Afternoon.
Ryun took Kushina to the small river where he usually trained.
His water-walking training still needed improvement, while his shadow clone stayed on the shore to continue instructing Kushina in shurikenjutsu.
"So cool! You can actually walk on water! How do you do that?"
Seeing his real body on the water, Kushina couldn't help but ask.
"Didn't I tell you about 'tree-walking' before? 'Water-walking' is the advanced version of tree-walking. You need to learn tree-walking first before you can learn water-walking."
The shadow clone demonstrated what "tree-walking" was, and the sight of him standing upside down on the tree trunk left Kushina stunned.
"I want to learn, I want to learn! Teach me how to 'tree-walk'!" Kushina exclaimed excitedly.
"One step at a time. First, master shurikenjutsu. At the very least, you need to hit every target perfectly. Then I'll teach you tree-walking." The shadow clone glared at her sternly.
"Ugh… fine."
After practicing for most of the afternoon, Kushina suddenly tossed aside her kunai and made a suggestion.
"Ryun, let's fight! I want to see how big the gap between us is."
She knew she might not be Ryun's match, but she still wanted to try.
"Are you itching for a beating?"
Ryun paused for a moment before asking seriously.
"Hmph… Who's itching for a beating? You think you'll definitely win?"
Kushina snorted, her little face full of defiance.
"You couldn't even beat a trash genin, and you want to fight me?" Ryun deliberately taunted her.
Truthfully, even if he hadn't intervened that time, Kushina would have defeated her opponent. He said this mainly to motivate her, to give her a reason to train harder.
Having more self-defense skills was always good.
"Tch… That time I just got careless and fell for a substitution jutsu. If we really fought, he definitely wouldn't have been my match."
"Ohoho, which little cutie was crying her eyes out back then? If you could've won, why cry?"
Ryun, being his usual annoying self, started teasing her again.
"Shut up!"
Kushina's face turned red with anger, and she lashed out with a punch toward the shadow clone.
"!!!"
Ryun raised his arm to block, but the furious Kushina sent him stumbling back several steps.
Tsk… She's really strong! Ryun shook his arm.
In terms of pure physical strength, Kushina far surpassed Ryun.
Those three big bowls of rice weren't for nothing—she ate even more than he did.
Seeing Kushina charging at him again, the shadow clone quickly assumed a fighting stance.
The two exchanged over twenty moves, but the shadow clone soon dissipated into smoke due to accumulated damage.
Defeating a shadow clone wasn't enough to make Kushina happy. The next moment, she threw a shuriken straight at Ryun's real body, who was watching from the river.
"You really are itching for a beating…"
Ryun dodged the shuriken with a quick sidestep, his gaze turning serious as he looked at Kushina.
"Enough talk, get over here and fight me properly!"
Kushina smirked, curling her finger provocatively.
"..."
Ryun was stunned for a second before grinning darkly. "Heh… Since you want to dance, I'll oblige!"
He leaped from the river's surface and landed right in front of Kushina.
Immediately, Kushina lunged forward, sweeping a fierce kick toward him.
Ryun blocked with his arm, then grabbed her ankle in retaliation.
Kushina's flexibility was exceptional. Mid-air, she twisted and launched another kick.
But before her foot could land, Ryun abruptly yanked her off balance, swinging her by the ankle and hurling her away.
Kushina flipped several times in the air before landing steadily. The moment her feet touched the ground, she sprang forward again, closing the distance in an instant.
"Surprisingly capable…"
Ryun couldn't help but praise her before tilting his head to dodge her punch.
After exchanging a few more blows, Ryun kicked out, and Kushina blocked with her arm, only getting pushed back a couple of steps.
"Huh? What's going on? This level of strength… Are you looking down on me?"
Kushina frowned, feeling like Ryun was holding back.
"This is my real strength. I just didn't reinforce my foot with chakra, so the power was weaker."
Ryun explained honestly.
"Precise chakra control is a skill for genin and above—what we call 'tree-walking' and 'water-walking.' If you master these, your strength will improve quickly too."
"So that's it! No wonder your body is so weak, yet your taijutsu is still strong. It's all because of precise chakra control!"
The moment Kushina said this, Ryun's face darkened.
"Who's weak?"
"Whoever's weak, that's who I'm talking about." Kushina stuck out her tongue mockingly.
"You're asking for a spanking. Even without actively reinforcing with chakra, I can still handle you."
Ryun charged at her, his burst of speed startling Kushina. She didn't dare underestimate him now and quickly raised her guard.
Thanks to his sharp vision and reflexes, Ryun maintained a solid advantage over Kushina.
Kushina struggled to land a hit, while Ryun punched her several times and even kicked her butt more than once, making her grit her teeth in frustration.
They fought for dozens of rounds. Kushina was incredibly tough, with seemingly endless stamina.
She showed no signs of fatigue and only seemed to grow fiercer the longer they fought.
Ryun, on the other hand, was starting to tire. To avoid losing, he stopped holding back.
The Uzumaki clan had freakish vitality and recovery. Kushina wouldn't get hurt easily, and Ryun was only targeting one spot anyway…
"Ow! I give up! You damn pervert!!"
After a particularly hard slap on the butt, Kushina shrieked, tears welling up in her eyes as she clutched her stinging rear.
Her big, watery eyes burned with fury.
"Heh… I never wanted to fight in the first place. You were the one itching for a beating."
Ryun chuckled, panting slightly.
"You… jerk!"
Kushina's face flushed red, and she immediately turned and ran.
She was genuinely angry and didn't want to play with this shameless brat anymore.
"Hey, hey! Where are you going? You still need to practice shurikenjutsu!" Ryun called after her.
"No more practice!"
Kushina didn't even look back.
"Heh…"
Ryun shook his head, watching her leave. He didn't bother chasing her.
It was getting late anyway.
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