Sparring

Hiruzen Sarutobi first accepted the mission, then headed to their usual practice spot atop the Hokage Rock with his companions, Torifu, and Uchiha Chirori.

"Brother Torifu, are you really sure you want to spar with me?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi confirmed once more; even now, he couldn't understand why this child was so stubborn.

However, he didn't believe Torifu could truly fight him to a draw. Hiruzen Sarutobi admitted that his talent was strong, but after all, Torifu was only six years old.

"Brother Hiruzen, I am serious."

Torifu said calmly, the tension between the two rising as a battle became imminent.

Koharu tugged at Danzo's sleeve from the side, asking if he could stop this fight.

"Hiruzen is already interested in this battle. You know him; it can't be stopped now."

Danzo said flatly.

Hearing this, Koharu said no more. If even Danzo said there was nothing to be done, she could only hope that Hiruzen wouldn't get carried away during this spar.

"You make the first move. I'll give you one strike," Hiruzen said, full of confidence.

Torifu nodded. Since the other party was offering a handicap, there was no need to dawdle, so he attacked immediately.

He leaped forward in a single bound, reaching Hiruzen before quickly crouching and sweeping his left leg toward Hiruzen's lower stance.

But such a low-level move was nothing to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who easily neutralized the attack with a jump.

Immediately after, he pulled an iron staff from nowhere, used it to vault off the ground just as he was about to land, and returned to mid-air.

Gripping the staff with both hands, he spun once in the air and slashed fiercely down at Torifu.

Seeing this, Torifu rolled away to dodge, and the iron staff slammed down, carving countless cracks into the ground beside him.

"Very agile, Brother Torifu."

Facing Hiruzen's teasing, Torifu didn't respond. He had already gained some understanding of Hiruzen Sarutobi's strength.

He needed to get serious; this was his first time fighting a ninja of this caliber, and a moment of carelessness would lead to defeat.

Without hesitation, he sprang up from the ground and put some distance between himself and Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Crystal Release: Hexagonal Shuriken Dance!"

Countless hexagonal crystals were launched by Torifu, attacking Hiruzen Sarutobi from all directions and reflecting brilliant light under the sun.

If it were only one or two, it wouldn't matter, but at this moment, there were countless crystals attacking from nearly every blind spot. Combined with the blinding reflected light, it was a jutsu Torifu was quite fond of.

Although it wasn't particularly powerful, it could force an opponent to reveal an opening, and even a single second was enough to be fatal!

Facing the sky full of crystal shuriken, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not panic.

He grinned, stuck his staff into the ground beside him, and threw a few shuriken of his own, though these were nowhere near enough to counter Torifu's jutsu.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"

But as Hiruzen finished his hand seals, the mere few shuriken instantly multiplied into more than ten times their original number!

The shuriken collided with the crystals, sparking countless flashes and fragments. After a cloud of dust settled, both sides remained unscathed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was becoming increasingly curious about the child before him, wondering if he should get a little more serious.

Torifu wasn't surprised by this situation, though he hadn't expected Hiruzen Sarutobi to have already developed the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique at this age.

Since his interest had been piqued, Hiruzen Sarutobi no longer wanted to drag things out; he picked up his staff and charged at Torifu.

Seeing this, Torifu quickly pulled a scroll from his pocket, broke the seal, and withdrew his family heirloom: the Heming Sword!

The moment the precious sword left its sheath, a clear, resonant crane cry rang out. Torifu had no time to admire it before he swung the blade to block Hiruzen's attack.

But to everyone's surprise, the moment the iron staff touched the Heming Sword, it acted as if it were made of mud, snapping into two pieces.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned. Why did his staff break? That was something the old man had spent a fortune to have someone forge!

"What kind of sword is that! It's so sharp!"

Torifu said calmly: "The Kumonaka Clan's Heming Sword!"

With that, he lunged at Hiruzen with the sword. With Hiruzen's weapon gone, his offensive momentum plummeted, and the situation gradually fell under Torifu's control.

But being constantly pushed back made Hiruzen increasingly frustrated. Unable to bear it any longer, he bit his right thumb and smeared blood on his left hand.

"Summoning Technique!"

With a poof, a burst of white smoke erupted from beneath Hiruzen's feet. When it cleared, a small monkey wearing clothes appeared on the field.

"Enma! Let's show him what we've got!"

Although the small monkey didn't know what was happening, he immediately responded to Hiruzen Sarutobi's command.

His body twisted, transforming into a staff that was black all over, with yellow sections at both ends.

The teammates watching from the sidelines couldn't help but worry when they saw Hiruzen summon Enma, hoping Hiruzen would know when to stop.

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's summon, Torifu felt a bit envious, but there was nothing he could do; finding a high-quality summon was too difficult.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's summon belonged to a family of summons that had signed a contract with the Sarutobi Clan, possessing immense wisdom and power; it was impossible for anyone else to contract them.

Just as Torifu was thinking, Hiruzen had already charged up with the large staff. The Adamantine Staff could extend and retract at will, making it difficult for Torifu to find a safe position.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's offensive grew increasingly fierce, and Torikaze could only manage to parry with the Heming Sword; the strength of Hiruzen Sarutobi, having joined forces with Enma, had climbed significantly higher than before.

"Give it up, Torikaze. I admit your strength is decent, but executing missions is still too dangerous."

Torikaze's expression remained calm. Even though he was at a disadvantage, he was not the least bit anxious or impatient. Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi lunged at him once more, Torikaze's eyes suddenly narrowed!

He said indifferently, "I haven't even used my full strength yet."

Torikaze suddenly injected a massive amount of chakra into the Heming Sword, and for a moment, sword light overflowed.

Following Torikaze's breathing, a large amount of clouds and mist appeared around his body, swirling in circles.

"Cloud Sword Art—Crane Cry!"

He gripped the hilt with both hands and slashed out a majestic sword aura, the clouds and mist surrounding him following the strike!

This was a sword technique from the Kumonaka Clan specifically designed to coordinate with Cloud Release, the Cloud Sword Art! Torikaze had only just managed to grasp the basics of the first form.

Under the influence of the sword aura, the clouds and mist transformed into a soaring cloud crane, striking Hiruzen Sarutobi in an instant, the mist that had formed the crane pouring entirely into Hiruzen's body at that very moment.

The immense sword aura, mixed with Cloud Release chakra, left Hiruzen Sarutobi stiff and unable to move after being sent flying, causing him to crash heavily onto the ground.

Although this frozen sensation vanished quickly, a lingering chill remained in every joint of Hiruzen's body.

He used the Adamantine Staff to support himself as he stood up from the ground, his gaze turning much more solemn as he looked at Kumonaka Torikaze.

This was the first time he had ever seen such a bizarre sword technique, and the clouds and mist that had poured into his body must have been the Cloud Release his father had spoken of.

The feeling of being nearly frozen to death was truly unpleasant; even now, his body still felt cold.

"I admit that you are strong. You can come with us!"