Galloping Thunder

In fact, even if Aburame Ryoma were to retreat now, it would already be too late.

"Do you know?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo suddenly spoke up: "Victory or defeat is often decided in a single instant."

Lightning flared on his left hand.

The shuriken in front of Aburame Ryoma also began to glow with lightning.

Aburame Ryoma began to retreat violently, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

"Feel the thunder!"

A flash of lightning streaked across, moving at blinding speed!

At this moment, Aburame Ryoma's body had only just left the ground.

Shiraishi Yoshijo's right hand was already pressed against his chest.

After a crackling sound of electric shocks, Aburame Ryoma collapsed to his knees, his entire body emitting black smoke.

Shiraishi Yoshijo had held back.

If he had struck Aburame Ryoma with a fist, Aburame Ryoma would have been at least severely injured.

He felt there was no need to be that ruthless.

So, the moment he activated the Lightning Body Flicker, he changed his fist into a palm.

Even so, Aburame Ryoma would have to lie in the hospital for at least a week.

"It's over."

Shiraishi Yoshijo clapped his hands and sighed: "What a boring fight."

In truth, he was just saying that for show.

The slacker attitude he displayed at the beginning was for others to see, and that shuriken was intentionally thrown with no force.

No matter who the opponent was, he would do this; it was a strategy he had planned long ago.

The goal, of course, was to lull the opponent into a false sense of security.

If Aburame Ryoma had dodged that shuriken the moment it was thrown, Shiraishi Yoshijo would likely have been forced to use his yet-to-be-perfected Lightning Body Flicker.

Although the result would likely still be a win, it wouldn't have been this easy.

It was a pity that there are no "ifs" in battle.

The moment Aburame Ryoma failed to immediately distance himself from that shuriken, his fate was already sealed.

Shiraishi Yoshijo looked at the middle-aged jonin who had yet to recover his senses and said: "You should announce the result."

The middle-aged jonin finally snapped out of it, looking at him as if he were a monster.

"The winner is Shiraishi Yoshijo!"

Only after the result was announced did most of the crowd react.

"Are you kidding me?"

"What kind of speed was that?"

"Hey, this kind of fight..."

Even Shiraishi Eizawa had a strange expression on his face as he asked Takemoto Masamasa: "Did Uncle Shuichi teach him that?"

Takemoto Masamasa looked back at his daughter with a blank expression.

Takemoto Anna hurriedly shook her head.

On the high platform, the Third Hokage and his companions remained silent.

Orochimaru stared at Shiraishi Yoshijo, his eyes filled with burning intensity.

Tsunade's mouth hung open, while in her mind, she pictured herself pinning Shiraishi Yoshijo down and thrashing him.

Jiraiya's face was full of disbelief, as if he were living in a dream.

After a long while, the Third Hokage whispered: "Shide, it is truly a terrifying power."

Danzo narrowed his eyes and suddenly spoke: "Hiruzen, let him join the Anbu. It would be a waste for such talent to end up in a hospital."

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed and shook his head.

The Hokage could not simply treat the ninja clans like soft persimmons to be squeezed, especially when Shiraishi Yoshijo had displayed such talent.

He feared that those people were already restless; if he didn't handle this well, it would trigger an immediate backlash.

Utatane Koharu suddenly asked: "What kind of ninjutsu was that? It actually looks quite similar to the Flying Thunder God Technique."

The Third Hokage still shook his head. With his experience, he could naturally tell that it belonged to the Body Flicker Technique.

It was the first time the Third had seen a Body Flicker Technique used in conjunction with wire-connected shuriken.

"It should be some form of Lightning Body Flicker. The principle is still unclear, but judging by the way he uses it, I fear it has many limitations."

As expected of the Hokage, he saw through the flaws in Shiraishi Yoshijo's Lightning Body Flicker at a single glance.

"Orochimaru, go tell Shiraishi Yoshijo to come to the Hokage office to see me. I want to ask him about his intentions personally."

Even the Third Hokage had to compromise in this situation and began to adopt a conciliatory approach toward the Shide clan.

Politics is just like that.

Once you demonstrate your utility, people will immediately rush to offer you benefits.

As for those who have lost their value, people will not only kick you to the curb but will also trample on you for fear that you might not be dead yet.

After Shiraishi Yoshijo walked out of the underground training ground, his good uncle was waiting for him.

"Well done."

Shiraishi Yoshijo shrugged, indicating that this was nothing at all.

Shiraishi Eizawa chuckled, reaching out to pat his head.

"Did you develop that Body Flicker Technique yourself?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo nodded, taking a shuriken from his ninja tool pouch and attaching a wire to it.

"Grandpa Shuichi told me to utilize the conductivity of lightning in combat, and I had a flash of inspiration and came up with this Body Flicker Technique. Isn't it amazing?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo wore an expression begging for praise.

"Oh~~ so Yoshijo-kun is such a genius. To think that kind of ninjutsu was self-developed; it is truly astonishing."

This voice...

Orochimaru!

Shiraishi Yoshijo made a face as if he were constipated, and when he turned around, he saw the Sannin standing behind him.

Orochimaru's face wore a rather "enthusiastic" expression.

Tsunade looked at him as if seeing him for the first time, and Jiraiya had a bright red slap mark on his face; there was no need to ask who had done it.

Shiraishi Yoshijo recalled some unpleasant things.

When he had tried to pry information out of them, these three guys had been more detestable than the last.

Shiraishi Yoshijo's expression changed instantly, and he stared at the three of them expressionlessly with a cold snort.

"You irrelevant people, please leave quickly. Do not disturb someone else's tender moment."

Orochimaru's smile froze on his face.

In truth, he felt that his relationship with Shiraishi Yoshijo was quite good—they were even desk mates—so how had things turned out like this?

Shiraishi Eizawa tapped Shiraishi Yoshijo on the head and laughed, "They are your classmates, aren't they? How can you be so rude? Alright, I have things to attend to, you guys chat."

Shiraishi Eizawa walked away after saying that.

Shiraishi Yoshijo looked up at the sky, feeling there was nothing to talk about with these three, then brushed some non-existent dust off his sleeves and turned to leave.

Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya all wore expressions as if they had just eaten excrement.

"Yoshijo-kun, wait a moment. The teacher wants to see you."

Shiraishi Yoshijo stopped in his tracks, pointed at himself, and asked, "Which teacher? Kawano or the Hokage?"

"The Hokage. Come with me."

Orochimaru took the lead and walked ahead, while Shiraishi Yoshijo followed with a frown.

He hadn't expected the Third Hokage to actually want to meet him. Why?

His uncle handled all the clan matters, and he was currently basically in the dark, knowing nothing.

What was the benefit of meeting him? Or rather, what did the Third Hokage want to get from him?

Lightning Body Flicker?

Even a dignified Hokage wouldn't have such an ugly appetite if he wanted to obtain this kind of ninjutsu.

Could it be about his future path?

But could such a private transaction be brought out into the open?

He couldn't figure it out, so Shiraishi Yoshijo shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

The remaining question was what attitude he should adopt when speaking with the Third Hokage.

Should he stand from the perspective of the clan or the perspective of the village?

In normal circumstances, such a question would be a trivial matter.

But regarding a meeting with the Third Hokage, this question would be infinitely magnified, and it would largely determine how the Third Hokage treated him.

A future political rival, an ordinary villager, or perhaps an heir to the Will of Fire?

The more Shiraishi Yoshijo thought about it, the stranger his expression became; he was practically trapped in a whirlpool of indecision.

He didn't notice at all that because of his presence, the atmosphere between the Sannin was becoming increasingly strange.

Usually, the three of them spoke their minds, but now, there were things they simply couldn't say in front of Shiraishi Yoshijo.

The issue of face can be either trivial or significant.

In front of friends, it naturally doesn't matter, and in front of enemies, it can also be ignored.

However, for those who fall somewhere in between, it becomes a major problem.

For the three of them, Shiraishi Yoshijo was exactly this kind of person.

They were familiar with him, disliked him, and yet were still curious about him.

They wanted to improve their relationship, but were afraid that speaking up would mean losing face and being mocked by Shiraishi Yoshijo.

Even a fool like Jiraiya kept his mouth shut at this moment.

Tsunade began to signal Orochimaru with her eyes, and while Jiraiya looked completely conflicted, Orochimaru felt that since he and Shiraishi Yoshijo were desk-mates after all, he should be the one to speak up.

"Yoshijo-kun, you seem to really dislike us?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo finally snapped out of his thoughts and glanced at Orochimaru.

"Drop the 'kun' and drop the 'seem to,' because that is no illusion."

This sentence completely lit the powder keg.

Jiraiya waved his arms and shouted, "You bastard Shiraishi Yoshijo, what did you say, you dead last, damn you!"

Tsunade clenched her fists, "Have you forgotten how you begged for mercy in front of me before?"

Orochimaru remained relatively calm, but his smile had completely vanished.

Shiraishi Yoshijo ignored them and continued walking on his own.

He knew the way to the Hokage's office, so there was no need to go with these three annoying people.

Watching Shiraishi Yoshijo walk further and further away, the three of them looked at each other with ugly expressions.

Tsunade: "Does this guy look down on us?"

Jiraiya: "Is this a matter of looking down on us? This is a matter of a man's dignity!"

Orochimaru: "I think some people need a lesson."

Jiraiya hesitated, "That wouldn't be good, would it? We're all comrades after all. Are we really going to fight?"

Tsunade punched him, "Idiot, you just said you were a man, have you forgotten about the opening ceremony?"

Tsunade began to pick at Jiraiya's old wounds; Jiraiya's face turned bright red, and without another word, he chased after him.

Orochimaru glanced at Tsunade and then followed.

Tsunade had been lawless since she was a child, so she naturally wasn't afraid of such a small scene, and she chased after them with her fists clenched.

Shiraishi Yoshijo was still pondering matters regarding the Third Hokage when a whistling sound suddenly came from behind him.

A small stone was flying toward him.

Tilting his head slightly, Shiraishi Yoshijo turned around to look at Jiraiya, who had thrown the stone, and said expressionlessly, "Want to fight?"

Orochimaru and Tsunade also caught up, and Shiraishi Yoshijo frowned, "Are you planning to gang up on me?"

Tsunade stepped forward and said, "Don't worry, Jiraiya is enough to take care of you."

Orochimaru stood with his arms crossed, staring at him coldly.

"I'll be your opponent."

Jiraiya put his hands on his hips, feeling like he was back in the game.

Shiraishi Yoshijo tilted his head, then began to force a smile.

"You started this, and to be honest, I've been waiting for this day for a long time. That idiot Jiraiya is no match for me; I suggest you all come at me together."

Being called an idiot to his face by someone he didn't get along with—that feeling...

Jiraiya: "Bastard, today Lord Jiraiya is going to show you what I'm made of."

He began to weave hand signs, then opened his mouth and spat out a fireball.

"Fire Style: Enton!"

Shiraishi Yoshijo curled his lip, his gaze fixed on Tsunade and Orochimaru with a strange smile.

"Water Style: Water Clear Wave!"

The Fire Style and Water Style collided, and white steam instantly billowed into the air!