Training Ground Sixteen
When they reached Training Ground Sixteen, Aaron looked at the three of them and spoke casually, as if suggesting a friendly spar.
"Come at me together. Use everything you've got. Don't worry about hurting me because you won't."
Kenshi frowned slightly.
That was bold. Too bold.
Kakashi was a Jonin. Kenshi might not win awards for raw power, but his Shadow techniques made him at least Special Jonin level in real combat value. And Midori came from the Inuzuka clan, close-combat specialists raised for battle alongside their ninken.
With a lineup like this, even an elite Jonin couldn't claim they'd walk away without a scratch.
Unless…
Unless you were someone on the level of the Third or Fourth Hokage.
Kenshi didn't believe Aaron was that strong. Sure, the Fourth was young too but there was only one Fourth Hokage.
Midori cracked her knuckles, clearly fired up. She wasn't some Academy kid fighting for bells anymore.
Only Kakashi looked like he'd swallowed something unpleasant. He knew exactly how bad this was about to be.
Kenshi quickly took command.
"Midori, you're strongest in taijutsu engage him up close. Kakashi, prepare Lightning Release."
"Got it!" Midori grinned.
"Fang Over Fang!"
She and her partner, transformed into a near-identical spinning form, launched forward. Two high-speed human-drill tornadoes tore across the training field, shredding grass and carving twin trenches through the dirt as they rushed toward Aaron.
The sheer force of their rotation churned up soil and left the ground looking freshly plowed.
And Aaron?
Didn't move.
Not even a step.
Kenshi's eyes sharpened.
Was he planning to tank it?
Even as the twin spirals closed to within a yard, Aaron neither formed hand signs nor shifted his stance.
He simply raised his fist.
White cracks of power shimmered around it as he channeled the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
Then he punched.
BOOM!!!
The collision detonated like a shockwave mine going off. Air burst outward in violent gusts, flattening the grass in every direction.
Crack. Crack.
A sound like glass splintering echoed across the field.
Kenshi's eyes widened.
Fractures, actual fractures spread across the spinning vortexes, as though the air itself were breaking apart.
Then
BOOM! BOOM!
The twin tornadoes exploded mid-charge, scattering into nothing.
Midori and her partner were launched backward as if swatted by a giant. They slammed into the dirt and skidded across the field, leaving deep gouges in the earth.
Kakashi winced.
That looked painful.
"Now, Kakashi!" Kenshi shouted.
Under the cover of the explosion and swirling dust, Kenshi's shadow had already stretched forward.
Shadow Possession Jutsu.
Their silhouettes connected.
Aaron's body locked into the same stance as Kenshi's.
"Quick!" Kenshi barked, sweat already forming on his brow. "I can't hold him long!"
He'd never felt strain like this before. It was like trying to restrain a rampaging tailed beast with fishing line.
What he didn't realize was that Aaron was deliberately holding back. If he'd resisted fully from the start, the recoil alone might've seriously injured Kenshi. The gap between them wasn't just large, it was absurd.
Even without the Tremor power, the physical might he'd inherited rivaled legends.
Kakashi clenched his teeth and surged forward.
Lightning chakra gathered in his hand.
Chidori.
Searing blue energy screamed in his palm, crackling like a thousand birds in a storm. The concentrated Lightning Release formed a blade of pure piercing force.
The technique's strength lay in both nature and shape transformation, devastating penetration power. Its only flaw was tunnel vision at high speed.
But with his Sharingan active, that weakness disappeared.
He accelerated in a straight line, lightning trailing behind him.
Aaron remained frozen in place, seemingly bound by the shadow.
Kakashi reached him in an instant. Through the Sharingan, he could see even the fine hairs on Aaron's skin.
For a split second, he hesitated.
Chidori was lethal. If Aaron truly couldn't defend himself
"Kakashi!" Aaron roared. "You've seen my power and you're still hesitating? Don't insult me!"
Kakashi's eyes sharpened.
That's when he noticed it.
Aaron's entire body was coated in a jet-black sheen, like forged steel brought to life.
No more hesitation.
Kakashi drove Chidori straight into Aaron's chest.
CRACKLE!!!
Lightning erupted wildly, engulfing Aaron in blinding blue arcs.
For a moment, he looked like a man carved from electricity.
But not a single spark pierced the black armor of Armament Haki.
Kakashi felt it instantly.
It was like stabbing reinforced steel.
No matter how powerful the thrust, it wouldn't break through. Instead, the recoil shot pain back up his arm.
Kenshi stared in disbelief.
Lightning Release was known for overwhelming power. Kakashi's Chidori was clearly a high-level technique.
And yet
No damage.
This didn't line up with anything they'd learned at the Academy. Or from their clans.
It wasn't just overwhelming strength.
It was a different tier of existence.
Aaron decided they'd seen enough.
He stopped restraining his power.
The Shadow Possession shattered instantly.
Kenshi's body jolted; a thin line of blood slipped from the corner of his mouth.
Before Kakashi could react, Aaron vanished.
The next instant
A crushing force struck from behind.
Kakashi was launched through the air, landing beside Midori in a heap.
Kenshi swallowed, dread rising.
"We—"
He didn't even finish the word "yield."
Aaron blurred forward and delivered a clean kick, sending him flying to join the others.
Silence fell over the training ground.
Aaron dusted off his hands, satisfied.
Much better.
A squad should stick together.
Even when they're flat on their backs.
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