Chapter 70

Chapter 70 - 70 Kato Megumi and Yamashiro Rone didn't cheer or celebrate—instead, they moved in to surround Aoba once more. They didn't believe for a second that a few moves could take down a Special Jonin. As long as Aoba-sensei hadn't declared the match over, the fight continued. Aoba stood up quietly, pulling the steel wires off his clothes and retrieving the kunai attached to them. He glanced at it, then gave a rare thumbs-up. "You three really surprised me. With just two special types of shuriken, you managed to catch me off guard. For Genin, that's... pretty impressive." "But Aoba-sensei did block my punch, didn't he?" Natsuki didn't let his guard down at all. "It was my first time using the Four Demon Arms Technique, and I launched it while you were still engulfed in the toxic mist. I kept my extra arms hidden until the last second, went for a sneak attack... and yet you still blocked it. If you hadn't, I definitely would've cracked your shades." Aoba brushed the dirt off his flak jacket. "So that ninjutsu with the extra arms is called the Four Demon Arms Technique? Not bad at all. So... what's next? Still gonna attack? Or are you ready to give up?" Give up? No way! Natsuki charged in, his fist flying straight for Aoba's face. Aoba raised his hand to block—but the moment his palm touched the fist, he sensed something was off. He immediately switched to guard his lower abdomen and managed to block Natsuki's real strike—the earlier one had passed right through his head like a ghost—it was an illusion! "That Clone Fusion Technique of yours... it was in your file. I'm not falling for that one." Despite his words, Aoba remained cautious. Basic clone techniques were easy to detect, but fused clones that constantly disrupted vision were a different story. Unless you had Sharingan or Byakugan, they were a real headache. And with Natsuki's Four Demon Arms, he had four real arms and two illusory ones. That was six fists flying at him—no easy task to defend against. Sure enough, Natsuki unleashed a flurry of attacks the next second. Six arms striking in a blur, each move faster and fiercer than the last—it was dizzying to watch. If Aoba wasn't so skilled in taijutsu, he'd have been pummeled already. And to make things worse, Megumi and Rone weren't just standing around. They kept launching kunai and shuriken for support. While not powerful individually, they caused plenty of trouble and forced Aoba to stay alert. After ten minutes of nonstop pressure, Aoba was gradually being pushed back. The three students kept up the pursuit relentlessly. Still, this only made Aoba more satisfied. He was already thinking about how to nurture these kids. Suddenly, a shuriken thrown by Megumi flew toward him. Aoba reflexively dodged, but the projectile burst into smoke—revealing a disguised Natsuki clone that immediately latched onto Aoba's arm. At the same moment, the real Natsuki retreated. Rone began forming hand seals, clearly preparing Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique). Aoba reacted fast and struck the clone grabbing his arm—but it poofed into smoke. Another shadow clone! In that instant, Aoba figured it out. After the initial toxic mist shuriken attack, Natsuki must've created a shadow clone. That clone then transformed into a shuriken and was handed to Megumi—waiting for the perfect moment to strike. These kids really know how to play dirty! "Wait a sec—shadow clone? Who said Natsuki could only make one clone?! That's impossible—where are the rest? No, this is bad!" By the time he realized, it was too late. Three shadow clones erupted from the ground—one grabbed his legs, one locked his arms, and the third literally climbed on top of him. Right then, Rone finished his hand seals and opened his mouth: "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" Boom! Boom! Boom! The three clones exploded under the blaze. Poof! But Aoba vanished—leaving behind a chunk of wood. Substitution Jutsu! "Rone! He's behind you!" Megumi's sudden shout echoed across the field. Don't underestimate her—she wasn't just good at throwing weapons. Ever since she tossed the clone-shuriken, she'd been locking onto Aoba with chakra sensing. She knew exactly where he was, even after substitution. "Ha! Sharp little lady, huh? But you're too late!" Aoba appeared right behind Rone, raising his arm to bonk him on the head— But whoosh! Natsuki appeared behind Rone in a flash and blocked the strike at the last second. Aoba wasn't surprised. He simply reached out with his other hand and struck the extra pair of arms on Natsuki's back, shattering them on impact. Then he kicked both Natsuki and Rone, sending them flying. ...Guess who's still stronger in taijutsu? It's still Aoba. The two rolled on the ground, then quickly sprang to their feet, positioning themselves protectively in front of Megumi and keeping their guard up. Aoba, however, clapped his hands. "Alright, alright. I've seen enough... No, wait—Natsuki, you weren't going all out, were you? You held back to cooperate with your teammates." He turned serious. "I'll have a one-on-one with you later. For now, gather around—I'll give you an assessment." The three of them exhaled in relief and walked over with smiles on their faces. Especially Rone and Megumi—they hadn't expected to hold their own against a Special Jonin for so long. Even if Aoba was clearly going easy on them, their teamwork had been solid. They didn't totally embarrass themselves. Aoba nodded as he began his evaluation. "You three are clearly led by Natsuki, and it's obvious the strategy was pre-planned. Well done. Natsuki's command was solid, and both Rone and Megumi followed through tightly. Even though Team 9 was just formed, your coordination as Genin is already very good." He paused and continued: "But you still have clear weaknesses. First—Natsuki, you're holding back too much for your teammates. Rone and Megumi need to improve their personal strength. Especially you, Rone—your hand seals are too slow. If you had been even a little faster, I wouldn't have had time to use substitution." Rone scratched his head, "Come on, Aoba-nii..." "Call me sensei during training!" Aoba smacked his cousin on the head. "But you've grown a lot. You used to be careless and rough, but now you've matured." Rone chuckled, "That's all thanks to our leader. He said we had to surprise our teacher." Well, consider Aoba surprised. Any team leader would've been delighted to get a trio like this. But... wait. Did they call Natsuki leader? Aoba raised an eyebrow and picked up one of the special shuriken. "These modified tools—were they your design?" Both teammates looked at their "leader." "It was Natsuki's idea." Natsuki shrugged. "I actually made these for my girlfriend. But this morning, I figured we might get tested by our squad leader, so I brought a few along. Looks like they came in handy." (End of Chapter) [Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][/zaelum] [+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter] [Thank You For Your Support!]