"Kiba Inuzuka, stop talking to the dog already." Naturally attuned to his canine companion, Kiba perfectly understood what Akamaru meant. Being thrown down face-first was bad enough—now he had to deal with his ungrateful partner too. A wave of profound sadness washed over him.
"Woof!" So you're still alive, huh!
"You're not allowed to hang out with that blue-eyed, black-and-white-furred dog ever again! You've clearly been influenced by him!"
Furious, Kiba angrily issued a house-arrest order to his dog. His adorable little buddy used to be so well-behaved. But since hanging out with that blue-eyed troublemaker, Akamaru had changed—he was no longer the obedient, cute companion he once knew.
"Woof."
Though reluctant to obey, Akamaru barked in response anyway. After all, if the neighbor's husky wanted to come play later, that wouldn't technically count as breaking the rules, right?
"Konoha genin, Kiba Inuzuka, please get ready—the match will begin shortly," Hayate Gekko reminded him with an annoyed expression. This unlucky kid actually had time to chat with his dog at a moment like this.
"I'm already ready!" A glint flickered in Kiba's eyes, though his expression remained lazily indifferent. "I can start anytime!"
"Genin from Iwagakure, Ganji."
Kiba's opponent was a rather plain-looking genin from Iwagakure. He had a simple, honest look about him and wore a short buzzcut hairstyle similar to a certain notorious character. Two small blades extended from devices on his forearms; the sharp tips gleamed coldly, though most of the blades were still hidden inside the mechanical casings.
Ganji had a slightly frail build, wearing the standard attire of an Iwagakure ninja. In any crowd, someone like Ganji would likely go unnoticed. Still, Kiba didn't dare underestimate him. Sakura had once told him a valuable lesson—that sometimes the least noticeable people could be the deadliest.
"Konoha genin, Kiba Inuzuka!"
Kiba formed the Defiant Seal with his hands before immediately dashing forward as Hayate announced the match's commencement.
"Clang!"
A kunai in Kiba's hand clashed violently against Ganji's arm blades. The two separated briefly, only to clash again moments later. Within just seconds, they had exchanged over a dozen blows, each impact ringing out like rapid-fire metallic chimes.
Whether it was Lee who focused primarily on taijutsu, or Tenten and Sakura—who relied on summoned explosive tags and other ninja artifacts—they were all quite familiar with close-range combat. It had even become a required part of their training regimen.
Throughout the entire ninja world, many decisive battles often came down to hand-to-hand combat in the end. Even legendary figures like Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha had ultimately resorted to physical fights during their climactic showdowns. Thus, Sakura and the others had trained extensively in taijutsu—not necessarily expecting to reach the level of martial freaks like Guy and Lee, but at least ensuring they wouldn't be at a disadvantage when forced into unarmed combat.
As Kiba engaged Ganji in blade-to-blade combat, Akamaru leisurely found a shady corner, lay down, closed his eyes, and dozed off—trusting completely in his master. Trust your caretaker. If things really got out of hand, *then* he'd step in.
The arm blades and kunai clanged continuously. Besides their weapons, Kiba and Ganji were also locked in fierce hand-to-hand combat. Without releasing his full strength, Kiba remained evenly matched with Ganji. Both moved quickly, their attacks coming in short, sudden bursts instead of long exchanges. After several minutes of intense fighting, neither had managed to gain the upper hand.
"Not bad. Your movements are pretty quick," Kiba lightly sniffed, suddenly discarding his kunai. Grabbing Ganji's hands tightly, he used that force to propel himself high into the air.
Chapter Two Hundred and Thirty-One: The Wolf and the Tengu [Part II]
"Buzz!"
As Kiba leapt upward, an arm blade narrowly slashed beneath him. If he hadn't jumped, it would have sliced straight through his waist.
"So first you used a Mud Clone to draw my attention, then your real body hid using the Iwagakure no Jutsu technique and attacked me from behind," Kiba said, pushing off with his arms and swiftly springing sideways as two kunai only just fell to the ground.
"You reacted impressively fast," Ganji said somewhat surprisedly. From spotting his real body behind Kiba to dodging the attack—it all happened in seconds. Such speed and decisiveness genuinely astonished Ganji.
"Thanks for the compliment," Kiba rubbed his nose before suddenly flinging a shuriken at Ganji's Mud Clone and charging toward Ganji's actual body.
[Fang Piercing Fang!]
Kiba's body suddenly began spinning rapidly, transforming into a drill-like form aimed directly at Ganji's real body.
"Do you think you can distract my Clay Clone with shurikens and then quickly defeat me with a jutsu?"
Ganji swiftly formed hand seals, raising a stone slab in front of him to block Kiba's advance. "Earth Release: Rising Stone Floor!"
"Boom!"
The stone slab shattered instantly upon impact, but Kiba kept moving forward without hesitation.
"You've walked right into it."
At the moment Kiba struck, Ganji's body suddenly smiled and started melting, turning into a puddle of clay.
"I was the Clay Clone all along—a special type of clone. This type of clone is highly adhesive; once it makes contact, it sticks like glue. Just a brief delay will give my real body enough time to defeat you."
As the clone transformed into sticky clay, Ganji deflected the shuriken with a turn of his head and charged toward the now-clay-entangled Kiba, a confident smile on his face.
"Tch!"
However, just as the blade was about to strike, the seemingly trapped Kiba suddenly burst into a puff of smoke. Meanwhile, the kunai Ganji had knocked away transformed into Kiba's shape, rapidly spinning midair and rushing straight back at Ganji.
"I see. You transformed yourself into the kunai while using a Shadow Clone to attack my clay replica," Ganji immediately realized Kiba's previous maneuvers. Instantly forming hand seals, he activated Earth Release: Rising Stone Floor, simultaneously dodging sideways without hesitation.
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