The underground training ground had a high, spacious dome and was bathed in cold, white light.
The air was thick with the smell of dust accumulated over the years, and a tense, silent pressure.
On the observation platform, almost all the important figures of Sunagakure were present.
Rasa sat upright in the center, his knuckles unconsciously tapping lightly on the armrest of the chair;
Ebizo squinted, as if dozing, but a glint of light flashed in his eyes when he occasionally opened them;
Granny Chiyo crossed her arms, a faint, amused smile playing on her lips.
The other elders and leaders of the Anbu also held their breath, their eyes fixed on the area below.
The heavy metal door slid open with a screeching sound. Shira walked alone into the empty space.
His dark gray training uniform accentuated his tall and muscular physique, honed by four years of wind, sand, and energy, revealing a powerful and dynamic presence.
He stood still, tilted his head slightly, and met the gazes on the high platform that could decide the fate of Sunagakure, neither humble nor arrogant.
Opposite, another door opened. Five figures walked in one after another and stood still.
Baki, still in his uniform, with a stern face, spoke first, his voice echoing clearly in the room. " Shira, the test for promotion to Jonin begins now. You are already aware of the rules. Your opponents are the five of us." He stepped aside, gesturing to each of them.
Hello, handsome guy~
A slightly languid and playful female voice rang out. It belonged to a female Jonin with short purple hair. She looked Shira up and down with great interest, lingering for a moment longer on his well-defined shoulders and waist, a charming smile curving her lips.
"My name is Yosuzume. I'm good at getting naughty little ones to sleep a little longer, or to dance or something. But, it would be such a waste to just beat up a little one like you with such a great figure and pretty face!"
"How about you admit defeat to me, and I'll treat you to a cup of tea so we can chat?"
She blinked, and several small, brightly colored, and oddly shaped ninja tools were now held between her fingers, clearly poisoned or possessing special effects.
Shira remained unfazed and nodded slightly to her. "Senior Yosuzume, please guide me." Her tone was calm, completely ignoring the slightly provocative words.
Yosuzume raised an eyebrow and clicked his tongue. "Tch, boring old fogey."
Shira's gaze swept past her and landed on I Fūgetsu.
The teacher who had once taught him the basics of anti- Genjutsu, with a sharp and direct style, now exuded a more restrained aura, but his eyes were like knives. Shira bowed solemnly. "Teacher I Fūgetsu."
I Fūgetsu looked at him, her gaze seemingly trying to dissect and see through the changes he had undergone in the past four years. After a long while, she slowly nodded, her voice as crisp and clear as ever. " Shira, you haven't forgotten the basics of resisting Genjutsu, have you? Don't think that speed can make you ignore everything. Today, your teacher will let you relive what true 'interference' really is."
"I dare not forget, please check, teacher," Shira replied in a deep voice.
Finally, his gaze fell on Kenmei. One-armed, dressed in gray, he was as sculpted as an ancient sword.
Shira bowed deeply. "Teacher Kenmei."
Kenmei gripped his sword with his only remaining right hand, his gaze calmly fixed on the sword at Shira's waist. He then looked up at him and asked, "Four years. Has your swordsmanship improved?"
"I have been practicing diligently without ever slacking off. Today, I ask the teacher to test me." Shira looked directly into Kenmei's eyes.
"Okay." Kenmei said only one word, but it carried immense weight.
Yan grinned broadly, revealing his White Fang, and their fists collided with a dull thud. "Kid, I heard your strength has increased? Come on, let your Uncle Yan weigh you up, don't just run away!"
Baki raised his hand, stopping Yan's eagerness, and his gaze returned to Shira. A very subtle hint of emotion seemed to flash across his cold face.
" Shira, I remember it very clearly. Six years ago, in the village, I was the one who tested you to determine if you were qualified to graduate early and become Genin."
He paused, his voice echoing in the empty space, "Six years from now, stand here to be tested on whether you are qualified to skip the Chunin and become Jonin directly."
"What happened during your four-year absence, what you went through, I won't ask. But the title of Jonin is no child's play. Are you ready?"
Shira met Baki's gaze and answered clearly and firmly, "Yes, Jonin Baki. I'm ready."
"Then," Baki's eyes narrowed, Chakra began to slowly rise, "Begin!"
The moment the word "begin" was uttered, the five Jonin did not rush forward, but instead displayed a high level of tactical awareness.
With a low roar, Yan, like a large war puppet being activated, strode forward with steps that shook the ground, aggressively pressing down from the front. He intended to create direct pressure with absolute power and a sense of oppression, compressing Shira's space to dodge and forcing him to either collide head-on or retreat.
Yosuzume chuckled softly, her figure blurring as she circled the perimeter like a ghost. Her speed was incredible, yet she wasn't in a hurry to attack. The colorful ninja tools at her fingertips gleamed ominously, clearly searching for the perfect moment to disrupt and throw them. She was a deadly controller and master of harassment.
In stark contrast to Yan's "movement," I Fūgetsu stood still, but his hands had already formed a complex hand seal. His gaze was locked on Shira, and an invisible yet slightly tingling fluctuation quietly spread out—a harbinger of a powerful Genjutsu!
Instead of attacking directly, he created mental interference and pressure, combining it with the physical pressure from the rock, employing a two-pronged approach.
Kenmei remained standing still, but his entire being resembled a sharp sword slowly drawn from its sheath. His sword aura was contained yet locked onto Shira's vital points, ready to unleash a devastating attack at any moment.
Even with the loss of an arm, he remains a hidden, deadly assassin, waiting for the opportunity to strike a fatal blow.
Baki remained firmly at a distance, arms crossed, his gaze calmly sweeping across the entire arena, like a commander in control of the situation, ready to issue the most lethal attack order or take action himself based on Shira's reaction.
Faced with this three-dimensional and deadly opening, Shira moved.
Without any earth-shattering force, just as Yan's fist, as large as a sand bowl and carrying a fierce wind, was about to strike him, and the fluctuations of I Fūgetsu's Genjutsu were about to touch his mind—
Shira's figure blurred for a moment in place.
In the next instant, he had already appeared to the right of the rock, at least five meters away from his original position!
This is the ultimate, explosive speed of the physical body!
It was so fast that many elders on the platform could barely keep up, only catching a fleeting afterimage.
"What?!"
Yan's punch missed its mark, but the force of the blow created a shallow crater in the ground. He then spun around with his massive body, his left arm sweeping across like a steel whip – his reaction was incredibly fast.
But Shira seemed to have anticipated his movements. As he turned and exerted force, she lightly touched the ground with her toes, and her body, like a leaf blown by the wind, "slid" past the underside of Yan Heng's sweeping arm. At the same time, she casually flicked her right hand backward.
"Ding ding ding!"
Three colorful poison needles, shot from extremely tricky angles and attempting to block his gliding path, were flicked aside by his casual flick of the knuckles, changing their trajectory. They collided with each other and flew diagonally, embedding themselves in the distant wall.
ah?
The attacker was Yosuzume, yet Shira so effortlessly neutralized her attack, causing a flicker of surprise in Violet's eyes.
Shira glided past the side of the rock, her gaze meeting that of I Fūgetsu, who stood motionless. I Fūgetsu's Genjutsu fluctuations, like an invisible spider web, had already enveloped the area where Shira had just been and were rapidly spreading towards him.
However, Shira's eyes were clear and calm, showing no signs of being trapped in the Genjutsu. He even nodded slightly to I Fūgetsu, as if to say: Teacher, this move has little effect on me.
I Fūgetsu's pupils contracted slightly, his hand seals changed, the Genjutsu fluctuations suddenly intensified, and at the same time, he moved!
He no longer stood still to cast his spell, but instead used the Genjutsu's mental interference to move with lightning speed, rushing straight at Shira. A dull short blade appeared in his hand at some point, and he thrust it straight at Shira's slightly exposed side of the neck due to her movement—this was his true killing move!
Genjutsu is the outward appearance; assassination is the true purpose!
Shira seemed completely unsurprised by I Fūgetsu's sudden attack. Just as the short blade was about to touch his skin, his upper body leaned back in an almost disproportionate way, while his left foot pivoted on his right foot, which then swung up from below, precisely kicking the inside of I Fūgetsu's wrist as he held the knife!
"Smack!"
With a crisp sound, a precise pressure point strike combined with skillful force! I Fūgetsu felt a numbness in her wrist, the short blade almost slipped from her hand, and her attack vanished instantly.
Without hesitation, he used the momentum to flip backward, and at the same time, he waved his left hand, causing a cloud of fine sand, barely visible to the naked eye, to spread out, carrying a hallucinogenic aura—this was an advanced technique that combined Genjutsu with physical interference!
Shira's body, which had been leaning back, didn't fall. Instead, it sprang back as if springy, taking a deep breath just before the fine sand hit him, and then—
"Call!"
A condensed, arrow-like stream of air shot out from his mouth and precisely struck a certain area of air in front of him.
Under the strange rhythm, the airflow in that area instantly became turbulent, forming a small, disordered micro-cyclone that scattered and swirled most of the hallucinogenic sand that had been spreading over!
"Wind?" On the high platform, Ebizo finally spoke, a hint of amusement in his voice, "Interesting, it's not Wind Release Chakra."
Chiyo, standing speechlessly beside her younger brother Ebizo, muttered, "That kid Shira can't use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu either..."
Upon hearing this, Ebizo chuckled and then turned his attention back to the field.
I Fūgetsu landed, looking at the fine sand he had dissipated and the poisoned needles that had been blown off course, then at the unharmed and clear-eyed Shira, a complex expression appeared on his face, a mixture of frustration and relief. "Good lad! Your foundation in resisting Genjutsu hasn't been lost after all! And you've even picked up some strange tricks!"
"Thank you for your approval, Teacher." Shira steadied herself, but before she could finish speaking, a sudden gust of wind rose behind her!
Rock had caught up, its massive Rock Fist sealing off his space to dodge left and right, determined to overwhelm him with sheer force!
Meanwhile, Kenmei, who had been observing the situation quietly, finally made his move!
Just as Shira's old power had dissipated and her new power had not yet been generated, and she was forced to reposition by Yan, Kenmei's sword was drawn!
There was no dazzling light, only a simple, concise, and fast straight line of cold light that was beyond visual capture, aimed directly at the exposed ribcage of Shira when she had to turn slightly to face Yan!
The timing, angle, and speed of this sword strike perfectly exemplify the essence of swordsmanship: a "one-hit kill"!
Even more terrifying was the sword intent, which was sharp and not only aimed at the body, but also subtly locked onto Shira's spirit, bringing a tremendous sense of oppression.
At the same time, Yosuzume's giggles rang out, and several ninja tools trailing colorful smoke shot out from different directions, blocking any possible high points for Shira to maneuver.
Baki finally moved. He formed a hand Hand Seals, and a powerful wind pressure descended from the sky, suppressing the airflow in a large area around him, restricting his movements, as if he were trapped in an invisible quagmire!
Shira: Aren't we supposed to be a couple, bro?
A decisive victory!
On the high platform, Rasa leaned forward slightly. Chiyo opened her eyes.
Despite the near certain death from this siege, Shira's eyes remained calm and serene.
In his perception, there was Iwa's fist, Kenmei's sword, Yosuzume's ninja tools, Baki's wind pressure, and even the lingering Genjutsu fluctuations in the air...
Everything was like a slow-motion video; the trajectory, the magnitude of the force, and the direction of the airflow were all crystal clear.
Shira made a move that surprised everyone.
He didn't try to escape at a faster speed—it would be difficult under the pressure of the Baki. Nor did he parry with his sword— Kenmei's sword was too fast and too cunning. He didn't even look at the deadly tip of the blade.
He was merely there, in that instant— the Rock Fist was about to strike his body, the sword tip was about to touch his skin, ninja tools were overhead, and the wind pressure was upon him—
The body slid half a step to the left and forward with an extremely subtle yet exquisite movement.
It's just this half step!
Yan's powerful, heavy fist, which blocked both sides, almost grazed his right shoulder clothing because of Shira's slight sideways movement. The force of the punch made his cheek sting, but it failed to hit the target.
Because of Shira's half-step shift and subtle change in body angle, the "open door" that Kenmei's sword tip was pointing at was no longer an open door!
The longsword grazed past the clothes under Shira's ribs, cutting a gash and revealing the firm muscles below, but it still failed to pierce the flesh!
Kenmei's eyes flashed with a sharp light, but his swordplay had aged, making it difficult to change his move instantly.
Most of the Yosuzume's ninja tools landed where Shira should have been, with only one grazing his calf and failing to cause any real damage.
However, due to Shira's precise half-step displacement, Baki's area of wind pressure allowed him to accelerate this seemingly impossible movement adjustment by using the edge force of the wind pressure, like a duckweed in the wind, borrowing force to transform it.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Shira's figure had already "leaked" out of this deadly encirclement, appearing in a brief gap after Yan and Kenmei's attacks intersected.
Without stopping, he took several light and swift steps, instantly widening the distance between himself and the four people, returning to a relatively central position on the field. He was slightly out of breath, but his eyes were bright and his breathing was steady.
A moment of silence fell over the room.
The five Jonin, including Baki, stopped what they were doing and stared at the boy in the arena.
Yan's fist was still suspended in mid-air, Kenmei's sword had not yet been sheathed, Yosuzume's smile was somewhat stiff, I Fūgetsu's eyes were extremely solemn.
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd on the high platform. This has contributed to global warming.
Rasa slowly leaned back in his chair, his fingers ceasing their tapping, his eyes flickering uncertainly.
Chiyo and Ebizo exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes.
"That half-step just now..." an elder murmured.
"This is not just about speed; it's about anticipation, perception, and an incredibly refined level of control over the body, strength, and environment!"
Another leader of the Anbu whispered.
Baki looked at Shira, slowly exhaled, and said in a deep voice, "You passed the first round of testing. Your basic strength, reaction, and adaptability far exceed the level of an ordinary Jonin."
He changed the subject abruptly. "But Jonin doesn't stop there. Next, we'll stop holding back and simulate extreme conditions for high-difficulty missions. Do you still want to continue?"
Shira calmed her breathing, straightened her body, and glanced at the five serious-looking Jonin before finally looking at Baki. She nodded slowly, her voice clear and firm:
"Continue."