"Although I didn't see what happened just now..."
"But Yugao, this kid seems really strong."
Watching Yu land nearby after taking down Izumo Kamizuki, who was quite capable for a Ninja Academy student, in a single exchange.
Mitaraishi Anko's eyes suddenly lit up with a strange gleam, as if she'd spotted some fascinating new toy.
"Looks like the two of us came all this way for nothing today, Anko-senpai..."
Standing back to back with Mitaraishi Anko, she watched Yu land gracefully before them.
Uzuki Yugao gave a faint, wry smile, but a glimmer of admiration flashed in her wide eyes.
"Watch out behind you!!"
But the next second, as if she'd sensed something,
Uzuki Yugao's expression changed, and she suddenly warned Yu.
"You're getting too cocky, brat."
But just as Uzuki Yugao's voice rang out, a sinister voice sounded from behind Yu.
It was Gekko Hayate. After seeing Yu take down Izumo Kamizuki in an instant, the future Special Jōnin of Konoha had somehow appeared behind Yu without a sound.
Konoha Style: Dance of Sun and Moon!!
Seeing the white-haired child's unbelievable ability,
Gekko Hayate instantly drew the sword strapped to his back and brought it down on Yu in a flash of razor-sharp light!
It was a deadly sword technique from the Konoha Style, combining the samurai's quick-draw strike.
Though he hadn't yet reached the level of using the Shadow Clone Technique to perform the Dance of the Crescent Moon, as he did in the original story,
the fact that Gekko Hayate could use such a Konoha Style technique while still at the Ninja Academy showed that his talent and ability were no ordinary matter.
"Already close to Genin level..."
Seeing Gekko Hayate silently sneak up behind him and unleash such a fierce Konoha Style technique,
Yu's calm expression barely changed. He activated the power of the String-String Fruit within him, turned around, and casually swung his hand.
Clang!!
A crisp metallic clash rang out.
Gekko Hayate, whose sharp sword had just struck, widened his eyes.
"String?!"
"It actually... stopped my sword?!"
A hair-thin strand had appeared from Yu's outstretched hand, holding back the incredibly sharp blade in Gekko Hayate's grip!
"Your moves... are too slow!"
After stopping Gekko Hayate's downward strike with the string he'd created,
a sharp glint flashed in Yu's clear, amber eyes.
No good!!
Noticing the light in Yu's eyes, Gekko Hayate's heart jolted. But his body was as if encased in cement; he couldn't react in time.
"Shadow Leaf Dance!!"
Yu, standing in front of Gekko Hayate, gave a low shout.
He dropped his body low, then whipped his right leg up, sending a fierce gust of wind through the air!
"Thud!!"
A dull, heavy impact rang out.
To everyone's horror, Yu's powerful kick struck Gekko Hayate squarely on the chin!
The force of Yu's kick lifted him clean off the ground. Gekko Hayate shot up a full meter, and with a loud thump, his mind went blank.
In the blink of an eye, he flew sideways like a kite with its string cut and crashed hard onto the ground not far away.
"One move?!"
"He took Hayate down in a single move?!"
"How old is that kid? Is he some kind of monster?!"
Seeing Yu send Gekko Hayate flying with one move, even though Hayate was about as strong as Anko at the Ninja Academy,
Mitaraishi Anko's mouth fell open slightly, her shock plain to see.
"Hayate was beaten by him..."
Uzuki Yugao was stunned too. As his childhood friend, she knew Gekko Hayate's strength better than anyone.
If Gekko Hayate, who'd used the Konoha Style sword technique, Dance of Sun and Moon, had been sent flying by a single strike from Yu, just how strong was this white-haired boy who looked only five or six years old?
"Hayate!!"
He had watched Yu take down Izumo Kamizuki in an instant.
Now even Gekko Hayate, who was stronger, had been kicked flying.
Kotetsu Hagane, standing nearby, was utterly shocked.
"Damn it! What's going on?"
"My body... why can't I move?!"
He was about to pull out a kunai and charge, but the next second, Kotetsu Hagane felt his body go numb.
Then, to his horror, he realized that no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't move at all!
"Did I hit a pressure point? Guess I got lucky..."
A playful voice rang out.
Kotetsu Hagane, frozen in place, stared in terror.
Yu was suddenly standing right in front of him, one fist growing larger and larger before his eyes.
"Thud!!"
Kotetsu Hagane didn't even get a chance to cry out before Yu knocked him unconscious with a single punch.
This technique was called Rabbit Hair Needle. Yu coated fine strings with chakra and fired them like needles, striking the opponent's network of meridians and stopping them from moving.
He had developed the technique in his spare time, inspired by one of Kaguya Otsutsuki's moves from the original story.
The only difference was that Kaguya Otsutsuki used her hair, while Yu used fine strings.
And because he didn't have the Byakugan, Yu could only rely on his knowledge of the human body to aim the technique.
In truth, the odds of accurately hitting a target's meridians and pressure points weren't very high. That was why Yu had made that remark just now.
Everything fell silent.
It was already dusk.
Looking at Gekko Hayate and Kotetsu Hagane lying unconscious on the ground,
and Izumo Kamizuki sitting nearby, clutching his shin with both hands and too afraid to make a sound,
only Itachi, Pineapple-head Boy, and the two girls standing back to back—Uzuki Yugao and Mitaraishi Anko—were still on their feet.
Everyone had fallen into a deathly silence.
"A... a monster..."
Staring blankly at Yu, who was two or three years younger than he was, Pineapple-head Boy could hardly believe that in just a few seconds,
Yu had taken down the Ninja Academy's upperclassmen, Gekko Hayate, Kotetsu Hagane, and Izumo Kamizuki.
Pineapple-head Boy stood nearby, muttering to himself as if he'd been stunned senseless.
"If I'm not mistaken..."
Looking at Itachi, who stood nearby with a terrified expression, Yu curled his lips in amusement.
"You were just bragging about beating me up. Are you shaking now?"
Yu had noticed Itachi's legs trembling nonstop. It looked as if he might wet himself again.
"A... a monster..."
"How can there be a monster like you?! Don't come any closer!!"
As Yu slowly walked toward him, Itachi's voice trembled uncontrollably.
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