In the first match, Inuzuka Yoru faced his teacher, Kurama Heiji. After forming the Opposing Seal, the two took their stances.
Inuzuka Yoru used the Four Claws Technique, transforming his hands and feet into beastly limbs. In this state, he was faster and stronger. Ranmaru also leaped into the air and spun around, flinging his urine everywhere to mark the area with his scent.
Unable to dodge Inuzuka Yoru's attack in time, Kurama Heiji got splashed with a puddle of dog urine. His face immediately twisted in disgust, while Jiogan and Kurama Feiyun, watching from afar, wore amused expressions.
"Once he's marked, Teacher won't be able to use Shadow Clones to trick Yoru anymore. Shadow Clones can't replicate the smell of Ranmaru's urine!" Jiogan said.
Kurama Feiyun nodded as well.
At that moment, Inuzuka Yoru shouted to Ranmaru, "Ranmaru, transform!"
With that, Ranmaru transformed into Inuzuka Yoru's Four Claws form and stood atop Inuzuka Yoru.
"Fang Over Fang!"
Inuzuka Yoru unleashed his ultimate move. Two rapidly spinning vortices shot toward Kurama Heiji!
Kurama Heiji dodged again and again as Inuzuka Yoru pressed his attack relentlessly!
"Yo, Yoru, not bad. Your endurance has improved quite a bit!" Kurama Heiji teased.
As soon as he finished speaking, Inuzuka Yoru canceled Fang Over Fang. That state consumed too much Chakra. "Damn it, I can't hit him at all. If Jiogan were here, we could work together. He could use Water Prison Technique to restrain the enemy, and I could activate Fang Over Fang and take him down immediately!"
His ultimate move had failed, and he had instead burned through too much Chakra. After one final struggle, Inuzuka Yoru surrendered cleanly!
"Teacher, I lost!" Inuzuka Yoru looked helpless and unwilling to accept it.
"Ugh, Yoru is such a one-track mind!" Jiogan shook his head irritably. Without companions by his side, Inuzuka Yoru was still a reckless brute. Still, compared to before, he had gotten somewhat better at controlling his emotions.
"Yoru, you got impulsive again. You didn't make any use of the marks Ranmaru laid down!" Kurama Heiji said.
"You should have used your sensory advantage to wear me down, instead of charging ahead without thinking! You exhausted yourself!" Kurama Heiji shook his head.
After hearing that, Inuzuka Yoru understood what he had done wrong. His face filled with regret, and his mood sank.
Jiogan hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over. "Teacher, Yoru is already much stronger than before. His choice of attacks may have been lacking, but this was a one-on-one fight against a Jonin like you. Without team coordination, there really wasn't much Yoru could do."
"Yoru, don't be discouraged. You're a Sensor Ninja. Your true strengths are difficult to bring out in a one-on-one battle like this!" Kurama Feiyun comforted him as well.
Seeing Jiogan and his own daughter defend Yoru so fiercely, Kurama Heiji could feel the bond between them and nodded inwardly.
"Yoru, they're right. But in the upcoming missions, I'm going to focus on training you!" Kurama Heiji said.
"Next is the second match. Which one of you will go first?" Kurama Heiji asked.
Jiogan and Kurama Feiyun exchanged glances and immediately understood each other's intentions. Jiogan nodded at Kurama Feiyun.
Then Kurama Feiyun said, "Father, I'll be your opponent for the second round!"
Kurama Heiji was not surprised at all to see his daughter step forward second. The strongest always came out last!
After forming the Opposing Seal, father and daughter took their stances. During the two months of Patrol Missions, Jiogan and Kurama Feiyun had spent the most time together and understood each other best. Jiogan had also been guiding Kurama Feiyun all along.
Kurama Feiyun drew several Kunai and threw them at Kurama Heiji. Kurama Heiji knocked them aside one by one. "Not bad. Your throwing skills have improved!"
Kurama Feiyun found an opportunity to close in and fought her father in Taijutsu with a Kunai in hand for nearly fifty exchanges. Kurama Heiji was greatly surprised by the extent of his daughter's improvement in Taijutsu. Though he had not used his full strength, the fact that she could trade fifty rounds with him without falling behind showed how much effort she had put into her training!
Watching Kurama Feiyun's Taijutsu battle, Jiogan nodded to himself. "The Taijutsu training has produced great results! With her Genjutsu added in, Feiyun already has the skill to face a Chunin!"
After another dozen or so exchanges, father and daughter stopped fighting.
They did not engage in a Genjutsu duel, because Kurama Feiyun's Genjutsu had always been taught by Kurama Heiji. He knew his own daughter's Genjutsu level all too well, and they had fought plenty of Genjutsu battles within the clan.
Besides, Kurama Heiji wanted to save more Chakra and energy for Jiogan. Through their recent mission experiences, he had discovered that Jiogan had improved tremendously. He had to take him seriously!
After forming the Seal of Reconciliation, Kurama Heiji looked toward Jiogan. Jiogan walked over and held out his hand. "Teacher, please guide me!"
After the two formed the Opposing Seal, sparks seemed to fly the moment their gazes met.
The classic scene of a father-in-law testing his son-in-law was about to begin!
After forming the Opposing Seal, the two quickly opened up the distance between them. Kurama Heiji knew Jiogan's Taijutsu Skill. He was a Genjutsu-type ninja, and Taijutsu was not his specialty. Closing in was clearly not a good choice.
Jiogan naturally understood Kurama Heiji's thoughts. But mid- and long-range combat was also his specialty!
Jiogan used Water Release: Water Gun, spitting out several deep-blue Water Balls with considerable power. Kurama Heiji retreated repeatedly to dodge. "As expected, he's improved tremendously. The power of his Water Gun has increased so much!"
Kurama Heiji was forced back by the Water Gun assault until he reached the riverbank. This was Jiogan's deliberate guidance. He wanted to use the river's advantage to try out his new idea!
"Water Release: Water Wave!" The water in the river immediately swelled, overflowing the channel and forming powerful waves. In an instant, it flooded an area of a hundred meters across the river, directly changing the terrain. The water receded and vanished slowly, leaving puddles and wet patches everywhere.
Kurama Heiji cursed inwardly, Damn it, this move again!
Jiogan had used this move before during the preliminary sparring match on the day Team 11 was formed.
Kurama Heiji dodged continuously, but he was still soaked from head to toe. There was no helping it—the Water Wave covered too wide an area!
Jiogan's eyes sharpened. "Now!"
Jiogan changed his hand seals, and five or six of the surrounding puddles and wet patches instantly transformed into Water Palms, closing in to seal off Kurama Heiji!
Kurama Heiji was startled. He knew Jiogan had mastered a Water Prison Technique that could turn into palms to restrain an opponent, but he had not expected it could be activated this way. It was so fast that it sealed off every escape route!
Inuzuka Yoru and Kurama Feiyun, watching from the side, were both shocked. "What?! Jiogan's Water Palm Prison Technique has improved again! He can control it like this?!"
Seeing that he was about to be caught, Kurama Heiji could no longer worry about appearances. He immediately reacted, throwing out two Explosive Tags to blow apart two palms before dodging the rest!
Damn it, I can't care about my pride anymore. If I really got trapped by Water Prison, I'd lose even more face! Still, Kurama Heiji's expression was clearly unpleasant.
He had made a huge fool of himself in front of his own daughter. He had actually needed Explosive Tags in a spar against his Genin student!
But Jiogan flashed forward, leaving Kurama Heiji with no choice but to engage him in Taijutsu. Yet after only a few exchanges, Kurama Heiji sensed that something was wrong!
"This isn't Jiogan's Taijutsu style. Why are there so many grappling moves?" Kurama Heiji felt extremely uncomfortable and tried to retreat.
But now that he had closed in, how could Jiogan possibly let Kurama Heiji pull away so easily? Finally, relying on brute strength, he temporarily restrained both of Kurama Heiji's hands.
The instant he was restrained, an intense sense of danger washed over Kurama Heiji. He no longer cared whether this was sparring. His body reacted instinctively, and he used Genjutsu—the Hell Viewing Technique!
With our bodies in contact, it's impossible for him to avoid my Genjutsu assault! Kurama Heiji thought.
Sure enough, Jiogan's body stiffened under the Genjutsu. Kurama Heiji tried to use the opportunity to break free, but his pupils suddenly contracted!
Jiogan, caught in the Genjutsu, turned into water and transformed into a Water Palm. At such close range, Kurama Heiji could not dodge at all! He was seized by the palm!
He immediately lost the ability to mobilize his Chakra and was sealed away!
In the distance, Kurama Feiyun, Inuzuka Yoru, and even Ranmaru were practically dropping their jaws. "Teacher—Father—actually lost!" "Woof woof!"
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