryugan?"
Ryuzetsu looked at Chino with curiosity, "Chino, no wonder I thought your eyes suddenly turned red. So that's the Ketsuryugan of your Blood Pool Clan?"
Chino glanced at her hands, "So I awakened it…"
Clearly, Chino, who had unconsciously awakened her Ketsuryugan during the fight, hadn't realized it. Her blood manipulation had been instinctive.
Shinji's gaze sharpened as he thought, It seems only in the hands of a true Blood Pool Clan member can the Ketsuryugan's full power be unleashed!
Suppressing his inner thoughts, Shinji asked, "Chino, try again. See if your Ketsuryugan has any other abilities."
Chino closed her eyes to sense it, then turned to the pool of blood on the ground from her dispersed blade. She activated her dojutsu.
In an instant.
The blood, still scorching the ground, suddenly swelled. When it reached a certain point, it exploded with a boom! Looking at the massive cloud of smoke and the large crater in the ground, Shinji and Ryuzetsu were both stunned.
Even Chino, who had triggered the ability, stood with her mouth agape, utterly shocked. The explosive power was far greater than a standard explosive tag—so much so that even she hadn't expected her blood to possess such a capability.