65 - A Genin Alliance?!

Three consecutive advanced Water Release techniques slammed straight toward Pakura!

Yuto Souta even managed to complete them all before Pakura could fully unleash her own ninjutsu!

Sure, he was a total klutz when it came to physical activity—marching in step could turn into a same-hand-same-foot disaster.

Team Minato's inability to shake off Pakura and her team during the chase? He was largely to blame.

But... his hand speed was insane!

He might not be a Kato, but the Uchiha clan's hand speed wasn't anything to scoff at either!

He'd tested it.

At peak performance, he could hit over ten hand signs per second!

The ninja world's scientist—and its resident hand-cramp king!

Boom!

Sizzle...

The force of the water wasn't weak.

Add in the Water Blade Slash with its smaller, concentrated impact area, and Pakura's Scorch Release—barely released—met resistance. As she stumbled back, its power was suppressed to a modest range.

But Scorch Release, infused with fire-attribute chakra, naturally countered Water Release.

Taking some damage in the process, the high heat still evaporated a good chunk of the water.

And Pakura paid a price for it...

Drenched from head to toe, her distinct yellow-green layered hair plastered to her face, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth—she looked utterly disheveled.

Her two teammates rushed forward to shield her, tense and on guard.

One of the female Sand ninjas, unable to bear the pressure and seeing Pakura's sorry state, gritted her teeth.

"Please, show mercy!"

"We came here under orders from the Third—"

"Shut up!"

Pakura coldly cut off her teammate's near-surrender, her eyes blazing with unwillingness and frost.

Pushing away her teammate's support with icy determination, Pakura struggled to her feet and began forming seals!

"Scorch Release: Great Steaming Explosion!"

The air temperature spiked instantly.

Rolling waves of heat blasted toward Yuto Souta's face, but he didn't budge, his brow furrowed.

The system had already pinged him with the defeat notification for Pakura.

A total of 199 bloodline research points, plus a decent boost to the proficiency of his three Water Release techniques.

Unlike killing, defeating an opponent followed a fixed set of criteria in the system.

Take Pakura, for instance...

Yuto Souta's three-tomoe Sharingan spun as he tracked every seal she formed, every flicker of her chakra flow crystal clear. Yet he couldn't record this technique.

There was only one explanation...

Pakura, in her current state, couldn't actually unleash it.

He could see the unwillingness in her eyes.

But that's what puzzled him...

"Getting beaten by my three Water Releases—is that so hard to stomach?"

Yuto Souta couldn't help but ask.

Sure enough, the moment he spoke, the defiance in Pakura's eyes flared even brighter. But her body gave out, collapsing helplessly to the ground.

The rising heat in the air plummeted...

Her fierce glare locked onto Yuto Souta as she gasped for breath, silent as if trying to kill him with her eyes alone...

Leave it to me.

Kakashi Hatake stepped forward again.

His short sword unsheathed, he twirled it coolly with a flourish.

He actually had an answer to Yuto Souta's question...

Of course it's hard to stomach!

This guy seemed to pick up any ninjutsu with a glance and wield it like a pro!

Given enough time, he'd take the same ninjutsu, same seals, and somehow spin it into something new!

Ever seen a Wind Release wetter than Water Release?

Ever seen a Fire Release faster than Wind Release?

Ever seen someone master a no-hand-sign ninjutsu in seconds and blow up half a forest?!

Kakashi Hatake felt he'd cracked Yuto Souta's strategy.

First, throw out standard Water Release to throw off the opponent, then sneak in his modified version... for a one-shot kill!

This guy had definitely cooked up another new ninjutsu!

Forming a single-handed seal,

Kakashi Hatake's sword-wielding hand sparked with light, crackling electricity buzzing like a chorus of chirping birds!

Lightning Release: Chidori - Thunder Blade Mode.

Kakashi glanced at the still-puzzled Yuto Souta, a confident smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth beneath his mask.

New ninjutsu? He had one too!

Though, admittedly, it was Yuto Souta who'd given him the idea and the starting point...

Still, those days sparring with Minato Namikaze hadn't been for nothing.

Chidori demanded high physical prowess and even higher chakra control.

He didn't have a cheat like the Sharingan.

But... blending Chidori into the Hatake sword style turned out to be an unexpectedly perfect fit!

"Watch closely—this is how you use Lightning Release."

Kakashi Hatake aimed his blade at Pakura.

It was wartime.

He wouldn't show mercy to an enemy ninja who'd tried to kill him...

Especially after that trip to the Iwa battlefield...

Forget it, Kakashi.

A hand landed on Kakashi Hatake's shoulder, and Yuto Souta sighed helplessly.

"Save your chakra... The real enemies are about to show up."

Pakura still had some use.

Plus, judging by those two Sand kunoichi, they seemed to be on some kind of mission in Konoha.

Likely something beneficial to Konoha.

Otherwise, they wouldn't dare say it.

But that wasn't the main point.

Bloodline limit ninjas were rare—killing one meant one less—but their unique ninjutsu could be incredibly useful to him.

Take this Scorch Release, for example.

Normally, it wasn't much different from a superheated sauna.

Both relied on high heat to strip away moisture...

But what if he cranked up the fire chakra and tossed in a Wind Demon Shuriken?

Or paired it with Earth Release?

An upgraded Phoenix Sage Claw Crimson: Invincible Wind-Fire Wheel, or Earth Release: Artificial Lava Technique—couldn't those work?!

As a scientist, Yuto Souta had vision...

Plus, the reward for defeating Pakura had already come in. Killing her now might net a few extra research points at best—negligible.

Compared to her value alive, a dead Pakura offered no advantage.

She'd die eventually anyway...

And if he really needed research points...

Would this massive group closing in on them provide any less?

The electric arcs on Kakashi Hatake's blade hadn't yet faded.

But around the six of them, the forest echoed with wave after wave of footsteps, rapidly closing in!

The arcs on his blade gradually dissipated. Noticing the commotion, Kakashi Hatake's eyes filled with gravity.

"There's a lot of them... Sand reinforcements?"

"No," Uchiha Obito answered.

Though he still had just one tomoe, his training had sharpened his familiarity with the Sharingan.

After all, aside from ninjutsu, he was a proper Uchiha—shuriken skills were a must...

Roughly over a hundred people.

Even Uchiha Obito startled himself with the estimate.

A hundred people...

What the hell—was this a genin alliance?!

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