Jiogan's Strength

Kurama Heiji watched the kunai flying toward him and could not help showing a hint of admiration. His shurikenjutsu really is excellent. Right from the start, he's sealed off all my escape routes. An ordinary Genin wouldn't be able to handle this at all.

But he was, after all, a Jonin. He pulled out a kunai from his ninja tool pouch and deflected the incoming weapons, dodging the ones he could not block with a quick flash. Jiogan's attack was thwarted once more.

As expected of a Jonin. He casually evaded my attacks after just a few moves! Jiogan felt rather impressed.

Only then did Inuzuka Yoru and Kurama Feiyun recover from the shock of Jiogan's Water Release's power. Before they could launch their next attack, Kurama Heiji used the Body Flicker Technique to appear directly before Kurama Feiyun.

Jiogan reacted incredibly quickly, silently crying out, Oh no! He also flashed in front of Feiyun and blocked Kurama Heiji's attack. The two then exchanged several rounds of Taijutsu in rapid succession.

This startled Kurama Heiji once again. He had intended to take down his own daughter first and eliminate their support, but Jiogan's reaction speed was exceptional, his Taijutsu Skill was high, and he had calmly foiled his plan. It was clear that Jiogan possessed extraordinary combat instincts. He was a born ninja.

Knowing that she had nearly fallen for it and held everyone back, Kurama Feiyun took advantage of the gap while her father fought Jiogan and cast a genjutsu: Hell Viewing Technique.

The instant Kurama Heiji fell under the genjutsu, he dispelled it and reflected it back onto Kurama Feiyun. She immediately crumpled to the ground.

But Kurama Heiji paid a price as well—Jiogan landed a vicious kick on him, and the two widened the distance between them once more.

"Feiyun! How are you?!" Jiogan grew anxious and charged toward Feiyun, intending to dispel the genjutsu.

But how could Kurama Heiji let Jiogan have his way? Several kunai flew over and cut off Jiogan's path. Jiogan could only defend himself and retreat, leaving him even farther away from Feiyun.

The entire exchange had taken only a few breaths. Inuzuka Yoru was still standing there stupidly, completely unable to react.

"You stupid mutt! Hey, Yoru! What are you doing?! Go save Feiyun! I'll hold off Heiji-sensei!" Jiogan shouted.

Only then did Inuzuka Yoru snap out of it and hurriedly rush toward Kurama Feiyun. But the moment he moved, Ranmaru beside him slammed into him with tremendous force, sending him flying to the ground.

"What?!" Inuzuka Yoru and Jiogan stared at Ranmaru in shock, unable to understand why Ranmaru had attacked them.

With a bang, Ranmaru transformed into Kurama Heiji. It turned out that Ranmaru had fallen under Kurama Heiji's genjutsu at some point and was sleeping soundly in a corner by the river. The Ranmaru from before had been Kurama Heiji using the Transformation Technique.

Inuzuka Yoru had been too panicked just now, and his nose had failed to catch the scent at all. Now Feiyun and Yoru were both out, leaving Jiogan as the only one on their side who could still fight.

"Jiogan, now you're the only one left. Come on, let me see your true strength!" Kurama Heiji could no longer suppress his curiosity about Jiogan. He wanted to see just how far Jiogan could go.

Jiogan shook his head helplessly. Heiji-sensei had gone easy on them enough. After several exchanges, he already understood just how vast the gap between himself and a Jonin was. But since Kurama Heiji had given him a chance to go all out, he had to enjoy a truly satisfying battle no matter what!

"Alright, Heiji-sensei, here I come!" With that, he flashed to Kurama Heiji's side, and a fierce Taijutsu duel immediately began.

Although Kurama Heiji did not specialize in Taijutsu, he was still a battle-hardened Jonin. Dealing with Jiogan was more than easy for him.

"Leaf Great Whirlwind!" Jiogan roared. Kurama Heiji flashed away directly, while the tree beside him was kicked into two pieces.

"Not a bad move. It has decent power. Even ordinary Chunin wouldn't be a match for your Taijutsu Skill," Kurama Heiji praised.

After widening the distance again, the two seemed to reach an unspoken understanding and began competing in Shurikenjutsu. Amid a clattering storm of impacts and flying sparks before them, neither could gain the upper hand.

"Your Shurikenjutsu is the best I've ever seen among civilian ninja, second only to the outstanding ninja of the Uchiha Clan. Your technique and awareness are both good. I can tell that you've worked very hard at practicing Shurikenjutsu," Kurama Heiji gave him another positive evaluation.

"Heiji-sensei, this battle has been truly satisfying, but what I'm really good at is Water Release Ninjutsu." Jiogan made up his mind.

"Water Release: Water Wave!"

This time, Jiogan mobilized nearly the maximum amount of Chakra he could draw upon, unleashing the largest-scale Water Wave he was currently capable of.

The river's water instantly overflowed, surging toward Kurama Heiji's position like massive waves by the sea. Kurama Heiji did not sit still and wait for death, immediately using the Body Flicker Technique to evade. The Water Wave swallowed the spot where he had stood in an instant and continued rushing onward. Only after it had surged nearly a hundred meters did the Water Stream's force finally fade and recede.

Seeing the forest thrown into chaos by the impact and the gullies left in the ground, even Kurama Heiji could not help swallowing. What a monster!

"This is almost the largest Water Release: Water Wave I've ever seen. Many ninja from Kirigakure can't achieve this either. Jiogan, your talent for Water Release is incredible. You have the potential to become a second Lord Tobirama!" Kurama Heiji did not know how many times he had praised him already.

"But after using Water Release on such a large scale, your Chakra should be nearly depleted, right?" Kurama Heiji added.

Jiogan responded with silence, tacitly admitting it. In truth, the Chakra in his Dantian had not been depleted by much. But no matter what he did, he could not do anything to Kurama Heiji. Kurama Heiji had not even used genjutsu on him. Other than his trump cards, he had basically displayed all his strength. For probing his abilities, this was already enough.

Sure enough, Kurama Heiji soon said, "Let's call it here for today!"

But then his tone shifted. "Still, you made me look this disheveled today. I lost a little face in front of my precious daughter, so no matter what, I have to teach you a lesson!"

Jiogan silently cried out in alarm. The next moment, he fell under a genjutsu. He only felt the world spinning around him before he crashed to the ground.

When he woke up, he found Kurama Feiyun, Inuzuka Yoru, and Ranmaru all sitting beside him. Kurama Heiji, meanwhile, stood coolly atop a large boulder. His clothes were spotless, and all traces of the previous battle and water stains had vanished. As expected, he wanted to maintain his composure before his daughter.

"Jiogan, how are you? Are you alright?" Kurama Feiyun asked worriedly. "You've been unconscious for two hours."

"Ah?! What? I was unconscious for two hours? Heiji-sensei was way too ruthless!" Jiogan's face darkened.

Kurama Heiji merely gave a cool snort. "Don't worry. It was only the simplest genjutsu. With that little Illusion Resistance, brat, you still have a lot of training to do!"

And so, Team 11's assembly assessment officially came to an end. Kurama Heiji then took the three children—plus one dog—out for Yakiniku, nearly emptying his wallet.

Thus, Team 11 was officially formed! Jiogan's Ninja Career had officially begun!