Battle (Another Chapter Later)

"Heh, looks like you're pretty confident."

"Hmph, we went through some brutally harsh training. If you let your guard down, you'll pay for it!" Perhaps Yamada's attitude had displeased Seiyu. She planted her hands on her hips and spoke confidently.

"Then let's see it!"

As soon as he said that, bang! A cloud of smoke suddenly appeared, and when it cleared, Yamada had vanished from where he stood!

"Huh?! What happened? Where did he go?"

Shiro had originally wanted to say it was the Shadow Clone Technique, but on second thought, that was a ninjutsu only Jonin could master. Yamada probably did not know it yet. After thinking for a moment, Shiro answered, "It should be the Body Flicker Technique! Be careful! Teacher Yamada should be nearby, not too far away. Don't split up, or he might ambush us! Form the Swastika Formation!"

"Yeah!" x2

It was no wonder Seiyu and the others were so surprised. This was the first time Yamada had used the Body Flicker Technique in front of them. But it also showed just how much pressure Shiro and the others had put on Yamada, especially Shiro!

With Reinforcement Magecraft, Shiro's speed and strength had already surpassed those of most Chunin. His only current shortcoming was his lack of combat experience. Even so, Yamada did not dare face Shiro and the others head-on. The chances of making a mistake were too great, so he had immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to hide.

The three of them did not panic. They immediately formed up and carefully watched their surroundings. This was only a practice match, after all. Yamada would not stay hidden forever. Thus, they kept alert for the slightest movement, ready to force him out the instant they found him!

Yamada was currently hiding in the shadows, watching them with faint satisfaction. So far, he had not found any major flaws in them. But just as Shiro and the others had expected, Yamada would not remain hidden for long. Combat training was meant more to test their practical experience and teamwork.

After considering it briefly, Yamada seized upon a small lapse in their vigilance and attacked from Seiyu's side! He opened with three kunai, each aimed at one of them!

Naturally, Yamada did not expect to defeat them with that alone. But as long as he could temporarily restrict Shiro and Chosuke's movements, he could take Seiyu down in an instant.

Just as Yamada had expected, Shiro and the others successfully knocked away the kunai, but they were delayed for a moment. In that very instant, Yamada closed in on Seiyu. The corner of his mouth lifted. "You go rest first, Seiyu."

However, Seiyu revealed a smile that Yamada found both familiar and terrifying. "Shiro?! When did—? Damn it!" The moment Yamada realized something was wrong, he tried to withdraw his attack, but it was already too late.

As the white smoke from the bang! dispersed, Yamada saw exactly what he had expected: the thing he had struck was a Substitution Wood.

Yamada was in the gap between moves, and it was too late to dodge. The instant he realized he had fallen for it, he turned without hesitation and formed hand seals!

Earth Release: Earth Style: Earth Wall!

After the Substitution Technique took effect, Shiro had not switched places very far away. He appeared directly behind Yamada and threw a punch.

"Reinforcement, begin!"

At Shiro's thought, blue circuit-like patterns appeared on his hand, accompanying his punch as it flew forward.

With just one blow, he punched through the Earth Style: Earth Wall and drove straight at Yamada!

Although Yamada was shocked by the force of Shiro's punch, he did not panic. He immediately judged the timing and used the Substitution Technique, hiding himself for the moment.

Shiro did not feel disappointed. Yamada was a Chunin, after all, and forcing out his Substitution Technique already counted as gaining an advantage. Once Yamada appeared again, the battle would be over. The Body Flicker Technique consumed a considerable amount of Yamada's Chakra. Thus, the three of them formed the Swastika Formation once more.

This was where the Substitution Technique came in—the technique that had seemed so overpowered early in the original story, yet was rarely used later on.

From Shiro's understanding, the Substitution Technique was not as it had been explained in the early parts of the original story: instantly running away, replacing oneself with a log or something similar, then running off again.

If someone had that kind of speed, why use the Substitution Technique at all? They could just fight head-on. In reality, the Substitution Technique was a relatively easy-to-learn space-time ninjutsu. However, its ease of learning came from its considerable limitations. First, the substitution material had to be prepared in advance. Of course, someone highly skilled could optimize the technique and avoid preparing it beforehand. For example, Kakashi had used one of Naruto's shadow clones as a substitute in the original story.

Furthermore, most substitution materials were inanimate objects, with wood being the most common. Other materials were much more difficult to use. Being able to substitute with a living creature generally already involved secret techniques.

Second, the materials for the Substitution Technique were generally sealed on one's body or carried around in seals. Therefore, one could usually only prepare one. More than that would interfere with each other. Those with sufficient strength could prepare multiple, but usually only two or three.

Finally, the Substitution Technique had to be activated in advance, and its effective duration was one second. If one was struck within that second, they would switch out. Once that time passed, it had to be set up again, and it could only switch the user five to ten meters away. Moreover, hand seals were required to use the Substitution Technique. If those hand seals were not concealed, the technique would be meaningless.

That was why it was rarely used in later battles.

That was also why Shiro and the others were in no hurry to attack. Preparing the Substitution Technique caused quite a commotion, and Yamada should not be foolish enough to do it openly.

Although Yamada was hidden in the dark, his situation was not very good either. If he could not take one of them out right at the start of his next attack, he would most likely lose afterward. He did not have much Chakra left. At most, he could use another two or three ninjutsu before running dry.

Therefore, Yamada needed to plan carefully.

Meanwhile, Shiro and the others focused intently on guarding against Yamada's surprise attack. Both sides were nearly out of steam now. The winner should be decided soon.

"Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique!"

To Shiro's surprise, Yamada still targeted Seiyu. In an instant, Seiyu lost her ability to fight. After emerging from the ground, Yamada followed up with a kick, sending the still-unresponsive Chosuke flying!

At that moment, Shiro's attack arrived as well! He also used Reinforcement Magecraft.

"Reinforcement, begin!"

The difference was that this time, he reinforced his entire body. The power was a little weaker this way, but it was more comprehensive. After all, Shiro was still young, and his physical condition could not compare to Yamada's.

Yamada charged forward without hesitation. Though he could not use Reinforcement Magecraft, even simple Chakra enhancement made his physical strength not much weaker than Shiro's.

After they exchanged blows for a while, Yamada seized an opportunity and flashed away from Shiro. He knew that ninjutsu was Shiro's weak point, so he immediately formed hand seals!

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Shiro did not underestimate this powerful technique either, and he quickly formed hand seals as well.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Yes, Shiro used Wind Release to block it. But he was not an idiot. He knew Fire countered Wind, but he did not know any other ninjutsu, so Wind Release was all he could use. Besides, he was not counting on stopping the Great Fireball Technique completely. He only needed to scatter it. It might not have been very ninja-like, but it was scientific!

Shiro did not expect Great Breakthrough to stop the Great Fireball Technique. He only needed to weaken it a little, then mobilize all his remaining Chakra.

"Reinforcement, begin!"

Then he charged straight at Yamada! Relying on the protection of Reinforcement Magecraft, he passed through the Great Fireball Technique, ambushed Yamada at close range, pressed a kunai to his throat, and said with a smile:

"Teacher Yamada, we won."

Yamada froze for a moment, then smiled. "Yeah, you won. You're really an incredible bunch of brats. But are you alright, Shiro?"

"Don't worry, Teacher. I'm fine. Look." As he spoke, he tore off his burnt clothing and showed Yamada the slightly reddened skin underneath.

"That's good. Actually, you didn't need to charge through it. You could have just told me, and that would have been enough. That was too risky."

"Don't worry, Teacher Yamada. I was confident. And if I didn't act, how would I know whether it would work? What if I made a mistake? It's fine to make mistakes in the village, since there's still a chance to fix things. But if I make a mistake outside the village, then it's over."

"Mm, it's good that you know your limits. But try not to fight like that in the future. It's too dangerous. And you two, are you alright?"

"We're fine, Teacher Yamada. Were we useless? We didn't really help at all." As they spoke, the two lowered their heads dejectedly.

At that moment, Yamada placed his large hands on their heads. "How could that be? You gave me a lot of trouble. Your Transformation Technique at the beginning worked really well with Shiro, and I did not even notice it. That was already impressive."

"But Shiro is so strong, while we..."

"Don't compare yourselves to that monster. You've already done amazingly well!"

"Hey, hey, Teacher Yamada, that's going too far! What do you mean, monster?!"

"Haha, don't mind it. I'll treat you all to barbecue so we can celebrate properly!"

"You bastard! Don't change the subject! Explain yourself!"

"Then you're not eating?"

"I'm eating! Of course I'm eating! I'm going to eat you bankrupt today!"

"Haha, what a grudge-holding brat."

Still bickering, Shiro and the others left the training ground.

I feel like I dug myself into a hole... Somehow this turned into two updates a day... But thank you all for your support.