Kushina's body shuddered violently.
An indescribable sensation of comfort started from her leg muscles and instantly spread throughout her entire body!
The exhaustion and mental tension of the past few days, as well as the hidden burden brought about by the Nine-Tailed Chakra, seemed to be washed away and smoothed over by that warm current at this very moment.
This feeling... it was too comfortable.
It even made her have an absurd thought of wanting to just sink into it.
This deadly sense of comfort instantly triggered the highest alarm in her heart!
It made her feel boundless shame and annoyance at her body's uncooperative instinctive reaction!
"Hah!"
She let out a sharp cry, used the force of the collision to perform a beautiful backflip in the air, and landed steadily.
Immediately after, her offensive became increasingly violent and fierce!
Fists, elbows, knees, legs... every part of her body transformed into the deadliest weapon, enveloping Gu Lingxiao like a storm.
It was as if she wanted to use this unreserved, frantic attack to cover up that moment of distraction and vent the shame and anger in her heart!
'Tsk, this flexibility, this explosive power, she is simply a human leopardess.'
Gu Lingxiao parried her moves with ease and comfort, while inwardly marveling constantly.
'The Uzumaki Clan's Sage Body is just different; it is full of wild, powerful beauty.'
'This low sweep move... from my angle, the scenery is quite something.'
The word "scenery," like a spark thrown into boiling oil, instantly ignited Kushina's anger!
Bastard!
This bastard who is constantly desecrating her with his thoughts!
"Go to hell!"
Kushina's attacks completely lost all structure; it was no longer sparring, but filled with a viciousness meant to beat someone into the ground!
Every punch whistled with wind, every kick was heavy and powerful, aiming directly at Gu Lingxiao's face and vital points!
'Embarrassed and angry?'
Gu Lingxiao was overjoyed.
'Using such violent attacks to mask the inner palpitations and shyness, nice, very much in the style of the Red Hot Habanero.'
'I just like this kind of spirited one!'
The intense taijutsu sparring finally came to an end amidst Kushina's increasingly heavy breathing.
She stopped her movements, her chest heaving violently, fine beads of sweat seeping from her forehead, and a few strands of red hair dampened by sweat clinging to her cheeks, making her look less fierce and more captivatingly charming.
She glared fiercely at the man opposite her, who was calm and composed, his breathing not even the slightest bit disordered, feeling both angry and shocked.
She knew best how heavy her own attacks were.
That was already an onslaught far beyond the scope of "sparring"; even an ordinary Jonin would be left in a sorry state if they could even take it.
Yet he, as if taking a stroll in a garden, easily and comfortably neutralized it all.
This man's strength was far greater than what he had shown!
"Come stand beside me."
Kushina forcibly suppressed the waves in her heart, walked to the center of the field, and ordered in an indisputable tone.
"I am going to practice the Chakra Chains, and you are responsible for keeping watch on the side, just in case."
Gu Lingxiao followed her instructions and walked to a spot not far from her side.
'Adamantine Sealing Chains!'
His heart instantly grew hot.
'This is the signature ultimate technique of the Uzumaki Clan, a divine skill capable of suppressing even the Nine-Tailed! If I could get my hands on it, wouldn't I be able to walk sideways in this Ninja World?'
'However... this thing looks domineering, but if it goes out of control, the feeling of being bound by it wouldn't be pleasant; it could twist a person directly into a pretzel.'
Kushina ignored whatever he was daydreaming about again; she closed her eyes, formed hand seals, and condensed Chakra.
The next moment, several gleaming golden chains, composed of pure Chakra, burst out from behind her!
"Swish, swish, swish!"
The chains, carrying a sharp whistling sound, pierced through the rows of hard wooden stakes in the distance with extreme precision, like living golden snakes.
However, just at this moment, one of the chains seemed to suddenly "lose control," abruptly changing direction, tracing a sharp arc, and whistling past Gu Lingxiao's cheek at high speed!
The sharp Chakra airflow even left a shallow scratch on the edge of his mask.
Gu Lingxiao stood still, not moving an inch, not even blinking an eyelid.
'Oh? Using chains?'
'Is this testing my courage, or expressing her dissatisfaction?'
'This way of playing... is a bit high-end.'
'But to be fair, if this golden chain were used in a different way...'
'For example, not used to bind a Tailed Beast, but used to bind a person... hiss, this imagery is too strong, dare not think, dare not think.'
The unspeakable images that flashed through Gu Lingxiao's mind were broadcast synchronously in Kushina's mind like high-definition video, without missing a single frame!
"Boom!"
Her pretty face instantly flushed bright red, almost to the point of dripping blood.
This bastard! Scum! Shameless wretch!
He... how dare he!
How dare he use such filthy thoughts to desecrate the sacred Sealing Jutsu of the Uzumaki Clan that she was so proud of!
"Swish!"
Kushina abruptly retracted all the Chakra chains, but the extreme shame and anger from being desecrated by his thoughts only made the fire in her chest burn brighter!
She stared daggers at Gu Lingxiao, her deep blue eyes almost spitting fire.
'Hmm? Angry?'
This inner thought was like adding fuel to the fire.
"Bastard!" Kushina's anger finally found a vent; she no longer conducted any "tests," but turned her full fury into the most direct killing intent!
She did not put away her Ninjutsu; instead, the moment she retracted the chains, she flicked her wrist and flung several Kunai from her ninja tool pouch!
These Kunai were not aimed at the target, but precisely at the ends of the golden chains that had not yet completely dissipated!
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Amidst the crisp sound of metal colliding, the combination of the Kunai and the Chakra chains actually made the ends of the chains look like they had been fitted with venomous snake fangs!
With a violent flick, several golden chains, carrying the pitch-black "fangs," lashed out at Gu Lingxiao again from all directions, at a speed far exceeding before and from strange angles!
"This is what you call a test!" Her cold voice was filled with the madness of being provoked.
"Finally, testing reaction speed!"
Her voice was cold, as if squeezed out from between her teeth.
Before her voice had faded, she flicked her wrist, and several Kunai, like black lightning mixed with her anger, shot precisely toward Gu Lingxiao!
Facing this sudden, violent attack that integrated ninja tools and secret techniques, Gu Lingxiao's eyes finally became a bit more serious.
His figure moved slightly, weaving through the gaps in the chains like a ghost, each time narrowly avoiding the deadly tips of the Kunai.
Kushina's offensive became faster and fiercer, and her anger caused her Chakra output to take on a hint of unstable violence.
Just as she was manipulating one chain to perform an extreme tail whip, attempting to seal off all of Gu Lingxiao's retreat paths, another high-speed rotating chain, because she was pursuing speed and power too much, had its end-mounted Kunai collide slightly with the former during the rotation!
"Clang!"
After a crisp impact sound, the Kunai that had been knocked away lost control and, at an angle no one had anticipated, spun and rebounded back!
Kushina's pupils shrank; it was too late to dodge.
"Pfft!"