Chapter 355: 2v1

Chapter 355: Chapter 355: 2v1

Genta sent a heavy punch towards my chest, keeping his other arm raised to protect his face in anticipation of a counterattack. To his surprise, I was completely distracted.

The moment the spar started, I reached into my chakra reserves. The seal formation on my skin activated automatically, engaging immediately to draw from it and distribute chakra to every part of my body at speeds beyond comprehension. The energy flowed with perfect precision, understanding my intent and translating it flawlessly. The nodes flared to life with a brilliant blue hue, and my body practically vibrated with raw energy. My thought processes and reaction speed shot through the roof, slowing the world around me to an absolute crawl. In that suspended, fleeting moment, a profound realization dawned upon me as I noticed how little chakra the seal formation consumed.

What I had been using so far was merely a low-powered version of Stormdrive. I could push things so much further. At that precise moment, something inside me shifted. My entire psyche adapted to the change. What I had built with my own hands, combined with the support of those who cared for me, had elevated my very being. A literal fire ignited within my core. I desperately needed to test the true limits of this technique, eager to explore boundaries that had already exceeded my wildest expectations.

"Thank you... to everyone who helped me get here," I simply muttered, grinning broadly.

Through my heightened perception, I watched Genta’s fist inching forward in slow motion. I had managed to hold an entire conversation with myself before his strike even came close to connecting.

I casually caught his wrist, stopping all his forward momentum instantly. Sending a painful, yet strictly harmless, electric shock through Genta’s arm, I made him flinch. At that very moment, a fierce kick came sweeping in from below. I did not even need to look. I sensed the physical displacement through the static electricity in the air interacting with Naruto’s incoming form. ℯℯ𝑙.

I wanted to see how far the blonde kid had progressed, so I intentionally delayed my reaction. To my absolute horror, I sensed faint traces of chakra coating his leg. The dense energy itself was not the concerning part. Rather, it was the distinct, oppressive flavor of the Nine-Tails. My mouth fell wide open, and I began to slur a desperate "Nooooo" in slow motion.

Then, he connected.

Blinding pain shot straight through my calf. Forcing my body to respond, I twisted to the side, using the momentum to forcefully throw a stunned Genta directly into Naruto. I flickered away from the impact zone, leaving residual lightning twitching across the floorboards as the two boys collided violently and groaned in a tangled heap.

I really, desperately wanted to grab my leg and hop around the room screaming from the horrific pain. But I needed to look completely unfazed. So, I forced myself to stand perfectly upright, swallowing the agony. Erratic blue electricity crawled wildly over my frame, creating a brilliant storm of sparks that surrounded my composed, seemingly invincible posture.

"Good job, Naruto! We actually got a hit in."

Naruto nodded, visibly fired up by their minor success. "Yes, big brother. Next time, we will use strategy number seventeen."

Genta nodded with a confident gleam in his eyes before leaning in and whispering, "Which one was seventeen again?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I don’t really know. I just wanted to mislead Noa."

Genta facepalmed, and I desperately wanted to do the exact same thing. But I had to maintain my cool, unflappable aura. I honestly was not sure if they thought I could not hear their whispering, or if they were just being idiots. I internally voted for the second option as they bounced toward me once more.

Genta shifted his stance rapidly, trying to anticipate my movements and close off any escape routes, while Naruto trailed closely behind him. The blonde boy’s speed had increased dramatically since the last time I saw him.

Closing the distance, Genta launched a devastating downward kick, which I easily leapt over. Right then, Naruto vaulted over Genta’s shoulders, aiming a fierce dropkick directly at my head. I was genuinely surprised by how agile he had become. Takemura-ojisan must have trained the absolute hell out of them while I was out.

I gave them a silent, momentary condolence for their suffering just as Naruto’s heel met the palm of my hand. His momentum stopped completely. I sent a mild electric current through his leg, causing him to shout in surprise and pain.

Simultaneously, Genta utilized his low position to send a sweeping high kick toward my chest. I simply tilted to the side, evading the strike entirely, and immediately returned a solid kick to his ribs. Genta managed to cross his arms to guard against the blow, but the sheer force sent him skidding violently across the floorboards. He dug his heels in, coming to a halt before standing tall and glaring at me with fiercely challenging eyes.

Naruto threw a smoke bomb, causing a puff of white smoke to cover the area. Moments later, two Narutos and two Gentas appeared while Genta proclaimed, "Suffer under our idiot-proof plan of using clones to defeat you, tyrant!"

A tick mark appeared on my forehead at the thought of the infamous nickname, before I controlled my breathing and sighed. "You all know I am a sensor, right?"

Genta recoiled as realization dawned on him, but then he screamed with sheer stupidity as he shot forward. I rolled my eyes and raised my hand as if defending, but a concentrated bolt of lightning materialized without delay and hit the body with the largest chakra concentration. He did not have time to react.

To my surprise, the body disappeared in a puff of smoke. Genta had become good enough with shadow clones to distribute his chakra to this level already. How hard did they train?

I pondered this just before a massive hit came in from my blind spot with the weight of a house. It failed to connect as I jumped high, sending another lightning bolt toward the second Genta. It also dispersed into a cloud of smoke. At the exact same time, one of the clones looking like Naruto transformed into Genta. He leaped through the lingering smoke with an elbow strike that I guarded against, though I was sent skidding backward. Before I could recover, he twisted his body and used his momentum to launch a blindingly fast side kick. In an incredible show of agility and coordination, the real Naruto jumped right off Genta’s extended leg mid-motion.

I decided that this was enough fun. With one hand, I caught Genta’s ankle, and with the other, I caught Naruto’s fierce strike that was augmented with the Nine-Tails’ chakra.

"I caught you," I grinned, right before igniting the static shell around me.

The lightning chakra in the air exploded outward. They both yelped in pain as they were sent flying across the room, hitting the far wall while miraculously missing any furniture.

They both tried to scramble up but collapsed right back to the ground.

"Big brother Genta, we have lost," Naruto groaned. "Our plans have failed. We must improve on them."

Genta nodded sagely while his leg twitched from the residual shock. "Indeed. Do not worry. I will train you to beat him soon enough."

I grinned and replied, "I cannot wait for you to try. But in recognition of your efforts, and as an apology for the pain you went through because of me, how about a delicious meal?"

They both jumped to their feet so fast that Naruto stumbled for a moment from being dizzy. Genta just threw his arms up and shouted, "Noa, you are the best!"

I formed a hand sign, and four shadow clones appeared next to me. They glared at me with absolute disdain before shooting off toward the kitchen. Chuckling, I sat down on the floor with Genta and Naruto, happy and deeply satisfied to spend time with my loved ones once more after being secluded for so long.