Even Lei Dou's fierce slash failed to cut through it completely. After all, Flowing Dance focused on movement and speed, not sheer destructive power.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a swift figure shot out from behind the earth wall on the right. Kakashi, who had been taking a beating all this time, finally launched a counterattack.
Lei Dou reacted instantly, sweeping his blade sideways at Kakashi. The strike was ferocious, with faint water vapor swirling around him.
Kakashi seemed to have no way to dodge and was struck by the blade in an instant.
But in the next second...
There was a soft pop!
The "Kakashi" he had struck burst apart, turning into a cloud of white smoke that dissipated in the air.
Was that a Shadow Clone?
The instant that thought crossed his mind, a scalp-prickling screech of electricity erupted behind Lei Dou, as though a thousand birds were shrieking.
Lei Dou whipped his head around.
A short distance behind him stood Kakashi, his forehead protector lifted to reveal his scarlet Sharingan, his gaze fixed firmly on Lei Dou.
"Lei Dou!"
"You really are a monstrous rookie who keeps surprising me. I never imagined someone fresh out of the Ninja Academy could force me into such a sorry state!"
"And you did it with nothing but swordsmanship. No, your techniques can't even be defined as mere swordsmanship anymore!"
"Strictly speaking, they should be classified as an advanced school of Nintaijutsu!"
Although Kakashi voiced his surprise, the corners of his mouth rose slightly beneath his mask in an approving smile.
As a senior ninja, Kakashi was naturally delighted that such an extraordinary genius as Lei Dou had emerged among the village's younger generation.
But delight was one thing. If the renowned "Copy Ninja," Kakashi Hatake, actually lost to a kid who had just graduated, how would he ever show his face around the village again?
So he absolutely could not lose this fight!
"But remember, relying solely on Taijutsu in a ninja battle won't get you very far!"
"This next move is the strongest ninjutsu I currently possess. Legend has it that it once cut through lightning in the sky..."
Lei Dou's eyes lit up, and he interrupted Kakashi. "Is it Lightning Blade?"
Kakashi's gaze sharpened. He hadn't expected this kid to know about Lightning Blade. "Since you know it, are you confident you can stop mine?"
Lei Dou formed a sword gesture with his left hand and gently brushed his fingers over Zangetsu, feeling the blade's chill beneath his fingertips.
"Who knows? How will I know unless I try?"
Kakashi chuckled softly at that. If Lei Dou dared to say he would try at a time like this, he must still have an even stronger trump card up his sleeve!
"In that case, let's give it a try!"
Anticipation shone in Kakashi's eyes. He wanted to see what other astonishing potential Lei Dou could draw out!
Lei Dou gripped the hilt with one hand, and the chakra inside him surged wildly. His presence swelled abruptly, like an erupting volcano.
The astonishing chakra fluctuations even disrupted the surrounding air, whipping up a fierce wind.
"This is Water Breathing's ultimate technique!"
"Tenth Form!"
Suddenly, Lei Dou began spinning rapidly in place. His blade swept through the air, and a water dragon seemed to gradually take shape with his movements.
The sound of water began as the gentle murmur of a stream, growing louder and louder with each rotation.
In an instant, that stream became a roaring, surging river.
Rumble!
In the blink of an eye, the water surging from Zangetsu roared like thunder, making their eardrums ache.
Kakashi had originally intended to wait a little longer to see Lei Dou's technique in full. But now, it was clear that the more Lei Dou spun, the more terrifying the power accumulating in that strike became.
He couldn't keep standing there like an idiot. If he let this kid finish charging up, he might actually be the one to lose.
"Lei Dou! Watch out. Here I come!"
Lightning blazed in Kakashi's hand. Wielding the dazzling Lightning Blade, he became a streak of lightning and charged straight ahead.
At that instant, Lei Dou's eyes snapped open, and a chilling gleam flashed across Zangetsu, which he now gripped with both hands.
The water dragon that had been raging and roaring with his rotations finally opened its enormous maw!
Watching Kakashi charge straight toward him, Lei Dou aimed his blade in that direction and slashed down viciously.
"Constant Flux!"
With Lei Dou's furious roar, the raging water formed a lifelike giant dragon and erupted forward.
Kakashi refused to back down, raising the dazzling lightning in his hand to meet it.
"Lightning Blade!"
The raging water dragon and piercing lightning collided instantly, triggering violent energy fluctuations in the next second.
Blinding lightning flashed wildly as turbulent water splashed in every direction.
The two completely different powers battered and tore at each other, whipping up an astonishing storm.
Boom!
A deafening explosion erupted at the edge of Konoha, shaking the ground several times. Nearly half the village's residents looked up in astonishment toward the sound.
"What... happened over there?"
At the center of the explosion, Lei Dou and Kakashi were engulfed by the dazzling light.
As the light slowly faded, the terrifying storm finally began to subside.
In the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage, who had been secretly watching through the Crystal Ball, slowly lowered his pipe.
"That truly was... a spectacular battle!"
He had never imagined that Lei Dou, fresh out of the Ninja Academy, could push Kakashi this far and even clash head-on with Lightning Blade.
This kid was nothing short of a monster in human skin!
A figure emerged first from the drifting dust and smoke!
The Third Hokage paused. "Could it be..."
He watched Lei Dou slowly walk out of the dust. Though somewhat bedraggled, the boy was still standing.
The Third Hokage's heart tightened. Had Kakashi actually been the one to lose?
Just as that absurd thought crossed his mind, Kakashi's figure appeared as well.
He lightly brushed the dust off himself. Aside from his dirty clothes, he didn't seem to have suffered any serious injuries.
By now, he had pulled his forehead protector back down over his Sharingan. He stared at Lei Dou for a long moment before speaking in a complicated tone. "That swordsmanship really is frightening!"
"It actually matched my Lightning Blade!"
As Kakashi spoke, he studied Lei Dou and discovered that the boy's breathing remained steady and strong.
An ordinary Genin would have collapsed from exhaustion after unleashing that much chakra, yet Lei Dou looked completely fine.
Was this kid's body different from everyone else's? Did he really never get tired?
Of course Lei Dou was fine. With two Water Breathing skills in his passive skill list, using Water Breathing cost him absolutely nothing.
Still, Lei Dou slowly put Zangetsu away. There was no need to keep fighting.
Even his final trump card had failed to defeat Kakashi. This result gave Lei Dou a clear understanding of his current strength.
It also gave him a rough idea of where Water Breathing ranked in this world's power scale.
If Kakashi hadn't played fair and given him a little time to build up power for that final strike, Tenth Form could never have tied with the instantly unleashed Lightning Blade.
This technique needed time to get going. With enough time to build up power, it might even surpass Lightning Blade.
But in a battle to the death, an enemy wouldn't simply stand there and let him charge up his ultimate move.
He would need teammates to hold the enemy off for him. Perhaps the Shadow Clone Technique could help.
I only used swordsmanship just now. If I combined it with ninjutsu, dealing with Kakashi in his normal state might... not be that difficult!
Of course, Kakashi certainly hadn't gone all out either.
After all, he hadn't even used that absurdly powerful Kamui. If the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan was taken into account, Lei Dou was definitely still no match for him.
"Although your swordsmanship is powerful and your combat ability is impressive, unfortunately, you still haven't met my requirements!"
Kakashi's cool voice suddenly interrupted Lei Dou's thoughts.
Lei Dou looked up at Kakashi with a slight frown. After a fight like that, he still wanted to make trouble? Was he asking for another round?
Seeing what looked like renewed fighting spirit in Lei Dou's eyes, Kakashi hurriedly waved his hand and explained, "Don't misunderstand. It's not that I don't acknowledge your strength. You simply don't understand what matters most to a ninja!"
What mattered most?
Lei Dou sighed inwardly. It looked like Kakashi was about to start feeding him another inspirational lecture about "teamwork."
Teamwork was certainly important, but it wasn't as though people couldn't survive without it. For the strong, teammates could sometimes be a burden instead.
But if he wanted me to play along...
A faint smile appeared on Lei Dou's lips as he looked at Kakashi. At that very instant...
Kakashi froze. Two figures suddenly sprang out behind him, one on either side.
Naruto and Sasuke?
When did these two kids...
Understanding flashed through Kakashi's mind as he stared at Lei Dou. No wonder the boy had voluntarily put his ninja blade away.
He had done it to make Kakashi lower his guard, creating the perfect opportunity for the two boys hiding nearby to launch a surprise attack.
But hadn't Sasuke been buried underground by my Decapitation Technique...? Naruto must have taken the opportunity to dig him out while I was fighting Lei Dou.
Was this the plan Lei Dou had been whispering about with Naruto earlier?
Whoosh!
Their surprise attack ultimately failed. Though Kakashi had just been through an intense battle, avoiding the attacks of two Genin was still easy enough.
After their attack missed, Naruto and Sasuke hurriedly jumped to Lei Dou's side, looking frustrated and guilty. "Sorry, Lei Dou. We messed up. We couldn't do it!"
Even the usually proud Sasuke kept his head lowered in silence. Lei Dou had created such a good opportunity, even risking himself to make Kakashi relax, yet they had failed to seize it.
They really had let Lei Dou's efforts go to waste.
Lei Dou merely waved a hand, unbothered, to indicate that it was fine.
Meanwhile, Kakashi landed lightly on a wooden post a short distance away.
Crouching there, he studied the three boys with a meaningful look in his uncovered eye.
Lei Dou isn't just absurdly strong. He's also extremely clever. Despite having enough raw strength to match me, he still knows how to use coordinated tactics to create a chance of victory!
Naruto and Sasuke's surprise attack had been timed exceptionally well. If those two kids had been a little stronger, he might not have escaped unscathed.
Naruto and Sasuke performed well too.
Most importantly, a genius on Lei Dou's level actually knows to seek out teamwork on his own!
Normally, children Lei Dou's age with that kind of strength were lone wolves who wanted all the glory for themselves and disdained relying on their comrades.
Yet he had arranged for Naruto to rescue Sasuke and had the two hide, ready to deliver a decisive blow when Kakashi's guard was lowest.
There seemed to be no need to continue the test.
"You three! You passed!"
Sasuke, who had been preparing to charge in and fight again, froze in bewilderment. "What did you say?"
Kakashi jumped down from the wooden post and said with a smile, "I said, congratulations. All of you passed!"
"Passed? But we didn't get the bells at all! And we..." Naruto scratched his head, utterly baffled. This good news had come far too suddenly.
Kakashi looked at the clueless Naruto with amusement in his eye. "Did I ever say you had to get the bells to pass?"
"Huh? But you clearly said our task was to take the bells!"
"The task is the task, and passing is passing. Is there necessarily any logical connection between the two?"
Naruto was thoroughly confused. Didn't completing the task mean passing? Weren't they the same thing?
Sasuke raised his head and looked sharply at Kakashi. "Why? Give us a reason we passed."
"Look at where you're standing now!"
"The three of you are standing together now, and you know to join forces against me. A team's strength grows exponentially. Even though I'm a jonin, with all three of you working together in sync, and with me unable to actually kill you..."
"If we kept this up, I would eventually make a mistake. Your victory and getting the bells would only be a matter of time!"
At that point, Kakashi smiled with satisfaction.
"Besides, what this exercise was really meant to test was your teamwork. You did very well!"
"Meet here tomorrow morning at eight. We'll officially begin your lives as ninja!"
With that, Kakashi casually waved at the three of them. "All right, dismissed! It's almost noon, so go get something to eat. I'm hungry too!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.
Naruto turned to look at Lei Dou. Beyond the excitement he couldn't hide, his eyes held a deep sense of awe.
He had never dreamed that Lei Dou, who usually kept a low profile, could be this powerful. He had actually gone toe-to-toe with their jonin teacher, and it even seemed to have ended in a draw.
He was simply too strong-so strong that Naruto couldn't even feel jealous.
"Lei Dou! You actually fought our teacher like that! Can you teach me that swordsmanship you used? It was so cool!"
Lei Dou smiled and shook his head. "I don't mind teaching you, but your chakra probably isn't water-natured, so... I'm afraid you won't be able to learn it!"
When Sasuke saw that Lei Dou had actually agreed, he had wanted to swallow his pride and ask for instruction too. But after hearing the second half, he forced the words back down.
Members of the Uchiha Clan generally had fire-natured chakra, so he probably had... no chance with this Water Release swordsmanship either.
"All right, stop overthinking it. Let's fill our stomachs first!"
"We'll start carrying out real missions tomorrow!"
With that, Lei Dou headed straight toward the village.
At the same time, he opened the system's skill list in his mind.
[Great Sage: Analysis complete] [Since the host does not possess the Sharingan, Lightning Release: Lightning Blade cannot be fully replicated for use] [Congratulations to the host on obtaining a new skill: Lightning Release Nature Transformation]
Although he couldn't directly use Lightning Blade, Lei Dou had successfully unlocked Lightning Release Nature Transformation through his close contact with Kakashi's technique.
What a massive win!
"Food? Perfect! Lei Dou, how about we go to Ichiraku Ramen?"
Lei Dou withdrew his attention from the system and looked at Naruto, who was inviting him with an expectant expression.
"Sure! I've been craving their ramen too."
Lei Dou turned toward Sasuke, who was about to leave on his own, and called out to him. "Sasuke, want to join us?"
Sasuke paused at the invitation, then frowned with a stubborn show of pride, seemingly hesitant.