The moment the words fell, killing intent arrived!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three blurry figures tore through the thick mist from different directions almost simultaneously, the ninja swords in their hands flashing with cold light.
"Right side, diagonal downward slash. Behind to the left, straight thrust at the waist and ribs. Directly ahead, low sweeping strike. You're their first target."
Young Kiyohara warned, relaying all that information to Kiyohara.
If it had been an ordinary Genin, or even an average Chunin, facing such a coordinated assault within this dense fog where they could not see their own hand and their senses were severely disrupted, they would likely have been dead or injured in an instant!
But Kiyohara was not ordinary!
Before Young Kiyohara had even finished speaking, his body had already reacted instinctively.
He stomped down hard, his body springing a short distance diagonally backward like a compressed spring, avoiding the sweeping kick coming from directly ahead.
At the same time, he raised the Kunai in his right hand to block toward the right.
Clang!
Sparks flew!
Kiyohara blocked the slash descending diagonally from above.
"Kiyohara!"
Kurenai Yuhi, who was closest to Kiyohara, noticed that one attack had still not been avoided.
Kiyohara's expression did not change. He dropped his shoulder, twisted his waist, and explosively engaged his core, rapidly turning his body aside to evade the strike.
Waist and stance as one!
Over this period, what Kiyohara had trained most was actually the strength of his waist and abdomen.
"What?"
The Kirigakure ninja who had brushed past Kiyohara had not expected him to move so nimbly. It was practically as if he had X-ray vision.
The next instant, Kiyohara stepped down, power rising from his feet through his shoulders and back before concentrating in his right arm. He immediately brought down his Kunai in a fierce slash.
The Kunai struck straight for the gap around the left shoulder blade of the Kirigakure ninja to his front right, who had just completed his slash and had yet to generate new force!
Splat!
The Kunai cleaved into the weakest joint in the armor, burying itself deep. The Kirigakure ninja cried out miserably, his ninja sword clattering to the ground as he staggered back.
His other two companions also showed alarm in their eyes and immediately tried to turn and attack Kiyohara again.
"Not bad. You can use ninjutsu to drive them back now."
Young Kiyohara's spirit form nodded faintly.
His past self was a little stronger than he had expected.
"All right."
Kiyohara formed hand seals, and a compressed gale blasted forth, sending the Kirigakure ninja behind him to the left tumbling backward into the thick mist!
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
After forming seals once more, he slammed his right palm against the ground. Azure arcs of electricity darted along the surface toward the front. Mizunashi Hebi had just withdrawn his leg when numbness spread through his feet, instantly stiffening his movements!
Lightning Release: Ground Flash!
Though it sounded lengthy, everything happened in a flash, from the three Kirigakure ninjas launching their ambush to Kiyohara's response.
At the side, Kakashi's exposed dead-fish eye widened slightly.
He had been about to use Lightning Blade to provide support, but he had never expected Kiyohara to... instantly neutralize the coordinated assault of three Kirigakure ninjas all by himself.
"When did Kiyohara gain such close-combat ability? He clearly used to rely more on ninjutsu... Has he been hiding his strength all along?"
Kakashi was filled with doubt.
It was not just Kakashi. Genma Shiranui and Nohara Rin beside him also found it unbelievable.
They had only seen Kiyohara's figure flicker several times in the thick fog. Accompanied by several clashes of metal and pained cries, the three attacking Kirigakure ninjas were either dead or injured!
This completely exceeded their understanding of Kiyohara's strength!
Kiyohara panted softly, feeling the remaining chakra in his body and the faint soreness in his arm.
He knew that ninety percent of the credit for that brilliant display belonged to the information Young Kiyohara had given him.
It was precisely that information which had caught the Kirigakure ninjas off guard.
After all, the Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique could interfere not only with the Sharingan's vision, but even with the Rinnegan's!
He glanced at the wounded Kirigakure ninja, pulled out a Shuriken from his ninja tool pouch, and threw it to finish him off.
Almost at the exact moment the Shuriken struck, an ear-piercing shriek rang out from the other side, sharp as the cries of a thousand birds!
Lightning Blade!
After a brief moment of thought, Kakashi transformed into a streak of blue lightning. Using the commotion and direction Kiyohara had created earlier to judge the target's position, he caught a Kirigakure ninja who had not yet fully regained his footing.
The lightning flashed and vanished. Along with a brief scream, the Kirigakure ninja's life force disappeared instantly.
However, Mizunashi Hebi, the last remaining Kirigakure ninja and the one who had first mocked them, showed no excessive emotion at the deaths of his two companions.
He drew the ninja sword from his back. It was a longsword slightly longer than a standard ninja sword, clearly forged through special means.
Mizunashi Hebi poured all his chakra into his feet and burst forth at his fastest speed. Like an arrow released from its bow, he did not charge at Kakashi, but instead lunged straight at Kiyohara, who had just finished the killing blow and appeared to have expended quite a bit!
"Konoha brat, don't get too cocky!"
His longsword tore through the mist with a piercing whistle, delivering a vicious straight chop directly at Kiyohara's face!
In speed, power, and momentum, this strike far surpassed the two Chunins from before. He was clearly a Jonin or Special Jonin specializing in swordsmanship!
"Watch out!"
Kurenai Yuhi and Nohara Rin cried out at the same time.
Kakashi wanted to rush back to help, but he was too far away. Moreover, he had just used Lightning Blade, consuming a great deal of chakra, so he could not provide support in time.
Facing the sudden slash, Kiyohara quickly held the standard Kirigakure ninja sword he had just picked up from the ground horizontally in front of himself. At the same time, he shouted from deep within his heart:
"Future me, help me!"
Since this was a little difficult, Kiyohara directly chose to link their minds through possession and let his future self take over the thinking.
"Fine. It's been a long time since I've fought. Then... I'll help you."
Young Kiyohara instantly took control of Kiyohara's body, and an entirely different sensation coursed through Kiyohara from head to toe.
Muscle memory, methods of exerting force, his perception of the sword, even the rhythm of his breathing—all of it changed in an instant!
Facing the descending blade, Kiyohara, possessed by Young Kiyohara, shifted his footing.
Then he traced a smooth arc, his sword tip meeting a point where the enemy's longsword held its greatest force, yet was also least able to change moves!
Clang!
A much crisper metallic clash than before exploded, sparks scattering violently in every direction.
At the same time, a force traveled along the blade. Mizunashi Hebi felt his wrist go numb, and the strike he had been certain would land seemed to have hit a ball of spinning cotton.
It was as though he had struck a slick fish that could not be grasped. Seventy percent of his full-strength blow had somehow been redirected!
"What?!"
He was horrified. To achieve that, the other party's understanding of swordsmanship had to be far greater than his own.
"How is that possible? You're clearly not a swordsmanship ninja..."
He had personally seen Kiyohara using a Kunai, and he had only temporarily picked up his companion's weapon from the ground.
Yet the moment he got his hands on it, he seemed as practiced as a veteran smoker of twenty years, casually blowing smoke rings with effortless familiarity.
"Is it so hard to understand?"
Young Kiyohara, possessing Kiyohara's body, smiled faintly.
Put simply, this enemy's swordsmanship could only be considered a loli in the Ninja World.
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