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Chapter 121: He Held Back
Yotsuki Burai slammed his hands together, his rough knuckles shifting rapidly as he formed hand seals so fast they left afterimages.
"A ninja battle isn't as simple as just throwing fists!"
"Lightning Style: Ground Flash!"
Burai slapped his palms onto the ground. Two blue-white snakes of lightning slithered out across the surface, leaving scorched black trails on the rock as they pincered toward Garp.
They moved with extreme speed, sealing off his evasion routes to the left and right.
Garp stood his ground, the soles of his shoes grinding against the rough rock surface.
Not having Observation Haki is definitely a hassle, he thought, but this body's wild instincts are surprisingly useful.
The moment the lightning snakes closed in, Garp moved.
Instead of retreating, he charged straight forward into the gap between them.
"Do you want to die? That's a dead end!"
Burai frowned and twitched his fingers. The two separated lightning snakes suddenly converged toward the center, aiming to snap shut on Garp's charging path.
Bzzt!
The ear-piercing sound of electric current exploded in the air.
In the split second before the snakes bit down, Garp stomped his right foot heavily onto a protruding rock.
Using the recoil, he launched himself like a cannonball, executing a perfectly extended front flip in mid-air.
The two lightning snakes slammed into each other beneath him, detonating into a blinding ball of electric light.
Garp landed steadily five meters in front of Burai and grinned broadly.
"All flash, no substance."
He scoffed, "With something this slow, you couldn't even catch an old—couldn't even catch me. And you expect to catch an enemy?"
Burai's face darkened.
Slow?
This was one of the fastest techniques among C-rank ninjutsu. A normal Genin would have been turned into charcoal by now.
The timing of the kid's jump had been precise to the millisecond.
A moment too early and he would have been encircled; a moment too late and his ankles would have been hit.
"I'm not done yet!"
Burai stopped holding back. His hands flew through seals again, faster this time.
"Lightning Style: Lightning Ball!"
Three basketball-sized spheres of electricity materialized out of thin air, whistling as they smashed toward Garp in a triangular formation.
This move wasn't just fast; it carried a paralyzing effect. Even a graze would instantly stiffen the body.
Garp narrowed his eyes and lowered his center of gravity.
In the past, he could have blown away an attack of this level with a simple breath.
But with this nine-year-old body, tanking it head-on was out of the question.
In that case, I just have to...
Just as the lightning balls were about to hit, Garp did something that made Burai's jaw drop.
He slammed onto the ground, landing on all fours like a nimble lizard, and scurried rapidly across the surface.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The three lightning spheres exploded behind him in succession. Shrapnel flew, stinging his back, but Garp didn't care. He weaved quickly through the smoke and dust, using the exploding debris as cover to instantly close the distance.
"What?!"
Burai turned pale with shock.
This isn't how a ninja moves!
Who the hell runs on all fours like a beast? It looked absolutely unsightly!
But the move was effective—and ridiculously fast.
In the blink of an eye, Garp had darted right to Burai's feet.
"Gotcha, Pops!"
Supporting himself with one hand, Garp spun his body and unleashed a vicious sweeping kick aimed squarely at Burai's ankles.
Burai huffed coldly, neither dodging nor evading.
"Naïve! My Lightning Style Armor might not be mastered yet, but it's not something your little arms and legs can shake!"
Zzt! Zzt!
A faint layer of lightning coated Burai's lower legs.
Bang!
Garp's shin bone smashed against Burai's lightning armor with a dull thud.
Intense pain shot up his leg, as if he had kicked an electrified steel plate.
Burai didn't budge an inch. Instead, he swung a backhand fist down at Garp on the ground.
"It's over!"
The fist was wrapped in lightning, heavy and powerful.
Fighting through the agony in his leg, Garp shoved hard against the ground with both hands. His body rolled sideways like a spinning top, barely dodging the devastating blow.
Boom!
Another crater appeared in the ground.
Garp rolled a few meters away, crouching half-down as he rubbed his numb calf, grimacing in pain.
"That turtle shell sure is hard."
Despite the complaint, the light of excitement in his eyes grew brighter.
Interesting.
"Do you understand the gap between us now?"
Burai straightened up, looking down at Garp.
"Without ninjutsu, you can't even break my defense."
"Go back to school like a good boy, Raito."
Garp spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and slowly stood up.
He cracked his neck, the bones popping loudly.
"Pops, you've got one thing wrong."
Garp shifted into a stance, feet staggered, weight resting on his back leg.
"Fighting isn't about who has more energy."
"It's about who's more ruthless, and who's more precise."
Burai frowned. "You still want to fight?"
"Of course!"
Garp roared and charged again.
This time, he didn't use that bizarre posture; he sprinted straight ahead.
"Unrepentant brat!"
Burai was getting annoyed. Why is this kid so stubborn?
Fine, if that's how it is, I'll beat you until you submit!
Burai formed hand seals, preparing to unleash another Lightning Style jutsu to put the kid down for good.
However, the instant his palms touched, Garp suddenly pulled a handful of gravel from his shirt and flung it violently at Burai's face.
Papak!
The pebbles didn't carry much lethal force, but they accurately struck Burai's eyelids and nose.
Burai instinctively closed his eyes and turned his head.
His seal formation was interrupted!
"Despicable! This isn't how a ninja fights!"
Burai roared.
"This is a battlefield!"
Garp's voice was already right beside his ear.
Seizing the moment Burai's vision was obstructed, Garp leaped high, bent his knees, and drove them hard toward Burai's chest.
Even though he couldn't see, Burai's combat instincts kicked in, and he crossed his arms over his chest to block.
Bang!
The immense impact forced Burai back half a step.
Blocked it?
No.
At the moment of impact, Garp's hands hadn't been idle; he had grabbed Burai's wrists.
Using the momentum of his descent, Garp suddenly dropped his weight while simultaneously planting his feet on Burai's abdomen.
A shoulder throw?
No, it was a sacrifice throw!
Garp was using his own body weight and leverage to forcibly break Burai's center of gravity.
If this were a life-or-death struggle, Burai could have easily exploded his Lightning Style chakra to blast Garp away, or even kill him.
But he was his father, after all.
Facing his own son, he hesitated at the critical moment.
He forcibly suppressed the Lightning Style chakra a split second before it erupted.
And that split-second hesitation was exactly what Garp had been waiting for.
He caught it instantly.
"Go down!!"
Garp bellowed, his muscles tensing as he focused every ounce of strength into his core and arms.
Redirecting force!
Burai only felt a monstrous strength hit him, and his center of gravity collapsed completely. His massive frame was actually pulled forward and flipped by this nine-year-old brat.
Boom!
Dust billowed into the air.
Yotsuki Burai, a Jonin of the Hidden Cloud, was slammed viciously onto the ground.
Although the fall itself didn't hurt him much, the fact remained: he had been thrown by a nine-year-old child!
Before Burai could even react, Garp was already straddling his neck.
A small, tender fist was pressed firmly against Burai's temple.
"Checkmate, Pops."
Garp panted heavily, sweat sliding down his cheeks and dripping onto Burai's face.
In those black eyes, a fire burned that even made Burai's heart skip a beat.
The training field fell into a deathly silence.
Only the distant thunder continued to rumble.
Burai lay on the ground, staring up at his son sitting on his neck, his gaze a bit dazed.
I lost?
I actually lost?
Even though he had suppressed his power, even though he hadn't used high-level ninjutsu, and even though he had held back at the very end...
A loss was a loss.
In the ninja world, that moment of hesitation would have meant a kunai piercing his throat if he were facing a real enemy.
This kid...
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