"Earth Style: Falling Earth Spears!"
A moment later, Yamato suddenly opened his eyes, then his small hands moved rapidly as he formed a string of hand seals before letting out a low shout.
The ground in front of him abruptly bulged upward, and a sharp earthen spear burst out from the earth, shooting straight ahead.
"Excellent."
Shinichi walked over from the side while applauding and said with a smile, "Yamato, you're truly a genius. I only demonstrated Ninjutsu once in front of you, yet you're already able to use it independently. With talent like this, I couldn't have done the same at your age. Back then, I was still practicing the three basic techniques."
"It's because big brother Shinichi teaches so well!" Yamato embarrassedly scratched the back of his head as he replied.
That truly was not false modesty.
Yamato could feel it himself; big brother Shinichi was exceptionally good at teaching others.
Whenever he tried to figure out other D-rank Ninjutsu by himself, he could never properly grasp the flow of chakra. Even after memorizing the hand seals, something always went wrong when he tried to manipulate his chakra, either deviating from the correct path or lacking sufficient force.
Yet when big brother Shinichi stood beside him, a few brief words and a casual point of the finger would make him feel as though something had suddenly enlightened him. Places that had previously made no sense would instantly become clear.
The sensation was strange, as if a layer of fog covering his mind had been gently brushed away by big brother Shinichi.
What should have been a C-rank Ninjutsu felt even easier than an E-rank Ninjutsu in his hands.
Shinichi smiled without saying anything more. Instead, he shifted his gaze toward the small river at the other end of the training ground.
Yamato followed his line of sight.
The commotion there was growing increasingly intense as two figures rapidly crossed paths atop the water, and the sounds of fierce collisions echoed continuously; they were Kurenai Yuhi and Shizune.
Boom!
Shizune suddenly threw a powerful punch, and when her fist struck the water's surface, it was as though a bomb had exploded.
A massive column of water shot skyward, and white waves burst outward in all directions.
It was a punch delivered with Chakra Enhanced Strength.
In the original timeline, Shizune had never managed to master this Ninjutsu.
Perhaps her talent had been insufficient, or perhaps the most precious golden period of her growth had been completely wasted by Tsunade, who had fallen into confusion and escapism.
Master and student had essentially spent twenty years drifting aimlessly both inside and outside the Konoha.
Even so, after spending twenty years taking care of Tsunade, Shizune had still grown into a Jonin-level ninja, which in itself was enough to prove that her talent was quite remarkable.
In this timeline, however, Shizune had encountered Shinichi, the relentless workaholic, at an early stage.
Under his influence, Tsunade escaped her confusion far earlier. At the same time, Shizune herself, aided by Shinichi's various talent enhancements and repeated personal guidance, embarked upon a diligent path of training completely different from the one she had followed in the original timeline.
The Chakra Enhanced Strength, which she had failed to master even as an adult in the original timeline, had been learned at only ten years old in this one.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
After using the Chakra Enhanced Strength, Shizune's attacks became noticeably fiercer as she launched an endless barrage of assaults while pursuing Kurenai.
Every punch that struck the water produced an explosion-like disturbance, and before one spray of water could even fall, the next punch had already been unleashed.
Kurenai's response, however, was entirely different.
Her figure resembled a drifting willow catkin carried by the wind. Although her speed did not appear particularly fast, she was extraordinarily agile, repeatedly avoiding the incoming punches by the narrowest margins. Her toes lightly tapped the water's surface, sending delicate ripples spreading outward.
Watching from the side, Yamato's heart tightened.
He instinctively turned toward Shinichi beside him, only to find him standing calmly on the riverbank with his arms crossed, quietly observing the battle.
Seeing this, Yamato's anxiety eased somewhat.
"Yamato, who do you think will win?" Shinichi's voice suddenly came from beside him.
Yamato watched for a while longer.
Shizune's attacks were becoming increasingly ferocious, her punches shattering the water wherever they landed, while Kurenai's movements seemed more and more perilous, and she had even made several visibly awkward evasive maneuvers.
After some thought, he cautiously answered, "Probably... Sister Shizune?"
Shinichi merely shook his head.
"Keep watching, the match is about to be decided."
Yamato immediately widened his eyes.
At that moment, Shizune launched another attack, smashing down with a punch that instantly blasted a large section of the river into a curtain of white spray and mist.
Taking advantage of the watery screen as cover, Kurenai quickly retreated, tapping the water several times with her feet and creating distance in the blink of an eye.
Just as Shizune prepared to continue her pursuit, her movement abruptly halted, and she discovered that she could not move at all.
In a daze, she seemed to see crystal-clear splashes of water blooming one after another before her eyes, like willow branches gently brushing across the water's surface. Her body felt like one of the reflections beneath the water, tightly bound by countless invisible threads.
Leaf Style Willow.
An S-rank Hidden Jutsu personally created by Kosuke Maruboshi that combined Genjutsu and swordsmanship, requiring no hand seals.
"Hm? Genjutsu?!"
Shizune's heart tightened as she immediately mobilized her chakra in an attempt to break free, but she was still a step too slow.
The moment she felt herself breaking through the restraints of the Genjutsu, a cold sensation touched her neck.
Kurenai stood before her, breathing slightly heavily, her cheeks still flushed from intense exertion, while the sword in her hand was already firmly pressed against Shizune's neck.
"I lost, Kurenai."
Shizune puffed out her cheeks, looking somewhat dejected.
"I thought learning the Chakra Enhanced Strength would guarantee my victory over you."
She had only recently mastered the Chakra Enhanced Strength
Well, she had learned it under Shinichi's guidance.
Strangely enough, whenever she trained under Shinichi's instruction, it felt as though her entire mind had suddenly opened up.
Tsunade had taught her before, and she had also spent countless hours studying it privately, but she always became stuck at the most critical step.
Yet under Shinichi's guidance, especially recently, those obstacles that had once seemed like insurmountable chasms had somehow been smoothed away. Barriers she could never overcome before were now crossed naturally and effortlessly.
"You've already done extremely well, Shizune. I only won by a bit of luck."
Kurenai withdrew her sword and smiled gently.
"Look, I still haven't learned the Chakra Enhanced Strength. Besides, you've devoted more of your energy to Medical Ninjutsu. In a straightforward fight like this, I naturally have the advantage. If we were in a more complicated environment, the outcome between us wouldn't necessarily be the same. In real combat, there are far more variables than there are here."
"Alright, ladies."
Shinichi stepped forward and clapped his hands, drawing both of their attention.
"You both performed exceptionally well. When Tsunade-sensei returns to the village in the future and sees how much you've improved, I'm sure she'll be astonished."