Wind Style: Humming Shuriken

Blood!

I still hadn't dodged it. I was hurt!

That Chakra Scalpel was incredible—there was no defending against it.

"Are you really one of Orochimaru's people?" Naruto felt deeply hurt, as if he'd been deceived. Furious, he charged forward, only for Kabuto Yakushi to kick him away.

"Stay out of this. This fight isn't something a little kid can take part in, and I don't want to accidentally kill you." Kabuto glanced at him. The murderous intent in his eyes was so intense that Naruto froze in place, unable to move.

It felt just like when he'd encountered Orochimaru!

Without Orochimaru's orders, Kabuto wasn't planning to attack Naruto. He simply ignored him.

Kabuto turned back, his attention returning to Keiichi. Although the person before him was also a child, he'd never thought of him as one.

This guy always gave him the feeling of an experienced Jonin, cunningly hiding behind a child's appearance!

He was practically a copy of himself.

But as he paused to think, he suddenly sensed danger behind him. He spun around and caught two Shuriken in his hand.

"Hey, you bastard! Don't underestimate me!" Naruto got back to his feet, still in the pose of throwing the Shuriken, his expression utterly serious.

"Naruto..."

"Big Brother Keiichi! Don't step in for now. I want to see just how much I've improved!"

Keiichi said nothing more. He knew Naruto's personality well: once he made up his mind, he never backed down.

Well...

Let's see how it goes.

"You're overestimating yourself." Kabuto hadn't planned to deal with Naruto, but since the boy insisted on getting in his way, he didn't mind teaching him a lesson.

Honestly, after spending so long as a spy, he was tired of playing the fool in front of weaker people despite his formidable strength. No matter how patient he was, he'd always looked forward to the day he could finally hold his head high and show what he was truly capable of.

And now, he could finally fight without holding back.

In an instant, Kabuto appeared at Naruto's side. He showed no mercy, even against a Genin.

Naruto hurriedly turned, but before he could even see where his enemy was, a cut appeared on his arm.

"Biceps Brachii Rupture."

Kabuto's "surgery" was so precise that Naruto couldn't even tell he'd been injured. He didn't feel the slightest pain.

So he swung his injured arm and threw a hard punch, but Kabuto caught it effortlessly in his palm.

"Too weak. What a feeble punch. Next: Flexor Retinaculum Severing."

Naruto watched blood spurt from his wrist, unable to do anything about it.

So strong...

He's even stronger than Sasuke!

He'd been hiding his strength all along. I knew he was up to no good!

Kabuto released him. Naruto hurriedly put some distance between them, clutching his wound and looking at Kabuto with wariness and fear.

"If I'd wanted to kill you, I only had to cut an artery. Do you understand the difference between us now?" Kabuto adjusted his glasses and spoke with unmistakable pride.

"I was careless just now. Come on again!" Naruto gritted his teeth and began forming Hand Seals.

Multi-Shadow Clone Technique!

Chapter 56: Wind Style: Humming Shuriken

In an instant, a large number of Shadow Clones surrounded Kabuto. Naruto was everywhere, but Kabuto wasn't the least bit afraid.

"Don't you understand? No matter how many zeros you add together, they still equal zero!" Kabuto darted and weaved, defeating several Shadow Clones in an instant with effortless ease.

The deadly Chakra Scalpel in his hands was like the Shinigami's scythe. One hit meant death.

In less than a minute, all of Naruto's clones had been wiped out, leaving only the original, standing there and panting heavily.

What surprised Kabuto, though, was that the wound on Naruto's wrist had already stopped bleeding, even though it hadn't been bandaged at all...

Well, well. He really is the Son of the Demon Fox.

"Do you understand the difference now? If you attack me again, I'll kill you." Kabuto stared at Naruto expressionlessly, his voice ice-cold.

Then he turned around and looked at Keiichi, who had remained silent the whole time.

Come on. Stop hiding your strength and show me what you can really do!

Just then, a clod of dirt hit him in the head. It didn't hurt at all, but it was a serious insult.

"Y-Your opponent is me!" Naruto panted heavily, his eyes full of stubborn resolve. Kabuto's threats hadn't frightened him in the least.

"You're asking for it!" Kabuto's expression twisted. He lowered his body and charged, driving his scalpel straight into Naruto's chest.

But with a soft pop, Naruto burst like a balloon. He'd been a Shadow Clone too!

Multi-Shadow Clone Technique!

When Kabuto looked up, a large number of "Narutos" had appeared around him again, surrounding him once more.

"Hmph. What's the point of this? You're just wasting chakra!"

Come to think of it, how could this guy have so much chakra?

The thought flashed through Kabuto's mind. He was about to use the same trick to wipe out all the Shadow Clones when he realized they were rushing toward him of their own accord.

Kabuto was already moving as fast as he could, but he'd only destroyed three clones when the others grabbed his arms, legs, waist, neck, and head, pinning him down so tightly that he couldn't move.

Kabuto wasn't worried, though. Give him ten seconds, and he could remove the clones clinging to him one by one, as easily as cutting away dead cells during surgery.

"Big Brother Keiichi, this may not be exactly what you described, but please watch the results of my training!"

As he spoke, all the Narutos made the same move. They took a Shuriken from their ninja pouches, then blew a small amount of Wind Style chakra onto it.

The change in the chakra's nature seemed to make the Shuriken spin rapidly, producing a sound like a humming bee.

Then all the Shadow Clones moved in unison, hurling their Shuriken with pinpoint accuracy toward Kabuto. A piercing buzz filled the air from every direction.

Kabuto's head was held tight by one of the clones, so he couldn't see what was happening outside. All he could hear was the humming growing louder.

Even with excellent hearing, he couldn't tell which direction the attack was coming from. It seemed to be everywhere.

What kind of jutsu is this? Kabuto looked shocked.

"Wind Style: Humming Shuriken!" Naruto had given his newly developed jutsu a fitting name.

It sounded like a long process, but it all happened in a brief instant. Every Shuriken struck the spot where Kabuto stood, and wind blades tore through everything around him. Dust billowed up, obscuring the scene completely.

It hit! Keiichi was sure of it.

But soon, a figure staggered out of the dust. Kabuto looked as though he'd been subjected to the thousand cuts: wounds covered his body, and blood had soaked through his entire ninja outfit. He looked utterly wretched.

Anyone else hit by that jutsu would have been in a terrible state. But this was Kabuto, after all. When he realized he couldn't dodge, he'd activated Yin Healing Wound Destruction in advance, and the bleeding had quickly stopped.

Unfortunately, the jutsu was one Naruto had only just created, and it still had plenty of flaws. The amount of chakra coating the Shuriken was too low. Otherwise, Kabuto might not have been able to remain standing.

Kabuto took off his glasses, their lenses shattered, and revealed a vicious expression as he muttered to himself.

"I'll kill you..."

"I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you!"

He'd never suffered such humiliation before!

Ever since he'd been trained as a spy, even when people bullied him to his face, he'd only responded with a cheerful smile.

He knew that if he got serious, none of them would stand a chance. He'd always looked down on them from a position of superiority. It was like getting bitten by a mosquito—would you really get angry at a mosquito?

But this time was different. He was truly serious, here to show off his real strength.

This should have been his moment to finally hold his head high. How could he have ended up looking so wretched?

Even worse, the one who'd hurt him was a brat of only thirteen!

A brat!

He had to wash away this humiliation with blood and death!

Then, in the next instant, he accelerated and charged at Naruto, his killing intent unmistakable. He had no intention of holding back anymore.

Anyone who humiliates me dies!

Naruto was completely exhausted. He'd used up a huge amount of chakra to perform that jutsu and dropped onto his backside.

Now all he could do was watch helplessly as Kabuto charged toward him, unable to think of a way to respond.

For the first time, he was truly panicking.

But just as Kabuto was about to slice Naruto's throat open with his scalpel, a figure suddenly stepped between them. One hand seized the scalpel, stopping it from piercing any farther, no matter how hard Kabuto pushed.

Big Brother Keiichi!

Naruto's eyes lit up.

"You did great! I'll take it from here."

"How is this possible?!"

What shocked Kabuto wasn't that Keiichi had stepped in front of Naruto. It was that his Chakra Scalpel hadn't cut through Keiichi's fingers!

It had barely broken the skin!

How could his body be this tough?

"Spirit: Iron Wall."

For 30 minutes, the body's durability is greatly enhanced, reducing all physical damage taken to 20%.

He'd gotten it from a gift pack and had been saving it, since it was a one-time-use item with an incredibly powerful effect.

But now, to deal with Kabuto, he'd decided to activate it. That was the main reason he dared to catch the blade barehanded.

As if unwilling to accept it, Kabuto circled Keiichi, slashing wildly with his scalpel as he tried to cut through the muscles and blood vessels in his body.

His technique was undeniably precise. But to his dismay, Keiichi didn't dodge at all. He let Kabuto do as he pleased, yet all Kabuto managed to cut was the top layer of skin. He couldn't cut any deeper.

It was like trying to carve a design into forged iron. There was simply no way to do it!

"Ready for me to take a turn?" Keiichi smiled and launched a counterattack where he stood, repeatedly stabbing with his Kunai and targeting Kabuto's weak points.

But Kabuto was simply too agile. Even with Keiichi giving it his all, he could barely touch him.

So he had no choice but to activate his Sharingan. He could track Kabuto's movements now, but his body was too slow to keep up with what his eyes saw.

Naruto watched, wide-eyed. The close-quarters exchange between the two was so advanced that he'd be knocked down in just a few moves if he tried to join in.

Kabuto had been right after all. Once he got serious, he really could kill Naruto.

Was this really just a fight between Genin?

Even a Jonin might not be any better.

Without thinking, Naruto compared Kabuto to Kakashi-sensei. Perhaps Kabuto was just a little weaker than he'd been during the fight against Zabuza.

Was Big Brother Keiichi always this strong?

We're the same age, but the gap between us is enormous!

But he quickly convinced himself otherwise. Keiichi had been able to help him train, so it was only natural that he was a little stronger, right?

Anyway, one day I'll be even stronger than Big Brother Keiichi!

What pleased him even more was that even someone as powerful as Kabuto had been injured by him. His original jutsu must be pretty powerful after all!

Sasuke, just you wait. Don't think Kakashi-sensei's training will let you leave me behind. My training is just as good as yours!

"Keiichi, I admit I underestimated you, but you're far too slow. You can't hurt me." Kabuto had calmed down and assessed the situation.

He was certainly badly injured, but he'd stopped the bleeding with a medical jutsu. At least in the short term, he could still fight at full strength.

And Keiichi? Aside from having tough skin, he couldn't threaten Kabuto.

So Kabuto had no intention of retreating. He couldn't bear to leave without winning back some of his pride.

He's far too calm. I need to provoke him...

"Keiichi, I heard your teacher is Gekko Hayate?"