"BOOM!"
Kaito's figure descended, wreathed in flames, scorching heat radiating outward from him like waves, causing the surrounding plants to quickly wither and droop!
This wasn't simply covering his body surface with a layer of flames, but rather the Fire Release Chakra Mode that Kaito had developed by combining the Flame-Flame Fruit with chakra!
With the Flame-Flame Fruit's enhancement, Kaito's compatibility with fire-type jutsu was maxed out! He could even use them without hand seals, reaching a level of complete mastery!
Kaito had developed many new techniques because of this.
This Fire Release Chakra Mode was one of them!
Though Kaito's Fire Release Chakra Mode didn't provide the same terrifying physical enhancement as A's Lightning Release Chakra Mode, it was both offensive and defensive with many clever applications!
"Kaito, I admit I underestimated you!"
"But I won't give you another chance!"
A stood not far from Kaito, lightning crackling all over his body, completely unharmed without a trace of injury.
The powerful defense provided by Lightning Release Chakra Mode was enough to let A ignore most attacks!
However, for A, being knocked back in a direct confrontation was like losing in his area of greatest pride - more painful than actually being injured!
"Enough talk. Wild Bite - Flash!"
Kaito had no intention of chatting with A. His figure flickered, appearing in front of A and throwing an uppercut toward A's cheek!
"So fast!"
A's pupils constricted, shocked by the speed Kaito displayed!
If A wasn't already accustomed to high-speed movement, he wouldn't be able to track Kaito's figure at all!
But this only made A's anger surge!
"Don't look down on me! Heavy Flow Storm!"
A roared, nimbly dodging to the side and meeting Kaito's fist with an elbow strike!
Everyone knew the Uchiha clan ninjas were famous for their eye techniques, ninjutsu, and genjutsu!
Yet Kaito was using taijutsu to fight him!
Using one's weakness to attack the enemy's strength!
This made A feel insulted!
Of course, if Kaito knew what A was thinking, he'd probably be torn between laughter and tears!
Indeed, compared to taijutsu, Kaito was more skilled in ninjutsu, especially wide-area destructive jutsu!
But against A, whose defense was extraordinarily high, Kaito could only break through A's defenses and cause more damage by using concentrated single-point attacks that focused chakra more intensely!
Like this Wild Bite!
"BOOM!"
Kaito's fist was covered with a layer of orange-red flames that had almost solidified. Just as it was about to collide with A's elbow, it exploded violently, engulfing half of A's body!
The massive impact erupted at A's side, sending him flying before his Heavy Flow Storm could take effect!
A cried out in pain! He flipped in midair to quickly stabilize himself and landed firmly on the ground!
Though the flames from Wild Bite weren't as fierce as Fire Fist, they compressed heat to increase the fire's temperature dramatically!
Large areas of burns appeared on A's right hand and neck!
His skin was tightly wrinkled with numerous blisters!
This constant pain made even this tough guy grimace!
"Damn it!"
A gritted his teeth, his eyes locked onto Kaito as he roughly wiped the burned areas on his body!
He brutally tore apart the blisters one by one, his pained expression becoming incredibly fierce!
Though these blisters would affect A's movements, such a crude solution made even Kaito wince!
This A truly lived up to being the ninja world's number one hothead!
"Guillotine Drop!"
A roared, converting his pain into power. Lightning surged all over his body as he leaped up with a downward kick aimed at Kaito!
Feeling the fierce wind, Kaito didn't dare take this attack head-on. He kicked off the ground, leaving two scorched footprints as his figure instantly vanished from the spot!
A's eyes narrowed slightly as understanding flashed through his mind. He quickly locked onto Kaito's position, reducing the force in his leg slightly but not stopping his attack!
With a thunderous crash, the ground within dozens of meters of where A landed cracked apart!
A quickly adjusted his stance, using the force from that kick to more than double his speed. Arriving first despite starting later, he instantly appeared in front of Kaito with a knife-hand strike!
"Lightning Oppression Horizontal!"
Lightning flashed as high-quality Lightning Release chakra condensed into an electric blade that struck Kaito's neck!
*Bang!* Kaito's figure exploded into flames that swept toward A!
The distance was too close - A had no time to dodge!
But the temperature of these flames wasn't too high. A flicker and burst out of the flame's embrace without taking any damage!
"Fire clone..."
A quickly stabilized his stance, searching around for Kaito's figure.
He had seen through Kaito's abilities - the next strike would decide the outcome!
Though Kaito's speed seemed to match his own, it wasn't true speed in the real sense!
Before each movement, Kaito would gather large amounts of flames under his feet, using the impact force from the flame explosions to achieve so-called high-speed movement!
This was also a type of alternative Fire Body Flicker, much faster than the ordinary Body Flicker Technique!
But this Fire Body Flicker also had a major flaw!
It wasn't flexible enough!
The impact force from flame explosions could only allow Kaito to achieve high-speed movement in straight lines, and it would also reduce Kaito's reaction ability during movement!
A had already verified this point in his recent attack!
A had even borrowed from Kaito's Fire Body Flicker for his own instant acceleration just now!
Moreover, A had also discovered that Kaito's physical abilities were actually much inferior to his own after using Lightning Release Chakra Mode!
Though Kaito's two exchanges with him seemed like direct confrontations, their bodies had never actually made contact!
The flames gathered on Kaito's fists would always explode just before their bodies were about to collide!
This was the main reason he had been sent flying by Kaito twice in a row!
If his Lightning Release Chakra Mode worked internally - greatly enhancing all aspects of physical ability as a ninja-taijutsu - then Kaito's Fire Release Chakra Mode worked externally, more like a ninjutsu!
Every time, before he could attack Kaito, Kaito had already attacked him!
Continuing like this, he would definitely be at a disadvantage!
However, A already had a countermeasure in mind!
He would definitely win this battle!
A secretly gathered chakra, suddenly looking toward a spot not far to his left, his eyes gleaming!
"Found you!"