Chapter 62: Kaito vs. Hodaka
Hodaka and Kaito stood facing each other, exactly ten meters apart.
Renjiro announced clearly, "In this sparring match, you may use everything you know—ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, and kenjutsu are all permitted. However, do not inflict fatal injuries on each other."
Both genin nodded their understanding.
Renjiro declared, "Begin!"
The instant he finished speaking, Hodaka activated his Byakugan and charged forward at maximum speed, aiming to engage Kaito in close-quarters combat.
However, Kaito vanished in a Body Flicker, and after creating sufficient distance, he prepared a Wind Release: Pressure Damage sphere in each hand.
Seeing this, Hodaka stopped his advance and quickly began forming the hand seals for Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall.
Kaito recognized the hand seals immediately and launched a compressed wind sphere at Hodaka.
This applied tremendous pressure on Hodaka, but he still managed to erect an earth barrier just in time.
The wind sphere struck the earthen wall, exploding and generating powerful gusts of wind.
Seeing that his defensive technique had worked, Hodaka breathed a sigh of relief and momentarily lowered his guard.
This proved to be a critical mistake, as Hodaka's Byakugan immediately detected another wind sphere approaching from his left side.
He attempted to leap away quickly, but the wind sphere detonated right beside him.
The explosion generated intense wind pressure, and since Hodaka was airborne, the massive gust caught him completely.
The wind blast knocked him off course, causing him to crash heavily to the ground.
Hodaka scrambled to his feet, only to see another wind sphere flying directly toward him.
This time, he didn't jump but chose to run instead.
However, more and more wind spheres kept targeting him relentlessly.
For the next 15 seconds, Hodaka was constantly evading attacks.
The wind from the explosions left numerous small scratches on his exposed skin, and his clothes were becoming increasingly tattered.
Hodaka finally managed to adjust his approach and began dodging the wind spheres more effectively.
He used his Byakugan to track each sphere the moment it was launched and dodged in the optimal direction. Kaito thought analytically, "Not bad adaptation. But the speed at which I'm creating these wind spheres is only one-fifth of my true capability, and their explosive power is one-third of maximum. Yet he's still struggling significantly. Oh well, let's conclude this demonstration now."
Kaito reduced the number of wind spheres he was launching by half. This allowed Hodaka to close the distance between them. Hodaka thought with determination, "Finally! He's slowed down. It's time to finish this with my Gentle Fist."
When the two were only ten meters apart, Kaito began retreating. Hodaka thought urgently, "If he creates distance again, this will become much more difficult."
So he accelerated his pursuit.
However, Kaito rapidly performed several hand seals.
Seeing Kaito forming hand seals, Hodaka tried to close the gap even faster, but he quickly realized his predicament and panicked.
He hastily attempted to form defensive seals, preparing an earth barrier, but it was far too late.
Kaito, now only a few meters away from him, directly unleashed Wind Release: Great Breakthrough. The resulting powerful gale blasted Hodaka violently backward.
Renjiro was about to intervene to prevent injury, but he observed carefully and realized, "Ah, I see what he's doing."
The amount of chakra Kaito invested in the technique was significantly reduced, and he also executed it with restrained force.
If he had used it with the same intensity as his earlier demonstration, this technique might have seriously injured Hodaka.
The wind blast propelled Hodaka backward approximately 50 meters.
Despite Kaito's deliberate attempt to limit the technique's power, Hodaka was still dragged roughly along the ground by the forceful wind, causing numerous scratches and bleeding.
After the wind dissipated, Kaito picked up a small stone nearby and threw it at Hodaka.
As Kaito anticipated, Hodaka stubbornly stood up, determined to continue fighting.
Hodaka noticed the stone flying toward him and stepped aside to avoid it.
He was preparing to charge at Kaito again when the stone suddenly curved sharply and flew directly toward him.
Before Hodaka could properly react, the stone struck him squarely in the chest.
Although this attack caused no actual harm to Hodaka, Renjiro announced, "Alright, that's enough. Kaito wins."
Upon hearing this declaration, Hodaka dropped to his knees in complete dejection.
Although he was extremely reluctant to admit it, he understood that if Kaito had used a shuriken instead of a stone, he would have sustained a serious injury. This decisive defeat struck him hard emotionally.
Kaito had anticipated this reaction, and so had Renjiro.
Throughout his four years at the Academy, Hodaka had never lost to any classmate. During the second graduation examination, he'd even defeated an older student.
But this time he'd been thoroughly defeated, and he'd had virtually no chance of victory at all.
Observing Hodaka's dejected expression, Renjiro sighed and thought, "Although I expected this general outcome, I didn't anticipate the skill gap would be this pronounced. Hodaka didn't have even a single genuine opportunity."
He then regarded Kaito and thought with appreciation, "Although I instructed this student to maintain distance during combat, I didn't expect him to execute the strategy so masterfully. He controlled the entire rhythm of the battle, forcing Hodaka to react according to his intentions. He even deliberately threw one sphere at Hodaka's prepared defense just to make him lower his guard afterward. This child is significantly stronger than I initially estimated. This makes me genuinely interested in his future development. Perhaps during the next major war, he might become an important asset."
Renjiro then looked at Hodaka and asked, "Do you understand now why ninjutsu mastery is so critically important?"
Hodaka looked up at his instructor with watery eyes. Renjiro continued his lesson, "Your opponent used two D-rank techniques and one C-rank technique. One was a movement technique, and the other two were mid-range offensive jutsu. You only managed to use one defensive E-rank technique. Although you excel at taijutsu, you never even had an opportunity to engage the enemy with it."
Hodaka nodded miserably.
Renjiro showed a kind smile and offered encouragement, "I know you genuinely love taijutsu, and I completely support your passion for it. But you also need to understand and master ninjutsu to effectively utilize your taijutsu skills in real combat. No shinobi has ever become truly strong by focusing exclusively on taijutsu while neglecting everything else."
As Renjiro spoke these words, he thought privately, "Although there is one exceptional shinobi who could challenge my statement. Might Duy—he killed four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and forced the remaining three to flee for their lives. Just as we attribute our victory over Iwagakure primarily to Minato, our victory over Kirigakure can be largely attributed to Might Duy. Since that devastating incident, they haven't dared to engage us in direct battle again."
"Even so, I'll still maintain what I told Hodaka. Although Might Duy's combat power is extraordinarily great, he still struggles with ordinary mission requirements. Relying solely on taijutsu without any effective genjutsu or ninjutsu isn't a practical approach for most shinobi. His son Guy, although he also strongly prefers taijutsu and uses it predominantly, has also mastered quite a bit of supplementary ninjutsu. But if Guy's taijutsu continues improving at the same extraordinary rate, what I said might eventually become invalid."
Hodaka nodded with renewed determination and declared, "Yes, sensei. I will work hard to practice ninjutsu as well."
Renjiro maintained his kind smile, breathing an internal sigh of relief, and thought, "Finally, another student is properly on track! I have to admit, the Hokage is remarkably skilled at guiding young shinobi—no wonder he successfully trained the Legendary Sannin! Anyway, my team is finally beginning to take proper shape."
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