Fierce Battle, Flaw (Seeking Support!)

Yamashiro Aoba looked to the left, but he could not sense any enemies in that direction at all.

On the contrary, he sensed something behind them.

Could Genma have miscalculated?

Yamashiro Aoba adjusted his sunglasses and whispered, "Genma, I don't sense any enemy presence on the left."

Genma raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Perhaps it's some kind of concealment secret technique."

He was confident in his own sensory abilities.

Hatake Sakumo also trusted his students; he drew the short blade from his back and ordered, "Genma, you keep your eyes on the enemy to the left."

"Aoba, you cover the rear. Shizune, stay put."

The three nodded in unison.

Genma then untied the scroll from his back and handed it to Shizune. "Open it on my command."

Shizune nodded earnestly. "Understood."

At this moment, standing on the cap of a giant mushroom and hidden behind a tree trunk, Mahiru turned slightly to watch the Konoha ninja squad that had come to a halt. "Looks like we've been discovered~"

"Hmm?"

"Both brats are sensory ninjas, and the one carrying the scroll actually saw through Taiseki's technique!"

Mahiru was startled, and then he saw Hatake Sakumo draw his short blade. "This guy..."

Silver hair and a short blade!

"No way... is that the White Fang of Konoha?"

Cold sweat broke out on Mahiru's forehead.

Having issued his orders, Hatake Sakumo struck with ferocity. His chakra-infused short blade glowed with a brilliant white light as he shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring.

"So fast, truly the White Fang of Konoha!"

"But, I only need to buy a little time..."

Mahiru did not retreat.

One of his Shadow Clone emerged, only to be instantly obliterated.

Then a second, a third... Hatake Sakumo maintained his high-speed charge, moving so quickly that neither Yamashiro Aoba nor Shizune could track his true position, seeing only the flickering of the blade like fangs.

Genma, however, had no time to pay attention to the battle ahead, as he realized that while he could sense the enemy on the left, he could not see them.

It really was a concealment secret technique!

"Iwagakure Ninja?"

A thought flashed through Genma's mind. He immediately formed hand seals to leave a Shadow Clone behind before lunging forward.

Boom!

A moss-covered rock shattered into pieces, the ground beneath it caved in, and dust billowed upward.

Genma punched a massive crater into the earth, then whipped his head toward a thick branch to his front right.

A burly figure materialized upon it.

"My technique is completely useless against this brat!"

Taiseki looked at the crater created by the single punch. "And this brat's strength is shockingly high."

"It seems I must be careful, lest I be taken out by a mere kid."

"It really is an Iwagakure Ninja!"

The attire of the Iwagakure Ninja was easy to recognize.

Genma was almost certain the opponent was using the Camouflage Concealment Technique; during the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, Kakashi had suffered greatly because of this very technique.

Although Kakashi had his dog's sense of smell, this technique could even erase one's scent.

"Camouflage Concealment is useless against me. End this quickly!"

Genma vanished from his spot, then flickered twice in mid-air, abruptly appearing directly above Taiseki.

He was too far from Taiseki to close the distance with a single Substitution Technique, so he used it repeatedly, swapping places with the air each time.

He didn't create clones to confuse the enemy, using it purely as a makeshift version of Amenotejikara.

The moment Genma vanished, Taiseki raised his guard to the maximum.

The two flashes of Genma's movement made him feel immense danger, and his rich combat experience led him to use the Hardening Technique without a moment's hesitation.

His skin hardened until it was as tough as diamond.

Just as the technique finished, accompanied by the crackle of electricity rubbing against the air, Genma brought his short blade down toward Taiseki's face.

First came Taiseki's scream as he was sent flying backward, followed immediately by the explosion of the thick tree branch.

At the same time, on the other side, sharp wooden stakes rained down from the sky, hurtling toward Shizune and the others.

Yamashiro Aoba was well-prepared; before Genma's Shadow Clone could even act, he opened his mouth and unleashed a fireball, igniting all the falling wood.

Immediately following this, a figure dashed from the side at blinding speed, heading straight for Yu Fenglan.

Genma's Shadow Clone flashed in front of Shizune and her father, Yu Fenglan, blocking the enemy's attack with a Kunai in each hand.

Metal clashed against metal, sending sparks flying in every direction.

The weapons were two short swords, narrow at the tip and wide at the base with double edges, appearing as if they were extensions of the enemy's own hands.

Looking at the Iwagakure Ninja before him, a name immediately surfaced in Genma's mind: the Iwagakure Jonin Hikō!

The thought flashed by in an instant as his hands moved on instinct, his Kunai colliding with Hikō's twin swords in a high-speed, intense flurry of clashing steel.

Suddenly, Genma shifted his position, appearing directly behind Hikō.

But Hikō seemed to have anticipated this; he leaped to evade Genma's strike, flipping through the air and slashing down with his twin swords.

Genma was secretly startled and shifted his position once more.

Clang!

Hikō narrowly blocked Genma's Kunai.

This guy must have noticed the battle on the main body's side and grasped the mechanics within a very short time.

A Jonin is not to be underestimated!

While analyzing the situation, Genma continuously shifted his position, launching surprise attacks from every angle.

The two figures blurred as they moved, clashing incessantly—sometimes on the ground, sometimes in the trees, and sometimes in mid-air—with sparks showering down around them.

Yu Fenglan was dumbfounded: "Is this my son?"

"My son is a genius, but... how is he this strong?"

He felt it was simply too exaggerated.

Yamashiro Aoba's eyes were wide; he had already witnessed Genma's strength far surpassing his own earlier.

But now, he felt that Genma was likely on the same level as their teacher, Hatake Sakumo.

Shizune gripped her fists tightly, holding her breath, even though she knew it was only a Shadow Clone.

Yet, Genma was keenly aware that if not for the Substitution Technique, he would have struggled to hold off a Jonin like Hikō using only taijutsu and swordsmanship.

At the same time, he discovered a flaw in his use of the Substitution Technique: his reaction time was not fast enough.

It was fine against ordinary ninjas, but against a Jonin—especially Hikō, who had already figured out some of the mechanics of his Substitution Technique—the split-second interval between swapping and attacking gave Hikō enough time to react.

Any Chunin would have been dead long ago.

The two grew faster and faster.

Suddenly, blood sprayed.

Hikō's arm was slashed by the Kunai, but he simultaneously kicked Genma square in the chest.

"Shizune!"

As a clone, he shouted a warning before dissipating.

Shizune, who had been staring intently at the battle, immediately opened a scroll, and Yamashiro Aoba, already prepared with a ninjutsu, spat out a Great Fireball, though Hikō dodged it with ease.

Yamashiro Aoba had no choice but to grit his teeth, brandish his Kunai, and rush in to engage Hikō; within a mere dozen exchanges, Yamashiro Aoba was sent flying, crashing into a large tree before sliding limply down the trunk.

Whether it was Genma or Yamashiro Aoba, there was a significant gap in taijutsu and swordsmanship compared to Hikō, who was a Jonin.

However, Yamashiro Aoba had bought them time.

On the other side, Genma's main body, having received the feedback from his clone's memories, immediately abandoned the pursuit of Taiseki. He flashed back to Shizune's side and was just about to perform the Summoning Technique and activate the Wood Release Chakra Mode when Hatake Sakumo suddenly appeared, kicking the charging Hikō away with a single strike.

"It's the White Fang of Konoha! Mahiru is already dead, and they have reinforcements—retreat!"

Taiseki flashed into view, catching the flying Hikō.

At this moment, Taiseki's left eye was blinded; a blade mark ran diagonally from his left eye, slicing across the bridge of his nose down to his cheekbone, the wound charred black.

It was the very mark left by Genma's blade moments ago.