Ye Tong vs. Asuma (Part Two)
Faced with the incoming strike, Ye Tong reacted instantly.
Whoosh—
She sprang backward, her soles scraping a thin wisp of dust from the hard-packed earth. Her body seemed to glide horizontally as she slipped like a phantom out of the path of Asuma's punch.
Speed was not her forte, but her solid Taijutsu foundation and precise judgment of distance let her evade by just the right margin.
Asuma's wind blade merely skimmed past her shoulder, severing a few strands of flying dark brown hair.
The next instant, Scorch Release chakra raced through Ye Tong's chakra pathways. Even as she retreated to open up the distance, she raised her hand to counterattack.
Five Scorch Release fireballs flicked from her fingertips, each only the size of a fist. Their white-hot flames traced five short arcs through the air, closing off the space around Asuma.
Whoosh—
The spectators in the front row leaned backward in unison. A scorching gust swept across the stands, evaporating the moisture in the air almost instantly.
"Whoa!"
A noblewoman holding a round fan cried out as wisps of smoke rose from its edges.
On the platform, Asuma crossed his arms and slashed outward. Wind Release chakra erupted from his trench knives in a dense web of wind blades, slicing three of the fireballs into scattered flames in midair.
The wind-nature enhancement on Flying Swallow did more than sharpen its edges. Its highly concentrated chakra could also cut through and destabilize the structure of ninjutsu.
But Ye Tong gave him no time to breathe. She instantly formed hand seals with one hand.
The scattered Scorch Release embers did not go out when they touched the ground. Instead, they rapidly gathered as though drawn together by invisible hands.
Whoosh—
The Scorch Release flames flared