All Geniuses

The duel began! Two figures collided rapidly.

Sakumo appeared in the backyard at the perfect moment, leaning against the doorway and watching the two with a smile.

"Pay attention! The most important thing in this sparring match is to identify your own strengths and weaknesses; winning or losing isn't actually that important."

The two nodded in agreement, then immediately tangled together again.

They tacitly chose not to use kunai to probe each other's defenses.

One reason was that they knew each other well enough that there was no need for such testing.

The second was that they had full confidence in the other's strength, believing that a kunai would not put any real pressure on their opponent.

Thus, as soon as the battle started, it became an intense bout of taijutsu.

Kakashi took the initiative, his feet tracing a treacherous, unpredictable path as he rapidly closed the distance with Lihuo.

However, thanks to his "Physical Enhancement" and "Yin-Style Chakra Amplification," Lihuo's dynamic vision and reaction speed were vastly different from what they had been a month ago.

"Your footwork is useless before these eyes."

Hearing this, Kakashi changed his tactics again, his steps becoming even more erratic and unorthodox, yet his forward speed remained unchanged.

"You haven't even opened your eyes yet, so don't go spouting such big talk."

Seeing this, Sakumo smiled.

"Reverse Hatake Movement Technique—Kakashi really dares to dream."

Seeing that he couldn't see through Kakashi's footwork, Lihuo didn't intend to sit and wait for his defeat. He stomped his foot, causing the floor to crack slightly, and charged straight at Kakashi with incredible speed.

Kakashi twisted his body, using the force of the rotation to kick horizontally at Lihuo, who blocked the attack with his arm.

"Soft and weak. Now it's my turn!"

With that, Lihuo threw a punch at Kakashi's face. Watching the fist grow infinitely large in his vision, Kakashi realized that this blow was dangerous!

He tried to intercept it with his palm, but he couldn't withstand the immense power contained in the punch at all. He was sent flying instantly, rolling twice on the ground before barely coming to a stop.

Yet everyone present understood that Lihuo's punch hadn't truly landed. Despite the shocking power, Kakashi had managed to dissipate most of the force through his series of movements.

To Lihuo, it felt as if he had punched a pile of cotton.

"Lihuo, your Strength of a Hundred has gotten even stronger."

"You don't even have to ask!"

Without giving Kakashi a moment to catch his breath, Lihuo surged forward, his right fist raised high. Shockingly, his fist was wreathed in pale blue, high-density chakra!

"You'd better dodge this!" Despite his words, Lihuo showed no mercy, swinging his fist violently at Kakashi.

"Too slow!" Kakashi flipped to the side, narrowly dodging Lihuo's attack.

Bang! To the surprise of the Hatake father and son, Kakashi, who had just dodged the attack, fell to the ground in pain.

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

Sakumo was also slightly taken aback, but then his expression turned to one of realization. "Little Lihuo gathered chakra around his palm, extending the attack range of his hand."

"Even though his strike missed you, you were still hit by the chakra surrounding his hand."

Lihuo secretly marveled at Sakumo's sharp insight while feeling delighted by the success of the strike.

It seemed his idea of combining the Strength of a Hundred with Frog Kumite (referencing Naruto's Sage Mode) was correct; replacing natural energy with chakra could produce the same effect!

Kakashi stood up, looking a bit disheveled, and brushed the dust off his clothes.

"I'm going to get serious now."

Kakashi flicked his right hand near his ninja tool pouch, and a kunai appeared smoothly in his grip.

Lihuo could feel it—Kakashi's aura had changed! It was as if he wasn't holding a kunai, but a sharp short blade.

Hatake Sword Technique!

In an instant, Kakashi launched a fierce assault. Lihuo also drew his kunai, his eyes darting rapidly as he tried to track every one of Kakashi's strikes.

The two traded blows, locked in a stalemate. Although Lihuo was struggling to parry, he managed to defend against Kakashi's attacks time and again.

Finally, Kakashi raised his kunai and slashed forward with such speed that even Sakumo was slightly surprised.

Lihuo clearly realized Kakashi's intent and hurriedly raised his hand to parry, but Kakashi suddenly changed his move. The kunai in his hand moved like a swimming dragon, bypassing Lihuo's defense and striking his lower leg.

Lihuo instantly lost his balance and fell to the ground, rolling away before Kakashi could follow up.

Through this intense confrontation, both knew that their taijutsu was evenly matched. Next would be a battle of ninjutsu!

Kakashi leaped backward rapidly, putting every ounce of effort into creating distance between himself and Lihuo, not forgetting to weave hand signs as he retreated.

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

Then, he learned the answer.

Lihuo didn't bother with hand signs at all, using his immense speed to constantly close the gap with Kakashi.

When only a few paces remained between them, Lihuo spread his hand, and a pale blue sphere of chakra formed instantly.

Even Sakumo, standing far away, could feel the destructive power of this technique.

Just as Lihuo's Rasengan was about to strike Kakashi, Kakashi finally finished his hand seals.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!" Kakashi roared. An earthen wall rapidly rose from the ground; although it lacked the dog-head carvings seen in the original work, it still successfully blocked Lihuo's path of attack.

Bang! Following the sound of the earth wall crumbling, Lihuo stood before Kakashi.

"I concede. His seal-less ninjutsu is too fast," Kakashi said helplessly.

Sakumo stepped forward, brushed the dust off the two of them, and offered his critique.

"Kakashi, your swordsmanship has improved significantly, but you focus too much on technique and neglect your physical conditioning. You must diligently practice the body-tempering method I taught you, and as for your ninjutsu, you need to increase your hand-seal speed."

Kakashi nodded in agreement.

"Little Lihuo is truly a rare genius. Excellent chakra control, superb chakra application, and even a self-created seal-less ninjutsu—these are things many people cannot achieve in a lifetime."

Upon hearing this, Lihuo felt a bit embarrassed by the praise.

"However, if you want to take it a step further, you might consider the seamless integration of your body and chakra."

"I noticed while watching you fight that whenever a strike fails, you require a momentary pause before launching the next. You may not realize that this split-second pause often exposes a fatal opening. If you can make your attacks flow continuously, I believe it will be of great benefit to you."

Lihuo understood what Sakumo meant; he was essentially telling him to cancel his post-attack recovery frames with basic attacks.

After the critique, both Kakashi and Lihuo had gained a great deal. One had to realize that not everyone had the opportunity to receive patient guidance from an elite jonin.

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

"Little Lihuo, I recall that the ninjutsu you created is a seal-less one, correct?"

"That's right, Uncle."

"I happen to know a junior who is also researching seal-less ninjutsu. I think you two should have a chance to exchange ideas."

Lihuo's heart skipped a beat. Who else could be developing seal-less ninjutsu at this point in time!

Yet, Lihuo still put on a look of curiosity.

"Uncle, who is this junior you're talking about?"

"He is the student of an old friend of mine, and like you, he is also a genius."

"That sounds great, Uncle. Just let me know when he is available, and I will definitely come."

"Oh, right, I haven't asked yet—what is his name?"

"Minato Namikaze."