Strengthening Their Power, the Final Battle Loomed

Faced with Su Bai's performance, Kakashi marveled at his talent and said with emotion, "Su Bai, at such a young age, your control over chakra is already this skilled. It's truly astonishing."

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura followed Kakashi's gaze. When they saw Su Bai's incredible display, each of them reacted differently.

Naruto's eyes widened, and his mouth fell open involuntarily.

Pointing at Su Bai, he shouted, "Whoa! Su Bai, how did you do that? That's amazing, believe it!"

Although Naruto was astonished and envious of Su Bai's talent, he was not discouraged.

On the contrary, Su Bai's performance only ignited his fighting spirit even more.

He secretly resolved that he would train hard and catch up to Su Bai.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and stared intently at Su Bai's every move.

His heart was filled with a complicated mix of shock, jealousy, and admiration.

As a genius of the Uchiha Clan, Sasuke had always taken pride in his own strength.

But at this moment, he had to admit that Su Bai possessed talent far beyond that of ordinary people.

It gave Sasuke an inexplicable sense of pressure while also stirring up his fierce competitive spirit.

He secretly swore that he would surpass Su Bai and prove that he was the strongest ninja.

The moment Sakura saw Su Bai's performance, the pride she had felt earlier vanished without a trace.

She had originally been pleased with herself for quickly mastering the tree-climbing technique, but compared to Su Bai's astonishing talent, her accomplishment seemed insignificant.

Sakura could not help but feel heartfelt admiration for Su Bai.

She secretly decided to use Su Bai as an example, train herself even harder, and close the gap between them.

The reason Su Bai learned so quickly was thanks to the Flash Step he had already mastered.

This method shared the same underlying principles as Flash Step.

After confirming that Naruto and Sasuke could continue training, Kakashi arranged for Sakura and Su Bai to protect Dazna, who was overseeing the bridge's construction, while he returned to bed to recover.

Sakura's heart leaped with joy. She eagerly anticipated the time she would spend alone with Su Bai.

In her imagination, this mission was like a sweet date.

She happily followed Su Bai to the construction site where Dazna was, already picturing wonderful scenes of talking with Su Bai and fighting alongside him.

However, when Su Bai turned around and fixed his deep, calm eyes on Sakura, her heartbeat suddenly quickened.

In his usual calm and polite tone, he said, "Sakura, I'd like to ask you for a favor."

Sakura's heart fluttered wildly as she said softly, "Su Bai, no matter what it is, as long as I can do it, I'll agree."

"Could you watch over Dazna by yourself for a while?"

"I need to train and improve my strength to face the challenges ahead."

The moment she heard that, her spirits immediately sank.

A trace of disappointment surged through her heart. She had thought this mission would give her more chances to interact with Su Bai, but reality was far from what she had hoped for.

Though she was somewhat crushed inside, she did not show it.

Sakura forced a smile and did her best to hide her disappointment. "No problem, Su Bai. Go train. Leave Uncle Dazna to me."

Su Bai nodded. "Thank you, Sakura. I believe that with you here, Uncle Dazna will definitely be safe."

With that, he turned and left, heading toward the woods.

Sakura watched Su Bai's back gradually disappear, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

She was happy that Su Bai trusted her, yet regretful that she could not spend more time with him.

But she quickly pulled herself together and focused all her attention on protecting Dazna.

She secretly resolved to become an outstanding ninja in her own way, prove her abilities, and make Su Bai see her in a new light.

Su Bai went alone to a forest, attempting to combine swordsmanship with hand-to-hand combat and use both at once in battle.

He stood in a clearing, holding a long blade wreathed in flames.

Su Bai took a deep breath and began concentrating on the flow of chakra within his body.

While training in Mao Spiritual Arts Academy Basic Swordsmanship,

Su Bai had realized that the essence of swordsmanship lay in pouring chakra into the blade and using its sharpness to enhance the power of his slashes.

Hand-to-hand combat, meanwhile, emphasized coordination and flexibility of the body, strengthening punches and kicks with chakra to give them both speed and power.

Su Bai tried to merge these two techniques.

He guided chakra into both his blade and his fists and feet, attempting to weave punches and kicks into his attacks while swinging his sword one-handed.

This required extremely precise chakra control and bodily coordination, making it highly demanding for the practitioner.

Su Bai began to slowly swing his blade.

His movements gradually accelerated, the blade's gleam pouring through the air like spilled mercury and tracing elegant arcs.

At the same time, his fists and feet carried the force of chakra, echoing the momentum of his blade and forming an entirely new style that combined swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat.

Every slash was accompanied by punches and kicks. Blade light and fist shadows intertwined, radiating overwhelming momentum.

He pushed his use of chakra to its limits, perfectly combining the strengths of swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat to create a unique fighting style.

This style, which fused swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat, could not only bring out the sharpness of blade techniques but also use the agility of punches and kicks to create all-around attacks.

Through constant practice and adjustment, Su Bai gradually grasped the trick to combining swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat.

He discovered that the key lay in precise chakra control and coordinated movement.

Only by perfectly synchronizing the flow of chakra with the movements of his limbs could he unleash this style's greatest power.

The more Su Bai practiced, the smoother and more natural his movements became.

This new fighting method, combining swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat, would undoubtedly become one of Su Bai's greatest trump cards in future battles.

Su Bai sheathed his blade and stood still, letting out a long breath.

"There are still places where it can be improved."

Just as he was immersed in training, a child appeared.

Seeing Su Bai training so diligently, he said coldly, "No matter what you do, it's useless."

Su Bai turned to look at the child and fell into thought.

This child was Inari, Dazna's grandson.

He recalled Inari's experiences in the original story: when Inari was young, he had been bullied and nearly pushed into the sea by children his age, only to be saved by his stepfather, who then taught the bully a lesson.

Inari's stepfather had a personality much like Naruto's.

Warmhearted and righteous, always willing to help others, optimistic and positive, he was beloved by the villagers and hailed as a hero.

However, because of the bridge's construction, his stepfather had been brutally beheaded by Gatō in front of everyone.

This incident dealt Inari a tremendous blow. From then on, he believed there were no heroes in this world and that anyone who resisted Gatō would meet a terrible end.

Therefore, when he saw Su Bai training so hard to protect Dazna and help build the bridge, Inari saw it as nothing more than a futile effort.

Su Bai ignored Inari's words.

He did not want to waste his precious training time on him.

Su Bai continued practicing with his sword.

Seeing that Su Bai ignored him, Inari became even more agitated.

He shouted, "There are no heroes in this world! You can't become one!"

Su Bai remained focused on his training and ignored Inari's words.

Inari seemed to have found someone he could pour his heart out to. He began recounting his past experiences, as though venting emotions that had been bottled up for far too long.

He spoke of being bullied as a child, of his beloved stepfather, of how much he had admired him, and of how his stepfather had been brutally murdered.

He railed against Gatō's power and lamented his own helplessness.

Inari spoke without stopping, his voice filled with deep despair and sorrow.

In the end, he could no longer restrain his emotions and burst into loud sobs, as if he wanted to release all the bitterness that had been buried in his heart for so long.

Meanwhile, Su Bai remained focused on training. He swung the blade in his hand, carefully considering every movement and occasionally recording what he had learned.

After quite some time, Inari's crying gradually subsided, and he finally fell silent.

Sensing that the time was right, Su Bai walked over to Inari and gently patted his head.

In a gentle yet firm voice, he said, "After hearing what happened to you, I deeply sympathize."

"You once had a wonderful stepfather and lived a happy life. That kind of happiness even makes me feel envious."

"You saw your father as your idol and hoped to become someone like him in the future. Unfortunately, Gatō destroyed all that beauty."

At that, Inari said nothing. He merely looked silently at Su Bai.

Su Bai continued, "Endure for a few more days, and your better days will come. Until then, hold on a little longer. Once everything is settled, think carefully about what kind of person you want to become in the future."

After saying that, Su Bai ended his training and returned to Dazna's house to rest.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and the day when the bridge was about to be completed quickly arrived.

Su Bai realized that the moment for the final battle with Zabuza was drawing near.