Body Flicker Technique

"You talk big. Let's see how capable you really are.

Kurokawa, go deal with that brat."

Narita Daisaku snorted coldly, pulled out a kunai, and charged at Master Minato. He was so fast that there was almost no difference between his speed and Master Minato's.

Die!

Three more ninja revealed themselves from the forest. Two of them rushed in front of Master Minato and joined Narita Daisaku in surrounding him.

The remaining one, like Uchiha Mai, lingered on the edge of the battle, keeping Namikaze Minato's attention occupied while waiting for an opportunity to enter the fight.

You want to gang up on me, Namikaze Minato? Not so easy!

Master Minato used the Body Flicker Technique, turning into a golden flash. He weaved through the three attackers' siege with effortless ease, even evading the fourth man's surprise Lightning Style attack.

So impressive. Master Minato was indeed Master Minato, Uchiha Mai remarked.

One Jonin and three Chunin—this was the lineup of an elite squad. It was no easy feat for Master Minato to fight them alone, which showed just how refined his Body Flicker Technique was.

Body Flicker was somewhat different in definition from the Body Flicker Technique, much like Yin and Yang attributes, Yin–Yang Release, and Yin–Yang power.

Broadly speaking, Body Flicker referred to any technique that could enhance the user's speed and agility.

Might Guy's Eight Inner Gates, Hidden Cloud's Lightning Style Body Strengthening Secret Technique, Kakashi's future cell activation technique, and Naruto's Nine-Tails Chakra Mode could all be considered forms of Body Flicker.

Of course, aside from Kakashi's cell activation technique, increasing speed and agility was secondary for the abilities above.

The legendary Flying Thunder God was naturally a form of Body Flicker as well. Beyond Flying Thunder God, Namikaze Minato was also proficient in the most ordinary Body Flicker Technique.

There were many types of Body Flicker Technique, such as Sand Body Flicker, Mist Body Flicker, and Water Body Flicker. Every ninja village, even every ninja, specialized in different versions.

Generally speaking, these ordinary Body Flicker Techniques involved attaching chakra to the soles of one's feet for high-speed movement. Depending on the user's chakra reserves and understanding of the technique, the speed could vary considerably.

Generally, a Body Flicker Technique that required hand seals would definitely be faster than one that did not.

Yet Master Minato had not formed a single hand seal throughout the battle, and his speed was so great that he could barely be seen. Only golden afterimages remained.

This high-level Body Flicker Technique was what had allowed Namikaze Minato to become an Elite Jonin and earn the fearsome title of the Yellow Flash.

While appreciating Master Minato's dazzling display, Uchiha Mai did not forget to stay alert and observe his surroundings.

After all, Narita Daisaku had specifically ordered someone named Kurokawa to deal with him.

He did not know whether Narita Daisaku was merely trying to mislead him, but caution never hurt.

Suddenly, the sound of wind came from behind him. Uchiha Mai immediately became alert and used [Gongshoudao], darting to the side.

Paid 50,000 yen. Time set to 1 second.

In that instant, Uchiha Mai's overall abilities rose by a notch. His explosive power, speed, flexibility, and reactions all improved.

He burst forth at a speed thirty percent faster than usual, dodging the enemy's sneak attack.

This was the way Uchiha Mai had discovered was most suitable for using [Gongshoudao].

Back in the early days, before combat power had inflated to the point where everyone was piloting mechs and smashing mechs, ninja generally had strong offense but weak defense. Speed and agility were more valuable than attack power.

A Jonin is supposed to be impressive? If a Jonin took one of my Oniyaki, would he survive? He'd probably drop to his knees. The problem was that I couldn't hit him.

[Gongshoudao] enhanced overall physical qualities, which naturally included strength.

But while the attack boost it provided in the early stages looked wonderful, it was not particularly valuable. Uchiha Mai was not short on strength.

And because of diminishing returns, once everyone started piloting mechs, even spending a trillion would yield only negligible improvements.

Over the past ten days, Uchiha Mai had not spent all his time gambling. In his spare time, he had also studied this ability. After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to use it as a Body Flicker Technique that required no hand seals and consumed no chakra.

With cost-effectiveness taken into account, it could increase his instantaneous speed by roughly thirty to forty percent. Its effect was rather mediocre among Body Flicker Techniques, but it had no startup and zero consumption.

"Not bad, brat. You've got some skill."

A tall, burly figure appeared where Uchiha Mai had been standing. It was the fifth ninja, Kurokawa, whom Narita Daisaku had assigned to kill Mai.

"Whether I have skill or not, do I need you to tell me?"

Uchiha Mai retorted, then used [Gongshoudao] again and leaped forward with a whipping kick aimed at Kurokawa's head.

Mai Style Ancient Martial Arts · Heavy Kick · Seventy-Seventh Form.

All right, it was actually just an ordinary whipping kick. Aside from a few specific moves, Uchiha Mai had always assigned names to the rest of his punches and kicks at random.

Even though his sneak attack had been avoided, Kurokawa still did not think much of Uchiha Mai. The brat had skinny arms and legs—how good could his taijutsu possibly be?

Look at my six-foot-one height, these muscles, these fists as big as sandbags. Could I lose to a child in taijutsu?

With that thought in mind, Kurokawa neither dodged nor retreated. He merely raised one arm to block Mai's high kick while preparing to counterattack with the other.

Then came a crack.

Kurokawa's raised arm was kicked hard enough to fracture the bone, and his entire body was blasted sideways. Fortunately, he braced himself against the ground at the last moment and avoided making a fool of himself.

This brat is strong! No wonder he dared to pursue with Namikaze Minato.

After suffering that loss, Kurokawa's contempt for Uchiha Mai vanished without a trace. He formed hand seals with one hand and used the Body Flicker Technique to retreat more than ten meters away, intending to kite him.

Young ninja with stronger taijutsu were usually correspondingly weaker in ninjutsu. When one was young, specializing in a single skill was more important than mastering a hundred.

Just as Kurokawa was about to form hand seals and use ninjutsu after pulling away, he saw several shuriken flying toward him. He could only dodge while continuing to form seals.

Dividing his attention naturally slowed his hand seals. Moreover, one of Kurokawa's arms had already been kicked badly enough to fracture the bone.

Thus, before Kurokawa could finish forming his seals, Uchiha Mai had already closed the distance again and thrown a heavy punch.

"Damn it!"

Why was this brat so hard to deal with? Kurokawa cursed as he had no choice but to abandon his ninjutsu and continue trading taijutsu with Uchiha Mai.

"Within fifteen meters, your ninjutsu will never be faster than my fists." Uchiha Mai's fists shot forth like dragons. After exchanging blows with Kurokawa for a while, he actually began to gain the upper hand.

The problem Kurokawa faced was the same one Uchiha Mai had encountered when learning Great Fireball.

Great Fireball required six hand seals. Even an ordinary Jonin needed more than a second to complete them. Even after the seals were finished, the Great Fireball still needed time to reach the enemy.

In a little over a second, Uchiha Mai could sprint roughly twenty meters. He would have already finished a full combo before that damn fireball even arrived.