Your Swordsmanship Is Just a Loli in the Ninja World

The words had barely left his lips when the killing intent arrived!

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Three blurred figures tore through the thick mist from different directions almost simultaneously, the ninja blades in their hands flashing with a cold, lethal light.

"Right side, diagonal downward slash; back left, direct thrust to the ribs; straight ahead, low sweep, targeting you first."

The youth Kiyohara warned, relaying all this intelligence to Kiyohara.

If it were an ordinary genin, or even an average chunin, facing such a coordinated strike in this pitch-black mist where sensory perception was severely disrupted, they would likely be dead or crippled in an instant!

But Kiyohara was not!

The moment the youth Kiyohara finished speaking, his body had already reacted instinctively.

He stomped his foot hard, his body recoiling slightly like a compressed spring to the rear-side, narrowly avoiding the sweeping kick coming from straight ahead.

At the same time, he used the Kunai in his right hand to parry to the right.

Clang!

Sparks flew!

Kiyohara blocked the slash coming from the diagonal above.

"Kiyohara!"

Kurenai Yuhi, who was closest to Kiyohara, realized there was one more attack that Kiyohara hadn't dodged.

Kiyohara, however, kept his expression unchanged, dropping his shoulder and twisting his waist, using his core strength to snap his body around and evade the strike.

Unity of waist and horse!

During this period, the thing Kiyohara had trained the most was actually the strength of his core.

"What?"

The Mist ninja who brushed past Kiyohara hadn't expected his movements to be so agile, as if he had x-ray vision.

The next moment, Kiyohara stepped down, channeling power from his feet through his shoulders and back, finally concentrating it into his right arm as he slashed down with his Kunai.

The Kunai struck directly at the gap in the shoulder blade of the Mist ninja who had just finished his slash and was caught in the moment between old force and new!

Splurt!

The Kunai bit into the weakest connection of the armor, stabbing deep. The Mist ninja let out a miserable cry, his ninja blade clattered to the ground, and he staggered backward.

His other two companions, also showing shock, immediately tried to turn and attack Kiyohara again.

"Not bad, you can use ninjutsu to force them back now."

The spirit of the youth Kiyohara nodded slightly.

The past version of himself was stronger than he had anticipated.

"Right."

Kiyohara formed hand seals, and a blast of compressed gale-force wind erupted, blowing the Mist ninja on the back left, sending him tumbling backward into the thick mist!

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

Simultaneously, after forming seals again, he slammed his right hand onto the ground. Azure electric arcs surged along the floor toward the front. Mizunashi Hebi, having just retracted his leg, felt a numbing sensation travel up his feet, and his movements instantly stiffened!

Lightning Release: Ground Flash!

All of this happened in the blink of an eye; from the three Mist ninjas launching their sneak attack to Kiyohara's reaction, everything occurred with lightning speed.

Nearby, Kakashi's exposed dead-fish eye widened slightly.

He had been preparing to use Lightning Blade to provide support, but he never expected that Kiyohara would... resolve the coordinated strike of three Mist ninjas single-handedly in an instant.

Kiyohara... when did he acquire such close-combat ability? He clearly relied more on ninjutsu before... could it be that he has been hiding his strength all along?

Kakashi wondered inwardly.

It wasn't just Kakashi; Genma Shiranui and Nohara Rin nearby were also stunned.

They only saw Kiyohara's figure flicker a few times in the thick mist, followed by the sound of clashing metal and cries of pain, and the three attacking Mist ninjas were already dead or wounded!

This simply exceeded their understanding of Kiyohara's strength!

Kiyohara panted slightly, feeling the remaining Chakra in his body and his slightly aching arms.

He knew that nine-tenths of the credit for that stunning performance belonged to the intelligence provided by the youth Kiyohara.

It was precisely this information that had caught the Mist ninjas off guard.

One had to know that Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique could interfere not only with the Sharingan but even with the line of sight of the Rinnegan!

He glanced at the wounded Mist ninja and pulled a Shuriken from his ninja pouch, throwing it to finish him off.

Almost at the exact moment the Shuriken struck, a deafening, sharp noise like the chirping of a thousand birds erupted from the other side!

"Lightning Blade!"

After a brief moment of thought, Kakashi transformed into a streak of blue electricity. Relying on the movement and positioning Kiyohara had just created, he seized the opportunity to strike a Mist ninja who had not yet fully regained his footing.

A flash of lightning vanished in an instant, accompanied by a brief, sharp scream, and the life force of that Kirigakure ninja was extinguished in a heartbeat.

However, the last one—the same Kirigakure ninja who had been the first to mock them, Mizunashi Hebi—showed no excess emotion in his eyes upon seeing his two companions die.

He drew the blade from his back, an odachi longer than the standard-issue ninja swords, clearly forged with special care.

Mizunashi Hebi poured all his Chakra into his feet, exploding with his top speed like an arrow released from a bowstring, not charging toward Kakashi, but lunging straight at Kiyohara, who had just finished off his target and appeared to be quite exhausted!

"Konoha brat, don't get too arrogant!"

The odachi in his hand tore through the thick fog with a whistling sound, delivering a vicious, direct downward slash aimed straight at Kiyohara's face!

In terms of speed, power, and momentum, this strike far exceeded that of the two previous Chunin; he was clearly a Jonin or Special Jonin who specialized in swordsmanship!

"Watch out!"

Kurenai Yuhi and Nohara Rin cried out in alarm simultaneously.

Kakashi wanted to move to assist, but the distance was too great, and having just used Lightning Blade, his Chakra was significantly depleted, making it impossible for him to provide support in time.

Facing this sudden strike, Kiyohara quickly held the standard-issue Kirigakure sword he had just picked up from the ground horizontally in front of him, while deep in his heart, he let out a shout:

"Future me, help me!"

Since the fight was proving difficult, Kiyohara chose to directly initiate the possession link to his brain, letting his future self take over the thinking.

"Very well, it's been a long time since I've moved my body. Then... I shall assist you."

The adult Kiyohara instantly took control of Kiyohara's body, and a completely different sensation flooded through his entire frame.

Muscle memory, the method of exerting force, the perception of the blade, and even the rhythm of his breathing changed in a split second!

Facing the blade descending upon him, Kiyohara, possessed by his future self, shifted his footwork.

He then traced a smooth, circular arc, the tip of his blade meeting the exact point of the enemy's odachi where the force was greatest, yet the most difficult to adjust!

Clang!

A metallic ringing, far crisper than any before, exploded, and sparks flew violently into the surroundings.

At the same time, a surge of force traveled along the blade; Mizunashi Hebi felt his wrist go numb, as if his sure-fire strike had slammed into a spinning ball of cotton.

It felt as if he had struck a slippery, elusive fish, with seventy percent of his full strength being deflected away!

"What!"

He was horrified; to achieve this, the opponent had to possess a far deeper understanding of swordsmanship than he did.

"How is this possible? You clearly aren't a swordsmanship ninja..."

He had seen with his own eyes that Kiyohara was using a Kunai and had only picked up his companion's weapon on the fly.

How could he be as proficient as a twenty-year veteran smoker blowing smoke rings that could lasso a dog the moment he picked up a blade?

"Is it that hard to understand?"

Kiyohara, possessed by his future self, smiled slightly.

To put it bluntly, this enemy's swordsmanship could only be considered a toddler in the ninja world.