Chapter 329: Taijutsu Sweeps Through the New Generation; Does the Research Direction Have Anything to Do with Eternal Life? [HN]

Konoha’s Third Training Ground.

The sunlight was bright, stretching the two figures standing opposite each other in the center of the training ground into long shadows.

At the edge of the field, a group of children around four or five years old sat cross legged on the grass. Their little faces were filled with curiosity and excitement, along with a trace of doubt that was difficult to hide.

They had been brought here by the academy to watch a taijutsu demonstration.

At their age, the brilliance of ninjutsu and the sound of shuriken cutting through the air were much closer to their idea of what strength should look like.

Uchiha Hikari stood in front of the children with a gentle smile. Her voice was soft but clear enough to reach everyone in the training ground.

“Children, today, Teacher Kakashi and Teacher Might Guy will demonstrate the power of taijutsu for everyone. Taijutsu is the most basic power of a ninja, but it also contains unlimited possibilities. It does not require hand seals. It relies on the speed, strength, and perseverance of our own bodies.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Might Guy suddenly clenched his fist and performed a backflip, breaking away from his battle with Kakashi.

His green jumpsuit gleamed beneath the sunlight. He revealed his trademark dazzling smile, his teeth shining brightly, and his voice rang out like thunder.

“That’s right, children! This is the power of youth! This is the strongest flower watered by sweat! Kakashi, let us continue this passionate battle!”

Kakashi stood opposite him and shrugged.

He dusted the dirt from his sleeve.

His posture was still as lazy as ever.

Kakashi sighed helplessly.

They had already been demonstrating for quite some time.

And Guy still wanted to continue.

His lips moved silently beneath his mask.

‘Guy, we agreed to stop once we had demonstrated enough. This is about enough already…’

However, Guy’s blood was already burning.

He had just keenly noticed that several children had been whispering to each other, revealing a trace of disdain toward what they considered “just a taijutsu battle.”

How could he tolerate that?!

He had to use the hottest youth possible to ignite these young sprouts’ love for taijutsu!

“Kakashi! Take this! Leaf Whirlwind!”

Guy roared and charged forward without giving Kakashi any more time to prepare.

His entire body shot forward like a cannonball, carrying an unstoppable momentum as his powerful side kick swept directly toward Kakashi’s lower body.

The speed and strength of this kick had already gone far beyond the level of a demonstration.

The force of the kick even blew the hair of the children sitting in the front row.

Kakashi’s dead fish eyes widened slightly.

‘That hot blooded idiot!’

His body, however, reacted instinctively.

He quickly retreated half a step and bent forward while supporting himself with one hand.

His other leg rose like the tail of a scorpion and precisely blocked the attack.

“Bang!”

The dull sound of flesh colliding rang out.

The two separated immediately after the exchange.

Kakashi used the force of the impact to flip lightly and land steadily, while Guy landed firmly on the ground, the flames in his eyes burning even more fiercely.

“Oh! Kakashi, you really are my eternal rival! Your reactions are still as fast as ever! But youth does not permit relaxation! Next is Dynamic Entry!”

Guy roared again and charged forward.

His attacks came like a violent storm.

His fists, feet, elbows, and knees all became sharp weapons.

His green figure moved rapidly across the field, almost becoming a green whirlwind.

Kakashi nearly rolled his eyes toward the sky.

So much for a demonstration.

This was obviously a real fight!

He could only concentrate fully and rely on his extraordinary reaction speed, precise control over every movement of his body, and extensive combat experience to dodge and maneuver through Guy’s fierce attacks.

His movements were nowhere near as forceful and domineering as Guy’s.

Instead, they carried a sense of effortless precision.

He often avoided an attack at the last possible moment or neutralized its force with the smallest movement possible.

“Wow! He’s so fast!”

One child could not help shouting.

“That teacher in green is so strong!”

“The white haired teacher looks like he’s about to get hit every time, but he dodges every time…”

The children watched without blinking.

The doubts they had previously held had already been replaced by the visual impact created by the pure collision of speed and strength before them.

Their little hearts pounded with every dangerous dodge and violent collision.

At the side of the field, Uchiha Hikari and Uchiha Izumi stood together as assistant instructors who had come to maintain order and observe the demonstration.

Izumi’s clear eyes were wide with amazement.

“Big Sister Hikari, Senior Guy’s strength and speed are incredible! And Senior Kakashi, his calmness and precision under extreme pressure are simply unbelievable.”

Izumi herself possessed considerable talent.

After training with the System and working hard, her actual strength had already approached the level of a Chunin.

She had previously watched the Taijutsu Ranking Tournament from the spectator stands.

But seeing this level of taijutsu battle from such a close distance was still deeply shocking.

Hikari folded her arms across her chest.

Her crimson Sharingan had opened at some point, and the three tomoe slowly rotated as they clearly captured every tremor of muscle and every shift in their center of gravity.

A complicated trace of emotion appeared on her cold face.

“Yes. Kakashi has refined a ninja’s basic taijutsu to the extreme. During the ranking tournament, he incorporated the technique of using Lightning Release to stimulate his body into his fighting style. It looks passive, but it is actually highly efficient. As for Might Guy… he has taken a completely different path. He is a specialist in developing the potential of the body to its absolute limit. It is pure, domineering, and filled with power.”

She paused before lowering her voice slightly.

“The Sharingan can see through most ninjutsu and genjutsu, but when faced with absolute speed and strength, sometimes even if you can see the attack, your body may not be able to keep up. Taijutsu… truly cannot be underestimated.”

She thought of the strength of her own Mangekyō Sharingan techniques, but she also understood more clearly that powerful ocular abilities were not omnipotent.

Konoha’s current emphasis on comprehensive development clearly had a deeper meaning.

The battle on the field became increasingly intense.

Guy could not break through Kakashi’s defense, and his blood was completely boiling.

He had already forgotten the original purpose of the demonstration.

There were now only two thoughts in his mind, defeating Kakashi and showing the children the power of youth.

“Kakashi! This is my youth! Burn, Eight Gates, Gate of Opening, open!”

Boom!

Guy’s aura suddenly changed.

His speed and strength increased once again!

Kakashi complained inwardly as the pressure on him increased sharply.

Facing Guy after he had opened the first gate, he could no longer deal with him easily through basic taijutsu alone.

His eyes narrowed.

He had no choice but to activate his Lightning Release: Living Body Enhancement technique more seriously.

Fine arcs of electricity began flowing through the meridians in his legs, making his movements and evasions even faster.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Their figures intertwined and collided at an even greater speed.

The sounds of their fists and feet colliding were like drums, while waves of force surged through the field and even sent the dust at the center of the training ground flying.

The children held their breath.

Their little fists were clenched tightly, and they were completely captivated by this extraordinary “demonstration.”

“So… so amazing!”

“Taijutsu can actually be this strong!”

“I want to become as strong as Teacher Guy when I grow up!”

A little boy who had previously doubted taijutsu now had eyes filled with admiration.

Hikari looked at the two people who had completely lost themselves in the fight.

Then she looked at the children whose enthusiasm had been completely ignited.

A faint smile appeared at the corners of her lips.

Although the process had deviated somewhat from the original plan, the result… seemed surprisingly good.

Taijutsu could only truly influence the younger generation of Konoha by showing them its own charm.

…

At the edge of Konoha, where security was even stricter, stood the Konoha Science Academy.

The academy was brightly lit.

Unlike Orochimaru’s gloomy laboratories in the past, it was filled with an orderly atmosphere of scientific research.

Researchers wearing white laboratory coats moved between various precision instruments, recording data and discussing matters in low voices.

Orochimaru stood before a huge three dimensional projection.

The projection displayed a complicated chakra circuit structure.

Excitement and concentration flashed within his golden snake eyes, while his hoarse voice carried a trace of fanaticism.

“Hehehe… The success of the Healing Spirit Crystal proves that energy stabilization and directional guidance are both feasible. Then, if we apply this concept to a wider range of fields…”

“For example, barriers!”

He extended his pale finger and quickly tapped several times on the projection.

The image changed.

“Based on the properties of chakra metal and a simplified version of the Uzumaki Clan’s sealing techniques, develop a prototype Chakra Conducting Amplification Armguard.”

The projection displayed a finely constructed, streamlined metal armguard.

“It can conduct the user’s chakra more efficiently and provide preliminary amplification and shape stabilization for chakra of specific natures. It can also perform automatic attacks to a certain degree, producing an effect similar to Ninjutsu Taijutsu. Reduce chakra consumption and increase power.”

The image changed again.

This time, it displayed a large three dimensional defensive barrier model.

“Next is the upgraded plan for the Area Adaptive Defense Barrier. It borrows some principles from formation techniques but makes them modular and node based. Through preset chakra nodes and a central energy core, a defense barrier with adjustable strength can be rapidly deployed in important areas. Apart from chakra supplied by ninja, we are also attempting to connect the barrier to Natural Energy as an energy source… Of course, that will still require time.”

A researcher beside him respectfully added, “Director Orochimaru, based on the Sage Crystal energy stabilization parameters you provided, the weapons research department is also attempting to develop One Time Chakra Explosive Talisman Arrows, as well as Portable Chakra Shields that can absorb and deflect ninjutsu attacks of a certain strength…”

Orochimaru licked his lips, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

“Good. Continue your research!”

There were no forbidden human experiments here.

There was no insane pursuit of immortality.

There was only exploration of unknown technology and another way of interpreting the concept of power.

The feeling of using intelligence and knowledge to continuously push beyond the boundaries while remaining within a framework of rules gave him a completely new sense of pure scientific joy.

“Compile the progress of these projects and the list of resources required for the next stages into a report and submit it to the Hokage’s office.”

Orochimaru gave the order while keeping his eyes fixed on the constantly changing streams of data on the projection.

“Tell the Hokage that scientific progress can also become a foundation for protecting Konoha.”

He seemed to have already seen how these strategic pieces of equipment would gradually arm Konoha and Loran Town in the future, making them increasingly difficult to break.

And within all of this, his contribution as Orochimaru would be indispensable.

The feeling of being needed, being recognized, and even being able to guide the direction of an era under the sunlight was both unfamiliar and familiar to him.

Orochimaru looked at the experimental data and murmured,

“Could the secret of eternal life also be hidden somewhere within all of this?”