Whirlpool Elbow Strike

Konoha, Third Training Ground.

Two figures, one large and one small, stood several meters apart in a standoff.

"Wind Release: Finger Gun."

Naruto suddenly raised both hands, pointing his index fingers at Kakashi like pistols. Wind-natured Chakra gathered and compressed at his fingertips before shooting out like bullets.

It looked like one of the Six Powers from One Piece, but it was actually Naruto's improved, hand-signless version of Wind Release: Vacuum Bullet. At least he no longer had to attack with his mouth. Shooting from his fingers looked much cooler, too.

Naruto opened with more than a dozen Vacuum Bullets fired straight at Kakashi. Then he clapped his hands together, creating several Shadow Clones that began forming Rasengans.

Hand-signless ninjutsu held an enormous advantage in ninja battles. Not needing hand signs meant casting ninjutsu faster than your opponent, seizing the initiative, attacking first, and forcing them to follow your rhythm.

Seeing Naruto cast Wind Release without hand signs, Kakashi's exposed eye narrowed slightly. He had already lost the initiative, and now he needed to use defensive ninjutsu. One step behind meant falling behind at every turn.

Fortunately, his hand-sign speed was among the fastest in the entire Ninja World. He cast his jutsu almost instantly.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall."

An earthen wall carved with dog heads immediately rose from the ground, blocking every Vacuum Bullet before they could hit Kakashi and kicking up a cloud of dust.

"It's not over yet, One-Eyed Uncle!"

"Wind Release: Rasengan."

In that brief moment, Naruto had already climbed atop the Earth Flow Wall. Forming a Rasengan, he leaped straight down.

Kakashi did not pause for even a moment. The instant he cast the Earth Flow Wall, he had already retreated rapidly.

"Boom!"

Naruto's Rasengan struck empty ground, and the violently compressed Chakra blasted a massive crater into the earth.

Kakashi's eyelid twitched at the sight. Even as he retreated, he formed another set of hand signs.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."

Kakashi raised his right hand before his mouth and blasted it at Naruto, who had no time to react.

"Bang!"

At such close range, Naruto had no time to dodge the Great Fireball and turned directly into a cloud of smoke.

Kakashi was not surprised in the slightest. As he retreated, one foot touched down. He crouched, explosively pushed off, changed direction to the side, and leaped into the air.

"Boom!"

Four Narutos burst from the ground at once, each holding a Rasengan as they struck toward where Kakashi had landed moments earlier.

Finding no one there, the four clones halted, gripping their Rasengans as they looked up into the sky.

Kakashi had already completed his hand signs. Leaning back slightly, he inhaled before suddenly spitting out several streams of air.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Bullet."

A dense barrage of wind-natured Chakra bullets shattered all four clones.

But Kakashi did not let his guard down. Naruto was nowhere in sight, so he must have hidden himself using an escape technique.

"Whoosh—"

Kakashi landed directly on the river's surface. Standing here, he no longer had to worry about Naruto burrowing out of the ground to ambush him.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough."

A violent gale suddenly surged from behind Kakashi. The ferocious wind kept him from opening his eyes or lifting his head, and it only grew stronger, threatening to sweep him away.

Kakashi formed hand signs with difficulty.

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall."

A massive wall of water rose from the river beneath Kakashi's feet, blocking Naruto's Wind Release.

Standing behind the Water Formation Wall, Kakashi traced the direction of the Wind Release and found Naruto's position. He formed hand signs, and his entire body appeared directly behind Naruto, who was casting Great Breakthrough.

Naruto's eyes widened sharply as he blew. From the corner of his eye, he saw a massive fist hurtling toward his face.

"Bang!"

"Another clone?"

Watching Naruto explode into another cloud of smoke, Kakashi's mouth twitched.

Did this guy's clones really have that much Chakra?

"Whoosh!"

Kakashi immediately twisted aside. Naruto's Chakra-wrapped fist smashed into the spot in front of him, sending sand and stones flying and leaving another crater in the ground.

Using the impact, Kakashi retreated swiftly. Naruto burst through the cloud of dust, leaped high into the air, and charged straight at Kakashi.

Naruto adjusted his posture midair, bending his right elbow and preparing to strike with the point of his elbow.

Is he going to use taijutsu?

Kakashi guessed as much. He planted his feet, ready to compete with Naruto in taijutsu.

Naruto had reached the apex of his jump. Chakra wrapped around his elbow as he poured all his strength into driving it down at tremendous speed.

"One-Eyed Uncle, take my Whirlpool Elbow Strike!"

As he watched the Chakra-wrapped elbow close in, Kakashi's gaze sharpened. He formed hand signs again and pressed both hands to the ground.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall."

Another earthen wall rose from the ground, thrusting toward Naruto as he descended with his elbow strike.

Yet under Kakashi's shocked gaze, Naruto split the rising wall in two with his elbow and continued charging at him with unstoppable momentum.

Kakashi instinctively raised his arms in a cross to block.

Then Kakashi's pupils suddenly constricted. An indescribable force surged through the arms he had crossed in defense.

Kakashi's feet left the ground as he was sent flying by the elbow strike. His vision blurred. Looking at the blinding sun overhead, he seemed to see his late father smiling at him.

"Bang!"

The Kakashi sent flying by the elbow strike exploded into a cloud of smoke.

Naruto suddenly felt something cool against his neck. Turning his head, he discovered that the real Kakashi was already holding a Kunai to his throat.

"One-Eyed Uncle, sorry I couldn't make you use your full strength."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Naruto had tried to say that with a straight face despite the Kunai at his throat, but he could not hold back and burst out laughing.

Kakashi gave him a Dead Fish Eyes look and withdrew the Kunai.

"Your hand-signless ninjutsu really is a pain."

Because Naruto's hand-signless ninjutsu had seized the initiative, Kakashi had been forced to defend with ninjutsu. That put him into Naruto's attacking rhythm, and he had been pressured the entire time.

Fortunately, his Body Flicker and hand-sign speed were fast enough. Otherwise, he probably would have embarrassed himself today.

Over the past month, Kakashi and Naruto had fought several times. What had started as a one-sided beating had gradually become more and more difficult for Kakashi. They were now nearly evenly matched.

Naruto dusted himself off and said with a grin, "One look tells me you haven't played enough high-level matches, One-Eyed Uncle. What serious person uses hand signs?"

Kakashi's Dead Fish Eyes were full of speechlessness. "Hand signs allow you to guide and control Chakra better. That ensures ninjutsu can be cast successfully and saves Chakra."

"You'll get proficient if you cast a jutsu a few more times," Naruto said indifferently. Then he flashed a sly grin. "And as for that tiny bit of Chakra you save, what serious person would be short on that little Chakra?"

"You brat, having a lot of Chakra doesn't mean you can waste it whenever you want. What if something unexpected happens?"

"Keep practicing on your own. When Guy gets here, have him teach you taijutsu."

Kakashi's Dead Fish Eyes became even more speechless. Finally unable to take it anymore, he pulled out a Yellow Book from his Ninja Tool Pouch and walked beneath a tree.

Seeing Kakashi like that, Naruto could not help wanting to complain.

"One-Eyed Uncle, you should read less porn. Otherwise, you'll get even weaker in the future."

Kakashi merely rolled his eyes and ignored Naruto.

Watching Kakashi indulge in lewd books, Naruto could only shake his head in disappointment and begin training on his own.