Chapter 6: Bloodline Limit?

**Konoha Village.** 

**Back Mountain.**

Kakashi is already a Chūnin, and Ryo's strength is also above that of a Chūnin. Naturally, their battle wouldn't take place in a small courtyard where they would be limited in their movements.

"Ready?" 

Kakashi stood in an open area, holding a kunai in each hand, staring at Ryo from a distance, slightly leaning forward, already in battle stance.

Ryo, standing in place, held his chakra-infused short sword, White Fang, calmly looking at Kakashi. "Come on."

**Whoosh!!**

The moment Ryo finished speaking, Kakashi dashed forward.

The two kunai turned into blurs, flying from both sides to strike. Ryo, however, moved slowly but surely, swinging his chakra sword, blocking each of Kakashi's attacks with precise movements.

**Clang!**

After a few exchanges, Ryo's eyes flashed, and his chakra sword came down hard, breaking through Kakashi's kunai defenses and slashing across Kakashi's chest.

Kakashi's figure instantly dissipated into smoke.

**Shadow Clone!** 

"Fire Style! Fireball Jutsu!"

In the next moment, a voice came from behind Ryo, and a massive fireball rushed toward Ryo's back.

Ryo remained calm, stepping forward with a swift motion, dodging the fireball's direct impact.

**Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!**

At the same time, seven or eight shurikens, wrapped in flames, flew out from the fireball, sealing off Ryo's escape route.

"You're getting quite skilled at combining ninjutsu with shurikens," Ryo commented with a smile. His short sword White Fang suddenly blurred, moving with an eerie speed, cutting through the shurikens in the air, preventing them from reaching him.

**Whoosh!**

Almost simultaneously, Kakashi's figure emerged from underground less than a meter behind Ryo, kunai thrusting toward his back. It halted, pressed against Ryo's spine.

"I win," Kakashi said, sweat beading on his forehead, a glimmer of triumph in his eyes. This was the first time he'd ever won against Ryo in a spar.

However, Ryo turned around and gave Kakashi a faint smile. "Do you really think so?"

**Boom!**

With those words, Ryo's body suddenly collided with Kakashi's kunai, and in an instant, Ryo vanished, turning into smoke.

Kakashi stood stunned, unable to believe what just happened.

**Clone?!** 

"How is that possible..."

Before Kakashi could process it, he heard a rush of air from behind. He spun around to defend, but was still struck by a powerful kick to his arm.

The force sent Kakashi stumbling backward, taking five or six steps before finally regaining his footing.

"Was that a shadow clone just now?!" Kakashi stared at Ryo in disbelief.

The entire process had made it seem like Ryo hadn't used a shadow clone jutsu at all, and Kakashi had sensed nothing until it was too late.

"No," Ryo shook his head. "That was just a regular clone."

Kakashi blinked, confused. "That can't be right! Clones don't have any offensive abilities, how could they block my fire shurikens..."

"The clone blocked the fire shurikens, but I was the one who dealt with the rest," Ryo said with a smile. "You probably wouldn't understand it just from hearing about it, so just watch."

With those words, Ryo gripped the hilt of his White Fang sword with one hand, and in a blur, his other hand performed two jutsu seals at an incredible speed—so fast it was almost imperceptible.

**Clone Jutsu! Substitute Jutsu!**

Kakashi's eyes widened in shock.

He knew the clone and substitute jutsus well—basic techniques that every ninja learned at the academy—but the speed with which Ryo performed the seals was beyond anything Kakashi had seen before.

**One-handed seals!**

And even more impressively, his seal speed was faster than the usual two-handed technique!

Although Kakashi had long known that Ryo was fast—faster than him by far—this was something else entirely. The speed with which Ryo formed the seals was so absurd, it almost seemed inhuman, nearly impossible to follow.

"How are your fingers so fast... That speed isn't something normal humans can achieve, right?" Kakashi gaped.

Ryo wasn't surprised by Kakashi's reaction. After all, he was using his **three times speed** ability. While **two times speed** might have still seemed plausible to Kakashi, **three times speed** was completely abnormal from a normal human perspective—it was almost grotesque!

"...Who knows," Ryo shrugged. "Maybe my motor skills are just different from others."

Kakashi gave Ryo a flat stare, as if to say, *Are you kidding me?* Even if his motor skills were different, there was no way they'd be that exaggerated.

"I remember it wasn't this fast before... it seems like it started getting quicker around two years ago..." Kakashi frowned, recalling some strange moments he had witnessed involving Ryo and said, "This situation doesn't seem normal. You're getting close to what is known as a bloodline limit. If you can go even faster..."

**Bloodline Limit!**

This was a term every ninja was familiar with, and there were many different bloodline limits in the world—ranging from elemental chakra transformations, like Lava or Magma Jutsu, to things like the Sharingan, Byakugan, and even the Shikotsumyaku.

The speed Ryo had shown, while not overwhelming in the face of elite ninja, was nevertheless abnormal. It felt as if he was in some accelerated state, disconnected from the normal flow of time around him.

The only possible explanation was a bloodline limit.

The **Hatake clan**, which Ryo belonged to, had always passed down the Hatake sword techniques, but there had never been any record of a bloodline limit in the clan. Yet, there were many cases of ordinary ninjas awakening bloodline limits.

Ryo's unusual state might not yet be considered a bloodline limit, but if he could go even faster, it would certainly be classified as one—possibly a very unique bloodline limit!

"Hmm, maybe that's actually the case," Ryo said thoughtfully, considering the "phantom clock" as a reasonable explanation for a bloodline limit.

In the world of **Naruto**, there were all sorts of strange abilities—even forbidden techniques like Izanagi, which could rewrite reality. A bloodline limit that boosts speed wouldn't be that unusual.

Kakashi stared at Ryo, contemplating, "If you believe that, then it must be true. But I don't recall seeing any records about a bloodline limit like that, nor do I have any similar impressions..."

Ryo scratched his chin and said, "If there's no record, then I guess I'm the first to awaken it. If that's the case... let's call it—the *Bloodline of the Ghost*."

**Ghost Style?**

Kakashi mused, "That kind of inhuman speed does seem ghost-like, so it fits the image."

In truth, Ryo thought to himself, *I was thinking more along the lines of 'grotesque'...*

But whether it was ghost-like or grotesque, it didn't matter. If this ability were truly a bloodline limit, it should be named...

**Time Bloodline Limit!**

*(End of Chapter)*

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