Souta's figure suddenly appeared in front of Tsunade.
Swoosh!
The longsword, imbued with the wind's sharp edge, slashed toward Tsunade with incredible speed.
Souta's movements were almost too fast to follow, and Tsunade barely managed to react by raising a shuriken to block the attack.
Clang!
The shuriken shattered into pieces upon impact.
"What!?"
Tsunade's eyes widened in disbelief as she realized that the shuriken, specially crafted in the Senju clan to withstand immense force, had actually broken in one strike!
"Tsunade!"
Just as Tsunade became slightly distracted, Jiraiya's shout refocused her attention, causing Souta's figure to shift, create a graceful arc in the air, and prepare to strike Tsunade from a different angle.
"Hmm?"
Poof!
Souta's sword struck its target, but instead of hitting flesh, it struck a log, which appeared with a puff of white smoke.
The wooden log fell to the ground, but Souta didn't care. Instead, his gaze turned to the longsword in his hand that had blood trickling from its tip, pooling lightly on the ground.
With a flick of his wrist, he spun the sword and flicked off the blood from the blade in a red arc. His cold eyes then fixed on the three ninjas standing a short distance away.
At that moment, Tsunade stood between Jiraiya and Orochimaru in a daze.
Her eyes were still a little panicked, and there was a faint bloodstain on the side of her face—not large, but it was there, and she couldn't help but mutter.
"So fast..."
Souta's movements were too fast just now. Even though Tsunade used the substitution technique, she was still injured.
"Tsunade, are you okay?"
Jiraiya, standing on the side, gazed at Tsunade with a hint of concern. But Tsunade shook her head silently and did not answer.
It was just an ordinary sword wound—nothing she couldn't handle. As a skilled medical ninja, she could easily heal it herself. Moreover, with her Senju physique, such minor injuries would heal naturally in no time.
Seeing that Tsunade was indeed fine, Jiraiya let out a breath of relief, though his irritation quickly returned. He turned to Souta and shouted,
"I'm telling you, don't you listen to explanations? I already told you it wasn't us who did it!"
Souta slightly raised the longsword in his hand, and the power of the Whirlwind once again swirled around the sword in Souta's hand.
Clearly, Jiraiya's words were falling on deaf ears.
Of course, Souta hadn't truly lost it, but all his actions were measured and had many reasons behind them. One of them was to imitate Yasuo's character even more deeply and increase his synchronization rate.
[Synchronization rate: +1%]
[Synchronization rate: +1%]
The continuous prompts from the system were a clear indication that he was on the right track.
"Hey, are you listening to me?"
Glancing at Jiraiya, who was still shouting angrily, Orochimaru, who had remained silent until now, muttered, "Idiot."
"Huh? Orochimaru! Even if he doesn't listen to reason, he's not an idiot, is he?"
Jiraiya thought that Orochimaru's insult was aimed at Souta on the other side.
"I'm talking about you." Orochimaru replied coldly.
"Me? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Orochimaru, you bastard, explain yourself!"
Jiraiya barked, but Orochimaru didn't seem bothered by Jiraiya's outburst at all. His serpent-like eyes remained fixed on Souta as he spoke in a calm, almost detached tone.
"Don't you see it?"
"See what?"
Jiraiya blinked and rubbed his eyes in confusion.
It was obvious he didn't understand. Orochimaru sighed faintly, but he had no intention of explaining anything to Jiraiya.
Luckily, at that point, Tsunade, who had recovered, slowly came forward and explained to Jiraiya,
"The person on the other side is taking his anger out on us."
"Huh?" Jiraiya found it a little unbelievable.
Orochimaru nodded slightly, confirming Tsunade's observation.
"Indeed. He's furious but doesn't know how to channel it. And unfortunately for us, we're the ones standing in front of him."
"So… we're just his punching bags?" Jiraiya finally grasped the situation.
The realization made him feel a bit foolish. Tsunade and Orochimaru both gave him a look that screamed, 'Seriously? You're just figuring this out?'
"Hmph! Jiraiya, be careful. It's a good opportunity to test his skills!"
After all, they were the Sannins of the Hidden Leaf Village, and they had their own arrogance and pride.
Whether it was Jiraiya, Tsunade, or Orochimaru, they were all unhappy now that they were being targeted by someone.
So without saying anything more, Jiraiya began forming hand seals.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
After Jiraiya finished his hand seal, Orochimaru finished his own hand seals almost simultaneously.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
The gust from Orochimaru's technique enhanced Jiraiya's flames, transforming the fire dragon into an even more ferocious, roaring inferno as it rushed toward Souta.
"What the hell, Orochimaru?! Are you trying to kill him?" Jiraiya shouted in alarm.
While he was irritated by Souta using them as his outlet, killing the man had never been his intention.
"Shut up," Orochimaru snapped coldly. "Just watch."
"What?"
Jiraiya turned his attention back to Souta. The young swordsman stood calmly as the blazing fire dragon pressed down on him. He merely furrowed his brow, gripped his sword tightly, and slashed through the air.
"Wind Wall."
A faint barrier of wind appeared in front of Souta, and it almost looked absurd—how could such a thin wind wall possibly stop the raging fire dragon?
But the moment the flames collided with the barrier, they vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed.
"What kind of ninjutsu is that?" Jiraiya blurted out in astonishment.
Even Orochimaru's normally stoic expression shifted slightly. "To negate such a powerful combination so effortlessly... interesting."
Souta twirled his sword in his hand and once again flicked it into a graceful arc. Then, his cold gaze swept over the three ninjas, and it made the Sannin tense.
"It's coming!" Tsunade warned seriously.
Without hesitation, Souta charged toward them, and the longsword in his hand glowed faintly as the power of the wind wrapped around it and slashed at the three young ninjas.
"Face the Wind!"
————————————
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[Synchronization rate: +1%]
[Synchronization rate: +1%]
[Synchronization rate: +1%]
The synchronization rate was climbing rapidly, and the system's voice kept echoing in Souta's mind. But Souta didn't care about that at all right now, and he simply turned off the system notification sound.
Although he had memories of countless battles, this was, in reality, his first true fight.
For a brief moment, he lost himself in the heat of the clash.
He shuttled between the Sannin, and his blade left blurry, elegant arcs in the air, creating dangerous, dazzling sword forms.
"Such speed... Who is this guy? Why haven't I heard of him before?"
Jiraiya stood aside in a somewhat embarrassed manner, his robes shredded by Souta's attacks.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep up. Souta was moving too fast. And logically, someone of this caliber should have been a well-known figure in the ninja world.
"Stop analyzing and do something, Jiraiya!"
Tsunade's irritated voice snapped him out of his thoughts. But she didn't wait for a response. Chakra surged around her as she charged forward; her fist arched back as she amplified her already monstrous strength.
"Let's see if you can handle this!"
Tsunade's strength was no joke. She would either cripple Souta or, worse, kill him if she landed this hit.
Bang!
Her fist crashed into the ground with a force that left a massive crater, but Souta moved like the wind, sidestepping fluidly just before impact, and his form blurred as he executed Sweeping Blade, passing her in a rush of wind.
With a backhanded blow, a bloody mark was left on Tsunade's back.
"Damn it!"
Blood splattered the ground, but Tsunade gritted her teeth, her healing chakra already working to dull the pain. She leapt back, wary of Souta's speed now.
"Tsunade!"
Jiraiya called out, forming hand seals.
"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bomb!"
Chunks of earth erupted, transforming into a dragon's head that roared toward Souta.
Unfazed, Souta raised his hand, summoning Wind Wall, which deflected the incoming projectiles with ease. The wall dissipated, and he countered with Steel Tempest, launching a swirling tornado. The wind rushed toward Orochimaru, who had silently crept closer to him.
Before being hit, Orochimaru quickly made hand seals.
"Ninja Art: Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Dozens of snakes shot out from Orochimaru's sleeves and attacked swiftly. But Souta's blade cut through them in an instant.
The severed snakes dissolved into smoke, and Orochimaru was blown up in the air because of the earlier wind tornado.
Despite his usually unshakable personality, every nerve in Orochimaru's body screamed danger. Still, he remained eerily calm, preparing to face Souta's next move head-on.
But then Souta stopped.
In fact, Souta could have directly used Last Breath on the airborne Orochimaru, but he wasn't here to actually kill and start a life-and-death feud.
Standing in place, Souta performed another sword dance, then put away his sword.
"Phew—!"
Souta exhaled slowly, and Orochimaru, who had been mid-air, dropped back to the ground.
"Is it over?"
Orochimaru, still lying on the ground, became calm as he realized Souta had no intention of attacking further. Slowly, he pushed himself to his feet.
By now, Tsunade and Jiraiya had recovered and made their way over, their eyes fixed warily on Souta, who casually pulled a wine flask from his waist, uncorked it, and took a sip.
"Hey! You beat us up like this, and now you're just drinking? What about us? You vented your anger, but what about us?!" Jiraiya shouted with an irritated look on his face.
After all, he was the dignified Sannin of Konoha, the hero Jiraiya. Didn't he have any face?
Hearing Jiraiya's rant, Souta paused mid-sip, then took another leisurely drink. Without a word, he tossed the wine flask in Jiraiya's direction.
"Wha... what?"
Startled, Jiraiya fumbled to catch it, briefly panicking as he wondered if Souta had thrown some kind of hidden weapon. After realizing it was just a flask, he glanced at Souta in confusion.
Souta's usually stern face softened into a faint smile as he said, "That's for you—a small apology. But only one sip."
After a moment of hesitation, Jiraiya reacted and suddenly curled his lips and said to Souta with some dissatisfaction, "One sip? That's it? You're so stingy!"
Having said that, Jiraiya still drank it.
"Oh my god! This is incredible! What a good wine!"
After drinking a big gulp, Jiraiya's eyes lit up.
Watching Jiraiya's delighted reaction, Souta simply shook his head inwardly. The wine was given to him by the system—it was no surprise that it was exceptional.
Jiraiya held the empty flask, intending to return it to Souta. But before he could, Tsunade, who had been silently observing Souta with a piercing gaze, interrupted.
"Hey! There are two more people here, you know!"
"What?"
Jiraiya didn't understand what Tsunade was getting at, but she wasn't in the mood to explain.
She simply walked over, snatched the wine from Jiraiya's hand, and took a sip.
Her reaction after drinking it was the same as Jiraiya's. It was indeed a good wine.
Even as she drank, her eyes lingered on Souta.
'This guy can actually smile... and he looks really good when he does!'
After all, Souta's looks were no joke.
Once satisfied, Tsunade turned and handed the wine flask to Orochimaru.
"Your turn."
Orochimaru hesitated for a moment, glancing first at the flask, then at Souta. Finally, he took it.
Unlike the others, Orochimaru sipped elegantly. After tasting the wine, he nodded approvingly before tossing the flask back to Souta.
Souta caught it effortlessly and, with a faint smile, hung it back at his waist.
He turned, clearly intending to leave.
For some reason, seeing Souta was about to leave, Tsunade suddenly became anxious and hurriedly shouted to Souta.
"Hey! Wait! Where are you going?"
"The one who destroyed my village will answer for their deeds."
Souta responded calmly and didn't care much.
The hatred for the destruction of his village was unforgettable, and this grudge would be avenged.
Hearing Souta say this, Tsunade felt relieved and asked Souta in a teasing tone,
"Do you even know who did it?"
Sure enough, Souta stopped, turned around, and looked at Tsunade curiously.
"Do you?"
"Not a clue!"
Tsunade replied honestly, and her lips curled into a grin.
Hearing Tsunade's answer, Souta was momentarily speechless, and his eyebrows twitched in frustration.
Sensing his growing annoyance, Tsunade quickly added with a reassuring tone.
"Okay, okay, don't look at me like that. Although I don't know right now, we're ninjas! Investigating is what we do. How about we work together?"
She ended her suggestion with a playful smile, raising an eyebrow at him as if daring him to refuse.
Souta thought it over for a moment before giving a reluctant nod. After all, if Souta were to investigate alone, he would have no clue at all. With Tsunade and the others, the investigation would likely be far more efficient.
"All right!"
Seeing that Souta agreed, Tsunade smiled again and said to Souta confidently.
"Don't worry! I promise we'll find the murderer soon!"
————————————
For every one chapter here, I will upload two on Patreon, if you like this book, and want to read more while supporting me simultaneously, you can join me on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/ProgressingDaily
For every one chapter here, I will upload two on Patreon, if you like this book, and want to read more while supporting me simultaneously, you can join me on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/ProgressingDaily
— New chapter is coming soon — Write a review
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