Faced with the ice spear sweeping toward him, Might Guy didn't dodge this time. Instead, he accelerated his landing, stomping hard onto the spear, forcing Takeshi to abandon his weapon.
"My weapons are endless, Guy."
Takeshi let go of the ice spear without hesitation and left that line behind. Just as he was about to forge a new weapon, Might Guy suddenly rushed in close, initiating close-quarters combat.
Fist against fist, leg against leg—this was pure hand-to-hand battle. Takeshi relied on his speed to constantly widen the distance between himself and Guy.
This guy… is still wearing such heavy weights and fighting me?
His calves throbbed with pain, but Takeshi resisted the urge to use ninjutsu, continuing to look for an opening in Guy's defense.
Just one clash of kicks earlier nearly fractured his bone. Now, every time Guy launched a flying kick, Takeshi had no choice but to dodge.
"Hmph, Takeshi, if you don't want to lose, it's fine to use ninjutsu."
Guy could see Takeshi's awkward situation and looked at him with a confident grin.
"Otherwise, I'll be taking the win in this match!"
"Is that so?"
After painstakingly observing Guy's movements, Takeshi suddenly flung three senbon straight at his shoulder.
Hearing the sound of wind slicing through the air, Guy quickly executed a reverse flip, using the weights on his legs to block the needles. At the same time, Takeshi used the moment to forge a new ice spear.
The Taijutsu Sarutobi Hiruzen had taught him wasn't so much hand-to-hand combat as it was staff techniques.
And without a staff, the techniques were just… techniques.
"Hmph! Take this—Crushing Ground!"
Rather than thrusting it, Takeshi swung the ice spear, now infused with large amounts of chakra to reinforce its structure, and smashed it hard into the ground.
Just as the name suggested, the hardened training ground cracked under the strike. The resulting shockwave disrupted Guy's movement.
Seeing Guy's footwork falter, Takeshi didn't miss the chance. He twirled the spear and pressed the attack, pushing Guy all the way to the edge of the training field.
"As expected of my lifelong rival! That strike was dazzling, Takeshi!"
Guy ducked under a thrust, feeling a chill graze his scalp. But instead of fear, he flashed a wide grin and praised Takeshi.
"I can't fall behind either—take this, Leaf Whirlwind!"
Seeing Guy suddenly start spinning in place like he had activated a cheat code, Takeshi swung his ice spear into a flourish.
Two whirlwinds collided with a thunderous boom. Guy drew a graceful arc through the air—and just before he hit the ground, Takeshi suddenly appeared behind him and caught him.
"Are you hurt?"
After landing steadily, Takeshi panted and asked.
"I'm fine, my leg just hurts a bit."
Guy jumped twice in place. Seeing no serious issues, he gave a thumbs-up.
"I'll give you this victory, Takeshi. By the way, how did you suddenly appear behind me?"
"Flying Thunder God Technique. He marked you and engaged in close combat."
Before Takeshi could answer, a gentle voice came from behind him.
"Minato-san?"
Whipping around, Takeshi saw that familiar yellow hair and the red figure standing at the training ground's entrance.
"Kushina-san."
He greeted her sweetly, earning a pleased smile from Kushina.
Kushina strode over and ruffled Takeshi's hair while sensing his chakra.
"You brat. Your Yin Seal training's going well."
"It's all thanks to Tsunade-san and you, Kushina-san."
Takeshi chuckled sheepishly, giving all the credit to them.
"Hmph. Come have dinner at my place tonight. I'll cook you something delicious."
She crouched down and pinched Takeshi's cheek, then turned to look at Minato with a tone noticeably more dangerous.
"Alright, you've seen enough. Now shouldn't you be..."
With Kushina's "gentle" reminder, Minato finally remembered today's mission was to go shopping with her. He gave her an apologetic smile, bid farewell to Takeshi, and left the training ground with her.
"Uh… who was that again?"
Guy scratched his head, unable to recall Minato's name.
"Minato… forget it. Explaining to you is pointless—you can't even remember what they look like..."
As for whether or not to go eat at her place tonight...
Better ask Dad's opinion first.
"Ikku-san?"
Takeshi called out in a random direction, but after waiting a while with no response, he scratched his head in confusion.
"Strange, when did he leave?"
...
Elsewhere, inside a tunnel.
Shimura Ikku was busy inspecting the wiring, trying to find out why the lights weren't working.
...
Meanwhile, in Sunagakure.
The man known as the strongest Kazekage in history—the Third Kazekage—sat in a dark, quiet room listening to a report from Elder Chiyo's brother, Ebizō.
"The defenses on the border of the Land of Fire are significantly weaker than they were during the Second Great Ninja War. Many border fortresses have been abandoned, and most of their forces are now concentrated around the Kikyō Pass stronghold."
After repeated probes that cost dozens of Sand shinobi their lives, Ebizō had pieced together a rough idea of Konoha's border defenses based on intel from survivors.
"The biggest problem now is the guy guarding the border—it's that 'White Fang of the Leaf.'"
Even someone as proud as the Third Kazekage had to take this name seriously.
With his own strength alone, Sakumo had slain both the son and daughter-in-law of Advisor Chiyo and led a vastly outnumbered Konoha unit to a major victory over the Sand's elite forces. To this day, his accomplishments had not faded from the memory of the ninja world.
"The younger generation of our village hasn't grown enough to face that kind of enemy," the Third Kazekage said, thinking of the youth back home—especially that young man with dark red hair.
"Fortunately, Magnet Release has been passed down."
Ebizō also thought of Rasa, who was currently working like a miner for the sake of the village's development.
"The Second Great Ninja War cost us too much. Even now, Sunagakure still hasn't emerged from Konoha's shadow. Fueled by the momentum from the last war and their superior numbers, Konoha has stolen most of the commissions, leaving our economy in ruins."
"War is the fastest way to make the younger generation grow—and to filter out the truly valuable gold." The Third Kazekage's face darkened. Every time Konoha was mentioned, his heart filled with anger.
"Are we really going to fight? If it's just us, we're not enough to shake Konoha."
Ebizō, who had served the Kazekage since the Second's era and had fought through both World Wars, had seen Konoha's power firsthand and even fought against the likes of Sarutobi Hiruzen.
In his view, Sunagakure alone stood no chance of defeating Konoha in open warfare.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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