The back mountain of the Ninja Academy, Taijutsu training grounds.
This was the place where students conducted practical combat drills.
At this moment, the duel between Naoki and those three upperclassmen had attracted almost all the students who hadn’t gone home after school.
Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, who had followed along at some unknown point, stood at the very front of the crowd.
“Is that guy Naoki really going to fight them in Taijutsu?” Tsunade frowned, looking a bit worried.
“He’s usually lazy to death, doing nothing but sleeping or spacing out.
When has he ever practiced Taijutsu?”
“The Boss will definitely be fine!” Jiraiya’s face was filled with blind worship.
“The Boss is omnipotent!
He must be hiding some powerful Taijutsu that we don’t know about!”
Only Orochimaru remained silent, his golden slit-pupils locked onto Naoki’s body, flickering with intense interest and a probing light.
He didn’t care at all about the outcome of this duel.
What he cared about was the person, Senju Naoki.
Ever since that shocking ‘physics plasma phenomenon’ at the entrance ceremony, Orochimaru had listed Naoki as his highest-level research subject.
He couldn’t understand how an eight-year-old body could carry and release that level of energy.
Hokage Tobirama’s’scientific explanation’ sounded logical to him, but it lacked the most critical data support.
He wanted data.
He wanted to see with his own eyes and experience firsthand what kind of secrets were hidden within Senju Naoki’s body.
And a Taijutsu duel was undoubtedly the best opportunity for close-range observation.
In the center of the training ground.
The youth from the Inuzuka Clan had already assumed their family’s unique Taijutsu starting stance—the Four Legs Technique.
He crouched on the ground, using both hands and feet like a beast ready to pounce, his whole body exuding a fierce aura.
“Kid, don’t say I’m bullying you.
I’ll let you make the first move!” He grinned, showing a smile he thought was very menacing.
Naoki stood where he was, motionless.
He didn’t take any of the signature wide-open stances of the Senju Clan; he just stood there casually, arms hanging naturally at his sides, looking completely full of openings.
“First move?” Naoki smiled inwardly.
“Just what I wanted.”
He needed a live target to test the combat effectiveness of his newly acquired [Uchiha Fluidity Art] and [Three-Tomoe Sharingan].
“Then I won’t be polite.”
Before his voice had even faded, Naoki’s figure suddenly vanished from the spot.
“What?!”
The Inuzuka youth’s pupils constricted.
He felt a blur before his eyes, and that silver-haired kid was gone.
So fast!
Before he could even react, a gust of wind struck from his side.
Naoki’s figure appeared like a ghost on his left, delivering a concise and sharp whip kick that whistled through the air, aimed straight for his ribs.
This kick lacked the wide, powerful momentum of the Senju Clan, but it was filled with the sinister and tricky nature of the Uchiha style, with the angle and timing handled perfectly.
The Inuzuka youth was an upperclassman after all, with far more combat experience than the likes of Jiraiya.
In the nick of time, he forced his body to twist, crossing his arms to protect his side.
Thud!
A dull sound rang out.
The Inuzuka youth felt a massive force transfer from his arms, and he was kicked flying sideways, rolling several times on the ground before stopping.
such great strength!” He struggled to get up, feeling a burning pain in his arms as if they were about to break.
The entire field erupted into an uproar.
“One move!
Just one move!”
“What speed!
I didn’t even see how he moved!”
Tsunade’s eyes also widened: “This guy…
when did he become so powerful?”
Only Orochimaru’s eyes shone even brighter.
He licked his lips and murmured softly, “It’s not just pure strength…
it’s technique…
the application of muscles and bones has already exceeded the scope of a Genin.
His way of exerting force is concise and efficient, every bit of strength used where it matters most…
beautiful…”
Naoki stood in place, shaking his leg, feeling a bit surprised himself.
“This Uchiha Fluidity Art is pretty good!”
He hadn’t used much strength in that kick just now; he had simply followed the force-exertion techniques of that Taijutsu in his mind to mobilize his leg muscles.
He hadn’t expected the effect to be this good.
Moreover, at the moment he attacked, the world in his eyes automatically entered a’slow-motion’ mode.
Every reaction of the opponent and every twitch of a muscle was seen clearly under the passive effect of his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
This feeling…
was amazing!
It was like playing a game with cheats; everything was under control.
“Damn you!
You bastard!”
The Inuzuka youth roared and lunged again.
This time, he used his full strength, his speed and power more than doubling compared to before.
“Passing Fang!”
His entire body spun at high speed in mid-air like a drill, rushing straight at Naoki with a whistling sound that tore through the air.
This was one of the signature techniques of the Inuzuka Clan.
Although it was just Taijutsu, its destructive power was immense.
Facing this menacing move, Naoki still didn’t dodge.
He just stood there quietly, the world in his eyes becoming slow and clear once more.
To everyone else, it looked like a deadly drill capable of shredding rock.
But in Naoki’s eyes, it was just an imperfectly spinning top made of a human body.
He could clearly see the countless openings exposed during the rotation and could predict the final point of impact.
Just as the ‘drill’ was about to hit him, Naoki moved.
His body tilted slightly at an incredible angle, narrowly avoiding the lethal edge by a hair’s breadth.
At the same time, he extended his right hand, fingers spread, and unerringly pressed against a certain center point of the Inuzuka youth’s high-speed rotating body.
Then, he gave a light push.
Hum—
A miraculous scene occurred.
The originally menacing ‘drill’ was like a top whose axis had been disrupted; it instantly lost its balance.
The rotational force was completely neutralized by a clever use of leverage, and the boy flew off crookedly, finally crashing into a distant training post with a ‘bang,’ eyes rolling back as he passed out. The source of this chapter is g.com.
The entire field fell into a deathly silence once again.
If the first move was an overwhelming display of power and speed,
Then this move was a…
dimensional reduction strike of technique and vision!
“How…
how did he do that?”
“He just gave it a light push…”
“Too terrifying…
this isn’t even a battle on the same level!”
Naoki withdrew his hand and nodded inwardly with satisfaction.
“Not bad.
The predictive ability of the Sharingan combined with the redirection techniques of the Uchiha Fluidity Art is simply a perfect match.”
He glanced at the other two lackeys who were already scared witless.
When those two met his gaze, they shuddered and turned to run without a word.
Naoki didn’t bother to chase them.
He turned around, prepared to announce his victory and go home for dinner.
However, a figure blocked his path.
It was Orochimaru.
His pale face now bore a trace of sickly flush, and his golden slit-pupils were filled with undisguised desire and fanaticism.
“Senju Naoki-kun.”
His voice was hoarse, carrying a slight tremor.
“The battle just now was truly magnificent.”
“Your body, your techniques…
they are all like a perfect work of art.”
He stuck out his tongue, licked his lips, and looked at Naoki with an almost obsessed gaze.
“I…
also want to experience it firsthand.”
“May I?”
He didn’t say ‘fight me,’ but rather ‘experience it.’ It was as if Naoki wasn’t an opponent, but a precious experimental subject that needed to be savored carefully.
The entire class held their breath.
This was a duel between the two recognized geniuses of the Ninja Academy!
One was the creator of ‘Physics Ninjutsu’ with a mysterious background and unfathomable strength.
The other was a true genius who had long dominated the top spots in both theory and practice.
How spectacular would their battle be?
Naoki looked at Orochimaru, who had already entered ‘creep’ mode, and felt a bit of a headache.
“I refuse,” he wanted to say.
But seeing the pure thirst for knowledge and power in Orochimaru’s eyes, he inexplicably changed his mind.
Perhaps…
fighting this future member of the Sannin and the number one scientist in the Ninja World would give him a clearer understanding of his current strength?
“Fine.”
Naoki nodded.
At that moment, the atmosphere of the entire training ground was pushed to its peak.