Chapter 17: Combat and Strength

Chapter 17: Combat and Strength

"Come on, Uncle Bi!" Kiyoshi's Chakra began to boil within him.

"Battle start!" With Elder Seiji's command, the battle suddenly erupted.

Kiyoshi and Bi simultaneously focused Chakra in their legs and quickly charged towards each other.

"Boom!" Their fists collided, stirring up a shockwave that shot out in all directions, and the ground beneath them caved in, forming a circular crater.

"What heavy fists!" Bi, as his opponent, secretly groaned. Although his Taijutsu was not weak, he was after all a ninja specializing in Water Release, and it was by his masterful use of Water Release that he had become a Special Jōnin.

Elder Seiji, who was watching from the side, although his strength was only at the Elite Jōnin level, his insight was not lacking. He judged Kiyoshi's approximate Taijutsu strength at a glance.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

The two quickly exchanged several blows of Taijutsu. Bi suddenly flashed away, formed a hand seal with one hand, and instantly increased the Chakra output in his right fist.

"Water Release: Blue Dragon Palm!" Dragon-shaped Chakra enveloped Bi's right hand, and he struck heavily towards Kiyoshi.

"One-handed hand seal!" Kiyoshi was surprised. He hadn't expected that a Special Jōnin like Bi could use a technique that even in his memories, few people could. As expected, someone who could serve as an elder's guard and steward had some tricks up their sleeve.

Facing Bi's fierce palm strike, Kiyoshi had no choice but to dodge to the side.

Bi also took this opportunity to retreat, quickly leaping onto the surface of the artificial lake in the backyard. As a Water Release ninja, using Water Release in a place with water could both increase the power and reduce Chakra consumption.

Dispelling the Chakra covering his right hand, Bi began to form hand seals quickly. Serpent-Ox-Rabbit, three seals were completed in less than a second.

"Water Release: Wild Waves!" The lake water quickly rose and surged towards Kiyoshi. Losing the initiative, Kiyoshi had no choice but to continue dodging.

Then the hand seals in Bi's hands continued to change, and Chakra fluctuated violently.

Ox-Monkey-Rabbit-Rat-Boar-Rooster-Ox-Horse-Rooster-Rat-Tiger-Dog-Tiger-Snake-Ox-Ram-Snake-Boar-Ram-Rat-Dog-Monkey-Rooster-Dragon-Rooster-Ox-Horse-Ram-Tiger-Snake-Rat-Monkey-Rabbit-Boar-Dragon-Ram-Rat-Ox-Monkey-Rooster-Dog-Rat-Boar-Rooster. Bi rapidly completed 44 hand seals in 10 seconds, his hands almost sparking.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!" A huge water dragon rose from the lake surface, roaring as it charged towards Kiyoshi.

Kiyoshi, who had inherited thousands of years of memories, recognized that Bi was going to use the Water Dragon Bullet Technique as soon as he started forming the hand seals.

The air in the Land of Water was rich in water vapor, so even without being near the lake, it would enhance the release of Water Release ninjutsu.

So, after Kiyoshi dodged the impact of the water flow, he also quickly formed hand seals. Kiyoshi used the simplified 10-seal version of the Water Dragon Bullet Technique he had obtained from Isshiki, so he completed the release of the technique first, arriving before Bi's attack. A large amount of water flow protruded from Kiyoshi's mouth, quickly condensing into a ferocious water dragon that flew towards Bi.

Although Kiyoshi also knew the 5-seal and even 3-seal release methods for the Water Dragon Bullet Technique, he couldn't perform them yet.

Seeing Kiyoshi, who had formed the hand seals later but used the same Water Dragon Bullet Technique first, a sharp light burst forth in Elder Seiji's eyes. Elder Seiji, unaware that Kiyoshi had a cheat, attributed the simplified Water Dragon Bullet Technique's hand seals to his superb talent.

The two water dragons collided in the air with a loud crash, and a large amount of water splashed around, making the water vapor in the air even denser.

Using the same technique to offset Bi's attack, Kiyoshi had no intention of engaging in close combat and continued to form hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Needles!" A large number of water bullets condensed in the air, scattering towards Bi like buckshot.

Shocked by Kiyoshi's 10-seal Water Dragon Bullet Technique, Bi hurriedly suppressed the turmoil in his heart and formed hand seals to defend.

Tiger-Snake-Rat-Snake-Tiger, five seals were completed quickly.

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

A vertical wall of water rose from the lake surface, firmly protecting Bi behind it. The rapidly approaching water bullets struck the Water Formation Wall heavily, stirring up ripples.

Kiyoshi, not discouraged by failing to achieve his goal, continued to form hand seals. Just as Kiyoshi was about to continue his attack, Elder Seiji, who was watching from the side, called out to stop him.

"That's enough, little Kiyoshi. Bi, you come over here too!" Elder Seiji had a rough understanding of Kiyoshi's strength. Bi, as a Special Jōnin, was not enough to measure Kiyoshi's true power. He needed to know Kiyoshi's accurate strength now in order to make a subsequent training plan for Kiyoshi.

The two calmed their respective Chakras and formed the reconciliation seal with each other.

"You were too kind, Uncle Bi," Kiyoshi said, bowing to Bi with a modest expression.

"Hehe! Truly, the new generation replaces the old! Young Master Kiyoshi's strength has already surpassed mine," Bi said with a wry smile, but he still highly recognized Kiyoshi's talent and strength.

Elder Seiji on the side made a few hand gestures in the air, and a sturdy man wearing a mask with a bizarre smiling face carved on it and dressed in Anbu attire instantly appeared in front of Elder Seiji, kneeling on one knee.

"Elder Seiji-sama! Please give your orders!" the newcomer said respectfully.

As Elder Seiji, who held the same authority as the Mizukage and had an extremely high status within the Hidden Mist Village, although he had gradually stopped managing affairs in recent years, he still had a team of elite Anbu loyal to him under his command.

"This is Ling, the squad leader of the Anbu protecting me. He has the strength of an Elite Jōnin, close to the Kage level. Little Kiyoshi, you can go all out and don't worry about hurting him. Ling's strength is considered very strong within the entire village," Elder Seiji introduced to Kiyoshi.

"Young Master Kiyoshi, would you like to recover some Chakra?" Ling asked.

"No need, let's start directly. I still have a lot of Chakra left, enough to use." It was just a test of strength, not a life-or-death battle, so Kiyoshi didn't think there was any need to recover Chakra. His strength had reached the Jōnin level several months ago, and during this time, Kiyoshi's Chakra reserves had increased again, reaching about 2.5 units in total.

The two stood facing each other and formed the opposing seal.

"Battle start!"

The moment he heard the start of the match, Kiyoshi retreated violently backward, putting a short distance between himself and Ling.

Since solidifying his Jōnin-level strength, Kiyoshi had hardly fought anyone else. At this moment, Kiyoshi was also very curious about his current combat power. Facing Ling, who had far surpassed his own strength, Kiyoshi didn't dare to hold back at all and decided to use all his abilities except for forbidden techniques to fight with all his might.

Although Kiyoshi had awakened the Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai, which was said to be invincible in close combat, he was facing a genuine Anbu elite, and Elder Seiji had just said that Ling's strength was close to the Kage level. Therefore, he decided to try a ranged attack first.

"Shikotsumyaku: Ten Finger Drilling Bullets!"

Starting with the signature Shikotsumyaku fighting style, Kiyoshi aimed his ten fingers at Ling's position, and bone bullets continuously shot towards Ling at high speed.

Seeing Kiyoshi use the signature ninjutsu of the Shikotsumyaku, Bi, who had just fought Kiyoshi, understood in his heart that the young master had held back against him just now.

"Indeed! Little Kiyoshi has awakened the Shikotsumyaku. A Kekkei Genkai ninja with Jōnin-level strength at just 9 years old, heaven blesses the Hidden Mist!" Elder Seiji kept sighing in admiration, and a bold idea emerged in his mind: he would cultivate Kiyoshi to become the Mizukage.

Seeing that Ling had no intention of dodging at all, Kiyoshi felt something was wrong. The high-speed bone bullets directly pierced through Ling's body, turning him into a sieve. The unresisting Ling turned into a puddle of water and scattered on the ground.

Sure enough, it was a Water Clone! But Kiyoshi didn't see Ling's hand seal movements and could only sigh at the fact that he was indeed an Elite Jōnin. The activation of his ninjutsu was not only concealed but also very fast.