The White Fang's Strength

A silver-dragon waterfall poured down with rumbling crashes, mist spreading throughout the valley.

On a wooden post, a bare-chested youth wearing weights watched the incoming logs with a grave expression. He darted and twisted between them, agile as a monkey. Though his muscles were not particularly pronounced, they possessed a striking sense of strength.

It had been more than two months since Ryōken came to this valley. Through daily training at the limits of his endurance, his chakra control had steadily improved. As a result, he returned to the cabin covered in bruises every day.

Fortunately, Tenacity's recovery effect was no joke. Hatake Sakumo found it quite astonishing, but merely assumed that Ryōken had an exceptional physique suited for intense taijutsu training.

Such physiques were not uncommon in the Naruto World. People like Might Guy and Rock Lee basically pushed themselves to their limits every day, yet their bodies never seemed to break down. They could be considered geniuses in taijutsu.

Therefore, though Hatake Sakumo was somewhat surprised, he did not connect it to anything else. He simply assumed that Ryōken's talent was naturally this powerful.

Hatake Sakumo sat cross-legged atop a tree trunk, leisurely watching Ryōken. The task of controlling the wooden posts had naturally been handed over to a Shadow Clone.

Watching Ryōken nimbly evade the gaps between fourteen wooden posts, he narrowed his eyes and nodded. With a thought, another wooden post whistled through the air and smashed fiercely toward Ryōken.

A sudden tearing sound cut through the air. The sharp force made Ryōken suck in a breath, and the escape route he had spotted was instantly blocked.

Ryōken narrowed his eyes, then suddenly opened them. A sharp gleam flashed within, and the encircling wooden posts immediately slowed down. A perfect route of escape appeared before his eyes.

He tapped a wooden post with the tip of his foot, chakra coating the sole and eliminating the proper amount of adhesion. He was about to dart out, the chakra beneath his feet constantly shifting in preparation for any change.

Over the past two months, whenever a new wooden post was added, he would activate the Duelist Eye, adapt to it for a while, then deactivate it. Through constant training, he had already grasped the rhythm.

"Quite a nice Bloodline Limit. But what about this?"

Seeing Ryōken's confident expression, Hatake Sakumo could not help but smile. The flying wooden posts suddenly accelerated, their speeds becoming erratic and uneven. Ryōken's expression changed at the unexpected development.

Fortunately, after two months of training, all aspects of his physical abilities had improved considerably. He had barely reached the level of an elite Chunin.

But that was still not enough to evade these suddenly accelerating wooden posts.

Feeling the force drawing closer and closer, Ryōken slowly exhaled. His eyelids lowered slightly as Sword Intent, confined within three meters around him, burst forth and filled the space.

The incoming force stirred the Sword Intent. His body moved with his mind, and with his eyes closed, Ryōken twisted and darted between the wooden posts, somehow evading every one of them.

From atop the tree trunk, Hatake Sakumo saw the surging Sword Intent confined within such a small range. His eyes brightened slightly in surprise. "Has his control over Sword Intent already become this refined?"

"What incredible talent."

After dodging every wooden post, Ryōken used chakra to cancel out the slippery surface beneath his feet. He pushed off with his toes and landed lightly on the ground, standing firm.

He grabbed the clothes lying on the ground and pulled them on in one motion, then stood there calmly, looking rather pleased with himself.

"So amazing."

At that moment, Hiwa Hyuga, who had been watching from the side for quite some time, suddenly skipped over. Carrying a food container in her hand, she handed it to Ryōken with a bright smile. "Eat up. I prepared this especially for you."

Ryōken could not help but smile helplessly. Ever since Hiwa had discovered him returning home covered in bruises more than half a month ago and anxiously asked what had happened, she had come every day without fail to watch him train and bring him food.

She could watch Ryōken jump around for an entire afternoon, occasionally letting out cries of surprise and admiration, never finding it boring in the slightest.

Naturally, Ryōken could not chase her away. Having a girl around made the tedious training a little more interesting. Of course he had no objections, especially when there was delicious food involved.

After wolfing down every last dish, Ryōken raised his right hand and gave her a thumbs-up. "Hiwa, your cooking has improved a lot."

At that, Hiwa Hyuga's little face reddened slightly. Lowering her head, she murmured softly, "As long as you like it."

"Ahem. Though I really do not want to interrupt you two lovebirds, I still have to say this. The wooden post training is about finished. Next comes the second stage of training."

Hatake Sakumo glanced in another direction, looking somewhat awkward.

Hiwa Hyuga's face immediately turned crimson, the flush spreading all the way to the base of her neck. She lowered her head and did not dare say a word.

Ryōken smiled helplessly and looked at Hatake Sakumo rather speechlessly.

Hatake Sakumo waved his hand, putting away his teasing expression and turning serious. "This wooden post training no longer has much meaning for you now that you can finely control your Sword Intent."

"And after this month of training, your body is strong enough for the next stage of training."

As he spoke, he took a small bottle from his ninja tool pouch. It contained a blazing white liquid that flickered with tiny arcs of electricity. Only then did he continue.

"This is a secret medicine unique to the Hatake Clan. It can greatly speed up the second stage of training."

Seeing Ryōken's eager expression, Hatake Sakumo smiled. "But before that, do you want to witness the strength of a true powerhouse?"

Ryōken's eyes immediately lit up, and he nodded like a pecking chicken.

"Watch carefully. This is the move I will teach you next."

With a faint smile, Hatake Sakumo drew White Fang. With a push from his feet, he flashed to the edge of the lake. Looking up at the silver-dragon waterfall, he slowly exhaled.

His eyes narrowed. A moment later, they snapped open. An utterly terrifying aura Ryōken had never experienced before erupted from him, like a heavenly blade bursting forth in fury. The clouds overhead split down the middle in an instant.

It was as though an invisible blade had cleaved heaven and earth in two.

Ryōken and Hiwa Hyuga stared at the sight in utter shock, too stunned to speak. Hatake Sakumo was completely different from his usual lazy, indifferent self.

At that moment, he was like a chilling blade gleam released from its sheath. The sharpness of his aura made him almost impossible to look at directly.

"Is this the strength of the White Fang of Konoha, whose name shook the ninja world?"

Hiwa Hyuga's little mouth hung open in disbelief. Even the strongest person she had ever seen, the head of the Hyuga Clan, seemed utterly insignificant before this aura.

"This is a true powerhouse. Tsuki Uchiha is not worth mentioning at all." Ryōken finally murmured softly. His eyes instantly burned with heat, even a touch of fanaticism. He believed that one day, he too would reach this level—perhaps even surpass it.

Above the lake, Hatake Sakumo raised White Fang in his hand, a deep longing flashing through his eyes.

Then he returned to calmness. White Fang suddenly lit up with a dazzling white glow, and the surrounding space trembled, becoming somewhat blurred.

Gripping the radiant White Fang tightly, Hatake Sakumo let out a low shout. His body moved abruptly, and in an instant he was in the middle of the lake. The afterimage he had left behind only slowly faded away.

Watching Hatake Sakumo's astonishing speed, Ryōken was speechless for a long while. A speed achieved through the body alone could actually be this terrifying.

Hatake Sakumo's seemingly thin and insignificant figure stood before the massive hanging waterfall. He appeared extremely small, yet that tiny figure exuded an aura even more terrifying than the waterfall itself.

Hatake Sakumo calmly raised his head, then suddenly lifted White Fang. His figure flashed, and in the blink of an eye he reached the middle of the waterfall and slashed.

A dazzling radiance erupted, transforming into a massive streak of white light that cleaved forth in fury. The air was torn apart, and faint, tiny black cracks could even be seen, sending chills through the heart.

The blade-shaped white gleam flashed into existence and swept past like lightning, striking heavily against the rushing waterfall.

Without a sound, the plunging waterfall was split in two. The slash passed through it as though nothing stood in its way, continuing onward and leaving a bottomless blade mark in the hard mountain rock.

Only then did shattered rocks begin to fall, their rumbling crashes echoing through the valley.

The massive waterfall that had been rushing downward was actually unable to reconnect for a time. At the severed point, it was as though some indescribable thing stood there like a natural barrier. Even tens of thousands of tons of water could do nothing against it.

Staring wide-eyed at the severed waterfall, Ryōken froze for a moment. He could not help but take a deep breath and shake his head, feeling slightly dizzy.

"Sure enough, before sufficient strength, even the power of nature is not enough."

The waterfall remained halted for more than ten seconds before roaring down again, burying everything that had come before. The bottomless blade mark could no longer be seen.

"So this is the strength of a Kage-level powerhouse?"

Ryōken felt a tightness in his chest.

Hatake Sakumo slowly descended from midair with a faint smile.

At that moment, several ANBU ninja suddenly appeared. Upon seeing Hatake Sakumo, they immediately relaxed and looked at him respectfully, speaking in unison.

"Lord White Fang!"

With the White Fang of Konoha present, there could be no danger. They had always believed that without doubt.

Hatake Sakumo waved his hand, and they immediately flashed away without hesitation.

Then he looked at Ryōken with a smile. "Do you want to learn it?"