Border Encounter (2)

The moment Uesugi Shinji and Shirokumo Hayama clashed, Kisame immediately gave chase in the direction of the two retreating Konoha jonin.

Seeing this, Shirokumo Hayama drew several kunai with his left hand, intending to throw them at Kisame in hopes of delaying the pursuit of his teammates for as long as possible.

However, Uesugi Shinji, standing before him, would not grant him such an opportunity. At that moment, Uesugi Shinji gripped the wakizashi he had just thrown, swinging it forward in a fierce horizontal slash.

Shirokumo Hayama could no longer spare a thought for Kisame and immediately raised his blade to parry. The weapons collided with a violent impact; because both men possessed immense strength, the clash generated a gust of wind that whipped their hair and clothing into a frenzy.

Looking at Shirokumo Hayama, whose build was not particularly imposing, Uesugi Shinji felt a secret jolt of surprise. He had not expected his opponent to be his equal in a test of raw strength.

Although taijutsu was a mandatory subject for all ninja, most practitioners viewed it merely as a supplement until they reached the pinnacle of their craft, focusing the majority of their training on ninjutsu instead.

Uesugi Shinji, however, placed extreme importance on taijutsu, viewing it as the foundation of a ninja's combat effectiveness.

Utilizing the analytical capabilities of his Light Brain, he had formulated the most aggressive training regimen possible without overdrawing his physical health, and he had spent a vast amount of time completing every grueling exercise that ordinary ninja would find impossible to sustain.

Consequently, whether in strength, speed, or physical reflexes, Uesugi Shinji had reached a remarkably high level, which was precisely why he was so astonished that Shirokumo Hayama's strength did not fall short of his own.

Yet, what Uesugi Shinji did not know was that the surprise in Shirokumo Hayama's heart was just as great; he, too, could not believe that one as young as Uesugi Shinji could stand as his equal.

The reason Shirokumo Hayama held such a sentiment was that he shared the exact same philosophy as Uesugi Shinji regarding the importance of taijutsu.

Though he lacked a Light Brain to assist his training, Shirokumo Hayama possessed exceptional physical talent and had persisted in high-intensity taijutsu training for many years.

Furthermore, now nearing thirty, he was at the absolute peak of his physical prime!

"Such a ninja must be eradicated as soon as possible; otherwise, if war breaks out in the future, who knows how many of our comrades will die at his hands!"

Synthesizing Uesugi Shinji's apparent age with the strength he had displayed, Shirokumo Hayama immediately marked him as a figure of immense threat to Konoha, further hardening his resolve to eliminate him.

Such thoughts were neither right nor wrong; they were simply born of his position, which was the most helpless reality of these war-torn times!

In the instant these thoughts flashed through his mind, Shirokumo Hayama suddenly noticed frost spreading across his katana, rapidly creeping along the blade toward the hilt.

He squinted, only then realizing that the opponent's wakizashi was wreathed in a faint, imperceptible layer of biting cold.

Seeing this, Shirokumo Hayama dared not remain in a stalemate with Uesugi Shinji. He swung his arm with force to clash blades once more, using the recoil to leap backward.

It was this single step back that cost Shirokumo Hayama the initiative. Uesugi Shinji seized the opportunity to press forward, launching a fierce assault with his wakizashi, each strike aimed at a vital point and intended to kill.

Fortunately, Shirokumo Hayama's level of swordsmanship and taijutsu was top-tier. Though temporarily forced onto the back foot, his defense remained airtight, and he did not fall despite the intensity of the onslaught.

What caused him a flicker of unease was that Uesugi Shinji was proving so troublesome, and the blue-skinned freak chasing his teammates also appeared formidable; he worried that something might go wrong on their end.

"The only way forward is to finish this opponent quickly and go to their aid!"

With his resolve set, Shirokumo Hayama's gaze turned sharp. He suddenly transitioned from his defensive stance into a counterattack.

His katana parried another strike from Uesugi Shinji, and with a nimble flick of his wrist, he shifted to a reverse grip, sliding his blade along the spine of Uesugi Shinji's wakizashi toward the man's wrist.

Uesugi Shinji reacted quickly, immediately flicking his wakizashi upward to deflect the katana.

Just as Uesugi Shinji prepared to press his advantage, a chill struck his heart—a sensation he had only ever felt during the most perilous, life-or-death moments of his past missions.

He hurriedly withdrew his blade and retreated, simultaneously raising his wakizashi vertically to shield his body, barely managing to block a blade of wind, invisible to the naked eye and composed entirely of air currents.

The wind blade was cleaved in two by the vertical wakizashi, flying off to either side and slicing through the massive trees behind Uesugi Shinji. Had he not abandoned his attack and defended in time, he would have been the one cleaved in two!

This wind blade strike was a secret technique Shirokumo Hayama had created himself, which he named "Konoha Style: Vacuum Sword."

This move required a reverse grip and a unique swinging motion combined with wind-attribute chakra to manifest the blade of air. Shirokumo Hayama had always used it to catch opponents off guard in previous battles, and almost no enemy had ever escaped this lethal strike while engaged in close-quarters combat.