As expected, Kazuki possessed both wind and water chakra.
Most of the ninjutsu his predecessor knew were wind-style, given the greater destructive power of wind-style techniques.
As for water-style ninjutsu, his predecessor only mastered two: the Water Formation Wall for defense and the Water Prison Technique for trapping enemies.
Now, if he wanted to quickly increase his strength, he only needed to master the ninjutsu his predecessor already possessed.
As for the Rasengan, that could wait.
With the armies of the three clans pressing in, he could be on the battlefield at any moment.
Practicing the Rasengan now would be a waste of time.
He closed his eyes, recalling the ninjutsu his predecessor had mastered.
After reviewing the details in his mind, he suddenly opened his eyes, gripping a short sword in his right hand and forming hand seals with his left. "Wind Release: Sword of the Wind God!"
He only formed three simple hand seals, then ran two fingers of his left hand along the blade.
Whoosh!
A steady flow of wind-style chakra instantly coursed through the blade.
However, due to his lack of proficiency, the wind-style chakra on the blade wasn't particularly strong.
Feeling the flow of chakra, he casually swung it at the wooden stake beside him.
Whoosh!
Thump, thump!
Without much effort, the wooden stake was sliced in two as easily as cutting tofu, falling to the ground with two thuds.
"This destructive power is quite nice!"
Seeing the sharpness of the Sword of the Wind God, he couldn't help but exclaim with delight.
This truly lived up to its reputation as a unique ninjutsu of the Hagoromo clan. Not only could it be used with one hand, but it was also extremely practical on the battlefield.
If he had been able to master the Sword of the Wind God at that moment, Tobirama, with just a short sword, might not have been able to stop him.
And the consequence of failing to stop him would likely have been a swift and decisive cut in two.
"But why does this ninjutsu feel like something I've seen Danzo use in the anime?"
He inexplicably thought of Shimura Danzo.
You see, Wind Release: Vacuum series ninjutsu was practically Danzo's signature technique, and this Sword of the Wind God... it felt somewhat similar to Danzo's Wind Release.
(T/N: The Wind Release: Vacuum Blade was written as 'Wind Release: Shuriken'. I changed the name according to the description, but it looks like it was a preliminary version, so he didn't realize it was similar then)
After thinking for a moment, he smiled and shook his head. He was probably mistaken.
The Sword of the Wind God was a unique ninjutsu of the Hagoromo clan. How could it possibly be related to Danzo?
After clearing these thoughts from his mind, he continued practicing Wind Release: Sword of the Wind God.
After all, he could only use the technique. Its true power was yet to be unleashed.
The Hagoromo clan could clash with the Senju at any moment. He needed to master the Sword of the Wind God as soon as possible.
As morning arrived, Reiryū had Masamichi bring two Ice Release scrolls.
One was a C-rank ninjutsu: Ice Release: Swallow Blizzard, and the other a B-rank ninjutsu: Ice Release: Fierce Tiger Assault.
Leaving the scrolls behind, Masamichi left the clan head's residence.
At this time, the Senju, Sarutobi, and Shimura clans were aggressively pressing forward. Their forces had been coordinated, and it was estimated that by the afternoon, the three clans would be pressing on the Hagoromo clan's territory.
Therefore, Reiryū had to quickly lead the healthier clansmen to replace the wounded at the front.
As a newly promoted elite jonin, Masamichi naturally had to accompany him to the battlefield.
Around noon, after a quick lunch, Reiryū led Elder Ryūga, who had rushed back the previous night, and the healthier clansmen away from the clan's territory.
The Hagoromo clan's territory was well-chosen, practically in a naturally fortified position, making it relatively easy to defend.
To the north of the territory lay a deep abyss, over ten meters wide, with smooth, bottomless stone walls. Even ninjas imbued with chakra would find it extremely difficult to climb.
This abyss extended southward from the western edge of the clan's territory, enclosing its western side.
Both directions were easily defended with a small number of clan members stationed there.
As for the south, while there was no natural abyss, generations of Hagoromo had dug a trench twenty meters wide, teeming with venomous snakes. Even a jonin would perish if they ventured down.
Therefore, the only area of the Hagoromo clan's territory that truly required strong defense was its eastern side.
Leaving the clan's territory, Reiryū arrived at the frontline camp two kilometers away and relieved the wounded clan members.
"Ishijiro, how is the situation now?"
Entering the main tent, he inquired about the battle situation from an elite jonin.
The elite jonin looked exhausted, his right arm wrapped in bandages stained with dark red blood. "The Senju clan met up with Sarutobi and Shimura this morning, and they'll probably launch an attack on us this afternoon."
"Furthermore, due to the disparity in combat strength at the higher levels, our clan suffered heavy casualties. My injury to my right arm is considered relatively good. Many clansmen have perished here."
Hearing Ishijiro's words, Reiryū felt a pang of sorrow.
After a long silence, he spoke. "Don't worry. I will avenge our clansmen and make those two hyenas, Sarutobi and Shimura, pay the price!"
Inside the clan's territory.
Kazuki did not go to the front lines.
However, his departure for the front lines was not far off.
Once he mastered his predecessor's ninjutsu and learned two more ice-style techniques, he would prepare to go to the battlefield.
After all, with his current strength, he could easily kill a jonin, and even an elite jonin, he could use his Ice Leap to entangle.
However, with this level of strength, defeating an elite jonin would still be very difficult.
Therefore, his most important task now was to train diligently. Only when he could defeat an elite jonin would it be the best time for him to go to the battlefield.
Suppressing these thoughts, he continued practicing Wind Release: Sword of the Wind God.
At his current training speed, he estimated that he would master all of his predecessor's ninjutsu in less than two days.
As the sun slowly set, a probing battle came to an end.
Although the arrival of Reiryū and Elder Ryūga alleviated the shortage of top-tier combat power in the Hagoromo clan—where elite jonin previously needed to deal with two patriarch-level powerhouses, now they only needed to hold off one—
The arrival of the Senju actually increased the pressure on the lower-tier combat power of the Hagoromo clan.
With the combined forces of the three clans, the enemy's ninjas outnumbered the Hagoromo. Despite the clan's desperate fighting, they inevitably found themselves at a disadvantage.
It was foreseeable that if the situation continued to develop in this way, the Hagoromo clan would truly be in danger.
Bang!
"Damn it!"
This was already the umpteenth time Reiryū had kicked over the table.
Normally, the Hagoromo clan, with three patriarch-level fighters, could handle this situation.
However, the Grand Elder had been seriously injured in a surprise attack by those two bastards from Shimura and Sarutobi, and was currently unconscious.
As a result, the Hagoromo were at a disadvantage in terms of both top-tier and bottom-tier combat power.
Faced with this situation, Reiryū, as the clan leader, became increasingly irritable.
"How's the contact with the Uchiha clan going?"
Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, he looked at Elder Ryūga sitting beside him.