Tsunade sighed as she covered her forehead. Although she had very little interaction with Tatsuma, she knew about his strong desire for victory. Two years ago, she witnessed Tatsuma getting injured for the sake of a final assessment.
However, she didn't expect that, after two years, Tatsuma remained the same. His personality had not changed at all.
Moreover, Tsunade cast a pitying glance at the back of her brother's head. Her brother had many good qualities, but he lacked talent and was reckless.
A few days ago, Tsunade had tested both Tatsuma and Minato. Although they didn't use all their abilities, even their physical and Taijutsu skills were beyond Nawaki's comparison.
As for Nawaki, this brother of hers was suppressed in the Academy, dominated at home by his sister, and in recent years, even Kushina was suppressing him. Could Nawaki, who couldn't even defeat Kushina, stand a chance against Tatsuma and Minato, who had defeated Kushina multilpe times without breaking a sweat?
Yet, Tsunade showed no intention of stopping him because she knew her brother wasn't so fragile. Despite repeated defeats, his resilience in battle was his best quality.
In just a moment, Nawaki and Tatsuma had assumed their stances, activating the Seal of Confrontation. Nawaki spoke, "Are you ready?"
This question caught Tatsuma off guard for a moment, as he was usually the one delivering lines when initiating the Seal of Confrontation. However, Tatsuma quickly regained his composure and smiled, saying, "Indeed, inheriting the most orthodox will of fire from the Senju Clan. Even in practical combat training, you are mindful of your fellow villagers. However, I hope you will be more serious, otherwise I will win too quickly."
Nawaki found the first half of Tatsuma's statement amusing, but the second half made him furrow his brows. Deliberately lowering his tone and mimicking Orochimaru's manner of speaking, Nawaki retorted, "Hmph, spare me the big words."
"Then, let's begin!" As Tatsuma spoke, Nawaki immediately launched an attack, rushing forward to close the distance with Tatsuma. With a swift step, he executed a straight kick toward Tatsuma.
On the sidelines, Tsunade shifted her gaze away. She couldn't bear to watch her brother with such a meagre skill level. Even the Tatsuma from two and a half years ago, who was thin and weak, could counter this level of skill easily with his techniques.
However, Tatsuma had not anticipated Nawaki's straightforward approach. Instead of starting with probing moves, Nawaki went straight for high-risk, full-force techniques.
Given Nawaki's current airborne state, countering him was too simple. However, to give Nawaki some face, Tatsuma didn't intend to end it with just one move.
He immediately caught Nawaki's kicking leg his left hand, simultaneously pushing horizontally with his right hand. Although the speed wasn't fast, when combined with Nawaki's charging momentum, the palm strike sent Nawaki crashing solidly to the ground.
Having landed firmly, Nawaki grimaced as he climbed back up from the ground. However, he seemed unaware of the gap between their abilities. Once the discomfort from the impact had subsided, Nawaki launched another attack.
Again, with rapid strides, he sprinted towards Tatsuma. Upon closing the distance, he soared into the air and delivered a superman punch towards Tatsuma.
"Do you enjoy flying so much?"
With a silent comment, Tatsuma immediately seized Nawaki's fist, turned, and exerted force, sending the airborne Nawaki flying.
"Bang~"
This impact was heavier than the previous one. As Nawaki landed on the ground, he twitched and contorted like a freshly animated zombie, rigidly convulsing and wailing.
However, this was just a momentary setback. Despite Nawaki's somewhat clumsy demeanor, the combination of Senju and Uzumaki bloodlines allowed him to quickly recover.
Of course, Tatsuma also felt that there was no need for a follow-up attack in their sparring. Otherwise, Nawaki wouldn't have had a chance. As Nawaki stood up again, he moved around a bit and said, "You're pretty good!"
Tsunade simply closed her eyes. Could her brother not see that Tatsuma was holding back significantly?
In reality, Nawaki was oblivious to it all. He charged towards Tatsuma once more, but this time, he opted for a simple boxing stance, throwing punches at Tatsuma.
Tatsuma lowered his body with quick head movement, dodging Nawaki's punch before they both collided as he retaliated with an elbow.
"Ah!"
The elbow struck Nawaki's abdomen, causing him to wince in pain. Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and continued his assault with a charging punch. The distance wasn't well managed, and Tatsuma simply tilted his head backward to evade.
As Nawaki attempted to retract the fist he had thrown with full force leaving him off balance, Tatsuma didn't give him a chance. With a swift pull and a straight kick, Nawaki was hit in the abdomen again. His entire body arched, and his legs went weak, almost collapsing to the ground.
Tatsuma felt a bit awkward receiving such a grand gesture. His right hand looped around Nawaki's neck from behind, gripping his chin. Simultaneously, Tatsuma placed his right foot between Nawaki's legs. With a pull and a sweep, Tatsuma effortlessly tossed Nawaki aside.
This unexpected move actually helped Nawaki dissipate some of the force. After rolling twice, he stood up a bit flushed, ready to continue the attack. Tsunade opened her mouth as if to intervene, but Tatsuma waved his hand lightly.
Observing this, Tsunade understood that Tatsuma had everything under control and refrained from stopping them.
Nawaki, slightly dizzy, charged towards Tatsuma, lowered his body, and reached out with both hands to grab Tatsuma's waist, apparently attempting to bring him down to the ground.
It must be said that Nawaki seemed to have some strategy in mind at this point. His height, weight, and the strength gained from the age difference would give him a considerable advantage on the ground compared to Tatsuma.
Unfortunately, he was too hasty. When attempting to take someone down, the most crucial element is catching them off guard. As Nawaki lunged forward, Tatsuma raised his knee to block. Nawaki's face turned to one of shock because he couldn't stop his own momentum. The result was a headlong collision with Tatsuma's knee, testing the hardness of Tatsuma's joint with his own forehead.
Nawaki had no chance to change tactics, but Tatsuma remained composed. Slightly turning his knee inward, Tatsuma evaded Nawaki's face, swiftly returning to a neutral position before throwing Nawaki to the side.
This time, Nawaki happened to fall right next to Tatsuma. As Tatsuma lowered his raised knee, his foot hovered over Nawaki's face, and Nawaki dared not make any further moves.
Perhaps it wasn't evident earlier, but this clear indication of stopping was noticeable to Nawaki. With a touch of resignation, he admitted, "I lost."
"Ding~ [Stamina+2], [Spirit+3]. Would you like to claim?"
"Yes."
Tatsuma lifted his foot and set it down beside him. Bending over, he formed the Seal of Reconciliation and then helped Nawaki up.
Despite being defeated, Nawaki wasn't angry. In fact, he seemed excited as he asked, "How do you usually train? Why is your Taijutsu so powerful? Can you teach me?"
This caught Tatsuma's interest, as he seemed to have found another "fat sheep."
Winning through physical combat is indeed the most direct way to achieve victory, but with ordinary opponents, they often become reluctant after a few encounters. However, Nawaki's attitude made Tatsuma think that perhaps he could benefit significantly from him.
"Taijutsu can only be mastered through practical combat. If you're willing, I can spar with you in Taijutsu every day."
"Really?"
Nawaki asked with delight. Tatsuma nodded, wearing an immensely sincere smile, "I truly admire someone as persevering as you. I will do my best, and I hope you can persist."
"I definitely will!"
Nawaki thumped his chest, expressing firm determination.
Tsunade's expression became somewhat strange. For some reason, although Tatsuma's smile seemed genuine, bright, and infectious, she couldn't shake off a certain unsettling feeling.
"Let's go again! I won't lose so quickly this time," Nawaki declared.
Nawaki smiled and extended another invitation. Tatsuma nodded, about to agree, but Tsunade's face darkened, and she exclaimed, "What are you doing?!"
After speaking, she looked at Tatsuma and said, "Jiraiya and Grandma might not chat for long. We should definitely take advantage of this time to play cards!"
"..."
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