One kick from me, and your kidneys are done for

"Although I think you two should have little trouble passing the Ninja Academy's graduation exam at your current level.

I happen to have no other work today, so let's make the most of the opportunity. Why don't you let me see how much you've grown lately?"

After dinner, Inoichi Yamanaka stood up and offered to put Yang Cheng and Ino through some training.

The Ninja Academy's graduation exam involved nothing more than one of the Three Body Techniques. Inoichi Yamanaka and his wife both knew that.

That was why Rino Yamanaka had said earlier that Yang Cheng had absolutely no need to worry about failing the exam.

After all, the Three Body Techniques were the most basic ninja skills. Never mind Yang Cheng-even Ino, whom Rino Yamanaka considered her hopeless daughter, had already mastered them.

But simply graduating from the Ninja Academy wasn't enough. Graduation meant becoming a real ninja and leaving the safety of their beginner days behind for good.

Even Genin faced a certain risk of death when carrying out missions.

So, to help Yang Cheng and Ino adjust to being ninja sooner, Inoichi Yamanaka decided to give the two some extra training and assess their current abilities while he was at it.

They went out into the Yamanaka Clan's spacious courtyard, where Inoichi Yamanaka stood facing Yang Cheng and Ino. Rino Yamanaka had already sliced a watermelon and settled in on the sidelines to enjoy the show.

"You two can come at me together. Let me see what you can do first, then I'll give you feedback and point out what needs correcting."

As a Jonin of Konoha, Inoichi Yamanaka had every reason to feel confident against two youngsters who weren't even Genin yet.

Seriously, if he couldn't handle two eleven- or twelve-year-old brats, he might as well find a crooked tree and hang himself.

"Ino, I'll take the lead. Cover me from the back.

And don't use the Mind Body Switch Technique on Uncle Inoichi. You've only just learned it, so there's no way you could control his body. It might even backfire on you."

After giving Ino those instructions, Yang Cheng pulled a kunai from the ninja tool pouch at the back of his waist and charged straight at Inoichi Yamanaka.

Watching Yang Cheng charge toward him and recalling the instructions he had just given Ino, Inoichi Yamanaka smiled in approval.

"A sound judgment. Although the Mind Body Switch Technique can restrict an enemy's movements to the greatest possible extent.

At Ino's current level, using the Yamanaka Clan's secret technique on me won't work."

Clang!

Sparks flew in the darkness as kunai met kunai.

Inoichi Yamanaka had also drawn a kunai from his tool pouch and successfully blocked Yang Cheng's attack.

"Yang Cheng, the instructions you gave Ino were correct, but you're being a little too hasty yourself.

I may not specialize in taijutsu, but I'm still a Jonin of Konoha.

Against an opponent far stronger than you, the best approach is to use ranged feints and observe."

In Konoha's famous Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the Nara Clan restricted movement, the Yamanaka Clan took control, and the Akimichi Clan dealt the damage.

Inoichi Yamanaka had powerful mental strength, but taijutsu was his weakness.

Still, just as he had said, however poor his taijutsu might be, he considered thrashing two brats who weren't even novice ninja practically a sure thing.

"You're not good at taijutsu, right, Uncle Inoichi? Well, unlike you, I happen to know a little about it.

Since we're not even Genin yet, we have very limited chakra. Even if we managed to use ninjutsu, it would hardly do anything to you.

So if we want to win, taking a risk and attacking your weak point is our only chance, isn't it?"

This kid actually wants to win?

If I, a Jonin of Konoha, lose here to two brats who aren't even Genin, I might as well retire and go home to grow flowers.

That thought had barely crossed Inoichi Yamanaka's mind when he suddenly heard something slicing through the air beside his ear.

Yang Cheng kept his kunai pressed against Inoichi Yamanaka's, then lashed out with a powerful side kick straight at his kidneys!

The kick carried such astonishing speed and force that it audibly cut through the air.

He couldn't casually reveal the Unrestricted Spells from Shana's world.

But with the powerful taijutsu he had honed in the One Piece World, combined with the physical attributes accumulated from the other two worlds, Yang Cheng's physical strength was no lower than an adult taijutsu ninja's.

Bang!

Yang Cheng's devastating kick slammed straight into Inoichi Yamanaka's kidneys, and his body instantly "burst" under the blow.

No-to be precise, the Inoichi Yamanaka who had been kicked apart turned into a log amid a puff of white mist.

It was the Substitution Technique, one of the ninja's basic Three Body Techniques and a skill worthy of being called divine.

Inoichi Yamanaka escaped using the Substitution Technique, but the log he had substituted for himself shattered in midair the instant Yang Cheng's kick struck it.

Having escaped a short distance away with the Substitution Technique, Inoichi Yamanaka looked at the shattered wood in the air, then down at his own kidneys. His face immediately filled with lingering fear.

Holy shit, if that brat Yang Cheng's kick had landed properly, wouldn't that have been the end of my sex life?

And what was with the power behind that kick?

As a sensory ninja, he had detected no sign of chakra being used.

In other words, it wasn't an attack like those of Lady Tsunade, one of the Sannin, who concentrated chakra into a single point.

It had been nothing but pure physical strength!

Was this kid Yang Cheng actually born with superhuman strength?

Although Inoichi Yamanaka had watched Yang Cheng grow up, he really hadn't looked much into his training or abilities.

After all, in his eyes, Yang Cheng was still a child. Even if he wanted to teach him something, that could wait until he became a Genin.

Inoichi Yamanaka had already been surprised when Yang Cheng found some ninjutsu scrolls in his house and learned to produce chakra on his own.

What he hadn't expected was that Yang Cheng also had such a talent for taijutsu.

Now Inoichi Yamanaka wasn't sure just how strong Yang Cheng was. After all, the boy had been mature beyond his years since childhood, and had always kept an extremely low

profile.

Back then, if Yang Cheng hadn't run into a few problems while feeling his way through training on his own and come to ask him for advice, Inoichi Yamanaka wouldn't even have known that he had learned to produce chakra by himself.

"Yang Cheng, I never imagined you'd grown this much. You've really exceeded my expectations by a long way.

Looks like I'll have to get a little more serious, too."