Training Match Between Two People

In the forest, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Several shuriken flew through the air. Shota followed close behind, raising a kunai as he stabbed at Su Zheng, who stood atop a tree trunk.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Su Zheng swiftly deflected the incoming shuriken, twisted aside to evade the stabbing kunai, and kicked at Shota before the blade could graze him.

Bang!

Shota's body landed on the ground and turned into a broken log.

Fire Style: Water Whip!

Shota emerged from another direction. The stream of water he spat out quickly transformed into a blue rope that wrapped around Su Zheng's body.

"Hehe, got you! I knew your reactions were fast, so I used the Substitution Technique as a feint. That's my strategy. What do you think?"

"Not bad. Your reactions may not match mine, but your tactics are excellent." Su Zheng's arms bulged as he tried to break free through brute force.

"Don't waste your strength. I've practiced this technique for a long time. I've tested it—even black bears can't break free, let alone—"

Before Shota could finish, Su Zheng's body had already dissolved into a splash of water.

"That's impossible. A Zheng can already use a Water Clone on flat ground? Has his Water Style become this strong?"

"No! He must have used the Water Clone before entering the forest! What a great strategy!"

There was no time for amazement. Shota quickly pulled out several Smoke Bombs and threw them.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Purple smoke billowed up and obscured the area as Shota hid himself again.

"Shota, I have to admit it—you've improved. Then I should get serious too!"

Su Zheng's voice drifted over from nowhere, making it impossible to tell where he was.

After a long while, the smoke dispersed. There was no sign of anyone, so Shota could only search slowly.

Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!

More than a dozen fireballs fell from the sky and ignited around Shota.

So Su Zheng had been hiding at the top of the tree. No wonder Shota could not sense him.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The flames rapidly spread into the bushes beside Shota, sending smoke and dust into the air.

Shota had no choice but to reveal himself and flee the area.

"Got you!" Su Zheng spat out several more fireballs and immediately gave chase.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The fireballs continuously exploded beside Shota. Shota dodged while throwing kunai in counterattack.

Su Zheng knocked aside the incoming kunai and drew closer and closer. Just as he was about to touch Shota, Shota suddenly turned around with a Flash Bomb in hand and a smug smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Hah!"

A burst of intense white light flashed out, blinding them both.

Earth Style: Mud Swamp!

A muddy swamp rose up, engulfing the area covered by the blinding light and slowly sinking downward.

"Got him!" Shota emerged from the burning bushes, looking excited.

The one who had escaped the ring of fire had only been an Earth Substitution. Shota's real body had remained hidden there, waiting for Su Zheng to reveal himself.

Shota excitedly walked toward the swamp, but where was Su Zheng? Just like him, it was only an Earth Substitution!

Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!

A hand stretched out from the ground and pinned Shota in the earth, leaving him unable to move.

Shota gave a bitter smile. He had indeed been one move short.

Su Zheng clapped his hands and emerged from the earth. Looking at Shota, his eyes were full of praise.

"Not bad, not bad. You knew how to use tactics to confuse your enemy, and you avoided close combat to make up for your slow reactions. That was great!"

Shota smiled helplessly and retorted, "You're way too cautious. You used substitutions for everything!"

"Can't be helped. You were even more cautious. You used smoke and flash bombs to look for an opening so you could avoid close-quarters combat. I could only use substitutions to lure you out!"

Shota curled his lips and said helplessly, "Why don't you pull me out already?"

The two used Water Style to put out the burning flames, then sat in the trees.

Shota asked, "When did you learn Fire Style? You never even told me!"

Su Zheng said mysteriously, "How could I tell you that? You always need to keep a trump card! If I told you everything, wouldn't that mean I had no way out?"

Shota rolled his eyes. Yeah, right. You can only fool your own people with that.

"Then let me ask you this. What if your opponent uses substitutions repeatedly during battle?" Shota posed a question.

Su Zheng thought seriously for a moment before answering, "There are two situations. First, if you can sense whether the opponent is the real body, then you can use your tactics to distract the enemy before attacking."

"Second, if you can't tell whether the opponent is the real body: if you can kill them in one strike, then there's no need for tactical substitutions. Otherwise, you can only keep using substitutions to drain their Chakra and search for an opening!"

"Still, it's best to hold something back in battle. Use more substitutions. When you don't understand your opponent's strength, it helps you avoid getting instantly killed!"

Shota nodded deeply in agreement and analyzed, "Back in Yubu Town, that Chunin had a good grasp of our fighting rhythm. Close combat was risky, so he always interrupted us whenever we used Ninjutsu. It was especially annoying!"

"Mm, that's the difference between Chunin and Genin. Even if team formations can make up for differences in combat power, their battle experience absolutely crushes ours. They only lost because they underestimated us!"

"By the way, how has Maki been treating you since then?" Su Zheng asked curiously.

At the mention of that, Shota looked rather pleased. "Heh, I have to say, Maki has been much nicer to me since then."

"I may not be as handsome as you, but I'm loved too." He smoothed back his hair, looking rather full of himself.

Su Zheng rolled his eyes speechlessly. There really was no comparison there. Maki and Shota had grown up together; their bond could not be compared.

For some reason, Su Zheng thought of Konan and Haruna. He hurriedly shook his head. He was still young.

He still had a great dream to achieve. Before gaining great power, he should not think about such things.

As for later, Konan, Haruna, and the women of the Five Great Nations—none of them would escape!

Su Zheng revealed an evil smile.

"That's about enough. Let's head back!"

"Oh, right. These are the Ninjutsu Scrolls I borrowed today. Take them and learn from them!" Su Zheng took out the Ninjutsu Scrolls and handed them to Shota.

"Okay!"

Shota did not stand on ceremony. Most of the Ninjutsu he had used before had been given to him by A Zheng. Their Jonin instructor had gone to the battlefield and had little time to teach them, so they were told to study on their own. Thanks to the privileges of being Hanzo's nephew, Shota and Maki could quickly learn Ninjutsu without having to work hard on missions to exchange for it.

The two cleaned up the area and collected the shuriken and kunai they had used.

The two groups went their separate ways. Su Zheng took Konan and Haruna home.

Sand Ninja rear camp.

The poisoned Sand Ninja had all been gathered in the same area. The medics were doing their best to treat them, but Hanzo's poison was potent and took effect quickly. Quite a few Sand Ninja had already turned black and blue all over and developed high fevers. This meant the poison had invaded vital areas.

"Lady Chiyo, many people have fallen unconscious from the poison. Please act quickly!" A medic outside the tent said anxiously.

"What are you panicking for? Have the medical ninja stop their bleeding first. Carry the two most seriously injured into the surgical tent, and bring the prepared medicine as well."

"Then order the first and second squads to stay alert for the Rain ninjas and wait for our reinforcements. Report immediately if anything happens."

"Yes." The medical ninja hurried off to make preparations.

Inside the tent, Chiyo first put away the puppet she had brought back. She stopped the bleeding from her own wounds, wrapped them in bandages, and headed to the operating room after finishing up.

The Chunin on the left had a swollen body and strangely red skin. There were no obvious wounds on him, so he had likely inhaled poisonous smoke.

The poisoned ninja on the right was different. He had been wounded by a sharp weapon, and the injury had already festered. A foul stench drifted from it. This was poison smeared on the weapon.

Now that she understood how they had been poisoned, Chiyo had a direction to work with. She was an expert in poison, and her Medical Ninjutsu was equally superb, so she naturally understood how to prepare antidotes.

After testing more than a dozen formulas, she finally created an antidote. This greatly reduced the difficulty of the rescue effort.

On the road, Konan and Haruna kept glancing at Su Zheng with smiling eyes, yet neither said anything.

Su Zheng found it strange. "What is it? Is something funny?"

"No, no." The two answered in unison. They exchanged a glance, then thought of Brother Zheng's embarrassing moment and laughed even harder.

Su Zheng asked helplessly, "What do you want for dinner? Shall we go buy something?"

"I want grilled fish. A huge grilled fish!"

"Me too, me too!"

"Alright~" Su Zheng looked at them fondly as the setting sun stretched their shadows endlessly long.