"An interesting brat."
Uchiha Itachi looked at Ye Chuan, his tone calm yet carrying an invisible pressure.
"You seem... very eager to fight me?"
"I just want to experience the strength of the legendary Uchiha genius."
As Ye Chuan spoke, he settled into a sword stance.
"As you wish." The moment Uchiha Itachi finished speaking, his figure vanished again!
Almost simultaneously, Ye Chuan's Observation Haki sensed fierce killing intent behind him!
Without turning his head, he slashed backward!
Clang!
Wado Ichimonji precisely blocked a kunai thrust toward his back, straight for his heart!
Uchiha Itachi appeared behind him!
When his strike failed, Uchiha Itachi immediately retreated, his hands rapidly forming hand seals!
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
An enormous fireball roared toward Ye Chuan like a meteor, carrying scorching heat!
Facing this powerful Fire Release, Ye Chuan did something neither Asuma nor Kurenai Yuhi had expected.
He closed his eyes.
At the same time, rather than retreating, he charged straight toward the enormous fireball!
Under Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi's shocked gazes, Ye Chuan plunged into the fireball!
The next second!
Riiiip!
The fireball was cleaved in two!
Ye Chuan burst out completely unscathed, Wado Ichimonji coated in pitch-black Armament Haki as he drove it straight at Uchiha Itachi!
That was right. Since Armament Haki could grasp a Logia user's true body, it could naturally break through ninjutsu too!
"Hmm?!"
Surprise flashed through Uchiha Itachi's eyes again. His opponent had actually coated his blade with some kind of power.
He immediately raised a hand to block while rapidly forming hand seals with the other.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sword and kunai collided repeatedly, sending sparks flying.
Ye Chuan's swordsmanship used broad, sweeping movements, every slash heavy and powerful, coming from tricky angles.
Uchiha Itachi, meanwhile, relied on his Sharingan's dynamic vision to keep dodging and blocking.
"Impressive swordsmanship."
During their exchange, Uchiha Itachi offered a rare word of praise.
"You're the first to possess such skill at this age."
Ye Chuan remained unmoved, his attacks growing even fiercer.
He knew that against an opponent of Itachi's caliber, even the slightest lapse could prove fatal.
He drove his Armament Haki at full power, coating his blade and vital areas to withstand several of Itachi's seemingly ordinary attacks head-on.
"Time to stop testing each other!"
Ye Chuan's gaze sharpened. Seizing an opening in Itachi's defenses, he unleashed a sudden burst of power!
Slash!
Another pitch-black sword slash swept out, carrying a terrifying pressure!
It was even more condensed than the one he had used against the Sand ninja!
Facing this astonishingly powerful strike, Uchiha Itachi's expression shifted slightly, and he swiftly formed hand seals!
Poof!
The Itachi struck by the sword slash turned into a wooden log!
The Substitution Technique!
The real Uchiha Itachi appeared a short distance away.
"Lightning Blade!"
Accompanied by a piercing sound like a thousand birds chirping in unison, Kakashi finally arrived!
Upon recognizing Uchiha Itachi, he launched a surprise attack without hesitation!
Yet, facing Kakashi's signature Lightning Release Ninjutsu, Uchiha Itachi merely turned sideways.
He easily kept his vital areas out of its path while kicking Kakashi's wrist, directly interrupting his ninjutsu and sending him flying!
"Kakashi!" Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi rushed over and hurriedly caught him.
"What's your name?"
Uchiha Itachi paid no further attention to Kakashi and the others, turning his gaze back to Ye Chuan, the boy who had surprised him.
"Ye Chuanliu," Ye Chuan answered calmly. "I'm a genin from the same class as Sasuke Uchiha."
At the mention of Sasuke, an almost imperceptible flicker passed through Uchiha Itachi's eyes.
"Ye Chuan... an interesting brat."
Beside him, Kisame Hoshigaki rested Samehada on his shoulder and chuckled.
"Mr. Itachi, this kid's strength is nothing like a genin's."
Uchiha Itachi said nothing, merely giving Ye Chuan a searching look, as though assessing something.
"We're leaving, Kisame," Uchiha Itachi finally decided.
"Yes." Though Kisame still wanted more, he obeyed the order.
The two lingered no longer. After a few flickers, their figures disappeared into the thick mist.
Watching the direction they had left in, Ye Chuan slowly sheathed his sword and let out a long breath.
This was his first true exchange with a Kage Level fighter!
Although his opponent had clearly held back considerably, nowhere near using his full strength, and had not even activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Still, that unfathomable strength made him feel the enormous gap between himself and this world's true top fighters.
With 60% inheritance progress, plus Haki and a famous sword, he might have enough to handle an elite jonin, but against a Kage Level opponent... he was still far from enough!
Especially against an all-round opponent like Itachi, who possessed the Sharingan and excelled in all kinds of ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu, his means of attack were still too limited.
It seemed that knowing only swordsmanship had its limits after all.
The smoke of the Konoha Crush Plan gradually cleared, and through the efforts of countless ninja, the damaged buildings were repaired.
Unfortunately, this was only temporary. When Pain came along in a few years and unleashed a Shinra Tensei, this place would have to be flattened all over again.
That day, countless ninja gathered below the Hokage Building, where the new Hokage's inauguration ceremony would be held.
Ye Chuan came too, standing on the relatively sparse outskirts of the crowd.
His arrival immediately drew the attention of many nearby ninja.
During the Konoha Crush Plan, many had personally witnessed this boy fighting like a god of slaughter, and their gazes were filled with complicated feelings.
Amid the silence, a figure finally appeared on the Hokage Building's rooftop.
A beautiful woman who looked to be only in her twenties.
She had long blonde hair, a purple Yin Seal on her forehead, and a stunningly voluptuous figure that made it difficult to look away.
In her hand, she held the Hokage hat that symbolized Konoha's highest authority.
One of the legendary Sannin, the granddaughter of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, the pinnacle of Medical Ninjutsu-Tsunade, who loved gambling more than life and feared blood.
She was Konoha's Fifth Hokage.
With her here, the village's medical standards would rise dramatically from now on, and regrowing severed arms would no longer be a dream.
Under the gazes of countless ninja, Tsunade put on the Hokage hat, formally completing the inauguration ceremony.
Not long after the ceremony ended, Ye Chuan received a summons from the Hokage.
Inside the Hokage's office, Tsunade sat in the Hokage's chair, scrutinizing the black-haired boy before her with his unusually deep gaze.
"Ye Chuan, right?"
There was a trace of languor in Tsunade's voice.
"I've already heard from Kurenai and Jiraiya about your performance during the Land of Waves mission and the recent attack on the village. Very impressive."
Her gaze was sharp, as though she wanted to see right through Ye Chuan.
"To possess such strength at such a young age, and wield that strange power too... you have quite a few secrets."
Tsunade leaned forward slightly, revealing astonishing curves.
Ye Chuan grew slightly wary inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged.
"Just some luck and fortunate encounters, Lord Hokage."
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