One Move Short

When in poverty, change; when you change, you find a way.

Facing the siege of a crowd of Kumogakure experts, Jiang Feng, who was gradually falling into a disadvantageous position and trapped in a desperate situation, began to take the initiative to seek change. For the first time since the battle began, he utilized Moon-Treading Fragrance to leap into mid-air, making the battlefield more three-dimensional.

However, in front of nearly a hundred Kumogakure experts, this proactive change seemed foolish.

Stationed at the edge of the battlefield, the dozens of ninjutsu-type ninjas who had only been able to serve as a blockade and deterrent until now finally came in handy. Like rows of anti-aircraft batteries, they didn't need an order from Lao Da; the moment they saw Jiang Feng ascend, they opened fire.

Lightning Release, Fire Release, Water Release... Kumogakure ninjas were not only capable of Lightning Release; it was just that those who used Lightning Release were more numerous and famous.

Dozens of ninjutsu techniques soared into the sky. Some rushed toward Jiang Feng, while others blocked his evasion and movement paths, preventing him from escaping from mid-air.

A dead end. Mid-air was even more dangerous than the ground; at least on the ground, the ninjutsu-type ninjas would be wary of their own people and wouldn't fire indiscriminately.

Just as Tsunade was about to close her eyes and wait for death, Jiang Feng, who had no leverage in mid-air, suddenly changed his posture as if walking on flat ground. He changed his posture repeatedly, dodging the powerful ninjutsu techniques with an elegant and ethereal grace.

But in the end, he still fell back to the ground. The coordination of the Kumogakure ninjas was too perfect; they had almost completely sealed off every path in the sky, leaving Jiang Feng without a single gap to exploit.

Back on the ground, Jiang Feng resumed his battle with Young Bro and the others, only to be suppressed again, forced to ascend again, and then suppressed back to the ground by the barrage of ninjutsu. It was a recurring cycle.

Young Bro was not in a hurry; he was observing Jiang Feng's "bizarre" movement technique.

When a ninja is in mid-air, it is difficult to change their posture repeatedly because there is nowhere to gain leverage. Therefore, once they take to the air, they expose a fatal weakness, unless they have mastered some flight techniques, such as Iwagakure's Light-Weight Rock Technique.

Earlier, when Kurenai Yuhi fled, she had changed her posture once in mid-air. Following the principle of overestimating the enemy, Young Bro assumed that Jiang Feng possessed this technique and had mastered it more skillfully than Kurenai Yuhi, with greater speed and the ability to change his posture more times.

Facts proved that Lao Da's caution was justified.

Jiang Feng ascended several times, and his agility in dodging and maneuvering in mid-air was indeed higher than Kurenai Yuhi's, and the number of times he could continuously change his posture was also greater.

6 times.

4 times.

5 times.

6 times...

During his longest ascent, Jiang Feng was like a flying swallow, changing his posture six times in rapid succession amidst the hail of bullets and fire. That transcendent and graceful posture left everyone in Kumogakure in awe.

So, is the limit of continuous direction changes 6 times?

No. As a ninja, and a powerful ninja with extremely high combat intelligence, Young Bro would never believe any information the enemy showed him. He would never believe that Jiang Feng could only change direction in mid-air six times.

It was highly likely that he was deliberately showing weakness to lull him into a false sense of security.

Often, when two ninjas fight, they may not be able to determine a winner for a long time, and then suddenly, in some unexpected moment, life and death are decided.

Because one side finally exposed a weakness.

If he believed that Jiang Feng's limit for consecutive directional changes was no more than six, he would leave himself open to a weakness during the fight.

Therefore, he had to treat Jiang Feng's limit as seven, eight, or even nine or ten!

Young Bro was brewing a lethal strike; it was time to end this battle and send the young genius he admired and respected to hell.

Once again, Jiang Feng ascended into mid-air, and once again, under the heavy fire of the Kumogakure ninjas, he changed direction six times in a row.

Die!

Lightning flashed and thunder roared. Young Bro's golden, slicked-back hair suddenly spiked up like a Super Saiyan's. In an instant, he erupted with shocking speed, rocketing toward the descending Jiang Feng like a launched missile.

Lightning God Armor!

This was the ultimate secret technique of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode. In this state, Lao Da's speed, explosive power, strength, defense, and the potency of his Lightning Release were all amplified to their absolute limit.

Simple and brutal—it was purely a contest of raw stats.

Like a meteor streaking across the sky, his speed was so fast that even with Jiang Feng's Three-Tomoe Sharingan activated, he couldn't see him clearly. He could only rely on a combination of vision, intuition, and other senses to faintly capture Lao Da's figure and trail.

The seventh, the eighth change of direction.

Facing Young Bro's lethal strike, Jiang Feng, with a beauty in his arms, suddenly changed direction twice more, executing a multi-stage jump that would make Vergil weep, narrowly dodging the killing blow.

"I knew you were holding something back, kid!"

Having prepared for this, Young Bro suddenly shifted his technique without changing his momentum, throwing another punch at Jiang Feng. He moved like a thunderbolt, his strike echoing like a peal of thunder.

The ninth, the tenth change of direction.

Jiang Feng dodged Young Bro's attack once again, his posture remaining elegant and ethereal. However, his expression was no longer as relaxed as before; a fleeting bead of cold sweat even seeped from his jade-white forehead.

"Muda!"

So you changed direction twice more? You've certainly kept your cards close to your chest, but I anticipated this. You've reached your limit now, but I can still shift my technique!

Realizing that Jiang Feng had reached his limit for consecutive directional changes, Young Bro roared and shifted his technique again. His figure rose even higher; he lifted a leg, gathered all his chakra into it, and brought it crashing down toward Jiang Feng.

Raging Thunder Axe!

It was a strike of peerless might, like the wrath of a thunder god. Even if Jiang Feng were to suddenly awaken his Mangekyo Sharingan and immediately manifest a nascent Susanoo, it would be impossible to block this blow.

He was surely doomed to die.

Yet, not only did he not die, he remained completely unscathed, and his figure was now even higher than Young Bro, who had just ascended.

Young Bro's heart sank to the bottom of a valley. His conviction of a guaranteed kill crumbled in an instant, and a bone-chilling cold enveloped him from the inside out.

The eleventh, the twelfth change of direction.

One move behind.

Even though he had overestimated Jiang Feng as much as possible and left enough leeway and contingencies for this sure-kill strike, he was still one move behind. The contingencies prepared by the young genius of Konoha were a cut above his own.

What awaited him next would inevitably be the sure-kill strike that Jiang Feng had also been brewing for a long time, hidden behind several rounds of psychological warfare.

What kind of move would that be?

Young Bro tilted his head back. He wanted to see clearly the young genius he admired, respected, and was wholeheartedly convinced by. He wanted to see exactly what kind of breathtaking move this young genius would use to defeat him.

A bright moon hung high above the dark vault of the sky. With Tsunade in his arms, Jiang Feng still did not draw his sword. He simply pressed his fingers together to form a blade, pointing them at Young Bro as he began to descend.

Magnificent.

Truly magnificent.

It was not Tsunade in Jiang Feng's arms that was beautiful—though Tsunade was indeed beautiful, Young Bro, being a sigma male, would never be tempted by superficial beauty.

What was truly beautiful was Jiang Feng descending from the sky.

His speed was pushed to the absolute limit, yet he remained as graceful as an immortal, transcendent and peerless, like a celestial being descending from the nine heavens, dreamlike and illusory.

His fingers radiated a chill that could freeze one to the marrow. It was like a flash of lightning, like a rainbow streaking across the sky, like the Third Raikage's signature technique, the Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite—sharp, exposed, and unstoppable.

Young Bro already knew the name of this move.