Crushing Superiority

After borrowing the force of the blow to retreat, Kakashi steadied himself and panted lightly.

Although technique had made up for his lack of height and strength, the limitations of his physical condition could not be ignored.

A five-year-old body had limited stamina and strength after all.

Clang!

A crisp metallic ring echoed out.

Kakashi drew the short blade from his back, its edge gleaming coldly.

"Getting serious now?"

Aoba raised an eyebrow and flicked his wrist, a kunai appearing in his palm.

With weapons entering the fight, the battle's intensity instantly escalated.

Hatake Style Kenjutsu was simple and lethal, without a single flashy movement. It had been created purely for killing.

Aoba remained calm as blue light flickered in his eyes. With the Chip's trajectory predictions, the kunai in his hand easily blocked Kakashi's blade.

Sparks scattered through the dim forest.

"How is that possible?"

Kakashi's eyes widened in disbelief. His swordsmanship had been completely seen through!

"Looks like I won the weapon exchange."

Aoba closed in like a ghost. After using his right-hand kunai to block the short blade, he suddenly released it, then shot both hands forward like lightning and directly grabbed Kakashi's sword-wielding wrist and his other hand.

Aoba's strength erupted, clamping Kakashi's hands tightly in place. Then he made a move Kakashi had never expected.

"Let me borrow your hands!"

Using Kakashi's restrained hands, Aoba forcibly moved his fingers and began forming hand seals!

"What?!"

Kakashi's pupils contracted.

Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger!

Kakashi was startled and tried to break free, only to discover that Aoba was far stronger than he had imagined. His fingers seemed to be pulled by some force, helplessly completing the hand seals.

This was...

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Aoba's chest swelled as chakra gathered in his throat. A huge orange-red fireball burst from his mouth, and at this distance, it was almost impossible to evade.

Kakashi felt a heat wave rush toward him. At the critical moment, he forcibly twisted his body and slammed both hands against the ground.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"

A thick earthen wall rose from the ground, blocking the raging flames.

Though it did not yet bear that iconic dog-head carving, the wall was already sturdy enough to withstand a C-rank ninjutsu.

Boom!

The flames crashed against the earthen wall and exploded, filling the air with smoke and dust.

Using the Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall as cover, Kakashi vanished into the haze.

The next instant, several identical figures rushed out from behind the wall, attacking Aoba from different directions.

Clone Technique.

Aoba watched the several Kakashis charging toward him, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

"Perfect. There's a new move I've been wanting to try."

His hands rapidly formed several seals.

"Body Flicker Technique!"

Before his words had even faded, Aoba's figure blurred. Then several "Aobas" appeared across the clearing at once, meeting Kakashi's clones head-on.

Very quickly, Kakashi realized something was wrong.

The instant his clones came into contact with Aoba's "clones," they were easily dispersed into puffs of white smoke.

Yet when his short blade cut through one "Aoba," it passed through without any resistance, as though it had struck nothing but an insubstantial phantom.

A chill ran up Kakashi's spine.

The "afterimage" he had cut did not vanish like an ordinary clone. Instead, it suddenly solidified for an instant, and a palm slammed heavily against his wrist.

Smack!

Intense pain shot through him, and the short blade flew from his hand.

"How is that possible?!"

Kakashi's face changed drastically. It was clearly an illusion—how could it launch a physical attack?!

Before he could react, the other "Aobas" around him collided with his shadow clones as well.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several dull impacts rang out as Kakashi's shadow clones were directly blown apart into white smoke.

Those seemingly illusory afterimages all became solid at the very instant they attacked!

This was the Phantom Body Flicker Technique, created by Aoba through extremely high-frequency Body Flicker movements, visual afterimages, and genjutsu.

At this point in time, against Kakashi before he possessed the Sharingan, it was simply an overwhelming advantage.

Amid the confusion, pain exploded across Kakashi's back. Then the world spun around him as his entire body was pinned against a tree trunk.

A cold touch pressed against his neck.

All the afterimages vanished instantly, leaving only Aoba himself. With one hand, he held Kakashi against the tree, while the kunai in his right hand rested against Kakashi's carotid artery.

The outcome had been decided.

The forest returned to deathly silence, broken only by the occasional chirp of insects and the slightly hurried breathing of the two boys.

Kakashi stared wide-eyed at Yamashiro Aoba, who wore sunglasses and still had the same calm expression.

That sense of helplessness was even stronger than when he had fallen under genjutsu in the alley last time.

Taijutsu, ninjutsu, tactics—he had been crushed in every aspect!

"You won."

After a long while, Kakashi lowered his eyes, his voice somewhat hoarse.

Aoba withdrew the kunai, casually spun it around his fingers, and slipped it back into his ninja tool pouch before releasing Kakashi.

"Come on, we're classmates, not the same age."

Aoba patted the dust off Kakashi's shoulder, his tone returning to its usual laziness. "I started training earlier than you, I'm older, and my height, strength, and chakra are all far above yours. Isn't it perfectly normal that I won?"

"By your logic, I can't beat Mr. White Fang or Lord Hokage either. Should I be depressed for a while too?"

"..."

Kakashi froze for a moment upon hearing that. Then he picked up the short blade from the ground and silently returned it to its sheath. "Thank you, but a loss is a loss."

When he raised his head again, the frustration in his eyes had vanished, replaced by an even more resolute gaze. "Next time, I'll win."

"Yeah, yeah. You'll definitely win next time."

Aoba looked up at the sky. "Ah, it's almost dark. I should head back and prepare dinner. You should go home too, or your family will worry."

Kakashi gave Aoba a deep look, then turned and vanished into the depths of the forest after a few swift leaps.

"As expected, actual combat is the best test. No matter how much the Chip analyzes and simulates, it's ultimately only theoretical."

Aoba began reviewing the battle. The Chip replayed the scene on his retina and displayed real-time data.

Today's battle had exposed quite a few problems. He had relied too heavily on the Chip and trusted its data too much.

Of course, that did not mean the Chip's data was wrong. The figures and parameters had all been accurate. The problem was people. People were complicated creatures, and data was not set in stone either.

People grew. On-the-spot reactions and fighting spirit were all uncertain factors that affected battle.

Perhaps because it was his first time going all out, Aoba had been rather excited. Every aspect of his performance had been higher than usual. Most importantly, his mindset had been stable, allowing him to suppress Kakashi at every turn and appear completely composed.

Kakashi's data was not much lower than his. Under normal circumstances, Kakashi would have had no problem fighting him to a draw. However, his mentality and combat awareness fluctuated too greatly during battle, allowing Aoba to seize the opportunity and suppress him.

It seemed he needed to stay active like this more often from now on.

But who should he find?

A green figure unconsciously surfaced in his mind, and he hurriedly shook his head to dispel it.

Aoba let out a soft breath and stretched lazily.

His gaze seemingly swept casually toward the dense bushes to one side, revealing a faint, ambiguous smile. Then, with a Body Flicker, he vanished from the spot.

Not long after the two left one after the other,

a rather cute little brat with slightly curly hair, even younger than Kakashi, slowly emerged from the shadow of a tree trunk.

"Looks like I was discovered."

The little brat scratched his head and raised his hand, revealing the fan clan crest embroidered on the back of his clothes. "Well, with strength like that, it's normal that I was discovered."

Though his face was still childish, his eyes held an expression and liveliness that did not match his age.

"Afterimages... Body Flicker can be used like that too?"