Do Not Ignore the Third Person

Welcome Senju is the signature ninjutsu of Chiriku, the head monk of the Fire Temple. It is a technique that transforms one's own chakra into a statue of a Buddha for both offense and defense. In the truest sense, it is a ninjutsu that combines attack and defense into one. To say nothing else, as long as this Buddha statue appears, ordinary attacks will certainly not be able to easily harm the user. Furthermore, this statue can also launch attacks under the user's direction. The force of the attacks is determined by the user's chakra strength and taijutsu prowess.

For a taijutsu-type ninja like Kaoru, the power of this technique is further amplified. Yashui's intuition tells him that the current Kaoru is only a fraction weaker than Choza in his normal state!

Perhaps this level is still not enough to defeat Choza. But! Just think! Kaoru is only a twelve-year-old genin! To be able to achieve this level at twelve years old, Kaoru is truly a genius in every sense of the word!

That Kaoru, born at the Fire Temple, could use Welcome Senju was something Choza never expected. That Chiriku would actually let a little girl learn such a dangerous ninjutsu from him—could it be that Chiriku is truly preparing for Kaoru to become the first female head monk of the Fire Temple?

Kaoru seized this opportunity well. She leaped lightly into mid-air and then unleashed a flurry of strikes against Choza's stomach.

For a moment, Choza was stunned into stillness. It took him quite a while to react, and by the time he did, the armor on his abdomen had already been cracked by Kaoru's blows!

Choza was shocked today; he had not expected the team he was leading to be this strong. The coordination of just two people was enough to contend with him, a jonin, in an instant.

However... this only lasted for an instant... Once that moment passed, both of them instantly lost their combat effectiveness. If this were a real mission, Yashui and Kaoru would have long since been captured by enemy forces.

Choza could not simply let a team like this pass!

Kaoru's Welcome Senju lasted for only a short ten seconds before exhausting all the chakra she had previously extracted. Depleted of chakra, Kaoru felt weak all over and had to land on the ground for the time being. Her current rate of chakra extraction was barely enough to maintain the Welcome Senju mode, let alone anything else.

She only felt sorry for Yashui, as he had already tried so hard to create an opening for her. Yet, even Welcome Senju—the strongest ninjutsu Kaoru could currently use—could not break through Choza's defenses!

Choza glanced at the exhausted Kaoru. He touched the armor at his waist and walked straight toward Yashui.

Yashui's situation was even worse than Kaoru's, and for some reason, he was no longer using the Crow Substitution Technique. In such a state, even a three-year-old child could take his life.

Watching Choza slowly approach him, Yashui's hands once again formed the seals for the Crow Substitution Technique. Regardless of why he had stopped using it earlier, in this life-or-death crisis, he had no other choice!

Choza tightened his fist, aimed at Yashui's position, and then launched his fist toward him with the speed of a bullet!

This punch would be fatal!

"Bang!" A punch like that, hitting a fragile human body, should have felt like flesh. But now, Choza's fist felt something hard; this was not flesh. Even the toughest muscles would not have this kind of texture.

Choza slowly pulled back his fist, and a black shadow flew out from beneath it. There was no one left in the original spot. Watching that black shadow retreat into the distance, Choza felt a sense of compassion for the first time during this test.

"Why did you save me?" Yashui asked the person before him.

They say heroes save damsels in distress, but in the case of Yashui and Kaoru, it seemed to have happened in reverse. In the forest, one person was carrying another in a bridal hold, moving rapidly with the speed of lightning. The one doing the carrying was Kaoru Hinoji; the one being carried was Sarutobi Yashui.

"Cough... without you... the upcoming battles would be even more difficult... I still need you to provide support for me."