Chapter 323: Might Guy’s Terrifying Strength (5.2k)

“Maintain your distance, don’t get controlled by the opponent’s Shadow Imitation Technique.” Rin Nohara reconsidered her strategy before reaching the combat arena.

Having fought alongside Nara Shiosui once, Rin Nohara understood the strangeness of the Shadow Imitation Technique; once controlled, even for a short time, it was enough to turn the tide of battle.

In fact, Rin Nohara was curious how long Nara Shiosui could control someone under normal circumstances. If it was only two or three seconds longer than with Akami Hideyuki, it wouldn’t directly end a one-on-one fight, at most gaining some advantage.

After all, when using the Shadow Imitation Technique, Nara Shiosui himself couldn’t directly attack the controlled person; he could only find ways to use the environment to cause damage.

If it was confirmed that Nara Shiosui’s control time wasn’t long, Rin Nohara could fight more aggressively, as she knew Medical Ninjutsu, and a little injury wouldn’t affect her much.

This was the importance of information. Even if Rin Nohara knew there was a possibility, she wouldn’t dare to gamble, because losing the gamble would lead to direct elimination.

While Rin Nohara was guessing Nara Shiosui’s information, Nara Shiosui also reviewed Rin Nohara’s information in his mind.

“A strength that can directly repel even Kisame Hoshigaki—if I get hit by that punch, it won’t be good.”

Although Nara Shiosui wished Rin Nohara would approach him and get controlled by the Shadow Imitation Technique, actual combat situations are ever-changing. Perhaps at some point, he wouldn’t have time to use the Shadow Imitation Technique, so he would definitely need to find a way to avoid that move.

As they walked onto the field, both Rin Nohara and Nara Shiosui used Chakra to walk on the water.

Once both stood ready, Hiruko quickly announced the start of the second match.

The moment Hiruko called out, Rin Nohara entered the Water Breathing state, rapidly retreating to create distance from Nara Shiosui, while simultaneously throwing Shuriken at Nara Shiosui.

She didn’t know the maximum range of Nara Shiosui’s Shadow Imitation Technique, so she could only stay as far back as possible.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!

Nara Shiosui neither pursued nor retreated; he also threw Shuriken from his spot.

Although their Shuriken skills weren’t bad, they hadn’t reached a level of mastery, failing to cause any effective damage to each other.

Nara Shiosui unhurriedly stepped forward.

In the battle with Hidden Mist, Rin Nohara hadn’t shown effective long-range attack methods, so he only needed to slowly reduce Rin Nohara’s dodging space to less than the Shadow Imitation Technique’s maximum range.

“Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!”

What Nara Shiosui didn’t expect was that after he approached, Rin Nohara directly formed hand signs and used a Water Release Ninjutsu. A large amount of water swirled around Rin Nohara, eventually forming a Water Dragon.

“She actually knows Water Release Ninjutsu!” Nara Shiosui’s expression suddenly changed, and he immediately used Body Flicker Technique to rush towards a small patch of trees behind him.

He guessed that this was a new Ninjutsu Rin Nohara had practiced during her month-long break, otherwise Rin Nohara wouldn’t have used Water Release Ninjutsu during the critical battle with Hidden Mist.

This was truly bad news for Nara Shiosui.

Because Kisame had directly changed the field type in the previous battle, turning it into a large pond. Using Water Release in a watery environment not only consumed less Chakra but also made it more powerful.

“It had to be Water Release…” Even the calm Nara Shiosui couldn’t help but feel frustrated. His opponent started the match with full buffs, who wouldn’t be annoyed by that?

Nara Shiosui still didn’t have defensive Ninjutsu. He could only use the environment to maneuver and reduce damage, but he still inevitably got injured and looked disheveled.

“Rin, that’s how you do it!” Obito, in the lounge, shouted excitedly when he saw Rin Nohara gaining the upper hand.

Kakashi nodded. He felt that Rin Nohara had pretty much won this match, because Nara Shiosui was essentially a support-type Ninja, and solo combat wasn’t his strong suit.

“It’s over, it seems the responsibility of becoming Chunin can only be left to Midori.” Inuzuka Midori also felt her teammate was close to losing.

Although she spiritually supported Nara Shiosui to win, Nara Shiosui was currently at a great disadvantage and couldn’t even fight back.

“Phew, phew.” Nara Shiosui wiped the water droplets from his face, panting slightly as he looked at Rin Nohara, his mind racing, desperately trying to think of a way to break the situation.

But no matter how Nara Shiosui thought, he couldn’t find his chance to win.

Without defensive Ninjutsu, he could only rely on movement and the environment to counter Rin Nohara’s Water Release attacks, while Nara Shiosui couldn’t reach Rin Nohara due to the range of his Ninjutsu. Short-range fighting against long-range was too difficult.

Just then, a small patch of shadow suddenly appeared on the water where Nara Shiosui was. He looked up and saw a bird circling above.

A Flash of inspiration struck Nara Shiosui, and he instantly thought of a plan that could turn the tide of the battle.

“Shadow Imitation Technique!”

Nara Shiosui suddenly formed hand signs and used his Ninjutsu, and a black shadow rapidly rushed towards Rin Nohara.

Rin Nohara, who was forming hand signs, thought she had entered the Shadow Imitation Technique’s attack range and immediately dodged backward.

But to Rin Nohara’s surprise, Nara Shiosui’s shadow didn’t even come close to touching her; it stopped three meters away from her position before she even moved.

“Is he feigning weakness?” Rin Nohara didn’t think Nara Shiosui misunderstood the maximum range of his Ninjutsu.

The cautious Rin Nohara did not advance. She believed this was Nara Shiosui’s strategy, intentionally making her misjudge the Shadow Imitation Technique’s attack range.

Seeing that the Shadow Imitation Technique missed, Nara Shiosui retracted his shadow with a regretful look, then hid behind a tree.

“Water Release: Water Clone Technique!” Concerned that Nara Shiosui might have some unknown scheme, Rin Nohara created a Water Clone and hid it nearby.

Rin Nohara’s speed in learning Water Release was decent, so Muzuki conveniently taught her the Water Clone. This technique was simpler than a regular Shadow Clone and also inferior in overall performance, with limited use in places without water.

“Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!”

Rin Nohara wanted to continue releasing Water Release Ninjutsu to attack Nara Shiosui. The trees in the combat arena were not as thick as those in the South Border Forest; they could block Nara Shiosui’s figure, but clearly couldn’t withstand Ninjutsu.

“Shadow Imitation Technique!”

Nara Shiosui suddenly jumped out again and used the Shadow Imitation Technique.

Looking at the rapidly approaching shadow, Rin Nohara immediately stopped forming hand signs and retreated, but the shadow still stopped at its previous position. Then Nara Shiosui canceled the Ninjutsu.

“He’s stalling for time, he wants to wait for the water to drain!” Rin Nohara noticed the decreasing amount of water on the field and suddenly guessed Nara Shiosui’s strategy.

Thinking this, Rin Nohara walked back to her previous position and continued to use Ninjutsu. Her current position was the maximum range for using the Water Dragon Bullet; any further, and it would be difficult for her to control.

Nara Shiosui didn’t just watch Rin Nohara use Ninjutsu. As the water converged, although he didn’t use Ninjutsu, he continuously threw several Kunai, but none hit Rin Nohara.

Boom!

The Water Dragon directly shattered the trees Nara Shiosui was hiding behind, sending Nara Shiosui crashing into the water.

Nara Shiosui quickly scrambled up, spat out the water from his mouth, and smiled as he looked at the small black shadow on the water’s surface.

“Water Release…” Rin Nohara prepared to continue using Ninjutsu.

“Shadow Imitation Technique!” Nara Shiosui once again used the Shadow Imitation Technique, and the black shadow rushed directly towards Rin Nohara.

This time, Rin Nohara did not stop but continued to gather Chakra to use the Water Dragon Bullet. With Nara Shiosui’s current state, another Water Dragon Bullet would surely leave him unable to fight.

Furthermore, the distance between her and Nara Shiosui was already quite far. If Nara Shiosui could hit her with the Shadow Imitation Technique at this distance, then he could have controlled her with it the first time she used Water Release Ninjutsu.

As Rin Nohara expected, Nara Shiosui’s shadow stopped at its previous position, which was his maximum range.

However, something Rin Nohara didn’t expect happened: at that moment, a small black shadow drifted onto Nara Shiosui’s shadow.

Whoosh!

Nara Shiosui’s shadow immediately extended rapidly, directly entering Rin Nohara’s shadow.

Rin Nohara looked at this scene in surprise, her eyes looking upwards. There was a Kunai with a simple makeshift parachute floating in the sky. It was this that provided a foothold for Nara Shiosui’s shadow, allowing it to extend.

“You have the advantage of water, and I have the fortune of wind.” A slight smile appeared on Nara Shiosui’s face.

He had been hiding behind the tree to tear his clothes and make a simple parachute. Then, seizing the moment when Rin Nohara was focused on performing her Ninjutsu, he used ordinary Kunai to distract her, finally throwing the Kunai that would decide the match into the sky.

It could be said that if the wind had been slightly stronger or if there had been any directional deviation, Nara Shiosui’s attack would have failed. However, it seemed that heaven, to compensate for the unfavorable terrain, ensured the final result was exactly as he conceived, without any deviation.

Nara Shiosui’s maneuver was incomprehensible to ordinary people; only Ninja understood what kind of feat he had accomplished.

“He’s a good prospect, but unfortunately, his opponent is too cautious.” Nara Shikaku shook his head and said.

“Hasn’t he already controlled her? It should be decided, right?” Akimichi Choza had some understanding of the Shadow Imitation Technique.

“Of course, Shikaku would have finished by now, but Nara Shiosui should only have mastered the basic Shadow Imitation Technique, and before that, Rin Nohara…” Before Inoichi Yamanaka could finish explaining, the situation on the field rapidly changed again.

As the shadows merged, the water flow Rin Nohara had condensed scattered, and Nara Shiosui began to control Rin Nohara’s body, making her walk towards the wall; he wanted to control Rin Nohara to hit the wall and faint.

Due to his position, his action of hitting the wall would only hit air, while Rin Nohara would hit solid stone.

But at that moment, Rin Nohara’s hidden Water Clone appeared.

“Water Prison Technique!” The Water Clone condensed a spherical Water Prison, trapping the original body.

Nara Shiosui frowned deeply; when he was hiding behind the tree, Rin Nohara lost sight of him, and he also lost sight of Rin Nohara, so he didn’t know Rin Nohara had created a clone.

Logically, Rin Nohara had a great advantage at that time, and there was no need to waste that Chakra.

Nara Shiosui controlled Rin Nohara’s body, using all his strength to strike the water sphere, trying to break the Water Prison Technique.

However, Rin Nohara’s strength came from her monstrous strength Ninjutsu, not her own physical strength, and Nara Shiosui obviously couldn’t use monstrous strength, so striking the Water Prison Technique with Rin Nohara’s body didn’t even cause a ripple in the water sphere.

Cold sweat trickled down Nara Shiosui’s forehead, and he had no choice but to cancel the Shadow Imitation Technique, otherwise, the Water Clone’s attack would hit him.

The moment Nara Shiosui canceled the Shadow Imitation Technique, the Water Clone also canceled the Water Prison Technique, and Rin Nohara burst out Chakra, with her and the Water Clone attacking Nara Shiosui from different directions.

“I surrender.” Already quite injured and having consumed most of his Chakra, Nara Shiosui, feeling he had completely lost any chance of winning, surrendered directly.

“The winner has been decided, Rin Nohara wins!” Hiruko announced the winner of this match to the entire arena.

Many Ninja in the arena applauded Rin Nohara and Nara Shiosui.

If the first match was a complete dominance of strength, the second match was undoubtedly a battle of caution and wisdom; if Rin Nohara hadn’t used that Water Clone, the situation might have completely reversed, turning her great advantage into elimination.

“Look, Rin won!” A middle-aged couple smiled excitedly when they saw Rin Nohara win.

“In terms of teaching, I am indeed far inferior to Muzuki.” Minato sighed as he watched Rin Nohara win.

He was also Rin Nohara’s teacher and knew her strength before she participated in the Chunin Exams; mastering Water Release to such an extent in one month was truly difficult.

“Oh, was Muzuki helping Rin Nohara train during the Chunin Exams?” Hiruzen Sarutobi turned and asked Minato, who was standing behind him.

Today, Minato was watching the matches with them, the high-ranking officials, as a guard.

Actually, Jiraiya was supposed to be here, but Jiraiya didn’t want to come and went to the regular audience section, so Minato was essentially covering for his teacher.

“Yes, after all, I don’t know much about Water Release.” Minato nodded and replied.

Although Obito, Kakashi, and Rin Nohara all chose Muzuki for special training instead of Minato, Minato didn’t find anything wrong with that.

He had also spent several months with Kakashi and the others, understood their training content, and had discussed the trio’s development with Muzuki.

He couldn’t guide them on the core training content because those were Ninjutsu developed by Muzuki himself; Minato couldn’t just give random advice, could he?

Minato could only teach them what he knew, such as Wind Release, Fire Release, Sealing Technique, and also help Obito and the others with some Ninja training.

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn’t ask further; although Rin Nohara performed well, she was still far behind Kakashi and the others.

If it weren’t for Kisame’s Water Release directly changing the terrain, Rin Nohara would have had a much harder time winning, even if she could.

“Rin, see? I told you you’d be fine.” Obito said excitedly when he saw Rin Nohara enter the lounge.

“Yes, thanks to your encouragement, I feel more confident.” Rin Nohara smiled; putting in her full effort and then winning, she was truly happy now.

“The third battle is about to begin, Noguchi Nobuhide versus Might Guy. Please enter the arena quickly and prepare for battle.”

At this moment, Hiruko’s voice reached inside the lounge.

“It’s time to unleash youth!” Might Guy rubbed his fists excitedly.

With his father watching from the audience, Might Guy certainly wanted to show his best form.

Compared to Might Guy’s excitement, Noguchi Nobuhide was a bit withdrawn.

He was Mei Terumī’s teammate, had participated in the Death Forest battle, and knew how terrifying Might Guy’s strength was; even Kisame was kicked to the point of spitting blood.

But Noguchi Nobuhide couldn’t surrender; if he dared to surrender, someone would come and tell him how to write the ‘blood’ character in ‘Bloody Mist’.

“My rival, don’t lose before you face me!” Might Guy grinned at Kakashi before leaving the lounge.

What Might Guy looked forward to most was fighting Kakashi again; if he could defeat Kakashi and win first place, that would be incredibly youthful for Might Guy.

“Then just wait to be defeated by me.” Kakashi replied calmly.

“Haha, as expected of my rival, I acknowledge that confidence!” Might Guy gave Kakashi a thumbs-up and then laughed as he walked towards the battle arena.

“Always talking big. Just wait until I eliminate you in the Four Finals.” Obito said, annoyed.

Ever since he awakened his Sharingan, Kakashi had never beaten him, though they had only fought that one time.

Kakashi ignored Obito’s words; the battle was about to begin.

Mei Terumī stared intently at the battle arena, hoping her teammate could show something; Might Guy was indeed a formidable opponent.

“Hahahaha, did you all see that? That’s my son, Might Guy! He’s super strong!” Might Duy stood up excitedly when he saw Might Guy enter the arena.

The surrounding audience couldn’t help but give awkward smiles; in a way, even if Might Duy didn’t say it, they could tell—that death-green jumpsuit, plus the matching thick eyebrows, made it hard not to notice.

“Is he going to become a Chunin at nine years old? Guy, your youth is already burning brighter than mine!” Thinking that Might Guy could become a Chunin before the age of ten, Might Duy couldn’t help but shed tears of excitement; he was so happy for Might Guy.

“Why does he look like he’s already won before the battle even started? Our Mist Ninja are not that easy to deal with.” A Mist Ninja said displeased.

Might Duy didn’t argue with the Mist Ninja; he just quietly sat down, watching the battle arena with excitement.

The Mist Ninja had no intention of causing trouble and, seeing Might Duy settle down, didn’t speak further; he just felt that Might Duy was looking down on their Hidden Mist.

“Battle start!” Hiruko yelled and then retreated to the edge.

By now, most of the water on the field had receded, and the arena had returned to its previous state, though there was still some standing water on the ground.

“Eight Gates, First Gate of Opening, Open! Gate of Healing, Open! Gate of Life, Open!”

“Rock Breathing, Full Concentration!”

To show his father his strength, even though the opponent’s strength was average, Might Guy chose to go all out, unleashing his full power.

This sudden burst of terrifying power generated a gust of air out of nowhere, scattering the standing water around Might Guy.

If he could send an emoji, Noguchi Nobuhide would definitely send a “Are you trying to kill me?” dragon meme right now.

In front of Might Guy’s powerful aura, Noguchi Nobuhide couldn’t muster any desire to fight back; the gap was too wide.

Noguchi Nobuhide could only forcefully suppress the fear in his heart and then form hand signs to use Water Release Ninjutsu.

“Extreme Leaf Hurricane!”

Might Guy channeled most of his body’s power into his thighs, launching an incredibly fast whirlwind kick towards Noguchi Nobuhide.

Boom!

Noguchi Nobuhide’s Water Release was directly shattered by Might Guy’s kick, and Noguchi Nobuhide was sent flying backward by the powerful kick before he could even react.

Pfft! Bang!

Noguchi Nobuhide spat out a mouthful of blood and slammed directly into the wall at the edge of the arena, embedding himself within the wall.

—Silence—

The venue was completely silent at this moment; not only had the audience not reacted, but even Hiruko hadn’t expected Might Guy to resolve the opponent so quickly. It had been less than half a minute since the start, perhaps even less than twenty seconds?

“Might Guy wins!” Hiruko, having reacted, quickly announced Might Guy’s victory.

The Mist Ninja who had previously told Might Duy that the Mist Ninja were not weak lowered his head deeply; this was too embarrassing, a one-shot instant knockout, without any suspense.

Might Duy, however, said nothing to the Mist Ninja; he merely celebrated his child’s victory with an excited look.

This chapter is 5.2k, there’s another chapter coming, aiming for 4k. I rested well yesterday, so I’m full of energy today.