Mud Dragon in Swamp

Use successful! Match rate: 70%

Ability evaluation changed:

Character: Maruyama Qifeng

Age: 13

Affinities: Fire, Earth

Strength: Elite Jonin

Body: 65

Energy: 59

Ninjutsu: 70

Genjutsu: 49

Control: 58

Seals: 63

Jutsu: Three Basic Jutsu, Fire Release: Great Fireball, Earth Release: Rock Concealment Technique, Earth Release: Earth Shore Return, Fire Release: Flame Bullet

Items: Uchiha Clan Thin Bloodline Card (2/3), Kaseki's Obsession.

Feeling the power surging through his body again, Qifeng, who had already tried using an Experience Card before, still couldn't help but want to groan out loud.

He managed to hold it in, though.

But one thing puzzled him: what conditions and elements did the system use to calculate this match rate?

Miura Ikkō's Experience Card had only a fifty percent match rate before, but this time it was seventy percent—something he hadn't expected.

His strength evaluation had even shot straight up to Elite Jonin level. Paired with the experience of a Quasi-Kage level ninja, Qifeng felt for the first time just how intoxicating power could be.

But there was no time to dwell on that now.

Kaguya Senjin across from him, seeing Qifeng make no move, was already getting impatient.

Yet Senjin didn't act rashly either, because in his perception, Qifeng's aura had undergone a complete and earth-shattering change.

If before he was a whining husky waiting to be fed, now he was a hungry wolf poised to strike.

He couldn't understand how a seemingly frail Chunin could change so drastically in such a short time.

But with his personality, if he couldn't figure something out, he didn't bother thinking about it.

All he knew was that the boring, one-sided stomp from before had turned into this, and a certain emotion kept swelling inside him.

Excitement!

Uncontrollable excitement, and the urge to fight.

"Interesting. Interesting!!"

Senjin's eyes flew wide open, his expression twisting wildly, almost manic.

"Lunatic," Qifeng couldn't help but mutter inwardly.

The next second.

As if by agreement, or perhaps by instinct, they both moved at once.

Their figures blurred like lightning, the short distance closing in an instant. Two plain fists, carrying surging gales of wind, collided in midair.

Boom!!

The violent shockwave radiated from the two of them, sweeping up countless fallen leaves and carving out a Vacuum Zone in the forest.

Crack!

The ground trembled and split. Qifeng's feet took root, solid and firm, while Senjin across from him was no slouch either.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

In the blink of an eye, the two clashed dozens of times in a flurry of fists and kicks.

Relying on his Quasi-Kage level experience and his suddenly enhanced physical abilities, Qifeng didn't fall too far behind.

But Senjin was even more relentless.

Though Senjin's Shikotsumyaku hadn't awakened, it wasn't useless—it gave their clan's members far superior physical constitutions. Combined with his madman's fighting style, where he didn't care about getting hurt, even with the Experience Card, Qifeng couldn't gain an edge in pure taijutsu.

A thought flashed through his mind.

With the Kaguya Clan's bone density, if they learned the Eight Gates and could open the Eighth Gate to use Night Guy like Guy did, wouldn't that last kick aimed at Uchiha Madara—with no broken leg bones—end the whole story in one blow?

He thought it over, but his hands never slowed.

After exchanging dozens of moves in an instant, they both used the force to push apart.

"Good! Very good!" Senjin roared in excitement, his eyes burning as he stared at Qifeng like he was a favorite new toy. "I never thought a brat could have such a strong body."

Qifeng couldn't be bothered to waste words.

If he wasted time running his mouth now, he'd be dead in half an hour.

Must finish this quickly.

Unlike the previous Experience Card, Miura Ikkō was a jōnin skilled in taijutsu, while this Akagi Tsukasa was a quasi-Kage proficient in ninjutsu. Comparatively, taijutsu wasn't his strong suit.

His hands blurred into shadows as he rapidly formed hand seals.

"Earth Style! Swamp of the Underworld!"

"Earth Style! Earth Dragon Bullet!"

"Ninja Art: Mud Dragon!"

These two B-rank ninjutsu combined into an Earth Style technique, its power rivaling some A-rank ninjutsu.

A-rank ninjutsu could, to some extent, be barely considered forbidden arts. B-rank ninjutsu were the mainstream of this world; used properly, their power wasn't necessarily inferior to A-rank ninjutsu.

Let alone a combined ninjutsu.

The ground beneath Kaguya Senjin instantly turned muddy, bubbling swamp gas reeking unbearably. At the same time, a hulking dragon head formed from the mire, opening its mouth to spew head-sized magma bombs from its jaws.

They struck the struggling Kaguya Senjin, delivering massive impact while sticky mud clung to him, making it even harder to break free from the swamp's grip.

"Willow Dance!"

Two spiked blades appeared in Kaguya Senjin's hands from nowhere. His body began to spin and twist, bending at an eerie angle, shedding the mud's hold while successfully escaping the swamp.

The Kaguya Clan shared six taijutsu styles integrated with Shikotsumyaku, and Willow Dance was one of them.

However, Kaguya members who hadn't awakened Shikotsumyaku couldn't use the latter four styles that required bones. But Willow Dance and Camellia Dance could substitute weapons, so the impact wasn't too great.

Relying on these two styles and the Kaguya Clan's physique, they still held a lofty position in Kirigakure.

Swish! Swish!

Kaguya Senjin swayed like a willow, his twin blades slicing sideways through the dirt. After breaking free, he charged straight at Qifeng.

But Qifeng hadn't expected to take him down with a single move. As he retreated, he pushed his chakra to its limit, completing the complex hand seals.

"Earth Style! Turning Road into Mountain!"

This was one of the high-level ninjutsu Akagi Tsukasa had mastered—an A-rank Earth Style technique combining offense and containment. Its downside was the extremely intricate hand seals and the arduous chakra manipulation.

The earlier combined ninjutsu was meant to buy time for this technique.

That was the nature of A-rank ninjutsu: powerful, but with many drawbacks in execution, making them less practical.

That's why when the Rasengan—a seal-less technique—emerged, even if its destructive power paled beside other A-rank ninjutsu, it was still classified as A-rank.

Boom!!

The next moment after the seals were completed.

The earth suddenly roared. Kaguya Senjin's steps halted abruptly as his legs were trapped by the ground. The land on both sides flipped up, forming two massive triangular slabs that closed in from his feet upward, crushing him in the center.

"Camellia Dance!"

Kaguya Senjin's form abruptly accelerated, moving swiftly. His sharp blades scraped against the converging boulders, trying to shatter them.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The piercing sound of blades grinding against solid rock echoed. Large chunks of debris fell and broke apart, but as Qifeng continuously fed chakra, the shattered rock quickly restored itself.

For the first time, Kaguya Senjin's expression changed.

Fierce and terrifying.

Clang! Clang!

The sturdy twin blades, after all, weren't Shikotsumyaku bones. They couldn't withstand the rock's pressure and snapped.

Kaguya Senjin had no choice but to brace his arms against the boulders.

And indeed, the Kaguya Clan's physical resilience was terrifying. Even as the muscles in his arms burst, the blood-streaked bones remained tough.

Qifeng narrowed his eyes.

He turned his hands into palms and slammed them against his chest.

"Close!"

Boom!!

The two massive rocks instantly merged, forming a small hill.

Worried that the tenacious opponent might still survive, he formed seals again.

"Earth Style! Earth Spear!"

Shk-shk-shk—

Several sharp rock spears pierced the hill, turning the neat mound into a porcupine-like lump.

Satisfied, Qifeng dusted off his hands.

The Kaguya Clan was strong, but unfortunately, their brains weren't the sharpest.

That was the so-called "all brawn, no brains."

"Wait! Wait! The body isn't gone, is it?" Qifeng suddenly jolted, realizing something.

He had used a Quasi-Kage level Experience Card this time, and no matter how he looked at it, it would be hard to recoup the cost. But still, this was a Jonin's corpse—there was bound to be something good on it. Destroying it would truly be a waste.

He quickly waved his hand, dispersing the rocks, revealing the twisted, lifeless, and grotesque corpse within.

Seeing the yellow light flickering on it, he let out a sigh of relief.

"At least, no matter how ruined the corpse is, it's still a corpse."

What Qifeng didn't notice was a very inconspicuous brown snake, slithering far away, silently flicking its tongue.