Duel with a High Ninja

Not far away, Kurenai heard Chiya stop calling her "teacher" and felt her mouth twitch in irritation. "Have you three finished discussing yet? I'm in a hurry."

"Oh, we're done," Chiya said with a grin.

"Then let's begin." Kurenai stood her ground, her presence shifting instantly as she entered combat mode.

The three of them nodded to each other. Akizuki Airi made the first move, tossing several shuriken before drawing a kunai.

Kurenai remained stationary, not even bothering to draw her own weapon, and easily dodged the projectiles with a few sidesteps.

She suddenly appeared before Airi using a Body Flicker, snatched the kunai away, and struck her in the abdomen with a punch.

Airi gagged, her body flying backward as she instantly lost the ability to fight.

At that moment, Pangci's enlarged fist, enhanced by the Multi-Size Technique, came crashing down. With a thunderous boom, the ground shook and a shallow crater formed, billowing with thick dust.

"Did I get her?" Akimichi Pangci retracted his fist, swallowed hard, and stared intently at the center of the crater.

"Not yet." Chiya's voice sounded beside him, followed immediately by Kurenai's voice: "Too naive."

As the words fell, Kurenai's delicate foot landed on Pangci's neck, kicking his bulky frame flying.

The shallow crater emitted a soft poof, and a wooden log appeared out of thin air; it was clear that Kurenai had utilized the Substitution Technique, one of the Three Body Technique.

"Next, it's your turn, Chiya." Having dealt with two of the three, Kurenai finally looked at Fujiwara Chiya, who had remained standing in place.

"Sure. But if I happen to win against Kurenai-sensei, you have to promise to date me when I grow up," Chiya said with a playful smile.

"If you can actually manage that!" Kurenai's competitive spirit was ignited, and she lunged forward. Although, as Airi had said, her strength lay in genjutsu and she wasn't particularly skilled in taijutsu, she was still a Special Jōnin; her physical prowess was far beyond that of a newly graduated Genin.

However, she soon regretted it. Facing her barrage of taijutsu attacks, Chiya moved with ease, and his strikes were shockingly powerful—nothing like what a child under twelve should possess.

Every time their limbs collided, a sharp pain radiated from the point of contact, as if she were fighting not a person, but a body made of steel.

What exactly is this brat? Could he have trained in the Steel Fist style like Guy? Kurenai wondered, secretly shocked.

Nearby, the defeated Akizuki Airi and Akimichi Pangci also exclaimed, "So strong! He can actually trade blows with Kurenai-sensei."

"Kurenai-sensei, it looks like you're destined to be my second wife in the future," Chiya teased with a light laugh. He hadn't even used his cultivation arts, relying solely on his formidable physique and basic taijutsu to spar with her.

"Don't get cocky." Kurenai hadn't expected to encounter such a troublemaker in her first time as a squad leader. If she didn't teach him a lesson today, how would she lead them in the future?

She immediately used a Body Flicker to put some distance between them, formed hand seals, and her entire body dissolved into a fluid state and vanished.

At the same time, saplings sprouted beneath Chiya's feet, instantly growing into a towering tree that bound his limbs.

Genjutsu: Hell Viewing Clone had been activated.

"Brat, you're still too green." The ground rippled as Kurenai's true form slowly emerged.

"Is that so?" Chiya's voice suddenly sounded right beside Kurenai's ear. Her pupils dilated, and in the next instant, she felt a chill at her neck—a kunai was pressed firmly against her throat.

Watching from afar, Akizuki Airi and Akimichi Pangci were completely bewildered, unable to grasp what had just happened between the two.

What was going on?

Why had Kurenai-sensei just been standing there, talking to herself, only for Chiya to walk up behind her unhurriedly and hold a kunai to her neck?

"Pangci-kun, do you know what happened?" Akizuki Airi looked at Akimichi Pangci, whose face was swollen, though he was still diligently eating potato chips.

Suppressing the pain, Akimichi Pangci grabbed a handful of chips, stuffed them into his mouth, and shook his head while chewing. "No idea, but it looks really impressive."

"How did you do that?" Kurenai took a deep breath, feeling a sense of loss she couldn't suppress.

As a Special Jōnin, she had actually lost to a child who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy. What was this?

Chiya put away the kunai and pointed to the clone bound by the tree across from her. He chuckled, "Kurenai-sensei, the Ninja Academy textbooks mention that genjutsu uses chakra to interfere with the opponent's five senses and disrupt their chakra flow, trapping them in an illusion."

"Although I don't know what seals you used, you mentioned that you specialize in genjutsu. So, before the fight even started, I began constantly disrupting the chakra within my own body to prevent your genjutsu from taking effect. Then, I took advantage of the moment you cast your technique to release a clone meant to distract you."

"Kurenai-sensei, you were careless."

As he spoke, Chiya's clone and the tree dissipated, and the ground slowly returned to its original state.

"I see. I truly lost. To think you defeated me using nothing but the most basic Clone Technique from the Three Body Technique... It seems the Third Hokage was right; you really are a genius." A self-deprecating smile appeared on Kurenai's face.

"You flatter me, Kurenai-sensei. You were clearly going easy on me. If this had been a life-or-death battle, I'd likely be a corpse by now."

Chiya played the humble card again, though a cold glint flashed through his eyes.

The Third Hokage had sent people to monitor him in secret; how could Chiya, with his exceptionally keen perception, not know?

However, for the past five or six years, no matter where he went or who he met, he had made it a habit to release Kyōka Suigetsu whenever he had the chance.

The version of himself that the Third Hokage was monitoring was, most of the time, nothing more than an illusion.

Otherwise, how could he have developed his strength in peace?

Now, relying on Kyōka Suigetsu and the immortal chakra stored by his Heavenly Steel Art, he was already capable of protecting himself.

The tip of the iceberg he had displayed in defeating Kurenai today was merely to make it easier to show off Kyōka Suigetsu to more people in Konoha in the future.

"A loss is a loss, a win is a win. No need to make excuses for me. But," she shifted the tone, a sly smile suddenly appearing on her face, "why did you stop calling me 'Kurenai' just now?"

"Are you serious?" Chiya paused, a playful smile appearing on his face as he met her gaze.

Kurenai's competitive spirit flared up again. The two stared at each other for a long time, until finally, Kurenai's face flushed red and she backed down, clicking her tongue. "Pah, pah. You're just a kid, yet you act so grown up. I really don't know what they taught you at that school."

"The lot of you, keep today's events classified. No one is permitted to speak a word of this. Remember to assemble here on time tomorrow; I will not wait for latecomers."

That last sentence was directed at Aili and Pang Ci.

After speaking, she turned back to glance at Chiya once more, her figure flickering as she bounded away like a startled fawn.

Watching the receding silhouette of Kurenai, Chiya's smile abruptly vanished, and he murmured to himself, Still such an easy girl to read.

ps: First update, thanks to [Rongyanhuo] for the 1500 Qidian coin tip.

Thanks to [Book Friend **0097] for the 500 Qidian coin tip.

Thanks to [Book Friend **444] for the 100 Qidian coin tip.