They Were All Geniuses

The match began! The two figures quickly collided.

Sakumo appeared in the backyard at just the right moment, leaning against the doorway as he watched them with a smile.

"Pay attention! The most important thing about this match is figuring out your strengths and weaknesses. Winning or losing isn't that important."

The two nodded, then quickly clashed again.

Neither of them used kunai to probe the other's defenses.

First, they knew each other well enough that there was no need to test one another with kunai.

Second, they had complete confidence in each other's abilities and knew that kunai wouldn't put any pressure on their opponent.

And so, as soon as the fight began, it launched straight into the fiercest kind of Taijutsu battle.

Kakashi made the first move, closing the distance to Lihuo with swift, unpredictable footwork.

But thanks to his enhanced physical abilities and the boost from Yin Release Chakra, Lihuo's dynamic vision and reflexes were worlds apart from what they'd been a month ago.

"Your footwork is useless against these eyes."

At that, Kakashi changed things up again. His steps became even more erratic and irregular, yet his speed didn't diminish at all.

"Your eyes haven't even opened yet. Don't talk big."

Sakumo smiled at the sight.

"The Reverse Hatake Movement Technique? Kakashi's got some nerve trying that."

Unable to see through Kakashi's footwork, Lihuo refused to sit back and wait. He stamped down, cracking the floor slightly, then charged straight at Kakashi at incredible speed.

Kakashi twisted his body and used the momentum of his spin to kick at Lihuo. Lihuo raised an arm to block the attack.

"That was weak. My turn!"

With that, Lihuo quickly swung a punch at Kakashi's face. Watching the fist grow larger and larger before him, Kakashi knew it was dangerous!

He tried to intercept it with his palm, but couldn't withstand the immense force behind the punch. He was sent flying and tumbled across the ground twice before finally coming to a stop.

But everyone present knew that Lihuo's punch hadn't actually landed. Though its force had been astonishing, Kakashi had shed most of it through a series of movements.

To Lihuo, it felt as if he'd punched a cushion.

"Lihuo, your monstrous strength has gotten even stronger."

"Of course!"

Without giving Kakashi a moment to catch his breath, Lihuo quickly closed in. He raised his right fist high, and to everyone's astonishment, a dense concentration of pale blue chakra swirled around it!

"Make sure you dodge this!" Lihuo said, but he showed no sign of holding back as he swung a punch at Kakashi.

"Too slow!" Kakashi twisted sideways and flipped, narrowly dodging Lihuo's attack.

Bam! To the Hatake father and son's surprise, Kakashi—who had just dodged Lihuo's attack—crumpled to the ground in pain.

"How? I clearly dodged your attack!" Kakashi looked stunned.

Sakumo was also taken aback for a moment, then showed that he understood. "Little Lihuo gathered chakra around his palm, extending the range of his attack."

"Even though you dodged his punch, you were still hit by the chakra around his hand."

Lihuo marveled at Sakumo's keen eye, while also feeling pleased with the result of his attack.

It seemed his idea of combining the Strength of a Hundred with Frog Kumite—the technique Naruto used in Sage Mode—was right. Replacing Natural Energy with chakra could produce the same effect!

Kakashi got to his feet, looking a little worse for wear, and brushed the dust off his clothes.

"I'm going to get serious now."

Kakashi casually swept his right hand near his ninja pouch, and a kunai slipped smoothly into his grasp.

Lihuo could sense that Kakashi's presence had changed! The kunai in his hand seemed less like a kunai and more like a sharp short sword.

Hatake Sword Technique!

In an instant, Kakashi launched a fierce attack. Lihuo drew a kunai of his own, his eyes darting rapidly as he tried to follow Kakashi's every move.

The two traded blows, locked in an even struggle. Lihuo was hard-pressed to defend himself, but managed to fend off each of Kakashi's attacks by the skin of his teeth.

At last, Kakashi raised his kunai and slashed forward. He was so fast that even Sakumo looked surprised.

Lihuo clearly caught on to what Kakashi was planning and quickly raised his arm to block. But Kakashi suddenly changed his move. His kunai darted like a swimming dragon, slipping around Lihuo's guard to strike at his shin.

Lihuo immediately lost his balance and fell, rolling away before Kakashi could press his advantage.

After that intense exchange, both of them knew their Taijutsu was evenly matched. Next came the battle of ninjutsu!

Kakashi quickly leaped back, putting as much distance between himself and Lihuo as he could. Even as he retreated, he swiftly formed Hand Seals.

Sakumo couldn't help wondering, "Why is Kakashi trying so desperately to put distance between himself and Lihuo?"

Then he found out.

Lihuo didn't form any Hand Seals at all. He used his incredible speed to keep closing the distance to Kakashi.

When only a few paces separated them, Lihuo spread his hand, and a pale blue ball of chakra formed in an instant.

Even Sakumo, watching from far away, could feel the jutsu's tremendous destructive power.

Just as Lihuo's Rasengan was about to hit Kakashi, Kakashi finally finished forming his Hand Seals.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!" Kakashi roared. An Earth Style Wall surged up from the ground. It lacked the carved dog-head decorations it had in the original story, but it still blocked Lihuo's path of attack.

Crash! As the Earth Style Wall crumbled, Lihuo stood before Kakashi.

"I give up. His jutsu without Hand Seals is too fast," Kakashi said helplessly.

Sakumo came over and brushed the dirt off both of them before offering his critique.

"Kakashi, your swordsmanship has improved a lot, but you're too focused on technique and neglecting your physical conditioning. You need to work hard on the body-tempering method I taught you. As for ninjutsu, you need to get faster at forming Hand Seals."

Kakashi nodded in agreement.

"Little Lihuo truly is a once-in-a-generation genius. His chakra control is excellent, his use of chakra is impressive, and he's even developed a jutsu without Hand Seals. Most people could never accomplish any of those things in their entire lives."

Hearing this, Lihuo actually felt a little embarrassed by the praise.

"However, if you want to improve further, you should think about coordinating your body with your chakra."

"Watching you fight, I noticed that when an attack misses, you often pause for a moment before launching the next one. You may not realize it, but that brief pause can leave you with a fatal opening. If you can make your attacks flow together, I think it'll help you a lot."

Lihuo understood what Sakumo meant: he needed to use basic attacks to cancel his recovery time as much as possible.

After Sakumo's advice, both Kakashi and Lihuo had gained a lot. After all, not everyone got the chance to receive patient guidance from an elite Jonin.

After chatting for a while, Lihuo prepared to leave. Sakumo called out to him.

"Little Lihuo, if I remember correctly, the jutsu you developed is one that doesn't require Hand Seals, right?"

"That's right, Uncle."

"I happen to know a younger shinobi who's also studying how to use jutsu without Hand Seals. I think the two of you could share ideas sometime."

Lihuo's heart jolted. Who else could be developing jutsu without Hand Seals at this point in time?

But he still put on a curious expression.

"Uncle, who's this younger shinobi you're talking about?"

"He's the student of an old friend of mine. Like you, he's a genius."

"Great, Uncle. Just let me know when my senior has time, and I'll definitely come."

"By the way, I haven't asked his name yet. What is it?"

"Minato Namikaze."