Destructo Disc

"Hozuki Shingetsu ultimately suffered for his youth. If he had another two or three years to cultivate and polish his ninjutsu, he might not have been a match for Kaguya Hirotoshi."

Several jōnin shook their heads, completely unsurprised by this result. Kaguya Hirotoshi had been a renowned genius in his own right back in the day; how could eight years of cultivation be so easily bridged? Besides, his secret techniques were countered, and his own attacks couldn't even break through the defense—how was he supposed to fight this battle?

"That's not necessarily true. In a static position, the Kaguya Clan naturally holds the advantage. But in a real-world field scenario, who knows who would win? Hozuki Shingetsu could manifest from any water source, and a single Water Gun Technique would finish off Kaguya Hirotoshi, who lacks sensory abilities. So, Hozuki Shingetsu lost, but the Hozuki Clan did not."

Several jōnin from the Hozuki Clan had already prepared excuses to defend Hozuki Shingetsu.

"Haha, Clan Leader Hozuki, have you decided which of your clansmen will marry into my Kaguya Clan?" Kaguya Yoshio looked at Hozuki Zangetsu beside him with a smile.

"The result isn't out yet. Aren't you afraid of being slapped in the face, Clan Leader Kaguya?"

Hozuki Zangetsu felt no panic, ignoring the blatant provocation. Although that semi-finished Water Release Chakra Mode was impressive, he knew his son's strength didn't end there.

Even though he hadn't sparred with his son personally and didn't know all his trump cards, there was one technique he knew of that Hozuki Shingetsu hadn't used yet!

"A hand-seal-less ninjutsu... truly, the younger generation is formidable!"

Thinking of that technique with its terrifying destructive power, Hozuki Zangetsu couldn't help but fall into deep reflection.

On the other side of the arena, Hozuki Shingetsu also realized that continuing like this was not the way. Relying solely on this semi-finished Water Release Chakra Mode couldn't break Kaguya Hirotoshi's defense, and there was no point in dragging it out.

He gathered all his strength to push Kaguya Hirotoshi back, used a Body Flicker Technique to create distance, and voluntarily deactivated his Water Release Chakra Mode.

The current semi-finished Water Release Chakra Mode was only good for bullying small fry, but the key was that his existing water-style secret techniques were already sufficient for that, making this current version somewhat redundant.

"I really need to strengthen it! If only there were a ninja from the Yotsuki Clan who had cultivated the Lightning Release Chakra Mode for me to observe."

Recalling one of the functions of the cheat he had developed, Hozuki Shingetsu pondered ways to improve it.

"Giving up?"

Seeing Hozuki Shingetsu's blood pressure settle and his complexion return to normal, Kaguya Hirotoshi thought he intended to concede, and he felt a bit unsatisfied.

Although Hozuki Shingetsu's Water Release Chakra Mode was incomplete, being able to trade blows with him while he was using the Shikotsumyaku was rare.

Despite their different stances, he acknowledged that the rumors of Hozuki Shingetsu being a genius were not unfounded.

"Giving up? We've barely started."

Actually, there was a way to defeat Kaguya Hirotoshi, and it was quite simple.

That was to summon the giant clam, the Mirage, and use it as the medium to emit mist and launch the area-of-effect genjutsu, Mirage.

Once this ninjutsu was activated, the caster could create illusions of themselves and the clam at any position within the mist.

Although the illusions had no attack power, his real body could hide within the mist to launch attacks at any time, and the mist could also blur the senses of sensory-type ninjas, further increasing the technique's practicality.

Kirigakure's "Hidden Mist Technique" and "Silent Killing Technique" were inspired by and evolved from this very ninjutsu.

As the signature technique of the Second Mizukage, the way to break this was completely different from ordinary genjutsu.

Normal genjutsu could be broken by disrupting one's own chakra flow, but this technique required finding the exact location of the hidden clam within the sea of illusions and shattering its defense. However, the clam itself possessed extremely high defensive power, which could only be broken by powerful offensive ninjutsu or a large number of explosive tags.

Back in the day, the Mirage combined with the Jōki Bōi was the Second Mizukage's proudest skill, causing even the Second Tsuchikage, who developed the Kekkei Tōta, to suffer from headaches.

Hozuki Shingetsu had only managed to master this technique after gaining the recognition of the clam with the help of his cheat.

Once this technique was unleashed, Kaguya Hirotoshi, who lacked sensory ninjutsu, would certainly be unable to break it and would only be left to be slaughtered by Hozuki Shingetsu once his chakra was exhausted.

But even if he won that way, it would be too ugly a victory to achieve Hozuki Shingetsu's goal of establishing his prestige.

Thinking of this, Hozuki Shingetsu took a deep breath and held up one finger.

"Hm? Is this some new gesture for surrendering?"

Ignoring Kaguya Hirotoshi's mockery, Hozuki Shingetsu spoke in a flat tone.

"One move. I will finish you in one move."

Kaguya Hirotoshi didn't expect his mockery to be countered so sharply. Enraged, he used a Body Flicker to appear right beside Hozuki Shingetsu, his right hand transformed into a spear, thrusting fiercely toward Hozuki Shingetsu's right chest.

Although he couldn't kill him in front of so many people, piercing his right chest would be enough to keep this foul-mouthed brat bedridden for a month or two.

As a wielder of the Shikotsumyaku, Kaguya Hirotoshi had various ways to leave incurable hidden injuries within Hozuki Shingetsu's body.

A genius? Who wasn't a genius youth back in the day?

A cold glint flashed in Kaguya Hirotoshi's eyes; only a genius who managed to grow up was a true genius. Anything that hadn't been converted into actual strength was merely potential.

Whoosh!

"Water Clone Technique?"

The Hozuki Shingetsu who had been pierced turned into a puddle of water and dissipated. Knowing that Hozuki Shingetsu was about to counterattack, Kaguya Hirotoshi calmed his mind and listened intently to the movements around him.

Hum!

Hum!

Just then, a strange sound suddenly emerged from behind Kaguya Hirotoshi—the sound of violent energy emitting a roar of reluctance as it was forced to change its shape.

Kaguya Hirotoshi turned to look and saw that in Hozuki Shingetsu's right hand, the violent chakra that had been moving in irregular Brownian motion was now, under the control of his willpower, rotating at high speed around a center point. A disc as thin as a cicada's wing was slowly forming, and tiny serrations were even emerging along its edge.

Sensing the dangerous aura, Kaguya Hirotoshi decided to strike first. The long whip in his left hand traced a nimble arc in the air, like a venomous snake, firmly binding Hozuki Shingetsu's left hand.

"Got you!"

Kaguya Hirotoshi was overjoyed, then used the whip as an anchor to fly toward Hozuki Shingetsu, his spear-hand aimed directly at his chest.

"Let's see how you run this time!"

However, at this moment, he did not see a look of panic on the face of Hozuki Shingetsu; instead, he heard a line that sounded strangely familiar.

"Got you!"

Hozuki Shingetsu raised his own right hand as well, and that high-speed rotating disc met the strongest spear of the Kaguya Clan head-on.

"You think I'm afraid of you?"

Even though he sensed a dangerous aura emanating from that disc, Kaguya Hirotoshi still chose to trust in his clan's Kekkei Genkai; the title of the strongest shield of the Shikotsumyaku had been proven through countless battles!

Screech!

A sound like a cutting machine rang out, and after a brief stalemate, to the utter disbelief in Kaguya Hirotoshi's eyes, the Shikotsumyaku melted like butter under high heat. The disc did not even pause, and with overwhelming force, it sliced his right arm clean off!