Chapter Nineteen - Soft Fist? One Hit Knockout
"Teacher, this is the Second Hokage's ninjutsu, right?"
"Mm, how did you conduct the third exam this time?"
Asuma nodded.
After witnessing Kyōichi using the Water Severing Wave, he was quite surprised that this kid had actually mastered the Water Release ninjutsu of Tobirama Senju that no one else could learn.
The Senju clan split up when they separated, spreading many things around.
This was nothing strange.
What was strange was Kyōichi's incredible talent for ninjutsu. Not only did he master Water Shockwave, he even modified the Body Flicker Technique.
Even without Senju bloodline, Kyōichi was a genius.
Orochimaru licked his lips and smiled, "Teacher, there is no third exam. I am the third exam. Although you have gathered some people for this exam, the only one who really needs to be promoted like this is this kid."
"Promoting a Chunin directly to Jonin, and he came back injured...his achievements are not enough... But we are in desperate need of manpower now, so we have no choice."
The Third sighed.
During wartime, ninja promotions were often very fast, with no need for exams.
But.
Kyōichi was injured and came back, his accomplishments on the battlefield were significant but not enough to reach the level of promotion to Jonin. This was awkward.
"I'm at ease with you presiding over this. Kyōichi's strength is fully at Jonin level now, just have to see how his intelligence gathering and judgment on the battlefield are."
The Third said.
At this time, he didn't know Orochimaru was researching Hashirama's cells. He thought Orochimaru was just more interested in Kyōichi, which was why he took the initiative to grab this job.
The love of talent, everyone has it.
Of course.
He was also very aware of Orochimaru's intricate relationship with Danzo. So he added, "Orochimaru, I trust your abilities, but stay away from Root."
"Teacher, I just went to borrow some people this time to facilitate the exam settings, and this promotion can better convince everyone."
Orochimaru said, squinting his eyes.
Borrowing Hyūga Natsu, it seemed he had been found out.
"You know what I mean."
Hiruzen gently nodded, not speaking directly, but the meaning in his words had been made clear, it was up to Orochimaru whether he wanted to listen or not.
...
The Forest of Death.
Kyōichi was still playing cat and mouse with Orochimaru.
This guy Orochimaru was really persistent, clinging to him and not letting go. Kyōichi did not fight him - first, it did not match the mission goal, and second, he suspected Orochimaru was after his blood.
He didn't want Orochimaru to get it for now.
However.
After a while, he noticed another figure rushing toward him ahead.
Hyūga Natsu.
He was also Danzo's man?
How could it be!
A flash of strangeness appeared in Kyōichi's eyes.
However, one thing could be determined.
Danzo and Orochimaru had set a trap, most likely wanting to injure him to obtain his blood, in order to further research Hashirama's cells.
He pretended he didn't sense Hyūga Natsu and continued toward Aburame Toji's location.
The other side had already obtained two scrolls!
Soon, Natsu appeared ahead, blocking Kyōichi's path.
"Sorry, I have a mission, I have to do this."
Natsu spoke briefly and directly.
Kyōichi sneered and ignored him, but...
Whoosh!
Body Flicker, passing by him.
The next moment, Natsu directly activated his Byakugan, and then attacked Kyōichi.
Gentle Fist!
His speed was very fast. With the Byakugan, he could accurately discern Kyōichi's trajectory, confident he could keep up even with the Body Flicker and block his chakra points.
The plan was flawless.
However.
He had just caught up, only to find Kyōichi's chakra surrounding his body.
This is?
Earth Spears!
Using Earth Release chakra to form a protective layer, it would be difficult to hit the chakra points now. He immediately realized it was bad, and attacked with a backhand.
Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!
However.
Kyōichi reacted extremely quickly, dodging swiftly. Following that, he formed seals with both hands, and a water dragon rose into the air rushing towards Natsu.
This was just the first killer move.
The key was-
Natsu had just dodged the water dragon, when he saw Kyōichi moving extremely fast, already behind him.
Dance of the Shikigami.
Then, a kick!
Natsu was directly kicked away, crashing through several trees along the way. If Orochimaru hadn't used Earth Release to reduce the impact at the last moment, he might have flown even further.
At this time, Natsu had already lost consciousness, severely injured.
Beat into a cripple?
Orochimaru was very surprised, looking at Kyōichi in shock.
Natsu was an elite from the Hyuga branch family who had joined Anbu, borrowed by him. His strength was not weak, but he was defeated by Kyōichi in an instant, just one kick took him out of the fight. This strike was too terrifying!
It must have been some kind of special taijutsu.
More new techniques!
"Kyōichi-kun, you have really given me...too many surprises."
Orochimaru was extremely excited.
He felt a sense of encountering a kindred spirit.
"You are Orochimaru-sama, right?"
Kyōichi said.
"You know it's me, yet you only left a shadow clone? Kyōichi-kun, I am one of the Sannin after all."
Orochimaru smiled.
Kyōichi had seen him on the battlefield before, with some observation, it wasn't hard to notice some of his characteristics, such as...
Licking his lips.
That damn habit!
But.
Recognizing him was recognizing him.
He wasn't too disappointed.
Compared to a mere mission, he appreciated Kyōichi's innovation and talent even more. This was a genius like himself!
A large snake appeared.
It carried Natsu on its back and quickly headed to a certain place in the Forest of Death.
"I'm very curious about that technique just now, could you enlighten me?"
Orochimaru knew that Kyōichi had activated some kind of special taijutsu earlier, his speed slightly faster than usual. Now there was no way to catch up, rather than waste time, why not satisfy his curiosity.
"What I just used was not created by me, but learned from someone else, the Eight Inner Gates."
The shadow clone smiled.
Orochimaru didn't want to make a move, so he was happy to chat and communicate like this.
Also.
He was certain the Third must be watching secretly.
"Eight Gates? Interesting, interesting... Very intriguing, I didn't expect Konoha to still have geniuses who research this kind of taijutsu. But there should be more than just this one, right?"
Orochimaru exclaimed repeatedly.
He had to admit that among all the research in Konoha, even the Third couldn't compare to him now.
He naturally knew the theory of the Eight Gates.
Although Kyōichi's techniques were obscure, using the aura of the Eight Gates to cover it up even more, he could still extrapolate that Kyōichi had opened up to the Gate of Opening at most earlier. According to the abilities of the Gate of Opening...
It was simply not enough to defeat Natsu in one hit.
"Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven? Earth Spears?"
Orochimaru muttered to himself.
He organized his thoughts, constantly deducing, and found it very likely it was a kind of Earth Release ninjutsu.
Earth Spears!
"Nothing can escape Orochimaru-sama."
"Amazing, opening the Eight Inner Gates while still able to maintain the Earth Spears state, your chakra control must be extremely powerful."
Orochimaru praised repeatedly.
He had to admit that of all the young people he had encountered these years, Kyōichi had the best talent - Minato Namikaze also had great talent, but not the type Orochimaru liked.
Kyōichi was!
He vaguely felt that Kyōichi knew more techniques than these.
"I really want to fight you for real, but I am the chief examiner this time after all. Going all out against you would be too difficult."
Orochimaru lamented.
He revealed his true face and didn't make another move.
The next moment.
He saw in the distance, swarms of bugs in the sky. Apparently Kyōichi was fighting against the Aburame.
Passing by Kyōichi's shadow clone, Orochimaru said in a low voice, "Kyōichi-kun, next time we have a chance, let's have a good chat!"
Toji would not be a match for Kyōichi.
He was very certain of this!
"Yes!"