"Oh?"
The frenzied expression on Isshin's face paused slightly, revealing a hint of surprise for the first time.
Looking at the calm eyes on the other end of the blade, he spoke in a voice that was not loud but carried clearly: "Not bad strength! Much more solid than it looks."
Before the words even finished, his gaze sharpened. The blade that had been blocked suddenly drew back, sending sparks flying, then turned into an even more violent and denser storm of sword light pouring down on Shinichi like a raging tempest!
Slash, chop, sweep, lift, every strike was simple and direct, yet the combination of power, speed, and angle was brought to the extreme. The blade wind tore through the air, producing shrieks like wailing ghosts!
At almost the same time, Shinichi moved as well. Gripping the sword hilt tightly with both hands, chakra surged through his body, pouring into his limbs and the blade.
He stepped forward fiercely and charged, swinging the katana in his hands. He met the deadly web of blades head-on with equal ferocity against ferocity and speed against speed, not retreating even half a step!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The dense metallic collisions, almost indistinguishable in sequence, sounded like the most intense war drums being beaten wildly!
Every collision shot out dazzling sparks, and every clash exploded into a visible ring of shockwaves!
The two figures in the center of the wide arena turned into two high-speed moving blurs of light that constantly collided and separated.
Sword light flowed like ribbons, crisscrossing everywhere. Wherever it passed, the already cracked ground looked as if it had been repeatedly plowed by the claws of a giant beast.
Gravel scattered, dust filled the air, and the entire field rapidly became a mess of ravines and trenches, almost without a single intact inch of ground!
"My god! Shinichi can actually clash head-on with that monster?!"
"Although I always knew he had great strength since childhood and never stopped weight training, this is too… too exaggerated!"
"Did you all forget? When this kid first entered the academy, he carried boulders like a small mountain to school every day! I saw that scene countless times with my own eyes!"
"I know that. My house is near the Ninja Academy. I often saw him in the mornings back then… but later he seemed to stop carrying them, so I thought he had given up or switched to something else…"
"Now it seems he didn't give up at all! It's clearly because ordinary weights had already become useless!"
Exclamations, discussions, and praises rose one after another from the spectator stands. Many people seemed to be recognizing again the boy in the arena who was fiercely clashing with the monster samurai.
The impression deeply planted in their memories of a hardworking genius overlapped with the violent aesthetic battle scene before them, creating a powerful impact.
On the high platform, the astonishment on advisor Koharu Utatane's face had not completely faded.
She couldn't help turning her head again and looking at the third Hokage beside her, who was calmly smoking, asking in a low voice: "Hiruzen, are you sure this child Shinichi really doesn't have Senju blood?"
When Konoha was first established, the Senju clan gradually concealed their surname in response to the first Hokage's idea that clans should integrate into the village.
Although they no longer existed under the name of a clan, there were still many Senju descendants in the village, most of whom worked in the education department and the Ninja Academy, engaging in education-related work.
The strength and physique Shinichi was displaying at this moment, far surpassing his peers and even many adult Jonin, inevitably made people draw associations.
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, his gaze still locked on the two figures fighting fiercely in the arena. He shook his head and explained: "His background has already been repeatedly verified. This child, Shinichi, indeed has no blood relation with the Senju clan."
"You can only say this child is truly gifted, just like Hiruzen when he was young."
Homura Mitokado said with a smile as he adjusted his glasses.
Hearing this, a trace of reminiscence flashed through the third Hokage's eyes. He smiled slightly but said nothing.
The fierce battle in the arena had already entered a white-hot stage. In everyone's eyes, it was a head-on clash between two powerful opponents.
But only Shinichi himself knew that he was throwing the match, the left hand fighting the right hand, while still thinking about how to make it look better, create bigger movements, and make the audience more shocked and leave a deeper impression.
"Haha! It's refreshing! Again!"
Isshin laughed wildly.
Being unable to break through after attacking for so long seemed to make him even more excited. Suddenly, he changed moves, knocking away Shinichi's blocking blade with a single strike. His left hand had at some point already clenched into a fist, carrying an irresistible, immense force like a battering ram as it blasted straight toward the opening in Shinichi's chest and abdomen!
Shinichi seemed to have anticipated it long ago. The blade that had been shaken aside while blocking was not withdrawn; instead, he followed the momentum and fiercely knocked the end of the sword's hilt toward the incoming fist.
At the same time, the footwork beneath him shifted, his body sliding sideways like a swimming fish, attempting to dissipate the force and counterattack.
However, Isshin's combat experience was extremely rich. The momentum of his punch twisted strangely midway, transforming from a fist into a claw. His five fingers curved like hooks, aiming to seize Shinichi's sword-holding wrist!
At the same time, his right leg silently swept toward Shinichi's lower body like a steel whip!
Shinichi's eyes sharpened. His response changed just as quickly. With a shake of his wrist, the blade flipped, its edge meeting the iron claw that came to grab him, forcing it to withdraw. At the same time, his left leg bent upward, his knee crashing head-on against the sweeping kick!
"Bang!"
Another dull sound rang out. Both figures swayed simultaneously. The ground beneath their feet, already fractured, could no longer bear the strain. It burst open with a web-like pattern of cracks, shattered stones shooting out like rain!
Before the smoke and dust had even settled, the two figures had already rushed toward each other again like bowstrings released after being drawn taut!
Isshin laughed loudly. The sword in his hand carried even more ferocious power than before, a heavy and forceful diagonal slash tearing through the air!
However, this time Shinichi did not choose to clash head-on. His footwork was like a butterfly weaving among flowers. At the instant before impact, he slid sideways.
The long blade in his hand skillfully pressed, guided, and deflected along the trajectory of the descending strike, redirecting that violent power slightly aside. It was precisely a high-level force-dissipating technique in swordsmanship!
Taking advantage of the instant when Isshin's blade was diverted and his body slightly stalled, Shinichi twisted his waist and turned. His right leg drew a perfect arc like a steel whip, carrying a whistling wind as it fiercely lashed toward Isshin's chest!
Leaf Hurricane!
"Bang!"
A solid impact sounded. For the first time in the direct exchange of Taijutsu, Isshin's mountain-like body was struck and staggered backward. His feet plowed two deep furrows across the ground, retreating more than ten meters before he finally stabilized!
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