Clang!
There was no violent explosion, nor any thunderous rumble.
All there was was the lightness of a blade slicing into tofu.
The first Earth Style Wall shattered!
The second shattered!
The third!
With each wall that broke, the Vacuum Serial Waves advanced a little farther.
They met almost no resistance.
At least, that was how it seemed to Kazama Heitetsu.
But when his Ninjutsu struck the final three layers, he stood up, his expression turning somewhat shocked.
The Vacuum Serial Waves had slowed!
He even noticed that the ninety-nine blades of wind in the attack had been worn down considerably. Only a few dozen remained.
"That's it, that's it!"
"Each blade of wind is only C-rank, and the Earth Style Wall is a C-rank Ninjutsu too. Even with the power boost from the Vacuum Serial Waves, they're still just canceling each other out."
"No wonder the Second Kazekage said this Ninjutsu was a shame. It has no qualitative change in Chakra, only an accumulation of quantity. It reached the peak of A-rank, and can hardly improve any further."
Kazama Heitetsu murmured to himself, then shook his head.
Even so, there was no way the boy below could withstand it.
Clang!
The final three walls of earth shattered!
The only protection left was the Water Formation Wall.
A Water Release technique Gong Yi had derived from the Earth Style Wall, its power was comparable to a B-rank technique.
But under the bombardment of the Vacuum Serial Waves, it held out for only a moment, wearing away a few blades of wind before vanishing.
The remaining twenty-odd blades of wind slammed into the boy, who had no cover at all.
In that instant, the boy's body was like a water-filled sack, blood spurting wildly from him.
Kazama Heitetsu finally let out the breath he'd been holding.
"I—I killed a Konoha prodigy! Ha, hahaha!"
His hearty laughter rang out.
The blinding sunlight finally fell upon the remaining forest, its trees broken and jagged.
All was silent. There wasn't even the chirping of birds or insects, only Kazama Heitetsu's breathless laughter.
Just then, a hoarse voice slowly rang out.
"I'm not dead yet."
The boy rose from the ground, raising both hands to shield his eyes as if blocking the sunlight.
His body was drenched in blood, and countless pieces of stone armor had fallen away.
Kazama Heitetsu staggered, staring at the scene in disbelief.
"How is that possible?!"
The boy caught his breath, then glared at him coldly.
"Nothing is impossible!"
Kazama Heitetsu stared at him as if he'd gone mad. An eight-year-old boy had actually survived a lethal technique unleashed by an elite Jonin, one that was infinitely close to S-rank!
When his gaze fell on the boy, his expression froze.
"Sand Armor?"
"Wrong. This is an Earth Style Ninjutsu I created myself: Rock Armor!"
The moment Gong Yi entered this forest, he had already prepared himself for a fight to the death.
And that preparation involved much more than simply recovering his strength!
He had learned far too much over those three years.
With so much knowledge accumulated, the Scholar System had helped him come up with a new research project.
Developing defensive Ninjutsu!
In the world of Naruto, every defensive Ninjutsu was famous!
Gaara's Sand Shield, Armor of Sand, and Shield of Sand; the Hyuga Clan's Rotation; the Uchiha Clan's all-in-one offense and defense, Susanoo; Orochimaru's Rashomon—
There were quite a few techniques here that were said to offer absolute defense!
Defensive Ninjutsu were far rarer than offensive and support techniques.
Gong Yi had enough talent to research this kind of Ninjutsu only because he had a strong affinity for Earth Style Chakra and had learned many basic Earth Style techniques.
Even so, it had taken him three years to develop Rock Armor.
Earth's defensive properties were outstanding, whether in Huaxia or the world of Naruto.
Gaara's defensive techniques had withstood Rock Lee's relentless barrage, blocked Sasuke's Chidori, and held up against Kimimaro's piercing attacks. Later, they even withstood Deidara's C3 Eighteen, which destroyed Sunagakure!
Gong Yi couldn't push his technique that far yet.
But at the very least, withstanding a Ninjutsu that had been weakened again and again was no problem.
Though he had still been badly injured.
As soon as he entered the forest, he began gathering stones and earth, then refining and controlling them with Chakra.
During the battle, he tried not to leave the area. Only at the critical moment did he assemble the Rock Armor.
It was all to withstand the elite Jonin's lethal attack.
And judging by the result, he had succeeded!
Kazama Heitetsu still couldn't quite believe it.
He was so young, and he'd already created his own Ninjutsu?
And its defensive capabilities were this impressive?
Gong Yi stood up and looked at Kazama Heitetsu. "How much Chakra do you have left?"
Kazama Heitetsu froze, then went cold from head to toe.
He really didn't have much Chakra left. After all, he'd used too many Ninjutsu in this fight.
Especially the Vacuum Severing Dance he'd used to clear the area, and that final Vacuum Serial Waves.
But seeing Gong Yi's condition, he relaxed again.
"Compared to me, you've probably run out of Chakra completely!"
Gong Yi nodded, admitting it openly without denying anything.
Kazama Heitetsu looked down at him. "Then the outcome is already decided. I have enough Chakra left to use one more Ninjutsu!"
Gong Yi nodded again. "The outcome really is already decided!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Gong Yi vanished from where he stood. He moved so quickly that Kazama Heitetsu could barely follow him with his eyes.
Gravity Technique: eightfold, sevenfold, sixfold... onefold—released!
At that moment, Gong Yi's body was as light as a feather, as if he could take flight at any moment.
He was also like an arrow speeding through the air, moving faster than even the wind could follow!
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