Chapter 19

The blush of embarrassment had not fully faded from her face, and at that moment, she seemed so sweet, beautiful, and comfortably warm that I could barely restrain the urge to hug the kunoichi tightly.

— But it's fun! — I smirked, but a rumbling stomach reminded me of the most important thing. — All right, jokes aside — where's my food?!

— You don't deserve it, — Saya huffed, but still headed for the kitchen.

As I watched her leave, I leaned back on the couch and thought that another day of my life hadn't gone too badly.

***

Deflecting the lightning-fast strike aimed at my throat, I made a quick kick, forcing Mito to either jump back or risk having her kneecap shattered. That long-awaited moment of hesitation, lasting barely a tenth of a second, allowed me to make my move — a slight sway toward the kunoichi's right shoulder was interrupted by a kick strong enough to crush stones.

Despite the sharp pain in my chest, where the blow landed, and the suspiciously cracking ribs, I achieved my goal — the Ranshinsho style deprived my opponent of the use of her primary arm. Being thrown several meters back and regaining my footing, I landed while forming a short series of hand seals.

— Katon: Endan!

Exhaling a large fireball, I immediately placed my left hand on my chest, starting to heal the damage, while my right hand released a weaker version of another technique in pursuit.

— Futton: Reppusho!

Though fire and wind are not my elements, the mastered jutsu work just as well as for those who are inclined toward them, if you use one and a half to twice as much chakra. The power of combined elements can make even most jōnin nervous. However, for Mito Uzumaki, the resulting wave of fire is not a problem even without the use of one arm.

So, this is just a small diversion tactic that worked very well in the confined space of the personal training ground, giving me a few seconds to catch my breath and allowing the seal to assist in healing the more unpleasant wounds, such as the kunai-pierced calf of my right leg or the damaged liver, not to mention many smaller injuries.

Nothing particularly serious for a normal iryōnin, but together, they significantly impact my mobility, and Mito's constant pressure prevents me from getting distracted, risking a nearly fatal blow. Even though this is training, neither she nor I hold back our strikes, except for the most destructive and deadly techniques.

— Damn it!

The wall of fire, which had hidden my opponent for a moment, began to contract toward the center and slowly disappear into a single point at my waist level. Watching the flickering chakra seal in the air before the exposed palm of the kunoichi's left hand, I could only grind my teeth in irritation and focus on healing.

— Ara-ara, Ryo-chan, you should have learned by now that such cheap tricks won't work on me. It seems you've gotten too relaxed on the front with weaker opponents, — Uzumaki said with a mocking smile.

As if I didn't know that! Against a master of sealing jutsu, the vast majority of elemental techniques are simply useless, as it's easy to set up a defensive barrier or just seal the attack. It's a constant source of irritation for a shinobi actively using ninjutsu, not to mention the inefficiency of chakra usage. And it's not even the most annoying thing, but simply the irritating possibility…

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