Luo Ning had been on high alert, monitoring Uvogin's reactions. When he heard the commotion below, he initially thought Uvogin was heading for the airship's cockpit. He hadn't expected the man to stop halfway.
In that instant, he knew his position was about to be compromised.
When Uvogin's En washed over him, it confirmed his fears. He immediately stood up, abandoned his previous hiding spot, and ran quickly toward the top of the airship.
With chakra attached to the soles of his feet, he stumbled only briefly before finding his rhythm, sprinting across the outer hull of the airship as if it were level ground.
The sound of tearing metal echoed behind him—it was Uvogin.
The man had physically ripped through the metal plating of the airship's corridor. Poking his head out, he immediately spotted the fleeing Luo Ning. Without a moment's hesitation, Uvogin lunged out from the airship's interior.
Luo Ning noticed Uvogin's movement, and a cold smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
He had intentionally shattered the airship's windows earlier, not just to provide an escape route to the exterior, but also to ensure the vessel would gradually lose altitude and descend toward the ground. This way, even if he couldn't defeat Uvogin, he would have room to maneuver or a chance to flee. If they remained high in the sky, he would be trapped in a perpetual chase, which was not the outcome he wanted.
Now that Uvogin had emerged, Luo Ning was indeed the target of a pursuit, but Uvogin's speed while climbing the exterior hull was nowhere near his own. Furthermore, with Uvogin outside, there was no one left to stop the airship's descent.
Luo Ning's hands blurred as he formed seals. He turned mid-run and inhaled deeply. The moment the seals were complete, he aimed at Uvogin and suddenly exhaled the chakra he had been brewing.
Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!
Unlike the Great Fireball Jutsu, which released a single massive sphere of flame, the Phoenix Flower was better suited for striking multiple targets and, more importantly, for harassment. It earned its name because the trajectories of the spat-out fireballs resembled the seeds of a balsam flower.
Since discovering he could perform C-rank ninjutsu, Luo Ning had focused his training on the Phoenix Flower and Great Fireball techniques. As a result, his control over the flames was exceptional.
The fireballs detached from his mouth and flew in a pincer-like arc, converging on Uvogin.
At this moment, Uvogin was far from composed. To maintain his grip on the nearly vertical outer hull of the airship, he had to plunge his hands directly into the metal skin of the craft. Seeing the incoming fireballs, the only thing he could do was release a massive amount of aura to shroud his body.
He had to tank it.
Amidst a series of thuds, every single fireball slammed into Uvogin. Although they didn't knock him off the hull, they left him looking quite disheveled as he tried to climb. The searing heat burned through his Nen defense, leaving several scorch marks on his skin.
However, Luo Ning could see clearly that such minor burns did very little actual damage to Uvogin.
Still, the fact that the Phoenix Flower could penetrate Uvogin's defense at all further convinced Luo Ning that the current Uvogin was vastly weaker than the one from three years in the future.
'Maybe I really do have a chance to finish him here!'
Once the thought took root, it became impossible to suppress.
Luo Ning's eyes held no trace of hatred; they were only icy cold. Like Uvogin, he was not the type to let a grudge go unavenged or let a debt of blood settle overnight. If Uvogin hadn't taken the initiative to chase him, he might have put his revenge on the back burner. But now, Uvogin's relentless pursuit posed a severe threat to his life.
Since that was the case, why would Luo Ning pass up an opportunity to kill him?
Uvogin, currently in a state of rage after being hit by the fire, also sensed the killing intent radiating from above. This only served to incense him further.
'A mere rookie? By what right!'
Uvogin could sense that Luo Ning's strength had increased since their encounter in the forest. However, he didn't believe for a second that Luo Ning could actually be his match. He was confident that as long as he could close the distance, he could crush the boy instantly.
Since the damage from the Phoenix Flower Jutsu was limited, Luo Ning's previously halted footsteps moved again. This time, however, he didn't turn to flee. Instead, he accelerated sharply, charging straight toward Uvogin.
He sprinted in a way that defied the laws of physics, standing perpendicular to the airship's hull. This sight caused Uvogin's anger to turn into a savage delight.
Luo Ning didn't know about the "Heavens," but the "Earth" was definitely on his side right now!
If he was going to make a move on Uvogin, this was the perfect spot. Whether he knocked Uvogin off the airship or attacked him while he was in a position where he couldn't easily exert his strength, the advantage was Luo Ning's!
Uvogin didn't understand how Luo Ning could stand on the hull in such a posture. He knew his own mobility was severely restricted in his current state, but if the boy thought that was enough to challenge him, he was sorely underestimating him!
Hanging from the hull, Uvogin suddenly raised his leg and slammed a foot into the airship's outer plating with a loud bang. He then adjusted his ankle, and in the next second, he exerted force through both legs, actually standing up on the outer wall!
By then, Luo Ning had already reached him.
Luo Ning's original physical prowess certainly couldn't compare to Uvogin's, but he currently held his greatest trump card.
It was the two-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes.
None of Uvogin's movements—not even the flow of his Nen—could be hidden from those eyes. As he drew near, Uvogin threw a punch, but Luo Ning easily evaded it with a simple duck.
In response, Luo Ning's own fist roared toward Uvogin's chest.
In that split second, he saw Uvogin's aura rapidly gather at his chest. This was clearly the advanced Nen application technique, Ryu, in action. It meant that from the moment they entered close-quarters combat, Uvogin had shifted his Ren into Ken, the state best suited for battle.
Ken is an advanced application of Ten and Ren. To enter a state of Ken, one must maintain a full-body Ren and keep that aura stabilized around the body. Ryu, on the other hand, is the ability of a Nen user to rapidly redistribute their aura while in the state of Ken.
Normally, the aura distributed across the body in Ken provides a defense that is roughly fifty percent of what it would be if all the aura were concentrated in one spot using Ko. Through the use of Ryu, however, a user can quickly concentrate more aura into specific body parts, achieving a defensive effect far exceeding fifty percent.
When two people in a state of Ken fight, breaking the opponent's defense comes down to two things: a comparison of total aura volume, and a comparison of their mastery over Ryu—the ability to adjust aura during offense and defense.
Luo Ning's mastery over Nen certainly couldn't match Uvogin's.
However, in his Sharingan state, Luo Ning was currently controlling the chakra within his body. And a rapid concentration of chakra could also trigger a formidable C-rank taijutsu ability.
It was the "monstrous strength" passed down from Tsunade, which Sakura Haruno had further refined into a technique capable of instantly refining chakra into the right fist for a devastating strike: Cherry Blossom Impact!