Genma grew excited.
Aside from the time he had just graduated, he had never had a proper fight against his teacher, Hatake Sakumo.
As for their usual sparring during training, that didn't count.
He still hadn't figured out the full extent of his teacher Hatake Sakumo's strength.
Sakumo probably hadn't shown his full power during the Wood Release incident.
The last time had been when he killed the Iwagakure Jonin Mahiru. But he'd made it look so easy that it probably hadn't been the full extent of his teacher Hatake Sakumo's strength either.
Before mastering Lightning Flicker, Genma knew that even with the Substitution Technique's instant repositioning, he wouldn't stand a chance against his teacher, Hatake Sakumo.
After all, once someone understood how the technique worked, they could prepare for it and counter it—and his own reaction speed was another problem.
That was especially true against an all-rounder like Hatake Sakumo, who could attack at incredible speed.
But with Lightning Flicker, everything was different. Genma wanted to test the full extent of his teacher Hatake Sakumo's strength!
Yamashiro Aoba was looking forward to it too. "Genma should be well beyond an ordinary Chunin by now. He'd definitely lose to Teacher Sakumo, who's an elite even among the Jonin, but I really want to see just how strong Genma is."
Shizune didn't have so many thoughts. She simply clenched her fists and cheered Genma on.
"Aoba, you'll be the referee!"
Hatake Sakumo gave the order.
Yamashiro Aoba nodded, raised his right hand, then brought it down. "Begin!"
Crackle!
Electricity flashed across Genma's body, winding around him. He drew his chakra short sword, Ranga, then shot toward Hatake Sakumo like a bolt of lightning.
"Too fast!"
Yamashiro Aoba exclaimed. Genma was much faster than he'd been during their fight just moments ago.
Hatake Sakumo also drew the White Fang Chakra Blade, its blade glowing a brilliant white.
Unlike Genma, who let his Lightning Release chakra surge across his body, Sakumo concentrated most of his power in his blade.
But when it came to speed, Hatake Sakumo was every bit Genma's equal.
To Yamashiro Aoba and Shizune, the fighters were already impossible to make out. All they could see was blue lightning and a white flash clashing at high speed.
The next moment, they clashed again at a different spot, setting off a series of sonic booms.
Blackened scorch marks and smooth cuts appeared across the ground.
In the blink of an eye, Genma and Hatake Sakumo had clashed more than a dozen times.
"In terms of speed, my Lightning Release still falls short of Teacher's. He still looks completely at ease, and this is already my top speed with Lightning Flicker."
Genma could feel the gap between himself and Hatake Sakumo.
Of course, that wasn't surprising.
He'd used three Setting Value points to modify Lightning Flicker. It was never going to reach the pinnacle of the Ninja World.
As for speed, even if his teacher Hatake Sakumo couldn't match the most powerful Lightning Release ninja, like the Third Raikage or the Fourth Raikage, he wouldn't be far behind.
Genma had previously spent eight Setting Value points to raise his chakra reserves to the level of the One-Tail.
He estimated that bringing his Lightning Release up to the Fourth Raikage's level would probably cost another eight Setting Value points.
His teacher, Hatake Sakumo, was weaker than the Fourth Raikage. In terms of speed, the gap was probably about three Setting Value points.
Of course, that was only a rough estimate.
Having gauged the difference between their Lightning Release speeds, Genma immediately changed positions.
Little Amenotejikara! Activated!
Boom!
The ground exploded, dust billowed, and electricity shot in every direction.
For the first time, Hatake Sakumo dodged. He also created two Shadow Clones, and the three of them formed a defensive formation, standing back-to-back.
Genma kept using the Substitution Technique, launching lightning-fast attacks from every angle.
"Genma's gotten even faster!"
Yamashiro Aoba cried out. He and Shizune stared wide-eyed.
They could make out their teacher Hatake Sakumo's figure now, but still couldn't see Genma. All they could see was blue lightning flashing around Sakumo as explosions rang out.
One against three!
With the help of his two Shadow Clones, Hatake Sakumo blocked Genma's terrifying, high-frequency attacks from every direction.
"As expected of you, Teacher!"
Genma abruptly stopped. A cloud of smoke rose, and a large number of Shadow Clones appeared, surrounding his teacher, Hatake Sakumo.
The instant he saw his student create clones, Hatake Sakumo sensed trouble. All three figures charged at once.
But the next moment, the three Hatake Sakumos were forcibly switched with Genma's Shadow Clones.
Each Hatake Sakumo now faced several of Genma's Shadow Clones.
Yamashiro Aoba gaped. "Th-that Substitution Technique is a space-time technique, isn't it?"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
All three Hatake Sakumos burst into clouds of smoke.
Shizune cried out, "They were all clones!"
Genma wasn't surprised. He'd already sensed something was wrong.
The ground shook, and walls rose up around him, enclosing him and his Shadow Clones on three sides.
The opening faced the three Hatake Sakumos.
One was crouched down, using Earth Release. The other two had already prepared their jutsu.
Once the stone walls had risen, one used Wind Release and the other Fire Release. The wind fanned the flames, sending a roaring sea of fire surging through the opening.
The flames blazed everywhere, sealing the opening and covering the sky above the area surrounded by the stone walls.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
One after another, Genma's Shadow Clones burst apart.
The area inside the walls was engulfed in flames, but Genma had already leaped over them and appeared in the air.
Hatake Sakumo appeared right behind him, off to one side.
Swish!
Genma switched positions with Hatake Sakumo.
Bang!
Hatake Sakumo was kicked flying by Genma. The moment he hit the ground, he burst into a cloud of smoke.
A clone.
Genma saw that the other two versions of his teacher had already prepared their jutsu.
Clearly, they knew that the only way to deal with him was to attack over a wide area.
His repositioning range was limited.
At first, it had only been three meters. As the output of his chakra increased, the distance had gradually grown.
But even now, his maximum range was only fifteen meters.
Just now, Hatake Sakumo had blocked off his field of vision with three walls, then attacked with a large-scale combination of Wind Release and Fire Release.
Unfortunately, the flames overhead weren't thick enough. And while they obstructed his vision, they couldn't seal him off completely like the walls could, allowing Genma to escape with the Substitution Technique and reach the air.
Hatake Sakumo had realized this too. So he'd prepared another clone to hold Genma back and launch a second large-scale attack.
But Genma was faster.
He flashed and shifted positions repeatedly in midair, appearing behind the two Hatake Sakumos in the blink of an eye. Before they could release their jutsu, he pressed a knife hand and a Kunai to the smalls of their backs.
"Teacher..."
Genma was about to call an end to the fight when the two Hatake Sakumos transformed into lightning and surged across his body.
The foreign current coursed through him. Even though his own body was being activated by Lightning Release chakra, he couldn't help but go numb, unable to move his chakra.
He'd lost!
Genma realized it and smiled bitterly to himself. He'd celebrated too soon.
He hadn't expected both of them to be clones—clones pretending to be the real thing, serving as bait and traps.
At that moment, the gap in their combat experience became clear.
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