Chapter 255: Tatakae (Fight)

The next day.

Early in the morning, Tōshirō was summoned by a subordinate to meet with the Third Hokage.

"Hokage-sama, you called for me?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and got straight to the point. "Tōshirō, for the sake of future operations, there are a few matters I need to discuss with you."

Tōshirō followed along. "Alright, go ahead."

Hiruzen set down the pipe in his mouth. "It's about Tsunade."

"Tsunade?"

"Yes. As the most talented medical ninja in our village, Tsunade is an extremely valuable asset. In the future, she's bound to draw attention from other nations and may even be placed on assassination lists.

"To ensure her safety when she's on the battlefield, it would be best to have a powerful escort by her side."

Hearing this, Tōshirō understood immediately. He then put on a mock-serious face and volunteered: "With all due humility, I believe I'm the perfect fit for the job."

"You?"

Hiruzen gave him a deep glance.

Tōshirō responded calmly, "I'm not bragging, but considering my current strength, I don't think there are many in the village who could beat me in a fair fight."

Hiruzen frowned slightly. "That makes things tricky. The Senju clan has also recommended someone suitable."

Tōshirō paused, then understood. He didn't bother with pleasantries and got straight to the point: "In that case, let's settle it with a match."

"A match?"

"Yes. Since it's about protecting Tsunade, strength is the most important factor. The winner gets to be her escort, the loser eats dust. Hokage-sama, what do you think?"

Hiruzen thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. "You like to let strength speak—that does align well with the Uchiha clan's principles."

"Well, I am from the Uchiha clan, after all."

Hearing this, Hiruzen's gaze grew a bit more meaningful. "That's true... Alright then, we'll go with your suggestion. I'll coordinate things with the Senju side."

Tōshirō nodded in thanks, exchanged a few token pleasantries, then left the Hokage's office.

As Tōshirō walked away, Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe. The swirling smoke dissipated before him—this was also a good opportunity to test how much the Jinchūriki had grown over the past three years.

Soon after leaving the office, Tōshirō received new instructions: a match would take place tomorrow, at a specific time and location.

The next day, Tōshirō arrived at the designated place right on schedule. It was a circular structure with an open-air interior.

This building was Konoha's arena. Sometimes it was used for Chūnin Exams, but since it was currently unoccupied, it was repurposed for the match.

"What a pain..." Tōshirō muttered as he stepped inside.

It wasn't his first time here. During Chūnin Exams, he'd come to spectate and watch the show.

He made his way through the tunnel with practiced ease. At first, due to the lighting, his vision was a bit dim, but it didn't last long. Soon he saw light ahead, and instinctively quickened his pace. Moments later, he emerged from the tunnel, and his surroundings opened up brightly.

In front of him was flat ground, with a few small trees nearby. A high wall surrounded the area—meant to shield the spectators from the battle. Along the wall were rows upon rows of viewing seats and an audience.

From where he stood, everyone across from him was unfamiliar.

"There she is…"

Tōshirō's gaze landed on a blonde girl among the crowd. Somehow, no matter how many people were around, he could always pick Tsunade out instantly. It had become something he was naturally good at.

From the moment he entered the arena, Tōshirō could feel multiple pairs of eyes watching him. He turned to look and saw scattered spectators seated behind him. Unlike those across the way, these were all familiar faces—including that brat, Fugaku.

"Looks like both families are paying close attention to this match. They even made time to come watch."

Tōshirō chuckled lightly and turned his head, his gaze resting on the black-and-white-haired young man opposite him. He raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't you say so?"

Thinking back to the potential opponents, Tōshirō recalled the intelligence he'd gathered and said, "If I remember correctly, your name is Senju Asakura, right? No, just Asakura now—after all, your clan has been disbanded, hasn't it? Hmph…"

His opening remarks were laced with clear provocation. Tōshirō wanted to see if he could anger his opponent and force a mistake.

Asakura: "…"

From the outcome, it was clear that Tōshirō's little provocation was utterly ineffective, which left him feeling quite disappointed. "Looks like he's a tight-lipped bore..."

Asakura opened his eyes after briefly closing them and said, "Give up..."

???

Tōshirō was thoroughly confused.

"You and Lady Tsunade... you're not suited for each other."

"Mind your own damn—"Mid-sentence, Tōshirō suddenly went silent.

Noticing the strange and out-of-character reaction, Asakura was slightly puzzled.

He could clearly feel that just now, Tōshirō had the strong urge to snap back at him. The words were already halfway out of his mouth—yet he suddenly held back. This made Asakura rather curious.

"Whatever. It's just verbal sparring anyway."

Tōshirō shook his head to himself, then suddenly flung a kunai.

Words were pointless—violence was the most straightforward and effective way to reach a resolution.

The kunai flew at high speed, slicing through the air with a sharp whoosh.

Asakura easily leapt to the side. With such a direct, in-your-face attack, dodging it was naturally not difficult.

"Oh? Pretty fast, huh."

Tōshirō narrowed his eyes and offered some praise.

That kunai had just been a test—to gauge the opponent's reactions.

Since it was a one-on-one battle, Tōshirō had plenty of time to calculate each move carefully.

He aimed to conserve chakra whenever possible.

Naturally, weapons like shuriken that didn't require chakra were his first choice.

And besides, he could retrieve them later—unlike in normal missions where once thrown, they were often lost for good...

While Tōshirō was sizing up his opponent, Asakura was doing the same. He leaned forward slightly, then threw several kunai as a feint before dashing in at high speed.

Tōshirō stepped back and turned to evade, barely dodging the shuriken.

Meanwhile, Asakura waited for the right moment, then used the Body Flicker Technique to close the distance in a flash.

Reflected in Tōshirō's suddenly narrowed pupils was Asakura lunging low toward him. As Asakura's arm pulled back, his fingers curled in one by one, starting with the pinky. He locked them in place with his thumb, positioned the fist at his waist, and then twisted into a full punch.

This seemingly ordinary straight punch was actually charged with monstrous strength, augmented by chakra. It was fierce and unstoppable.

If one were to take it head-on without knowing what it was, the consequences would be severe.

Using his heel as a pivot, Tōshirō spun his body halfway and narrowly dodged the blow. At the same time, he lifted his right foot and kicked at Asakura's knee.

Caught off guard, Asakura's stance faltered slightly from the hit to his knee. Tōshirō pressed the advantage, pushing upward with an open palm aimed at Asakura's chin.

The damage was minor—but the insult was major.

Asakura's neck was knocked upward.

Taking advantage of that brief moment of vulnerability, Tōshirō stepped on Asakura's knee, launched himself into the air, flipped backward, and widened the gap between them—all while quickly forming hand seals.

Asakura recognized the seal ending in the Tiger hand sign—clearly a signature Uchiha Fire Style jutsu.

Reacting instantly, he clapped his hands and fired a jet of water from his mouth, crashing it into the ground. The water arced outward in a circle, forming a high-speed wall of water that blocked the incoming fireball.

"Ssssss..."

The clash between the fireball and water wall produced a harsh hissing sound, and thick white steam billowed into the air.

In the audience stands, Fugaku's eyes were serious. "This Asakura guy is really strong... He can use such a powerful Water Style even without a water source."

Water Style techniques manipulate nearby water to form jutsu—but only highly skilled users can perform them without any available water.

For the Uchiha clan, which specializes in Fire Style, the most troublesome opponents are always those proficient in Water Style.

The Uchiha clan head heard Fugaku praising an outsider while underestimating their own and couldn't help but snort, "It's just Water Style. Don't forget what Tōshirō's kekkei genkai is."

Reminded, Fugaku smiled. "That's true—Tōshirō's ability is practically the perfect counter to Water Style. After a little probing, he should be ready to bring out his Ice Style."

But unfortunately, he guessed wrong.

Tōshirō showed no signs of using his Ice Style. Instead, he took advantage of the white mist as cover and quietly circled behind Asakura.

By the time Asakura realized, it was too late—reflected in his rapidly shrinking pupils was a fist.

So fast.When did he even—

Panicked, Asakura tried to raise his arm to block, but he was still a step too slow. The punch pierced through his guard and struck him square in the face.

That blow didn't just hit his face—it struck the entire Senju clan's pride.

This is the level of skill you bring to break up a couple?

Go train for another two and a half years.

Asakura's body flew like a broken ragdoll, slamming hard into the wall and kicking up a cloud of thick smoke.

(End of Chapter)

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