When I finally returned to where Tetsu and Satoshi were fighting in the middle of the forest, I saw how fierce their battle had become.

I couldn't tell if that assassin had noticed I was there, but Tetsu definitely had.

My sensei began to distract his enemy, forcing him to fight in a direction where none of his strikes could reach me.

Speaking of attacks, Satoshi fought in a different way, always using his poncho as a feint before attacking, making his next moves usually feel unpredictable.

The scariest thing about it all was that he didn't seem to care much about the blows he was receiving.

If I could see through the fog covering the ground, I'm sure I would see that man's blood staining the ground completely.

"You're still acting like a psychopath, huh?" Tetsu exclaimed, trying to stay calm while fending off Satoshi's relentless attacks.

"Gahahaha! As soon as I'm done with you, 'Little Tetsu,' I'm going after your students. Too bad you'll be dead before you see what I'm going to do to them."

He finished his sentence with an exaggerated sad expression.

'Hmph. With every passing second, this guy's crazy hysteria gets more unbearable!' I thought, as I watched the two fight from above the trees.

'I need to find an opening.'

I continued to analyze the fight, and to be honest, I didn't see how Tetsu could lose, but he remained cautious as always. He avoided each of Satoshi's attacks as if they were too dangerous.

'He must have more of that poison he used against Sora. Tetsu seems determined to avoid it at all costs. I hope Sora is okay.

Then finally, the moment came when I saw the perfect opening in the battle.

Just when it seemed that Satoshi had finally found a way to hit my sensei, Tetsu used his unique technique to push that man away once and for all.

Deep cuts appeared all over his body, as if Tetsu was able to deliver hundreds of blows in a second.

"Ninpou: Kenjutsu Hyuuga. Absolute Defense!"

Satoshi flew through the air, and at that moment I decided to try something new, aiming to end the fight with a single blow.

"Mokuton: Centennial Hand!"

From the tree in front of me, my chakra flowed with such ferocity that one of its trunks tripled in size, taking the shape of a giant hand. That hand rose to the sky, preparing a powerful attack against Satoshi.

The palm of the hand I created almost completely covered the ninja's body, and then:

BOOM!

The hand made contact with his body and pressed him against the ground with such force that the mist surrounding that place spread and dissipated almost entirely, leaving only the smoke that rose from the impact.

'I may not be strong enough yet to make a giant wooden golem like Hashirama, but this should do for now.'

Tetsu whistled in approval, impressed by what he had just seen.

"Damn, this is what I mean when I say you need to do new things, Riku! But we'll talk more about you coming back here later," Tetsu said.

I jumped through the trees until I landed next to him.

"I couldn't leave you here alone, even though you're stronger and stuff…" I commented, looking away because I had to admit his superiority.

"Heheh, but the way things are, I won't be the strongest for long, huh?" he said, messing up my hair on purpose.

But we didn't have much time to continue celebrating our victory over Satoshi. Tetsu's expression soon changed when he realized that the person from his past was still breathing and was about to emerge from under my jutsu.

He pulled me behind him, standing between me and the giant hand I had created.

"Riku, I didn't let him hit you. I'll try to protect you as much as I can, but I need you to cooperate."

I was still a little confused, until I noticed that the pressure from my Centennial Hand had weakened, and Satoshi was leaving.

"Because of the poison, right? I already know about that. But if he hits me, it's okay — I can avoid poisoning," I said confidently.

"Poison?" Tetsu looked at me, confused.

"Haha... Gahaha... Ah, you didn't have time to introduce me to him, then, Tetsu? Poisons are for those weaklings that you and your little friends made sure to render useless..." Satoshi said, still inside the smoke, his silhouette barely visible.

He then cracked his neck and shoulders.

"That hurt a lot, kid. I'm going to finish you off first."

His murderous aura intensified again, and even I couldn't help but take a few steps back, knowing that at any moment, this could be the end for me.

Satoshi advanced with frightening speed, but before he could reach us, I clasped my hands together, forming a seal.

VOOSH!

My hand moved again and struck him on the side, sending him flying.

The speed with which he recovered from this attack was even more impressive, and soon he was coming toward us again — but this time, I wasn't fast enough to hit him without him dodging.

[Battle Instinct activated.]

I tried to block the attack as he approached, but Tetsu acted instantly, intercepting him before he could get close and successfully blocking Satoshi's blow.

'What kind of speed is that? If I make even the slightest mistake, I'll die in a battle like this.'

Tetsu launched a few attacks at our enemy, who was unable to defend against all of them. I seized the opportunity to attack as well.

"Mokuton: Wooden Stakes."

This time, the stakes came out of my fists, passing just millimeters from Tetsu, avoiding any contact, and piercing Satoshi.

"Argh!" he exclaimed in pain.

Once again, he tried to attack us, this time aiming at Tetsu, who managed to block some strikes with his blade, leaving the rest to me.

"Mokuton: Restrained Roots."

The roots wrapped around his fists and legs, temporarily locking his body in place.

"Now!" I shouted to Tetsu, who immediately understood what to do.

He took advantage of the opening to deliver such a precise attack that it tore off Satoshi's right arm, causing our enemy to writhe in agony.

"You bastards... Gahaha... hah... Argh." He tried to continue his little act, but the pain was so intense that it became impossible.

Satoshi stepped back, giving us room to finally breathe.

Tetsu and I complemented each other's skills with mastery, working perfectly in both offense and defense. This was the result of our recent training, where he learned a lot about my abilities, and I was able to observe more carefully how he thinks and acts.

When he jumped back, Satoshi completely ignored that the place where he had been standing was within reach of the tree arm I had created.

By the time he realized it, it was too late.

"Oh, shit," he said with a smile, staring at the hand coming down toward him.

Satoshi was crushed.

"I can't feel his chakra anymore. We won," Tetsu said.

'That's it!' I thought, but keeping a reserved posture, I didn't let my euphoria show.

We began to approach the place where he had been crushed.

I undid the jutsu to see the damage we had done to his body. When we looked, all that remained was a pool of the same black liquid that had dripped from the eyes of those ninjas. The smell resembled blood, but the consistency was thicker and stickier.

"Um... was that supposed to happen?" I asked my sensei rhetorically, who just continued staring at the liquid for a few more seconds.

"Hmph, this again..."

[You won the fight!]

[Recalculating...]

[You won the fight?]

[Congratulations! You have reached level 15!]

....

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