Chapter 45: Tekkai
"Kagami? Isn't Kagami defeated yet?" Inuzuka Rō asked with some confusion. After all, when he fainted, only Uchiha Kagami was left. Hyuga Natsuki had already exhausted his chakra and couldn't move.
Utatane Koharu nodded. "Kagami summoned a giant summoning beast. I estimate Ryusei is going to lose."
"Are you kidding me? How big can a summoning beast be?" Inuzuka Rō turned his head to look and, seeing Gamasen, couldn't help but curse, "What the hell is that? It's so much bigger than my Rōmaru! Wait... where is my Rōmaru?!"
"Here!" Yamanaka Seisen handed Rōmaru to him. Seeing the puppy's swollen face, Rō grumbled resentfully, "That guy Ryusei is simply not human! How could he be so cruel to such a cute puppy like Rōmaru?"
The Inuzuka clan head, Inuzuka Ya, slapped his son hard. "Isn't this your own fault for not being strong enough? Your training volume will be doubled starting today! Now, watch the battle in front of you properly!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen groggily opened his eyes, his memory still stuck on being hit in the face with the Power Pole. Seeing Sarutobi Sasuke in front of him, he blurted out, "Dad, I was hit by the Power Pole..."
Sarutobi Sasuke rolled his eyes at his son. "I know. Now get up and watch the final battle."
"The final battle?" Hiruzen turned and saw the giant toad. "So that's the summoning beast from Mount Myōboku. It really is as huge as Kagami said. Ryusei is in for it now."
"In for it? I don't think so," Hyuga Natsuki said, his mood a little low as he looked at the giant toad. "I estimate Ryusei left Kagami for last because he wanted to challenge his summoning beast. The two of them have already left us far behind." His gaze then firmed with resolve. "I will catch up to them again and surpass them!"
Hyuga Tenjin looked at Natsuki's determined gaze. Hmm... this is a good child. Although he's from a branch family, his will is not much different from the main family's. He said, "Come to my place for training starting tomorrow."
In this period, the Hyuga main family was much stronger than the branch family, completely incomparable to how it would be decades later.
Hearing this, Natsuki was overjoyed and bowed. "Thank you so much, Clan Head!"
The Akimichi clan head, Akimichi Torune, was worried seeing that his son still showed no signs of waking up after being treated. Yamanaka Seisen, seeing this, took out a bag of snacks from somewhere and opened it.
Swoosh...
Akimichi Torifu shot up and snatched the snacks from Seisen's hands, beginning to eat.
Seisen said proudly, "Uncle Torune, see? My method works."
Akimichi Torune looked at his now fully awake son with a bemused expression and just let him be.
"Slashing Strike: Waxing Crescent!" Yamamoto Ryusei gripped Aurora with both hands and, using Monster Strength, slashed upwards at Gamasen. A fifteen-meter crescent-shaped slash shot towards the giant toad. He then turned his sword sideways and slashed again, sending another huge crescent slash at Gamasen's legs.
Gamasen's huge body was surprisingly agile. He gripped his spear, and with a flourish of the spearhead, he shattered both slashes.
Ryusei's face darkened slightly. It seems this toad's agility is a bit high. Then let's try this move.
"Slashing Strike: Hundred Blades!" Ryusei swung Aurora fiercely, and a hundred slashes instantly burst forth from the blade, like a peacock spreading its tail or a celestial maiden scattering flowers, before converging on Gamasen like a hundred birds returning to their cage.
This Hundred Blades technique was a hundred slashes in an instant. To others, it looked like only one slash, but it was meant to annihilate the enemy with its overwhelming force.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom...
Gamasen rapidly twirled his spear, shattering the crescent slashes one by one. But more than twenty slashes still broke through the sea of spear thrusts and struck his body. They were blocked by his armor, leaving only a few marks. Only his unarmored arms were left with several large gashes, but compared to his enormous size, they weren't that significant.
"This... can this be done with taijutsu?"
"It's incredible! To think taijutsu could be so powerful!"
The surrounding ninjas burst into an uproar. They had never imagined that taijutsu could be so strong.
Gamasen, seeing his wounds, became excited. "Kid, you really have some skills! State your name! You are worthy of me remembering it."
Ryusei, however, was not happy. The Hundred Blades technique had put too much strain on his opponent's arm; it was still aching now. It seems I have to get up there and take down Uchiha Kagami.
Ryusei roared, "My name is Yamamoto Ryusei! You'd better remember it, you damn toad!"
"Rokushiki Body Flicker: Soru!" Ryusei once again burst forward at a speed the Chunin couldn't follow, charging at Gamasen. Gamasen's pupils contracted. He raised his spear and rained down nearly a hundred thrusts on the ground like a violent storm. He moved so fast it looked as if he had several arms wielding several spears at once.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom...
Ryusei continuously dodged through the gaps in the sea of spear thrusts, but the closer he got to Gamasen, the denser the spear shadows became. Frustrated, Ryusei had to retreat.
Gamasen chuckled. "Although your speed is fast, my eyes can still see you clearly. You want to get close to me and take out Kagami? Not a chance."
Ryusei's face turned completely black. Looking at Gamasen's long spear, he resolved to destroy its weapon first.
Tobirama, watching the retreating Ryusei, said, "If Ryusei can't get past this, he'll lose. Gamasen can just wear him down."
Hashirama's expression was grave. "There's still a chance. Anything can happen on the battlefield. No one knows the result until the very last moment."
Seeing that Ryusei wasn't attacking, Gamasen raised his spear and thrust down like a storm. "Since you're not attacking, then let me."
Ryusei dodged left and right amidst the sea of spear thrusts. Suddenly, he leaped on top of the long spear and, with a Tenshukyaku, stomped the entire spearhead into the ground. He then gripped Aurora and slashed at the spear's shaft with all his might.
"Slashing Strike: Half Moon!" Ryusei unleashed a nearly twenty-meter-long semi-circular slash, directly severing the spear shaft.
"Alright! Beautifully done!" The surrounding ninjas burst into cheers. They had been feeling frustrated watching Ryusei being suppressed by Gamasen. Now that he had broken the toad's weapon, they all felt a sense of vicarious satisfaction and relief.
Seeing that Gamasen had not yet recovered from the shock of his weapon breaking, Ryusei immediately charged at him, leaped onto his body, and rushed towards Uchiha Kagami.
"Rokushiki: Tekkai!" Ryusei saw a pink object hurtling towards him at extreme speed. With no time to dodge, he immediately used Tekkai to block the blow head-on.
Thump!
Ryusei was knocked off Gamasen's body by the pink object and sent rolling dozens of meters across the ground before crashing into the school's perimeter wall. He smashed through the wall and was buried under the rubble.
"Boss Gamasen! I said this was just a spar! You can't kill him!" Uchiha Kagami quickly reprimanded.
"Relax," Gamasen said, retracting the tongue he had used to hit Ryusei. "I know my limits. At most, he'll have a few broken bones. He'll be fine after lying in bed for a few months."
"Ryusei!" Komiya Yuki cried out, seeing him buried under the rocks. She rushed over to help, but before she had taken more than a few steps, the pile of rocks burying Ryusei exploded outwards with a bang. A bruised, tattered, and disheveled Ryusei slowly walked out of the rubble.
"Is... is this kid a monster?"
"To be hit that far by that toad and not even go down!"
"What kind of ninjutsu is that 'Rokushiki: Tekkai'? To have such strong defensive power!"
The surrounding ninjas stared, dumbfounded, at the standing Ryusei. They felt that if they had taken that blow, they would have been either severely injured or already dead. How could they still be jumping around so lively like him?
In truth, Ryusei was not in a good state. Although Tekkai had increased his defense, he had still suffered considerable injuries from such a massive impact.
He tore off his shredded clothes, revealing a muscular upper body covered in purple bruises. He said to Gamasen, "You weren't distracted when your weapon broke just now?"
The surrounding female students were practically drooling at the sight of Ryusei's physique.
"Whoa, eight-pack abs!"
"Such firm muscles! I really want to touch them!"
"I've decided! I must make Ryusei my boyfriend!"
Komiya Yuki's face turned black as she roared, "Ryusei is mine! None of you even think about it!"
"Ooh... Yuki's angry. Declaring her sovereignty already."
"Don't worry, we can share!"
Gamasen threw away the wooden shaft in his hand and sneered. "Distracted? Kid, you're still too naive. How could I be distracted by such a small thing? That was just an act for you to see, to lure you into a sneak attack so I could finish you in one go. But you, little brat, are quite sturdy. To take a hit from my tongue and only suffer some minor injuries."