Chapter 134: Convinced
Shino's heart pounded like a drum, jumping wildly. A sharp, stabbing pain came from his temples. It was his years of combat experience telling him that this kick was something he absolutely could not block head-on.
No, it was that he absolutely could not even be grazed by this kick!
"Damn it! Move!"
At the critical moment, Shino only felt his body go weak, completely unable to move.
Despair—Shino had completely fallen into despair!
"Hey—ya!"
The young girl shouted, and her high kick smashed fiercely towards the ground.
Katsura-U's eyes widened. This familiar stance made him realize something—
"Wait, this couldn't be Lady Tsunade's Monstrous Strength Technique, could it...!"
Katsura-U felt his mouth go dry. Tsunade's nin-taijutsu—of course he knew its power. That tyrannical force that could split a street with a single punch was something that anyone who saw it would never forget for the rest of their lives!
That was a secret technique that could instantly increase one's strength to several hundred tons...
Just by looking at the presence, one could feel the power of this kick.
But Shino did not move.
Dodge it, Shino!
Why aren't you moving?
Katsura-U watched the battle on the field anxiously.
Then he finally realized that it wasn't that Shino didn't want to dodge, but that he was already unable to move.
Damn it! Katsura-U's mind went blank. Seeing that Shino was about to lose his life here, he could no longer care about the rule of not interfering in the test and rushed over desperately.
Hurry, I have to make it! Katsura-U shouted wildly in his heart.
However, it was already too late.
BOOM—!
Katsura-U watched in despair as the girl's Castle Tower Kick slammed into the ground.
—He hadn't made it.
Stones flew, and dust filled the air, almost completely blocking his vision.
"Cough cough, cough cough." Katsura-U coughed hard, fanning away the dust with his hand.
"Shino? Shino!" he called out weakly, his mind thinking of the last scene he had seen, where Shino still hadn't dodged.
If Shino had really taken that kick head-on... he was very likely already dead. Katsura-U was clear on this point in his heart; he just didn't want to think about it.
The girl's Monstrous Strength Technique, although not yet at the level of her master's, was already terrifyingly powerful. Just by looking at the kicked-up dust and the shattered ground, he knew it was not something an ordinary person could withstand.
Katsura-U's heart was already filled with despair.
He sat down on the ground with a plop, his mind in a mess, not knowing what to say, what to do.
—And then he heard Shino's voice.
"Cough cough, Katsura-U, get your butt off me, you're sitting on my hand!"
Although his voice was weak, it wasn't the kind of weakness from being seriously injured.
Shino wasn't dead!
Katsura-U quickly stood up. Only then did he discover that although Shino's chakra fluctuation was not obvious, it was very stable, clearly not looking as if he were injured.
The dust quickly settled, revealing Shino lying on the ground, and the figure of the cat-masked Anbu beside him.
Katsura-U breathed a sigh of relief. He looked carefully and saw that Sakura's attack had not been aimed at Shino's body...
"It hit the ground, grazing my foot," Shino said, standing up and looking at the large crater on the ground with lingering fear. "I lost... Tobi, thank you for showing mercy."
Shino admitted his defeat frankly.
Although he had acted very arrogant before, this frank admission of defeat immediately improved Haruno Sakura's impression of him by a lot.
The floor of the test site had been completely blown open by this one move. Dirt and stones had cracked outwards like a spiderweb, and a large chunk of the flat ground had been caved in, forming a deep pit.
The feeling of having survived a disaster welled up in Shino's heart. He simply couldn't imagine what it would have been like if that blow had landed on him.
When they find my body later, they'll probably have to piece together a pile of meat paste from the dirt heap, Shino thought.
"You're welcome," the girl said calmly. "I noticed just now that you seemed to be unable to move, so I immediately changed direction."
Katsura-U and Shino are definitely overthinking it. How could she use a killing blow in a spar...
"Shino, you didn't just go weak at the knees, did you!" Katsura-U teased. Seeing Shino covered in dust, looking as if his hair had turned white overnight, he couldn't help but laugh as he relaxed.
He walked over and patted the dirt off Shino's back, once again filling the air with rolling dust.
"How does it feel to almost meet the God of Death?" Katsura-U said with a smile.
"Hmph, you'll know if you fight her!" Shino replied irritably, shaking his hand. "My hand is still a little numb now!"
He still found it a little hard to believe. He turned his head again and asked Haruno Sakura, "Tobi, are you really a ninjutsu-type ninja?"
He felt that he had been tricked by Katsura-U. A ninjutsu-type ninja, can their taijutsu be this strong?!
—Hn, sorry, there really are ninjutsu-type ninja with super-strong taijutsu.
Sakura immediately smiled, although the mask covered her smile.
This Shino is probably still a little unconvinced! Does he think I'm a taijutsu-specializing ninja?
Indeed, with her Sakura Rush and nin-taijutsu activated, she was much stronger than an ordinary taijutsu-type ninja.
"I really am a ninjutsu-type ninja... what I used just now was nin-taijutsu," she said, tilting her head. She didn't reveal that she had used the Ninja Art: Sakura Rush just now. For the time being, only the people in Team 7 and Tsunade knew about this jutsu.
"Nin-taijutsu?" Shino was a little confused. This term was not very common. Most ninja would not call "using chakra to enhance the body to greatly increase the power of taijutsu" as "nin-taijutsu."
Then he quickly reacted: unless this enhancement used a very special and complex technique, causing its power to be extraordinary, making it necessary to mention it specifically when using it—
"Monstrous Strength Technique," Shino said softly.
Sakura nodded, admitting it.
Shino took a deep breath. "So you're Tsunade's disciple... Haruno Sakura!"
So it's her. Shino was instantly enlightened.
The name of this girl had spread far and wide even among the upper-echelon ninja in their pyramid.
Naturally, at first, many people had thought she was just a so-called "lucky girl," meaning that this Hokage's disciple was a bit watered down.
If this title were used to describe the girl from the original story, it would naturally be fitting. She had no family inheritance, no innate Kekkei Genkai, and no outstanding talent. Apart from having a rather large forehead, she was very mediocre in all aspects.
To be able to become the Hokage's disciple was probably using up a lifetime of luck.
The transmigrator actually had the same disadvantages, so she was also not looked upon favorably by people.
But after the Chunin Exams, the discussion seemed to have changed direction overnight.
The combat power that Haruno Sakura had displayed in the match, as well as her Ice Style Kekkei Genkai, had left many people stunned.
Just by mastering the Ice Style Kekkei Genkai at a young age was enough to make people look at her in a new light. Compared to those second-generation ninja who were strong because of the bloodline passed down from their parents, she, a first-generation ninja who had created her own Kekkei Genkai, was naturally more respected. The difference between them was about the same as the difference between the wealthy heir Wang Sicong and Jack Ma.
Not to mention the combat power the girl had displayed in the Chunin Exams.
Many people had begun to change their tune, believing that Haruno Sakura, who had mastered Ice Style, would eventually become a powerful ninja, and it was not impossible for her to even become Kage-level. After all, in the mainstream view, mastering a Kekkei Genkai was still a shortcut to becoming a strong person.
But Shino now discovered that perhaps everyone had guessed wrong. It was not that Ice Style made Haruno Sakura.
Rather, it would be Haruno Sakura who would make Ice Style renowned.
Just as Hashirama Senju had made Wood Style renowned.
In this small spar, Shino had seen many things: the power of her taijutsu, her moves, and her reaction speed were not something that could be simply summarized by saying she was an Ice Style ninja. As a ninjutsu-type ninja, for Haruno Sakura to still be able to master such powerful taijutsu was absolutely not simple!
And this was just her "average" taijutsu. Then what about her ninjutsu?
Shino was convinced. He was afraid that if they were to fight again, and he knew to dodge her nin-taijutsu, the one who lost would still be him!
He took off his mask, revealing his true face, the face of a half-middle-aged man in his late twenties, almost thirty.
"My name is Itō Shino. It's a pleasure to meet you. Please take care of me."
He announced his real name according to Anbu etiquette, to a colleague whom he had acknowledged.
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