Chapter 104
This time the fight lasted about four minutes, but the winner remained the same. However, that wasn't the most surprising part. After a couple of minutes, Kei noticed that unlike his opponent, the Nara didn't use chakra to accelerate his movements or enhance his strikes.
And yet, the physical superiority wasn't in favor of the genin, although it should have been the other way around. Moreover, the experienced shinobi's eye noticed some stiffness in the movements of the red-haired boy. Just a little, but it was enough to determine the presence of weights or training seals.
At this thought, the sensei of the genin team paused for a moment, unable to believe that such a severely limited Nara could defeat a fairly well-trained opponent in taijutsu, three years older, and seemingly effortlessly.
What also puzzled him was the style used—smooth movements and evasions of strikes almost without blocks, as if evading all attempts to inflict damage, followed by lightning-fast and devastating strikes at the slightest opportunity.
"Sen, let's go," said the last genin.
The last genin lasted about six minutes before receiving a devastating blow to the stomach and ending up on the ground, signaling the end of the sparring.
"Your genin seem a bit weak," Nara said somewhat disappointedly to Kei. "The previous team lasted about half an hour."
"Hmm, it seems I'll have to step up their training, given how poor the result turned out to be," Shibatori shook his head, pleased to note the three groans from the students lying on the ground. "How about sparring with me?"
"To be honest, I was hoping for that," the boy said, smiling widely and flexing his arms.
"Just without training weights and with the use of chakra," Kei nodded.
Hearing the teacher's words, the genin stared wide-eyed at their much younger opponent, who had defeated them effortlessly and with so many limitations.
"Oh, so you noticed?" the red-haired boy was somewhat surprised. "The jonin before you wasn't so observant."
"For a taijutsu specialist, it's quite obvious, especially considering the excessive muscle tension with each movement," Shibatori explained.
"Hmm, I respect that," the boy measured him with a look. "What's your name?"
"Kei Shibatori," the Tokubetsu Jonin nodded. "And yours?"
"Ryo Nara, nice to meet you, Kei-san."
"Likewise, Ryo-san," the shinobi nodded, pondering where he might have heard that name before.
Suddenly, a switch flipped in his mind, and Kei remembered rumors from a couple of years ago about a genius from the Nara clan who received his genin card at the age of seven.
It was somewhat surprising, as the young genius looked older than his years and much more physically developed than his academy peers.
"So, you're that Ryo Nara," the shinobi nodded knowingly. "I didn't know you were so good at taijutsu too."
"I try," the boy shrugged, then rolled up his sleeves, revealing a bunch of seals on both the outer and inner sides of his arms.
Placing his fingers on one on the outer side, he said, "Teyko Fuin: Kai!" then repeated the operation with the other hand.
"Tadji Fuin: Kai!"
Fuinjutsu? Along with the hair color, everything pointed to one parent being from the Uzumaki clan, Shibatori involuntarily noted, but dismissed the intrusive thought. After a short jog and warm-up, Nara stood in a ready stance and nodded.
"Now I'm ready."
"Excellent."
Assessing the opponent's readiness, Kei waited a few moments and, determining that Nara was giving him the first move, covered the distance between them in an instant and attempted to strike him in the side with his leg.
Of course, his speed was at the level of an experienced chunin, but using all his abilities against a child would have been simply insulting. However, Nara proved to be experienced and fast enough to step back, avoiding the blow, and then darting forward with unexpectedly high speed, now attempting to strike the Tokubetsu Jonin himself. And he succeeded.
Not expecting such agility from a ten-year-old, Shibatori hesitated and failed to dodge in time, earning a very painful kick to the thigh. But the reflexes honed over the years didn't fail him, and the next strike to the stomach was met with a block by his hand.
Jumping back, the shinobi shook his head in surprise, shaking his slightly numb hand—despite the successful block, the force behind the blow was no joke, and if not for the chakra infused into the muscles, the damage would have been much more significant, causing more than just a slight numbness.
I've got more interesting stuff on patreon (up to 130 chapter)
patreon.com/Chill76