Land of Rivers, Unnamed Mining Zone
All the labor reform prisoners had been driven up to higher ground.
The mining site below was cleared—turned into the battlefield between Kaito and Nawaki.
"Agreed then," Nawaki said coldly.
"If you lose, you'll hug that arrogant woman and do one hundred squats."
"..."
What kind of punishment is that?
Kaito complained internally.
Nawaki clenched his fists, rolling his shoulders and joints, then took a deep breath.
"Ready?"
"Whenever."
Spectator Area — Mountainside
Jiraiya nearly ground his teeth to dust.
He still couldn't understand how that brown-haired brat dared suggest something like this.
Whoosh—
He glanced sideways and immediately saw Uchiha Mikoto, her aura practically identical to Kushina's legendary "red-hot rage mode."
Terrifying woman.
"Kill him… kill him… kill him…"
Mikoto muttered under her breath.
Tsunade, however, had noticed something else.
A trace of worry flashed through her eyes.
Please… don't be Nawaki.
Compared to Nawaki betraying Konoha,
she would rather believe he was simply here like the other prisoners—forced to work for Loulan.
The Battle Begins
"Then—
I'm coming."
Nawaki was eager.
Eager to see how much Kaito had grown.
Eager to see whether his own power would shock Kaito in return.
He raised his right hand.
One hand.
Rapid seals.
"Single-handed seals? That jutsu is—" Minato exclaimed in shock.
Jiraiya answered instantly:
"Water Release—Water Dragon Jutsu!"
"That's impossible!" Kakashi blurted out.
"Water Dragon only has four hand seals?!"
"I thought it had forty-something!" Naruto shouted.
"Forty-four," Sai corrected calmly.
Tsunade didn't look away from the battlefield.
"Water Dragon normally requires forty-four seals," she said.
"But if one's mastery of Water Release is high enough, the number of seals can be drastically reduced."
Still—
four seals with one hand was absurd.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
As Nawaki spoke, clear streams surged up from beneath his feet.
"Starting with a B-rank jutsu already?"
Kaito broke into a sweat.
Is that really necessary? Fine—let's peel you apart properly.
Even without a natural water source, the dragon formed in just two or three seconds, lunging straight at Kaito.
Kaito finished his own seals.
"Earth Release: Earth Pillar!"
Both hands slammed into the ground.
Boom—!
The rocky ground trembled violently as a tall rectangular earth pillar erupted upward, standing squarely in the dragon's path.
The water dragon slammed into it—
Crack!
"Using Earth Release to alter terrain and block Water Dragon isn't bad," Nawaki said coolly.
"But your Earth Release—
isn't strong enough."
The pillar shattered.
Nawaki drew his blade and flashed forward with Body Flicker, appearing midair.
Kaito tilted, about to fall—
Slash!!
"What—?!"
Nawaki hadn't expected this.
From a blind angle, Kaito drew a kunai, nearly slicing through Nawaki's mask.
Blade and kunai collided.
In that brief stalemate, Kaito kicked off a falling chunk of earth, re-entered the air, and infused Fire Release chakra into the kunai.
"Fire Release—Ultimate Propulsion Kunai!"
Whoosh—!
"Incredible!" Minato praised.
"He can apply Fire Release chakra without seals?"
"That jutsu's from years ago," Mikoto said smugly.
"Years ago…?" Kakashi muttered.
"Then how strong is he now?"
Naruto stared. "Amazing…"
"So the kid really does have teeth," Rain Village jōnin Seiu muttered, arms crossed, prisoner number 74 emblazoned on his clothes.
The fire-charged kunai burned like a rocket, flames roaring at its tail.
"As expected of you," Nawaki said sincerely.
"You caught your opening."
Then—
single-handed seals again.
"Water Release: Water Formation Pillar!"
This B-rank defensive jutsu required deep chakra nature mastery—
a fusion of Water乱波 and Water Wall, expelled as a massive rotating water barricade.
Kaito's face twitched.
"Isn't this overkill?!"
He'd used a C-rank Earth defense and a D-rank Fire attack—
and Nawaki answered with two consecutive B-rank techniques?!
The water pillar snuffed out the kunai instantly.
Midair, Kaito crossed his arms, reinforcing his body with Earth chakra—
BANG!
"Damn it!!" Mikoto shouted, sleeves rolled up.
Tsunade blocked her.
"Wait. Kaito won't fall that easily."
"They're not even on the same level!" Mikoto snapped.
Minato nodded grimly.
"Two high-level Water jutsu back-to-back without fatigue… he's at least jōnin-class."
"…That strong," Naruto muttered, deflated.
Guess escaping really is impossible.
Kaito was blasted away, crashing into the pool formed by the Water Dragon.
Before he could surface—
Nawaki appeared, blade at Kaito's neck.
"It's over."
"So fast… Guess that 'eternal genin' really isn't anything special," Kakashi murmured.
"No," Minato said sharply.
"Now the real fight begins."
Seiu nodded.
"Watch carefully, Konoha brats. This is how Water Release fights."
Splash—
Kaito turned into a Water Clone.
Nawaki froze.
A cold black kunai pressed against his throat.
"This," Kaito said grimly,
"is the end."
Nawaki smiled.
The body in front of Kaito dissolved into water.
The real Nawaki appeared behind him—
Boom!
A kick sent Kaito flying.
"Now it's really over!"
Nawaki dodged the thrown kunai easily.
"Too slow."
Puff—
The kunai transformed into Kaito.
His hand seals blurred into afterimages.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
"Damn it!"
No time to seal—Nawaki used Water Body Flicker.
BOOM!
The fireball struck the pool, steam exploding outward.
Kaito seized the moment.
"Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"
"What?!"
A Kirigakure ninja with number 47 roared.
"That's our village's secret technique!"
"There's no such thing as impossible," Mikoto said proudly.
"That's Konoha's eternal genin—Kaito!"
Everyone else:
"..."
You call THIS a genin?!
"Black Phantom suits him better," Tsunade said flatly.
The mist thickened unnaturally.
Nawaki frowned beneath his mask.
A flash—
He stepped back, dodging Kaito's reverse-grip upward slash.
Clang!
Blade met kunai.
"Is this all you've got?"
"You really haven't improved at all."
"My old teammate—
Nawaki."
"!!!!!"
Nawaki's expression hardened.
"I don't know who you're talking about!"
"The less calm you are," Kaito replied coolly,
"the more obvious your tells become."
Splash—
Footsteps behind him.
"Shut up!"
Nawaki condensed chakra, empowering his blade.
Kaito's kunai shattered—
his body split open—
Water clone.
"Behind you!"
Nawaki slashed back—
BOOM!
Twin rotating water pillars erupted beneath his feet.
"Water Release: Twin Torrent Chaos Wave!"
A B-rank jutsu Kaito had developed from Water乱波.
CRASH!!!
Nawaki was blasted away, coughing blood.
The mist cleared.
He hit the ground, rolling across muddy clay.
Kaito stepped out of the pool.
"No real improvement," he said calmly.
"Faster casting. Stronger output."
"That's all."
Nawaki staggered up, clutching his chest.
This guy's a monster…
And he stayed a genin…?
Crack.
A faint sound beneath his feet.
Before he could react—
A kunai flashed.
Crack—!
The horned mask split cleanly in two.
Light hit the brown-haired young man's face.
Tsunade froze.
Jiraiya froze.
Mikoto—
"…Huh? He looks like someone…"
Tsunade whispered, voice breaking:
"My… brother."
"Nawaki…" Jiraiya breathed.
Mikoto's Sharingan saw no transformation.
"It's really him… He joined Loulan—
or rather, that organization called White Cross."
"No!!" Tsunade screamed.
"My brother wouldn't abandon Konoha—
He promised to protect Grandmother and Grandfather's village!"
She collapsed, sobbing.
"Bring him back," Jiraiya said quietly.
"Then we'll know the truth."
"Yes…" Tsunade clenched her fists.
Click—click—click.
Fifteen gun barrels rose.
"Don't forget," Little Wood Bug said coldly.
"You lost."
"And you agreed we'd release Konoha's ninja," Jiraiya retorted.
"That was decided by—by that man down there."
"Ninth Seat of White Cross," Little Wood Bug said.
"Lord Tree."
"Ranked fifth in strength within Loulan."
"And he wasn't even serious just now."
"You're lying—!!" Jiraiya snapped.
BOOM!
Kaito was suddenly sent flying again.
Nawaki stood upright—his wounds visibly healing.
"Sorry," Nawaki said calmly.
"You're strong, Kaito. Just like before."
"But now—
I belong to White Cross."
Dark markings spread around his eyes.
"Our ideals changed the moment I left Konoha."
"I won't lose."
Kaito struggled up, then collapsed again.
"What… is this jutsu?!"
Nawaki answered calmly:
"Sage Mode."
"Even Orochimaru couldn't master this."
He turned to Tsunade.
"Sister."
"You were looking for me, weren't you?"
"I'm right here."
"Only—
our paths diverged."
"Give him back—
GIVE ME BACK MY BROTHER!!!"
"Tsunade!!!"
BANG!
A chakra bullet struck the ground at Jiraiya's feet.
"Lord Tree didn't permit you to approach," Little Wood Bug said.
"You lost."
Mikoto calculated desperately—
Too fast. Can't reach him.
Tsunade leapt down, chakra-charged fist raised.
"Give him back!!!"
She believed the Surgeon had altered Nawaki's memories.
"Wood Release…"
"No—impossible…"
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
The ground exploded with massive vines.
Tsunade smashed through them—
Only to be bound.
Her chakra was drained instantly.
"Let me go—!!"
Even with Strength of a Hundred potential,
without full activation she was the weakest Kage-level fighter.
Nawaki cuffed her with Chakra Restraint Cuffs A-Type.
She fainted.
"Sister…"
He sighed—and dispersed most of the forest.
Then smiled.
"As expected of you, Kaito.
Earth Release: Earth Dragon Stealth—beautifully used."
Clang!
Kunai and blade collided.
Kaito's confidence was gone—only fear remained.
"Why…?"
"Why betray Konoha—
even your own sister?!"
"Betrayal?" Nawaki shook his head.
"As the Senju clan head, do I matter at all anymore?"
Kaito froze—
HOLY SHIT—YOU'RE LEAVING BEHIND TEN BILLION RYŌ IN ASSETS—ARE YOU INSANE?!
But aloud—
"…Then what about your sister?"
"She's safe in Konoha," Nawaki said quietly.
"The village will protect her."
Mikoto attacked—
Only to be knocked back by Wood Release.
"Impressive," Nawaki said calmly.
"You've grown stronger, Mikoto."
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