The duel continued, with Narak and Kai trading blows back and forth, while Kakashi stood to the side, watching the show with his Sharingan activated.
The Third Hokage was getting annoyed. Does Kakashi not know how short his mana bar is, or what? If you've activated the Sharingan, then hurry up and get in there and fight! Otherwise, you'll have to be carried out again in a while. If someone who didn't know any better saw this, they'd think a young man like you was terribly frail!
Thus, the Third Hokage called down from above, "Kakashi, stop watching the show and hurry up. Otherwise, time will be up."
"This kid has always liked hiding his true abilities in front of me. The two of you should attack him together and see exactly how much strength he has."
Hearing the Third Hokage's order, Kakashi flashed forward and stood beside Kai. He said to the two of them, "Sorry, I don't want to interrupt the battle between you two, but as Lord Third said, this is a Jonin assessment. Let's see whether you, Narak, have what it takes to bear the title of Jonin.
"As for the contest between your Steel Fist and Gentle Fist, you can save it for another day. Be careful, Narak. The two of us are going all out!"
Seeing the two preparing to fight at full strength, Narak curled his lip disdainfully. Glancing at the incense stick, only a third of which remained, he thought, Damn old man Third. He's always trying to probe the depths of my strength. Hmph, since you want to know so badly, I'll let you see all of it today!
After obtaining Advanced Spiritual Pressure and reaching Jonin-level strength, Narak had yet to have a proper fight with anyone. As for the Root ninja squad from before, their strength had been average, and Narak had not used his full power against them.
Kai and Kakashi before him were undoubtedly excellent opponents. Both were among the very best of the Jonin, and only by fighting them could Narak accurately gauge his own strength.
Narak reached back with his left hand and gripped the sheath of his Zanpakuto. With his right hand, he grasped the hilt and slowly drew it from behind his back. At last, the long blade left its sheath, radiating a fearsome sword aura!
Following the principle of keeping something in reserve for every situation, Narak usually carried his weapon on his person whenever he went out. That way, he could catch people off guard at a critical moment instead of letting them know he could summon weapons out of thin air.
With the long blade in hand, Narak's aura changed.
If the previous Narak had been like the boxing style he used, giving people a sense of stability, then the Narak before them now was sharp and completely unleashed. Anyone with a fragile psyche would probably collapse outright upon facing him!
"In that case, seniors, I'll be going all out as well. Please don't hold back. I want to know exactly how strong I am now."
The moment he finished speaking, Narak charged at the two of them with his Zanpakuto in hand.
Facing Narak's assault, Kakashi drew a Kunai, while Kai pulled out a pair of nunchaku from somewhere.
Kakashi was the first to block Narak's long blade. Kai flashed to Narak's side and swung his nunchaku at him.
"Bakudo #8—Repulse!"
Narak did not dodge Kai's attack. He knew that, with the tacit understanding Kakashi and Kai had built through years of fighting together, choosing to retreat would leave him facing their endless attacks and put him at a disadvantage.
Thus, he chose to use Bakudo #8 to form a shield over his left hand and block the attack, while his right hand continued to wield the long blade against Kakashi.
"Bang... crack..."
While trading blows with Kakashi, Narak sensed that something was wrong. He glanced back and saw that the shield on his left hand had begun to shatter after taking a single hit.
Tch... What a pain. Bakudo #8 is simply too low-level. And I cast it without an incantation, too. It can only block one attack from a powerhouse like Kai!
"Bakudo #9—Crushing Wheel!"
There was no time for careful thought. Kai's attack came again, and at the critical moment, Narak could only cast Crushing Wheel. A yellow rope extended from his fingertips and tightly bound Kai, who had approached without any defense.
Suddenly bound, Kai was extremely surprised. But he did not hesitate for long. In the next instant, he gathered all his strength and spread his arms outward. The veins on his forehead bulged as he strained to tear apart the rope binding him.
"Snap..."
The rope formed by Bakudo could not hold Kai for even three seconds before breaking into section after section. Before the broken strands could hit the ground, they transformed into spirit particles and dissipated into the air.
The sight made Narak click his tongue repeatedly. Good grief, low-level Bakudo was completely useless against this guy.
Narak swung backward and knocked Kakashi away with a slash. Then he used Flash Step to open up some distance from the two of them.
Since I can't gain any advantage in close combat, I'll fight you from a distance. I'll use ranged skills to wear you down. Kakashi, you're famous for having poor reserves. Let's see how many skills you can cast. Once you run out of energy, I'll kite Kai. A mage who keeps his distance against a warrior without any healing ability—I can wear him down sooner or later!
"Hado #32—Sakura Flash!"
Another Hado cast without an incantation burst from Narak's hand. A cherry-colored shock wave spread toward Kakashi and Kai.
"Kai, danger! Get behind me!"
As Kakashi spoke to Kai, his hands rapidly formed seals. "Earth Release—Earth-Style Wall!"
A wall of earth rose up and shielded Kakashi and Kai behind it. Sakura Flash slammed into the wall, carving off chunks of earth.
Seeing the two hiding behind the earth wall, Narak secretly rejoiced. What a great opportunity!
"Hado #54—Waste Flame!"
There was no time to chant the spell. Another Kido technique formed instantly without an incantation. Although abandoning the incantation greatly reduced its power, Narak could not worry about that now.
Hado #54 was one of the highest-numbered Hado techniques Narak currently possessed. Its effect was to unleash flames that burned the target to nothing, making it somewhat similar to Itachi's Amaterasu.
If he had the chance in the future, Narak wanted to test whether Amaterasu's flames were more powerful or whether his own Waste Flame was stronger.
A huge disk-shaped mass of flame formed in Narak's hand. He flung it at Kakashi and Kai. The fire grew larger and larger as it flew through the air, then crashed heavily into the earth wall.
The two behind the wall had just begun to peek out when they saw the massive ball of fire flying toward them. They hurriedly ducked back down.
When the flames touched the earth wall, they did not explode as the two had imagined. Instead, they spread like liquid and clung to the wall. The wall then rapidly melted away before their eyes.
"Kakashi, what kind of fire is this? How can it be so strange?" Kai asked Kakashi in confusion.
"I don't know. This is my first time seeing flames like these. But no matter what, don't let them touch you. No, this is bad. Move back!"
Before Kakashi could finish speaking, the earth wall before them began to collapse under the flames' erosion. Scattered stones carrying fire splashed in every direction, and the two hurriedly moved away to dodge them.
"An opening! Senior Kai, you let your guard down!"
At that moment, Narak's voice came from behind Kai!
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