Qingyun's Strength

At that moment, no one had expected that Qingyun, despite his young age, would possess such a talent for combat.

"Impressive! He made such clear judgments. His strength is one thing, but his battle sense is just as sharp," Jiraiya praised.

"Still, Ino-Shika-Cho won't be so easy to deal with. Let's keep watching," the Third Hokage said.

Just then, Yamanaka smiled faintly, then charged straight at Qingyun.

"Human Bullet Tank!" Yamanaka—who had actually turned out to be an Akimichi—shouted.

That enormous human cannonball was completely immune to the Great Fireball. Qingyun had never encountered anything like it before.

"As expected of a Chunin!" Qingyun exclaimed. "But do you think this is all I can do?"

"Poof!" Though Qingyun was struck by the Human Bullet Tank, he turned into a puff of smoke. As it turned out, he had only been a Shadow Clone.

Yamanaka and Akimichi were both taken aback. They hadn't expected their attempt to trick their opponent to be turned against them.

"Looking for me? Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!" Qingyun suddenly sprang up from underground and hurled countless Shuriken. He formed Hand Seals, and in an instant, their numbers multiplied several times over.

A dense swarm of Shuriken flew toward Yamanaka and Akimichi.

"Human Bullet Tank!" Akimichi didn't give up. Instead, he used his body once again to charge at Qingyun.

But just then, Qingyun said, "You've fallen for my trap, Chunin-sensei!"

Qingyun actually charged straight at the Human Bullet Tank. At the same time, he hurled the Kunai in his hand at Yamanaka.

"So that's it! He's trying to attack Yamanaka. But it won't be that easy," Jiraiya commented as he watched from the sidelines.

"He's willing to get hurt just to take down Yamanaka? Why?" Hatake Sakumo couldn't quite make sense of it either.

The instant Akimichi crashed into Qingyun, something unexpected happened once again.

With another poof, Qingyun turned into a puff of smoke.

"What!?" Only then did Akimichi realize what had happened.

Meanwhile, Yamanaka frantically knocked away the Shuriken around him with his Kunai.

One of them was especially unusual. The instant it flew toward him, it transformed into Qingyun.

"Impressive! This kid used a Shadow Clone, spending his own chakra to create a highly effective decoy that drew everyone's attention."

"Then, using the basic Transformation Technique, he turned into a Kunai and slipped right up to his opponent under cover of the Shuriken thrown by his Shadow Clone. After that, he dispelled the Transformation Technique! His battle sense really is remarkable!"

It was the Third Hokage who couldn't help praising Qingyun. By now, he was growing more and more impressed with him.

On the other side, Minato Namikaze was also putting on an excellent performance against Nara, but compared to Qingyun, he still had a long way to go.

Inside the training ground, once Yamanaka was caught at close range by Qingyun, there was only one possible outcome: defeat.

"Mind Transfer Jutsu!" Yamanaka had no other choice. He could only use the secret technique of the Yamanaka Clan in an attempt to take control of Qingyun's body.

But who was Qingyun? He had chosen Yamanaka as his target from the very start precisely because he'd been prepared for this move.

"Armament Haki!" Qingyun concentrated his Armament Haki into his fist. He showed no mercy, slamming it hard into Yamanaka-sensei's abdomen.

After Yamanaka-sensei took a heavy punch to the stomach, his expression changed completely. He crumpled to the ground, looking to be in terrible pain.

"Yamanaka!" Seeing that Qingyun had already taken him down, Akimichi-sensei immediately used his ultimate move.

"Human Bullet Tank!" Akimichi-sensei charged forward with tremendous force, seemingly with no intention of holding back.

"Should we stop him?" Jiraiya asked, concerned. He wasn't worried about Akimichi himself; he was afraid Akimichi's attack might hurt Konoha's young prodigies.

"No need. That kid is still holding back," Hatake Sakumo replied. He had watched Qingyun closely and could clearly see how composed he was. Qingyun's breathing was steady; it seemed he hadn't even used his full strength.

And in fact, Hatake Sakumo was right.

Qingyun wasn't afraid at all. Instead, he grinned and charged toward Akimichi's Human Bullet Tank.

"Interesting. That's an incredibly powerful attack. I wonder how you'll get past it," the Third Hokage said with interest as he watched Qingyun. He knew Qingyun would surprise him, but even he had no idea just how great a surprise it would be.

The answer was simple. To meet his opponent's attack head-on, Qingyun only had to use an ability from the world of One Piece: Armament Haki!

"Armament Haki: Hardening!" Qingyun used Armament Haki Hardening, and one of his arms turned black.

The black arm was far tougher than anyone could have imagined. The boost that Armament Haki gave Qingyun was beyond measure.

"Boom!" The dirt and dust kicked up by the Human Bullet Tank made everyone feel uncomfortable, but no one was willing to close their eyes. The battle had already exceeded anything they could have imagined.

At that very moment, a child who wasn't even four years old had stopped the Human Bullet Tank of a Chunin from the Akimichi Clan using just one arm!

The Akimichi Clan's strongman didn't ease up at all. He kept putting all his strength into trying to force his way through Qingyun.

Yet no matter how much force Akimichi used, he still couldn't break through Qingyun's defense.

As it turned out, Qingyun hadn't just applied Armament Haki Hardening to his arm. He had also hardened several joints. He stood there like an iron statue, unshakable.

Everyone present was stunned.

"Sorry, Akimichi-sensei. I have to hurry and help Minato," Qingyun said. As he spoke, he held Akimichi firmly by the collar and hauled him up.

"Boom!" Qingyun slammed Akimichi hard into the ground. A faint crackle of lightning suddenly danced across his hands.

The lightning left Akimichi numb from head to toe. But no one else could see it; Qingyun had simply used a little of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's power in secret.

Akimichi and Yamanaka were both down and unable to get back up. In other words, a student from the Ninja Academy had defeated two Konoha Chunin. It was an unprecedented feat, one that would never be surpassed.

At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't sure whether to feel delighted or alarmed.

"Terrifying. This kid actually defeated my Konoha Chunin—" The Third Hokage said nothing more. He simply stared at Qingyun before him, lost in thought.