"Let me see where your limit truly lies."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's words echoed calmly in the training ground, yet they exploded in the hearts of all the young clansmen.
Those young clansmen who were lying on the ground groaning in pain held their breath at this moment, staring intently at the two facing off in the center of the field.
As the protagonist being called out, Sarutobi Hasumi's feelings were even more complex.
There was shock, frustration, but mostly an excitement of being recognized and expected.
To have Lord Hokage say "let me see your limit," this in itself was a supreme honor.
"Yes! Lord Clan Head!"
Sarutobi Hasumi took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the surging blood and turbulent emotions in his heart.
He threw all his fatigue and soreness to the back of his mind and assumed a standard Sarutobi-style taijutsu starting stance again.
The boy's eyes became incredibly focused and sharp at this moment.
The whole world seemed to have only the man standing before him with one hand behind his back, towering like a mountain.
Sarutobi Hasumi knew that this would be the most important duel of his life.
"Please instruct me!"
As soon as his voice fell, Hasumi's figure moved again.
This time, he didn't launch a storm-like fierce attack right away as before.
Instead, he used a peculiar footwork, his body moving around Sarutobi Hiruzen at high speed like a ghost, creating afterimages that made it difficult to capture his true trajectory.
"Whoosh—whoosh—"
This was something he had learned from a Konoha senior in the Real Battlefield Simulation System, specifically used to confuse the enemy's vision and find an opportunity for a one-hit kill.
"Oh? Interesting."
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Hasumi's erratic figure, a flash of approval in his eyes.
This kid was indeed a talent worth cultivating.
Not only was his strength improving rapidly, but what was more commendable was that he knew how to think in battle, how to absorb and transform the strengths of others.
Just as the boy's figure moved to the left rear of Sarutobi Hiruzen, ready to launch a fatal blow.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's calm voice rang out leisurely.
"Hasumi, your idea is good, using high-speed movement to create visual residue and disrupt the opponent's judgment."
"But."
"Every time your left foot exerts force on the ground, it's slightly slower than your right foot. Although this is a trivial detail, it causes your entire center of gravity to shift."
"Remember, when practicing such moves, both legs need to be strengthened synchronously so that you can have better posture and speed."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice, like a morning bell and evening drum, struck the boy's heart.
Still with that right hand, he simply reached forward.
It looked so slow, but Hasumi felt that no matter how he dodged, he couldn't avoid that palm.
Finally, that broad and powerful palm pressed on his shoulder, neither lightly nor heavily.
"Your first flaw, unstable center of gravity."
With that, Sarutobi Hiruzen's palm pushed gently.
Hasumi only felt a clever force transmitted, and his whole body staggered backward involuntarily for several steps before barely standing firm.
"Again."
Sarutobi Hiruzen withdrew his hand, still looking calm and breezy.
"Damn it!"
Hasumi gritted his teeth, unwillingness and humiliation welling up in his heart.
He adjusted his breathing again, abandoning those fancy footworks, concentrating all his chakra in his fists, and launched the purest and fiercest frontal attack.
"Sarutobi Style: Taijutsu: Crushing Fist!"
This punch was heavy and powerful, carrying an indomitable momentum, the fist wind creating a slight whistling sound in the air.
However, facing this punch capable of shattering rocks, Sarutobi Hiruzen just shook his head.
"When punching, your shoulders were not completely relaxed, and the strength of your waist was not fully transmitted to the fist. The power of your punch was reduced by at least twenty percent."
Before his voice faded, his right hand moved again.
This time Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't block, but opened his five fingers and grabbed Hasumi's punching wrist with incomparable precision.
Then, a gentle shake of the wrist.
Hasumi only felt a piercing numbness in his wrist, and the strength of his entire arm was instantly unloaded completely.
"Your second flaw, impure exertion of force."
Sarutobi Hiruzen let go, letting Hasumi retreat again due to loss of strength.
"Again."
"Alright!"
Sarutobi Hasumi's fighting spirit was completely beaten out.
With a roar, he used all the taijutsu skills, ninjutsu coordination, and even those insidious trap-setting ideas he had learned in the simulation system.
Sometimes using taijutsu for oppressive fierce attacks, sometimes using the Body Flicker Technique to distance himself and throw kunai at tricky angles.
Hasumi even secretly set up several micro Earth Release traps under his feet, attempting to lure Hiruzen to step on them while moving.
"This sweep kick is good, knowing to attack the lower body. But your killing intent is too heavy. The second before you prepare to strike, your eyes have already exposed your intention."
"In a real life-and-death struggle, you would have already fallen into a disadvantage."
When Hasumi's tricky sweep kick was dodged by Hiruzen with a light jump, guidance came again.
"Changing moves quickly, knowing how to use the body's inertia for a secondary attack. But your breathing is chaotic, which is a big taboo in a duel."
"Your third flaw, impetuousness."
"Thump!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen backhanded a chop, precisely hitting Hasumi's nape, making his vision go black and almost fainting.
"Setting traps under your feet? Very good."
"But I am also quite good at Earth Release. That little chakra fluctuation is as conspicuous as a firefly in the dark night to me."
"Remember, when you go to the battlefield in the future, don't compete in Lightning Release with the Raikage, or Water Release with the Mizukage."
"Snap!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen crushed the trap set by Hasumi with one foot, then swept his leg, knocking him to the ground again.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice was like an invisible scalpel, dissecting Hasumi's every movement, every exertion technique, and even the rhythm of every breath again and again.
"..."
"..."
The entire training ground fell into a weird cycle.
Sarutobi Hasumi rushed up with all his might again and again.
Then, he was easily knocked down in various ways again and again.
Every time he was knocked down, Sarutobi Hiruzen would precisely point out several flaws in him.
"The angle of the knee strike is too straight. If I were an enemy, just a simple sideways movement would leave your entire center open."
"Headbutt? Good idea, but your head isn't hard enough. This move hurts the enemy by eight hundred but yourself by a thousand. It's a move only fools use."
"..."
The other young clansmen lying on the ground had gone from initial shock to numbness.
Watching Hasumi being repeatedly ravaged on the field, a trace of sympathy actually arose in their hearts.
Too miserable.
And as the person involved, Sarutobi Hasumi's mind was blank at this moment.
He hurt all over, feeling like every bone in his body was about to fall apart.
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