"Something's flying toward us?"
Hearing this, Ao jerked his head to the side,
and saw—
"Whoosh!"
A black-handled ninja sword, in a posture similar to a thrown javelin, was tearing through the air and shooting straight toward his face!
Ao's scalp tingled slightly. Not daring to be careless, he immediately retreated a step, halting his offensive against Hyuga Natsu, and swung his ninja blade to parry!
"Clang!"
Blade met sword, exploding with the resounding boom of a great bell!
Ao felt his arm go numb. He had barely managed to block this sword strike. Looking again, he discovered that his well-crafted ninja blade had cracked and bent in the middle.
At that moment, the sensory ninja Kensuke beside him roared:
"Watch out, that guy—is coming!"
"Whoosh!"
The sound of wind being torn apart at extreme speed exploded in his ears.
In a single breath, Ao looked up to see a green blurred figure shooting toward him at a speed almost beyond the limits of visual perception!
Ao decisively threw away his ninja blade and formed hand seals rapidly with his other hand that wasn't numb—
Ox-Monkey-Hare-Rat-Boar-Rooster-Ox-Horse-Rooster-Rat-Tiger-Dog-Tiger-Snake-Ox-Ram-Snake-Boar.
Eighteen seals completed in five seconds!
"Water Style: Water Trumpet!"
In the next instant,
like a dam bursting, a wave of water rose from beneath Ao's feet, carrying tremendous pressure capable of bending steel and surging indiscriminately in all directions!
Normally, a Water Style user would employ the Water Formation Wall technique with only five seals at this moment, but Ao knew very clearly that wouldn't be enough. The figure charging at such speed was obviously a ninja skilled in taijutsu, and a single-sided Water Formation Wall couldn't keep up with his opponent's speed!
At the same time, his opponent had chosen to strike at this moment, undoubtedly for the sake of the woman before him. This move was also forcing his opponent to abandon him as a target!
When fighting a taijutsu specialist, the most important thing is to create distance in the first exchange and obtain information about the opponent during this process, quickly adapting to their offensive rhythm.
At this moment,
seeing the water wave about to crash down on Hyuga Natsu, the flying figure immediately twisted his body, abandoning his punch aimed at Ao—who was close at hand and had already drawn a kunai in a defensive stance—and instead scooped up Hyuga Natsu in his arms. Touching down with his toes, he shot over ten meters away, avoiding the most violent first impact of the Water Trumpet technique.
And at that moment,
the blurred figure gradually became clear, standing over ten meters away from Ao, revealing his form.
This person wore black combat gear, possessed a pair of cold, ferocious white eyes, and had long black hair that moved without wind in the green chakra swirling around his body, like a demon.
It was none other than Hyuga Yu, who had opened the Third Gate of the Eight Gates!
"Hm? You... it's actually you!"
At this time, Ao widened his eyes slightly, looking at Hyuga Yu with some astonishment. He immediately recognized that the youth before him—whose appearance was drastically different from before—was the very Hyuga brat he had deliberately let go to avoid complications in his mission.
In an instant, Ao's brain raced furiously. Having thought of some explanation, his expression immediately turned grave as he said in a deep voice:
"I see."
"You, brat, are the real guard the Hyuga clan assigned to the main family!"
"Pfft." Hearing this, Hyuga Natsu, who was being held by Hyuga Yu, couldn't help but giggle, finding it somewhat amusing.
Hyuga Yu glared at her and slowly set her down.
Then, he calmly raised his head, looking coldly at Ao standing over ten meters away.
He said nothing and didn't want to say anything.
At this moment, every single word would be a needless expenditure of stamina.
Moreover,
Hyuga Yu was acutely aware that his current "Super Saiyan" state only had four minutes remaining!
Hyuga Natsu very sensibly withdrew. Although she was extremely curious about this form that Hyuga Yu had never shown her before,
she understood that she had something she needed to do immediately.
Hyuga Natsu's eyes turned cold as she immediately drew a kunai from her waist and leaped toward Hyuga Genko's position.
Simultaneously, on the other side,
Ao took a deep breath and immediately ordered Kensuke beside him:
"Kensuke, immediately use the Slicing Rain technique to support from the side."
At the same time, Ao looked coldly at Hyuga Yu and, after shaking his somewhat numb right hand,
brought both hands together and formed the Ram seal!
Without needing reminders or any extra explanations, the two standing in opposition began charging at each other at maximum speed from ten meters apart!
"Whoosh!"
"Swoosh!"
To keep up with the supersonic mobility Hyuga Yu was currently displaying, Ao once again employed the Water Body Flicker Technique. At the same time, his other hand suddenly lashed out with a whip composed purely of water.
Water Style: Water Whip.
This was a classic technique among Water Style jutsu, combining flexible and variable killing methods with considerable lethality. Most importantly, when targeting taijutsu specialists, a superior Water Style user could enhance its flexibility so that once this technique bound an opponent, it would tighten more and more as they struggled!
On the field that continuously expanded as they leaped forward at extreme speed, Ao immediately swung the water whip, coiling it toward Hyuga Yu.
However,
"Crack!"
Hyuga Yu attempted to dodge by sidestepping but discovered his vision couldn't keep up with his current speed. In the process of close-range micro-adjustments, he overstepped, dodging the first lash but causing the second whip's return strike to become unavoidable.
In the end, he could only let the water whip lash against him. Enduring the pain of the whip cutting into his flesh, Hyuga Yu gritted his teeth ferociously and grabbed the tip of the whip with his backhand, gripping it tightly.
Immediately after,
he lifted his foot and stomped down, driving his sole into the shattered ground to anchor himself firmly. Then, he twisted his body!
It was almost like a tug-of-war!
But the lightweight Ao's expression immediately changed slightly. His entire body was forcibly yanked by a strength like that of a raging bull, flying toward his opponent.
Hyuga Yu stared at him coldly, raising his hand and curling it into a claw shape, waiting for Ao to deliver his own face to be crushed!
Although his normal speed had already exceeded the speed of sound, the Byakugan didn't possess dynamic vision. Therefore, in close-quarters combat, what Hyuga Yu could rely on more was the enhancement in strength that the Third Gate state granted him.
However,
appearing to be at a disadvantage and about to fall into Hyuga Yu's iron claw, Ao
revealed a fox-like sneer at this moment. During the rapid approach to Hyuga Yu, his other hand swiftly formed seven seals.
Snake-Ram-Horse-Hare-Ram-Horse-Hare!
Water Style: Water Prison Technique!
Ao's plan was precisely to use this opportunity to subdue Hyuga Yu with a single move!
At this moment, Ao, now face-to-face with his opponent, raised his palm. The water sphere in his palm rapidly expanded, directly swallowing Hyuga Yu whole!
With one hand restricted by the water whip, Hyuga Yu's position was already compromised. Floating within the water bubble, having lost a point of leverage, it was extremely difficult for Hyuga Yu to break free from this jutsu.
Unless he could fly, or directly open the Sixth Gate and ascend on the spot through a burst of aura to become Senior Brother Duan Shui Liu.
However,
Hyuga Yu might actually be able to fly!
The Front Lotus, a taijutsu technique usable only after opening the Third Gate of the Eight Gates, was a high-speed attack that opponents couldn't even touch, and could even allow one to fly through the sky by stepping on air.
Naturally, Hyuga Yu hadn't yet learned the Front Lotus, but this didn't prevent him from attempting to forcibly blast through the air with his current stats and take flight!
Soon,
under Ao's bewildered gaze,
"Gurgle..."
Hyuga Yu yanked off the water whip wrapped around his wrist and began frantically kicking within the water prison!
At first, he couldn't understand how to step on formless, colorless things like air or water currents. But soon, as one kick accidentally struck the green chakra swirling around his body and relied on this chakra to disturb the water flow beneath his feet—giving him the sensation of stepping on solid cow dung—
Hyuga Yu had an epiphany.
To truly fly through the air for extended periods required opening the Seventh or Eighth Gate and using Evening Elephant to kick out air cannons that even Madara Uchiha would call impressive.
So how did Rock Lee fly? What about Sasuke and Naruto, who used the Lion Combo and Uzumaki Naruto Combo without having learned the Front Lotus or opening the Eight Gates?
Very simple: stepping on chakra.
Chakra possesses mass and weight.
In the next instant,
under Ao's incredulous gaze,
Hyuga Yu kicked off with both feet. Like a green arrow, he burst through the water bubble and took flight!
————
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