"Squad Captain, it seems that the Hidden Mist Village wants their young Ninjas to fight against Kakashi and Asuma."
Upon hearing the report from the Ninja below, the captain showed an interested expression.
"Let the young ones have a youthful battle."
This made the young Ninja recall his own youth.
"Squad Captain, should we cooperate with them?"
"Yes, this is also a good opportunity for Kakashi and Asuma."
The Ninja below hesitated for a moment.
"Squad Captain, should we take advantage of this opportunity to ambush those two young Ninjas from the Hidden Mist Village and kill them?"
The Captain shook his head.
"Don't do such a boring thing. If we do that, Kakashi and Asuma will certainly face retaliations."
"While their strength is commendable, on the battlefield, if they become targets, the likelihood of being killed is high."
"However, we must be prepared to prevent the Hidden Mist Village from breaking the rules and interfering with this youthful battle."
The Ninja below still seemed hesitant.
"But, Squad Captain, what if Kakashi and Asuma lose?"
"Kakashi and Asuma won't lose. After all, one of them is a genius from our Konoha, and the other is the son of our Hokage-sama."
...
Hoshigaki Kisame surveyed his surroundings.
Suddenly, a figure appeared behind Hoshigaki Kisame.
"Fire Release, Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A huge fireball appeared out of nowhere and plummeted towards Hoshigaki Kisame's position.
Hoshigaki Kisame figure flashed.
"Sarutobi Asuma?"
After dodging the Great Fireball Jutsu, Hoshigaki Kisame stabilized his stance and looked at his attacker.
A young man.
But he seemed mature for his age.
He wore the typical green Ninja uniform of Konoha.
"Hoshigaki Kisame?"
As representatives of their respective Ninja villages' younger generations, both sides were aware of each other's existence.
Sarutobi Asuma was the son of the Third Hokage.
Hoshigaki Kisame was a standout among the younger generation of the Hidden Mist Village.
Hoshigaki Kisame looked at Asuma with a disappointed expression.
"So it's not Kakashi after all?"
Asuma's face immediately turned cold.
"What do you mean?"
Hoshigaki Kisame said lightly, "Just what you think. Among the young generation of Konoha, Kakashi is the strongest among you, isn't that common knowledge?"
"You are not my match."
"You don't even interest me much."
"This battle means a lot to me."
"I am very disappointed that you are my opponent."
Asuma could no longer control his emotions and became angry.
After all, the current Asuma is still just a teenager, far from mature.
Teenagers are all eager to excel.
Especially for Asuma, the sense of recognition from others is extremely important.
Because since childhood, Asuma has grown up in an environment where he is not so recognized.
Asuma has an excellent older brother.
For Asuma, this is both fortunate and unfortunate.
From childhood to adulthood, Asuma has always been compared to his older brother.
Asuma is extremely eager to prove himself.
He hopes that when others look at him, they can say he is excellent and powerful. Rather than saying "Work hard, and you will grow to be as good as your brother."
Some even say more harshly "Asuma, you need to work even harder to catch up with your brother. You are not enough yet. When your brother was your age, he was already very strong..."
These words severely hurt Asuma's self-esteem.
Especially when those expressing such attitudes include Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Even his own father's approval cannot be obtained.
As the son of the Hokage, Asuma has received countless attention.
But precisely because of this, Asuma has received far more stimulation than Ninja of the same age.
When he entered the Academy, and after graduating from the Academy, Asuma gained another comparison object.
Kakashi.
Son of Konoha's White Fang.
Disciple of Minato Namikaze.
Konoha's genius.
In addition to being compared to his own brother, Asuma also has to compare himself to Kakashi.
But Asuma is neither as good as his brother nor as Kakashi.
This makes Asuma very uncomfortable.
Lies don't actually bother people that much; it's the truth that's more grating.
Because what those people say is the truth, Asuma can't argue against it.
And Asuma can't stop those people either.
For a long time, Asuma's heart has harbored a strong obsession.
Now, Hoshigaki Kisame's words happen to hit the point that Asuma cares about the most.
Asuma glared at Hoshigaki Kisame, anger burning in his chest.
"Hoshigaki Kisame, do you think you can win against me?"
"Of course."
Without Kiriichimonji, Hoshigaki Kisame doesn't believe that Asuma would be his match.
Now that he has Kiriichimonji, Hoshigaki Kisame completely looks down on Asuma.
"Then come and try it. What qualifications do mere Hidden Mist Village Ninja have to boast in front of us Konoha Ninja? Your Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist have become a joke in the entire shinobi world."
"What can you do?"
Hoshigaki Kisame's expression also darkened.
"Sarutobi Asuma, you're asking for it!"
Hoshigaki Kisame is not one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
However, since childhood, Hoshigaki Kisame has hoped to possess a Ninjato and become one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Even though Hoshigaki Kisame has not become one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist now, he has obtained Kiriichimonji.
Regarding Ninjato, Hoshigaki Kisame has a strong sense of identification.
"Water Release, Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!"
Hoshigaki Kisame rapidly performs hand seals.
A large amount of water gathers in front of Hoshigaki Kisame, forming the shape of a water dragon, fierce-looking, diving down towards Asuma from the sky, generating a strong gust of wind.
"Wind Release, Great Breakthrough!"
Facing the incoming Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu, Asuma opens his mouth and exhales a hurricane.
However, this hurricane cannot completely block Hoshigaki Kisame's Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu.
Asuma naturally knows this, so he only uses Great Breakthrough to intercept Hoshigaki Kisame's Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu for a moment, using this time to move to the other side.
Then, he forms hand seals.
He takes a deep breath.
"Wind Release, Dust Cloud Jutsu!"
Not only wind, but there is also a large amount of dust mixed in the wind.
This Ninjutsu, to some extent, is somewhat similar to Hiding in Mist Jutsu.
But the difference is that Hiding in Mist Jutsu creates Water Mist.
Dust Cloud Jutsu, on the other hand, creates dust.
For a moment, the entire area is covered in dust.
Hoshigaki Kisame sneers.
"A fighting style similar to that brat Zabuza's, slightly different, but not much. Such moves are completely useless against me."
At the next moment, Hoshigaki Kisame's figure leaps up into the air.
"Water Release, Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
A large amount of water appears, descending towards the dust created by Asuma. Upon contact with the water, the dust is immediately sucked in, almost instantaneously, engulfing nearby dust and making it all disappear.
On the ground, dirty water coalesces.
Asuma didn't expect his Ninjutsu to be broken so quickly.
He didn't expect Hoshigaki Kisame to be able to use Water Release on such a large scale.
For a moment, he's surprised.
When the dust clears, he looks for Hoshigaki Kisame's figure.
But by then, it's too late.
Hoshigaki Kisame is already close to Asuma.
A hand pressed onto Kiriichimonji's hilt.
"Split!"
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