The next day.
Akashi made his plans: his main body would first exchange taijutsu techniques with Hyuga Shingetsu, then seek out Orochimaru for experiments, while his shadow clone would handle reporting to the Hokage and other tasks.
With everything arranged, they each set off.
When he arrived at the back mountain on time, Shingetsu was already there.
Today, she wore a gray training outfit. The loose clothing made it easy to move her arms and legs, while the inner layer was breathable and sweat-absorbent, suitable for training.
After greeting each other, they began warming up.
For some reason, Shingetsu was in a particularly good mood.
The feeling was very strange to her.
It seemed that in front of a certain someone, she could relax and be herself. She did not need to bear heavy burdens, nor did she need to wrap her heart in layer after layer to prevent others from seeing through her.
Being with him felt comfortable.
Shingetsu took her stance. "We agreed—today, we'll only use Gentle Fist."
Akashi looked around, adopting the same stance as he readied himself. "No problem. I also want to see how your Gentle Fist differs from mine."
They got straight to the point.
"I know you've been going easy on me in our previous sparring sessions, but if we only use Gentle Fist, the outcome will be different."
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Akashi said with a smile. "Put some strength into it."
"Then I won't hold back."
Though she said so, Shingetsu still had no intention of attacking first.
At that moment, Akashi launched his attack, darting forward to close the distance.
"So fast!" Shingetsu was slightly surprised.
But she saw through the path of Akashi's footwork and shifted her body slightly aside.
As she evaded, one hand accurately caught Akashi's