But to these proud ninja, those words were nothing short of blatant humiliation.
"Where did this little brat come from? How dare he look down on us?"
"Do you have a death wish? You're just a civilian, yet you dare mouth off to ninja!"
In the Shinobi World, ninja had earned their status through battle. Their dignity was not to be trampled.
If word got out that a child had sneered at them and they hadn't even dared speak up, how could they ever show their faces in the village again?
"You little punk! Looks like I need to beat some sense into you today!"
The burly man strode forward with a savage grin, blocking out the sunlight like an iron tower as he looked down at Lei Dou.
"I'll give you a chance. Get on your knees and kowtow three times, and I'll write it off as a kid not knowing any better!"
An ordinary child would probably have wet himself in the face of such murderous intent.
But Lei Dou gave a scornful smile, as though he had just heard the funniest joke in the world. "You really are weak. I wasn't wrong. Am I not even allowed to tell the truth?"
The burly man's face instantly darkened.
"You had your chance! Now die!"
He roared, his massive fist whistling through the air as it smashed toward Lei Dou's face.
If that punch landed squarely, even an adult, let alone a child, would suffer an immediate concussion.
Yet Lei Dou didn't so much as blink.
Weak and slow. What gave you the confidence?
His left hand shot out like lightning!
Smack!
A dull impact sounded.
The scene froze.
Lei Dou's slender, pale hand had effortlessly caught a heavy punch powerful enough to shatter stone.
The sight was so shocking that the surrounding Genin, who had been waiting to enjoy the show, were all dumbfounded.
They stared with their mouths hanging open. Some even rubbed their eyes hard.
"I... I'm not seeing things, am I?"
"That brat actually caught Jianyi's monster punch? Jianyi's famous for his strength around here!"
"Did the kid use some kind of trick?"
"A trick, my ass! That was pure physical strength! Is this brat... a monster?"
The burly man named Jianyi had turned purple in the face, veins bulging on his forehead.
He felt as though his fist had been locked in an iron clamp. No matter how hard he strained, the boy didn't budge.
Th-this is impossible...
How could those scrawny little limbs hold such terrifying strength?
Watching the man's constipated expression, Lei Dou's eyes flickered with boredom, and he abruptly released his grip.
The sudden loss of resistance sent Jianyi pitching forward helplessly. He tumbled seven or eight times before finally stopping, with a mouthful of dirt.
Lei Dou surveyed the dumbstruck Genin around him and sighed inwardly.
Can fighting trash like this really give me useful data?
[Great Sage: Even scraps have value. The data is useful.]
Fine. If the system says so, I suppose I'll play with them.
Lei Dou slowly drew the Ninja Blade from his back. With its tip angled toward the ground, he advanced one step at a time.
Confronted by the boy's overwhelming presence, the surrounding Genin involuntarily took half a step back, their eyes filled with shock and wariness.
"Let me introduce myself again. My name is Shimozuki Raito."
"I came here today because I wanted to see just how strong you were, now that you've earned your Forehead Protectors."
"But apparently, this is all your so-called official ninja amount to."
Lei Dou stopped, his lips curling into a provocative smile.
"Since you like picking on someone smaller than yourselves, I won't hold back either."
"Perfect. I'll use you bunch of losers to hone my new swordsmanship!"
Clang!
The blade trembled, flashing with cold light.
Lei Dou's arrogant voice rang across the field. "What's wrong? Weren't you all acting tough a moment ago? Why are you hiding in your shells now? Doesn't anyone dare come spar with me?"
Dead silence lasted a full three seconds.
Then the crowd erupted!
Who were they? They were Konoha Ninja who had passed their graduation exams and carried out missions!
And some brat who hadn't even graduated was calling them losers to their faces?
How could they stand for that?
"You little bastard! Don't get cocky! Jianyi just let his guard down!"
Jianyi scrambled to his feet, his face twisted with shame and rage, and charged with a roar. "This time, I'll crush every bone in your body! I'll show you how cruel the ninja world really-"
Whoosh!
Before he could finish his threat, Jianyi's vision blurred, and a bone-chilling cold swept across his neck.
Lei Dou appeared before him like a ghost, holding his blade in a reverse grip. Its icy tip hovered just 0.01 centimeters from his Adam's apple.
"With that strength of yours, you couldn't do more than scratch an itch. Go home and train some more."
Bam!
Before his words had faded, Lei Dou lashed out with a roundhouse kick. Jianyi flew more than ten meters like a torn sack and lost consciousness on the spot.
Without sparing him a glance, Lei Dou turned to the furious Genin.
"Is that all you've got? Can any of you actually fight?"
"You can't even touch the hem of my clothes, and you have the nerve to call yourselves ninja?"
He might as well have thrown their pride into the dirt and stomped on it!
"You're too arrogant! I'll teach you a lesson!"
A Genin who specialized in speed could bear it no longer. Kunai in hand, he darted in from the side like lightning for a sneak attack.
Lei Dou didn't even turn his head. He swept his blade upward behind him.
Clang!
The Kunai flew from the Genin's hand into the sky. A heavy blow struck his abdomen an instant later, and Lei Dou sent him flying with the back of his blade.
Weak!
Utterly feeble!
Lei Dou had thought he was only a slightly stronger Genin. Now, it seemed his understanding of his own strength had been wildly off.
Opponents at this level couldn't withstand even one of his moves.
[Great Sage: Collecting combat data...]
Hearing the system's notification, Lei Dou shook his head helplessly. The quality was poor, but at least he could farm some experience.
"Too slow. Too weak. Coming at me one at a time is just wasting my time."
Lei Dou rested his blade on his shoulder and beckoned to them all.
"Why don't you come at me together?"
The entire field erupted!
Every Genin's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, followed by a surge of towering rage.
This was no longer provocation. He was grinding all their dignity into the dirt!
"Everyone, get him! Cripple this brat who doesn't know his place!"
Someone shouted, and the crowd surged into action.
Countless Shuriken and Kunai swarmed toward him like a cloud of locusts.
Lei Dou raised an eyebrow. "That's it? Compared to Tenten's throwing weapons, your aim is like kids tossing pebbles."
Before he had finished speaking, his Ninja Blade danced into a curtain of silver light.
Clink! Clang! Clink!
Amid a flurry of metallic impacts, every incoming weapon was knocked down without exception, piling into a small mound at his feet.
"Wh-what kind of swordsmanship is that?!"
If you can't find it by the book title, try searching for the author. It may simply have been renamed!
"He didn't let a single one through?!"
Before the crowd could recover from its astonishment, three Genin skilled in taijutsu had closed in on him in a triangular formation.
Facing their encirclement, Lei Dou's gaze turned cold, but he felt no panic.
His Ninja Blade pointed diagonally toward the ground, and his body followed its movement.
Lei Dou pivoted with the momentum, turning his blade to intercept the sneak attack from the left at an extremely tricky angle. Then he slammed the hilt hard into the attacker's carotid artery.
Lei Dou turned with the momentum, shifting his blade to intercept the sneak attack from his left at an exceptionally tricky angle. Then he slammed the hilt into his opponent's carotid artery.
The man's eyes rolled back, and he crumpled without even a grunt.
The last attacker slammed to a halt halfway through his charge, drenched in cold sweat.
Lei Dou slowly raised his head, and his calm gaze made the other man feel suffocated, as if crushed beneath a mountain.
Lei Dou slowly raised his head. His calm gaze left the man feeling as though a mountain were crushing the breath out of him.
"No wonder you're still Genin at your age. Your taijutsu is pathetic. You're full of openings."
To him, their movements were as slow as snails, and every stance exposed a fatal weakness.
A fight like this didn't even require accelerated thinking.
Muscle memory alone gave him five or six ways to put them all down in an instant.
"Move aside! Get out of the way! Let him taste my Fire Release!"
"Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!"
"Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!"
A Genin finished his hand seals and spat out a massive fireball more than a meter in diameter. A scorching wave of heat rushed toward Lei Dou.
Watching the roaring flames approach, Lei Dou finally showed a flicker of excitement.
"That's more like it! Finally, a decent attack!"
Instead of retreating, he advanced, gripping his blade with both hands as he faced the fireball head-on.
He drew a deep breath. Total concentration breathing!
At the sight, the surrounding Genin sneered inwardly.
Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash!
Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash!
Lei Dou swept his blade across with explosive force.
As he swung, the roar of waves crashing against rocks rang out from thin air.
A visible arc of aqua-blue sword energy shot across the field and slammed into the enormous fireball.
Hiss-!
There was no explosion, only the violent hiss of evaporation as water met fire.
That seemingly unstoppable fireball was cleaved neatly in half by the stunning slash!
The Genin who had used Fire Release was completely dumbfounded, his mouth gaping wide enough to fit two eggs.
The Genin who had used Fire Release was utterly dumbstruck, his mouth hanging wide enough to fit two eggs.
"Th-this has to be a joke, right?"
"Could this guy really be an Elite Jōnin in disguise?!"
"Is this guy an elite Jonin wearing a kid's skin?!"
As far as he knew, only someone who had mastered Chakra Nature Transformation to its utmost limits could pull off something so absurd.
Lei Dou shouted, his tone brimming with lingering excitement.
Lei Dou shouted, clearly eager for another round.
He wasn't showing off. The instant he had cut down the Fire Release attack, a notification from Great Sage had sent him into ecstasy.
[Water Breathing Sword Forms power optimization progress increased by 15%] [Water Breathing sword form power optimization progress increased by 15%.]
Lei Dou now looked at them like a starving wolf eyeing a flock of sheep, his gaze full of greed.
Lei Dou now looked at them like a starving wolf eyeing a flock of sheep, his gaze full of greed.
"Did you skip your meals? Or are you already out of chakra?"
To these fiercely proud Genin, such blatant mockery only poured oil on the fire.
"Stop holding back! Blast him to death with ninjutsu!"
"If we can't even take down a brat today, how are we supposed to show our faces in Konoha again?"
"Attack together! I refuse to believe his chakra is limitless!"
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Technique!"
"Earth Release: Earth Split Strike!"
"Earth Release: Earth Split Strike!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
All manner of ninjutsu rained down on Lei Dou, yet his smile only grew wider.
Facing the roaring fire dragon, Lei Dou leaped into the air, spinning at high speed like a windmill.
Facing the roaring fire dragon, Lei Dou leaped into the air, spinning at high speed like a windmill.
Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel!
A ring of flowing water bloomed in midair, effortlessly shredding the fire dragon and leaving a bloody gash across its caster's shoulder in passing.
Before Lei Dou could land, spikes of rock erupted from the ground toward him.
Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide!
Lei Dou moved as fluidly as flowing water, tracing graceful arcs through the air. His relentless slashes rolled on like the tide, reducing every rock to powder.
Watching the boy cut his way through the crowd, each swing of his blade sending mist billowing into the air, all the Genin sank into profound self-doubt.
What school of swordsmanship was this?
How could swordsmanship alone unleash power comparable to Water Release Ninjutsu without any hand seals?
This was unheard of!
Some of the quicker-thinking Genin had already realized that things had gotten out of hand. The emergence of a prodigy of this caliber had to be reported to Lord Hokage immediately.
But even more of them had been driven into a genuine rage. For the sake of what little pride they had left, they continued swarming Lei Dou like madmen.
One boy, one blade, against a hundred opponents!
Yet Lei Dou only fought harder, utterly immersed in the thrill of growing stronger.
[Sword form power optimization increased by 5%...] [Sword form power optimization increased by 3%...] [Sword form power optimization increased by 4%...]
Listening to the notifications chiming incessantly in his head, Lei Dou was having the time of his life.
These training dummies might be weak, but there sure were plenty of them. Quantity led to quality. Not bad at all.
Meanwhile.
Shimozuki Hayate, who had just returned to the village after completing a mission, pushed open the door to Lei Dou's home.
"Nobody here?"
Hayate looked around the empty house, puzzled.
School had ended ages ago. Where had the kid gone? Had he sneaked out to play again?
Had he been practicing the swordsmanship basics I assigned him these past few days?
Little did he know that Lei Dou had not only practiced, but was also preparing something big enough to make his jaw drop.
The Hokage's office.
An ANBU member appeared with the Body Flicker Technique, dropped to one knee, and reported the disturbance at the training grounds to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The Third Hokage had been leisurely reviewing documents, but upon hearing the ANBU member's account, he nearly dropped his pipe.
"You're saying that brat named Shimozuki Raito is using some strange swordsmanship to overwhelm more than a hundred Genin all by himself?"
The ANBU member nodded solemnly. "It's absolutely true. I saw it with my own eyes."
The ANBU member nodded solemnly. "Absolutely. I witnessed it myself."
The Third dismissed the ANBU member, hurriedly took out his crystal ball, and performed the Telescope Technique.
The mist within the crystal ball dissipated, and the image gradually sharpened.