"Fire Release! Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Starting anew, Tenko no longer played around. A Great Fireball formed in his hand, followed by over a dozen Shuriken suspended on wires. With a swift motion, Shuriken flew from both sides towards Tatsuma.
From Tatsuma's perspective, the blazing fireball obscured his vision, making it impossible for him to see the Shuriken flying towards him.
Facing Tenko, however, Tatsuma didn't need to strategize. Forming hand seals with both hands and then clasping them together, in the intensely dry air scorched by the fireball, droplets of water unexpectedly appeared.
"Water Release! Water Colliding Wave!"
The droplets spiraled and instantly converged into a water vortex, heading towards the massive fireball approaching him. The Shuriken from both sides were caught up in the spinning water vortex as well.
"Clang clang clang~"
The wires snapped, causing Tenko to lose balance and step back. At the same time, tiny cuts appeared on his fingers, caused by the wires strangling him.
However, Tenko didn't hesitate. He swiftly wiped his hands behind him, summoning another dozen Shuriken, which he hurled towards Tatsuma. Simultaneously, he formed hand seals with both hands and spat out fireballs from his mouth.
"Fire Release! Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!"
Fireballs enveloped in Shuriken flew towards Tatsuma. At this moment, the Water Colliding Wave surrounding Tatsuma had just dissipated, meaning as soon as Tatsuma regained his vision, he was surrounded by Shuriken.
But Tenko's keen eyes seemed to catch Tatsuma forming hand seals even before the water curtain completely disappeared. By now, Tatsuma had finished forming seals.
"Ninja Art! Needle Jizo!"
Tatsuma shook his head, causing his tousled hair to straighten instantly and grow at an incredible speed, entangling himself. The Shuriken landed on his hair but were immediately deflected.
However, upon seeing Tatsuma's hair catch fire, Tenko couldn't help but clench his fist.
"Rip~"
But the next second, a blue Chakra glow emanated from the cocoon formed by his hair. Tatsuma burst out from it, holding a Chakra scalpel in his hand, indicating he had immediately severed his own hair.
Watching Tatsuma charge towards him, Tenko felt a slight tension but still drew the Ninjato provided by the security department. His eyes constantly observed Tatsuma's shoulders, waist, legs, and elbows.
Tatsuma noticed Tenko's agile focus and changes, while also observing his stance for weaknesses. Immediately, he approached Tenko, slicing downward with his chopping hand, aiming towards the side of his neck.
Almost in the instant Tatsuma made his move, Tenko tilted his head to evade, simultaneously using his Ninjato to deflect his hand.
Tatsuma immediately halted his action, pivoting his body swiftly with his left foot as the pivot foot. The chopping hand changed into a fist, and his body completed a fast turn, delivering a backhand punch towards Tenko's neck on the other side.
Facing Tatsuma's change in technique, Tenko bent over and swung his sword towards Tatsuma's waist. Tatsuma altered his backhand punch into a horizontal chop, aiming towards the back of Tenko's head as he leaned over.
If Tatsuma didn't dodge, he risked being cut across the waist by Tenko; if Tenko didn't evade, he would receive a blow to the head from Tatsuma. Tatsuma was confident he could withstand Tenko's strike, but whether Tenko could withstand Tatsuma's palm strike remained to be seen.
Tenko opted to change tactics, abandoning the sword slash towards Tatsuma's waist. He executed an Uchiha-style shoulder throw, taking a sudden step forward and ramming his shoulder into Tatsuma's ribs while exerting upward force.
Almost lifted by Tenko's maneuver, Tatsuma's descending hand lost its strength and landed lightly on Tenko's back.
Sensing Tenko's hand wrapping around his waist, about to embrace him, Tatsuma didn't wait passively. The hand that lightly landed on Tenko's back pushed gently, while his feet exerted force.
"Swoosh~"
Tenko found himself hugging empty air as Tatsuma appeared above him. With one hand supporting his back and the other brushing past his waist, he grasped a Kunai, swiftly thrusting it viciously towards the back of Tenko's head.
Although unable to see Tatsuma's movements at all, Tenko felt a tingling sensation at the back of his head. This sense of danger reminded him of the feeling he had when his uncle and aunt angrily told him to leave quickly that day—such a chilling feeling.
It was this chilling feeling that made Tenko disregard his own image. Without attempting to regain balance after his failed attempt to embrace, he instinctively rolled away, narrowly avoiding Tatsuma's attack.
Sento, watching the scene unfold, wore a serious expression. In the span of almost an instant, four or five exchanges of combat had occurred. In such a Taijutsu battle, even he admitted he couldn't perform better than Tenko.
No, he couldn't evade Tatsuma's continuously changing attacks—they were simply too fast for him to keep up with.
Minato also looked very serious. It was his first time seeing someone of the same age besides himself who could contend with Tatsuma in combat based on improvisation.
The Uchiha's Sharingan truly was both miraculous and powerful.
After rolling away, Tenko quickly got back on his feet. Despite the Taijutsu exchange lasting only a few seconds—excluding Tatsuma's charge and his own evasion—the actual combat time was just one or two seconds.
Just those one or two seconds left Tenko panting heavily. It wasn't just physical fatigue but also a sudden onset of mental weariness. Without the insights and dynamic vision provided by Sharingan, he couldn't keep up with Tatsuma's rhythm. Even his final evasion had relied on uncontrollable instinct.
"Do Jonin have such strong Taijutsu?" Tenko couldn't help but ask.
Tatsuma shook his head and replied, "They'll only be stronger than me."
Tatsuma wasn't trying to deceive or intimidate Tenko. He hadn't even exerted full effort. If a Jonin were in his place, their mastery of Taijutsu might not surpass Tatsuma's, but relying on greater speed and strength, Tenko would find himself in an even more difficult position.
He wouldn't even have the opportunity to be in difficulty.
"Next, it's your turn to attack, and I'll counter," Tatsuma reminded Tenko. Gritting his teeth, Tenko lunged towards Tatsuma. Seeing his move, Tatsuma raised an eyebrow and his eyes widened slightly.
Because Tenko's movements were too familiar, familiar to the point that Tatsuma hardly needed to think before countering.
"Bang~"
Tenko was sent flying backwards. He got up, unwilling to accept it, and charged towards Tatsuma again. However, the versatile Taijutsu techniques that Tatsuma had used effortlessly against Sento just moments ago now seemed ineffective. They became mere gymnastics in his confrontation with him.
Learning from Tatsuma's use of the leg trip, Tenko struck Tatsuma's chest with his arm and positioned his leg behind him. But the scene he anticipated—Tatsuma being tripped and falling did not unfold. Tatsuma stood firmly in place without losing balance.
Tatsuma smiled at Tenko and swiftly countered with a variant of the same technique, also transforming into a leg trip. At the same time, he inserted his foot to anchor himself, his knee pressing against the back of Tenko's knee pit.
This move, executed just one second after Tenko's previous action, was not merely similar—it was identical in every way except for minor adjustments in foot placement.
"Bang~"
However, this time, Tenko was slammed directly onto the ground, hitting his coccyx on a rock. The pain caused him to turn over and lie face down on the ground, his buttocks raised high, grimacing in agony.
"It's impossible! I don't believe it! It was clearly the same!"
"Hands and feet out of sync, surely a stolen art. How about it, Tenko? Doesn't this stolen Taijutsu work well?"
Tatsuma smirked provocatively. Tenko, filled with shame and indignation, gritted his teeth and painfully stood up from the ground. Minato, watching this scene unfold, couldn't help but smile.
He had foreseen such a situation long ago, but seeing it happen before his eyes still made him want to laugh. It had been years, and he himself hadn't mastered Tatsuma's bizarre and ever-changing Taijutsu, let alone Tenko, who had only watched for a while.
"Fire Release! Roaring Flame Ball!"
With his face flushed red, Tenko dared not use the "stolen" Taijutsu again. Instead, he formed hand seals, exhaling a large fireball.
Tatsuma also formed hand seals simultaneously. Once the seals were completed, he squatted down and clapped his hands on the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall."
A wall of earth rose up. Upon seeing this scene, Tenko's face, which had been flushed red, suddenly broke into a smile. Indeed, Tatsuma didn't understand them Uchiha well enough, actually using Earth-Style Wall to block.
"Bang bang bang~"
At the moment of collision between the fireball and the earth wall, the fireball exploded. In an instant burst of energy, the shockwave shattered the earth wall directly, sending chunks of debris flying in all directions.
Standing behind the earth wall, Tatsuma bore the brunt. Countless fragments and exploding flames assaulted his body. In such a short distance, there was no time to form hand seals to release Ninjutsu!
Tenko's crimson eyes locked onto Tatsuma. Sento furrowed his brows, his body instinctively tensing up, wanting to move forward but unable to do so in time. Even Minato, who had been watching Tatsuma without any action, couldn't help but feel anxious.
In truth, Minato knew that if Tatsuma wanted to escape, he could definitely do it, and not just through one method. However, Tatsuma was not attempting to escape, and time was running out.
"Bang bang bang~ Boom~"
Debris struck Tatsuma, and flames engulfed him completely.
Tenko, originally wearing a confident smile, froze in shock. He hadn't expected Tatsuma to stand still without dodging. If Tatsuma had just moved his feet and used Body Flicker to escape, he might have been hit by some flying debris, but not severely.
But...
"Tatsuma!"
Tenko shouted loudly and dashed into the still burning flames. As he entered the fire, the scorching air caused pain in his skin and respiratory tract, but he continued searching for Tatsuma's figure.
"Bang~"
In the next moment, Tenko felt a sharp pain around his waist. He was thrown out of the range covered by flames, crashing to the ground. As he rolled, his clothes caught fire, but the flames soon extinguished.
When he climbed to his feet, the flames had dissipated. Within the glow, Tatsuma's clothes bore faint scorch marks and several cuts, as if slashed by flying debris.
There are also scattered bloodstains on his body, but no matter how Tenko uses his double Tomoe Sharingan, he can't find where Tatsuma is bleeding.
Tatsuma wiped away a little blood from his face and murmured, "Still too slow, but the direction should be correct."
Minato also realized that Tatsuma was testing his own ninjutsu?
"Are you playing with me?!"
Gritting his teeth, Tenko stared at Tatsuma. The Tomoe in his eyes kept spinning. Tatsuma was momentarily stunned, then looked at Tenko with some anticipation. Tenko roared and charged towards Tatsuma.
"Snap~"
However, much to Tatsuma's disappointment, even after Tenko exhausted his chakra and fell to the ground, his eyes did not gain an additional Tomoe.
Watching Tenko's eyes return to clarity, panting heavily, Tatsuma shrugged and said, "Tenko, your strength isn't enough yet."
"I know."
With a grim expression, Tenko replied. Tatsuma nodded in acknowledgment, then listened to the system announcement before turning to Sento, who was approaching quickly beside him, and said, "Sento, the injuries on Tenko today were caused by you. Understand?"
"Zi~"
Sento slammed on the brakes and pointed at Tatsuma, shouting, "Sakamoto Tatsuma, don't falsely accuse innocent people!"
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