Flash Step!

"Is this a genjutsu?" No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than the Sunagakure ninja shook his head to dismiss it. He had felt no signs of falling under a genjutsu, and he refused to believe that a mere brat could pull him into one without a sound.

"What on earth is that trash Resha trying to do?"

To the onlookers, this Sunagakure ninja—Resha—had simply stood motionless ever since Li kicked him. At first, Elder Chiyo and the others assumed Resha had conceived some brilliant strategy, but now, Resha's eyes had gone dull, as if his soul had been extinguished.

Li didn't care what others were thinking. After trapping Resha with the Crow Clone Technique, Li pulled out a kunai and clamped it between his teeth. His hands moved in a blur of seals. Once finished, Li took a deep breath and exhaled toward the vacant-eyed Resha.

"Fire Release, Great Fireball Technique!"

A fireball one meter in diameter rolled toward Resha like the massive wheel of a war chariot.

"Impossible! That fool Resha actually fell for a genjutsu. When did it happen?" Elder Chiyo's expression shifted violently, her face draining of color. She realized now that Resha was indeed under a genjutsu, but like him, she hadn't seen when Li had cast it. A surge of boundless killing intent rose in her heart. If Li was this troublesome at only six years old, what would happen when he grew up? Would Sunagakure be forever destined to cower beneath Konoha?

"Wind Release, Great Breakthrough!"

Just as the Great Fireball was about to collide with him, Resha broke free from the genjutsu. Seeing the massive fireball inches away, he hurriedly formed seals and spat out a blast of wind pressure.

Whoosh!

Fire should have grown stronger when met with wind, yet the result was the Great Fireball being extinguished by the Great Breakthrough. In the five elements, Fire Release counters Wind Release, but Li's strength was only that of an elite genin, while Resha was a chunin. The gap in power ignored the elemental advantage, forcibly snuffing out the fireball.

Sizzle!

Before Resha could catch his breath, a pitch-black kunai pierced through the wind and sand, burying itself deep into his shoulder. Blood sprayed, and Resha stood stunned, unable to comprehend where the kunai had come from.

Ah!

Soon, Resha had no energy to ponder the origin of the kunai. The blade embedded in his shoulder was radiating a searing, agonizing heat. Resha grabbed it, intending to pull it out, but the moment his hand touched it, his expression changed drastically; the kunai was as hot as a red-hot pair of tongs. Gritting his teeth, he ripped it out and tossed it aside, his face drenched in sweat. He looked up at Li, who remained as indifferent as ever.

"Brat, I never expected you to hide a kunai inside the fireball. How insidious!" It was laughable to hear a grown man call a six-year-old child insidious, but Resha couldn't bring himself to laugh. He had truly tasted Li's treachery and suffered for it twice. If not for the disparity in their strength, he might have been dead by now.

Li curled his lip slightly, dissatisfied that he hadn't killed Resha in one blow. When he launched the Great Fireball Technique, he had anticipated that Resha might break the genjutsu at a critical moment, so he had intentionally bitten down on a kunai. Using the fireball as a propellant, he had fired the kunai simultaneously. Scorched by the flames, the kunai's lethality would have increased several times over, easily piercing a human body. However, despite all his calculations, he hadn't accounted for the Wind Release blowing the kunai off course, missing Resha's heart and striking his shoulder instead.

Resha had now discarded his contempt, his feet shifting into a combat stance. He viewed Li as an opponent of equal standing; if he didn't go all out, there was a real chance he would be killed.

Once Resha moved, Li's situation became dire. His strength was still only at the elite genin level, and his chakra was limited, preventing him from using ninjutsu consecutively. Resha, holding the advantage, launched a fierce assault.

Bang! Bang!

The two traded blows, and before they had exchanged many rounds, a blade of wind came whistling toward Li's face. Li dodged by a hair's breadth, only to be met with an even more ferocious attack.

"Wind Release, Gale Palm!"

Resha struck out with his palm, and a violent whirlwind surged toward Li. Li's expression shifted; he dared not meet it head-on. He rolled across the ground to dodge, scrambled to his feet, and retreated several meters to put distance between them, not daring to attack rashly.

With the little chakra I have left, I can support at most one more Great Fireball Technique and a Crow Clone Technique. The Great Fireball is powerful, but its target is too large and easy to dodge. As for the Crow Clone, he's already fallen for it once; he certainly won't give me another chance! The more Li thought, the deeper his brow furrowed. He hadn't expected to be driven into such a corner.

Right, let me check if there are any exchangeable skills in the system! Li narrowed his eyes, glanced at Resha, and retreated a few more meters, forming seals. "Fire Release, Great Fireball Technique!"

Another fireball rolled toward Resha.

"Haha, brat! That kind of ninjutsu can't hit me. You'd better accept your fate and let me break your bones one by one!" Watching the fireball roll toward him, Resha laughed, sidestepped it, and flashed a bloodthirsty grin at Li, who stood motionless.

Inside the System Space, Li quickly browsed through the ninjutsu from the world of Hokage that could be used in combat, but none were satisfactory. Either the damage was insufficient, the casting time was too slow, or he couldn't afford them. Li sighed slightly and opened the Bleach tab. Suddenly, one ability caught his eye.

"Flash Step: An advanced movement technique of the Shinigami. Those who master this technique can move at high speeds, akin to traversing space. Exchange methods are as follows!"

"Flash Step Mastery: Requires 5,000 points! (Note: Mastery-level Flash Step allows for rapid movement, but the drawback is that you can only perform a triple-step at most!)"

"Flash Step Proficiency: Requires 10,000 points! (Note: This is the highest level. As long as you have sufficient chakra, you can move at high speeds without limit!)"

Seeing the two options, Li frowned slightly and checked his point balance. He had 8,000 in total: 1,000 rewarded for fighting the Third Hokage for five minutes, 5,000 for rescuing Kushina, and 2,000 for killing two elite genin from Sunagakure.

It seems I can only exchange for Flash Step Mastery. As for Proficiency, that will have to wait for another day. With that thought, Li didn't hesitate. He spent 5,000 points to acquire the Mastery-level Flash Step. In an instant, the application and limitations of the technique flooded his mind. After absorbing the information, Li didn't linger and exited the System Space.