Sparring with Genma

Shiranui Genma looked at Yin Jie's gaze resting on him and smiled somewhat bitterly.

Of course, he would have preferred to spar with Ebisu rather than Yin Jie, but he had no choice.

Yin Jie had already looked his way, and Genma aspired to become an elite jonin. How could he possibly say no at a time like this?

A ninja had to fear no hardship or obstacle and possess the drive to bravely take on challenges in order to steadily improve their strength.

Still, he knew that he was very likely no match for Yin Jie.

After all, the Shiranui Clan possessed an innate talent for sensing danger. Whenever his senses settled on Yin Jie, he would faintly feel a sense of danger.

It was his clan's gift warning him.

No one his age, nor even anyone one or two years older than him, had ever given him such a feeling.

"Yin Jie, please go easy on me!"

Shiranui Genma formed the Seal of Confrontation with Yin Jie, then assumed his stance.

Though he did not want to spar with Yin Jie, now that things had come to this and he knew nothing could change, Shiranui Genma decided to look at it from another angle. He was prepared to personally experience just how strong Yin Jie was to make him feel such danger.

At the same time, he quietly set Yin Jie as the goal he would pursue from now on.

With that thought, Shiranui Genma felt much better, even faintly growing a little excited.

"Genma! Please go easy on me!"

Yin Jie replied with equal courtesy, forming the same Seal of Confrontation as Shiranui Genma.

In the months since returning to the Uchiha Clan and Hidden Leaf Village, Yin Jie had spent plenty of time using his Sharingan to copy taijutsu from Uchiha Fugaku, on top of refining chakra and practicing ninjutsu every day.

Therefore, although he had not had much actual combat experience, he was already not lacking in technique.

As a faint breeze drifted past, Shiranui Genma made the first move. He rushed forward and threw a punch at Yin Jie's chest.

He knew perfectly well that if he did not attack first, he might soon lose even the chance to make a move. And if that happened, how could this be called a sparring match?

His fist cut through the air with force.

This punch represented Shiranui Genma's current peak.

Yet Yin Jie remained exceedingly calm in the face of the attack. Shiranui Genma's movements were crystal clear in his eyes.

As Shiranui Genma's rapidly approaching fist reflected in his pupils, Yin Jie moved.

With a light sidestep, he let the charging Shiranui Genma pass by, then raised his left foot and struck at Genma's shin.

Yin Jie had a clear understanding of his own strength. At most, the force behind this kick would leave Shiranui Genma lightly injured; it would not cause any serious harm.

At the same time, he felt somewhat disappointed. He had thought Shiranui Genma might be able to exchange a few moves with him, but unexpectedly, the other boy was about to be defeated after just one exchange.

However, the next second, Yin Jie's disappointment vanished, replaced by a hint of delight.

As expected of someone with a name in the original story. Signs of their future potential could indeed be seen from childhood.

Having noticed Yin Jie's kicking motion, Shiranui Genma improvised in the nick of time and made an emergency evasive move. He abandoned his balance and lunged forward with all his might, barely clearing Yin Jie's left foot. After landing, he rolled forward twice before barely steadying himself.

Though Shiranui Genma's lunge had looked rather dusty and undignified, he had ultimately avoided Yin Jie's counterattack, preserving his hope of continuing the spar.

Shiranui Genma climbed to his feet, his eyes filled with gravity. After that simple exchange, he had clearly realized the enormous gap between himself and Yin Jie in taijutsu.

But he had no intention of giving up or admitting defeat.

After all, it was only sparring—there was no danger to his life. Fighting someone his own age who was far stronger than him and using the opportunity to improve himself was the right path.

So, after regrouping, Shiranui Genma charged at Yin Jie once more.

This time, he used a weapon: the senbon clenched between his teeth.

Whoosh!

The piercing sound rang out, followed closely by Shiranui Genma's fist. He had predicted how Yin Jie would move to evade the senbon and thrown a punch in that direction beforehand.

However, while it was a good prediction, it ultimately proved useless.

With a crisp smack, Shiranui Genma's fist was firmly blocked by Yin Jie's palm.

Shiranui Genma's pupils constricted. He immediately tried to pull his fist back and evade, but it was already too late.

The moment Yin Jie caught Shiranui Genma's fist, his entire body suddenly exerted force. He first yanked Shiranui Genma fiercely toward himself, forcing his center of gravity upward.

Then, following through, he turned forward and drove in with his hips, his back pressing flush against Shiranui Genma's body.

Bang!

Shiranui Genma was slammed directly into the ground by an over-the-shoulder throw from Yin Jie.

Fast—far too fast. Before he had even realized what had happened, he was already lying on the ground...

Shiranui Genma stared blankly up at the sky for a long while without speaking.

The gap was too great.

But in the next instant, he rallied again.

Such a gap was all the more worth chasing!

Watching the constantly shifting expressions on Shiranui Genma's face as he lay on the ground, Yin Jie could not help feeling concerned. This kid had not gotten his brain shaken loose by that throw, had he?

Don't go trying to scam me like this!

He hurriedly extended a hand to Shiranui Genma and pulled him to his feet, apologizing at the same time.

Shiranui Genma's response also made Yin Jie breathe a quiet sigh of relief.

He seemed fine. His head was still working; nothing appeared to be wrong.

Yin Jie and Shiranui Genma patted each other's hands and formed the Seal of Reconciliation.

The spar was over.

Thunk!

Thunk!

Thunk!

Amid the warmth of the setting sun, three sharp kunai embedded themselves firmly into targets positioned in three different directions across the training ground.

Yin Jie was practicing the Uchiha Clan's advanced version of shurikenjutsu.

Just now, he had not activated his Sharingan.

What he ultimately wanted to achieve was shurikenjutsu like that of the Uchiha Itachi from his memories of his previous life: with the Sharingan's assistance, using kunai or shuriken to strike one another and hit targets positioned in blind spots.

Of course, Uchiha Yasashiro could do this as well, and he had passed the techniques involved on to Yin Jie.

However, neither Uchiha Yasashiro nor Yin Jie, despite having practiced for quite some time, could achieve Itachi's perfection—one hundred percent accuracy and one hundred percent precision.

So, he still had to keep practicing...