Chapter 24: Speed Begins to Show
Izumo rolled his wrist, quietly feeling the changes brought by the boost to his neural reaction speed.
He activated the Body Flicker Technique again, dashing through the gaps of the valley. Sometimes he slipped past boulders, other times he vaulted over fallen branches. His movements flowed so smoothly, as natural as breathing itself.
"Now I can pick up on an opponent's hand seals and the trajectory of their attacks much faster."
Excitement filled Izumo's heart.
That meant in real combat, he could make predictions earlier, counter faster, and even find openings to disrupt an enemy's ninjutsu before their technique had time to fully activate.
Over the next few days, Izumo continued to hone his Basic Taijutsu.
He blended the heightened reaction speed from his expert-level Body Flicker Technique into his taijutsu training, trying to link together more complex combo chains while moving at high speed.
For example, he would use the Body Flicker Technique to close in on a "target" with a straight punch. The moment the opponent raised a guard, he would instantly shift his fist into an elbow strike aimed at the weak point beneath the ribs.
Or while dodging an attack, he would borrow the explosive force of the Body Flicker Technique to unleash an unexpected side kick.
The proficiency on the panel—[Basic Taijutsu: Expert (355/1000)]—rose steadily, and before long it had reached 420/1000.
Along with that, he could feel the changes in his body during every training session.
His muscle efficiency was higher now. The same punch carried nearly twenty percent more destructive power than before.
The connections between his movements were smoother too. The time it took to shift from defense to counterattack had been reduced by 0.2 seconds.
Once the core issues of speed and reaction were addressed, Izumo shifted his focus to the Substitution Technique.
"When I can't dodge, this ninjutsu might be what saves my life."
This basic E-rank technique was a survival skill every ninja had to master. Even though it looked simple, it held endless tactical potential.
"The essence of the Substitution Technique isn't just dodging. It's using chakra to swap positions in an instant and create a visual deception."
Izumo recalled his instructor's lessons at the Ninja Academy.
He crouched down and touched a chunk of stone on the ground with his fingertips.
Taking a deep breath, he fed chakra into the rock and activated the Substitution Technique.
White smoke puffed up in an instant. His figure swapped places with the stone.
The "decoy" left behind didn't just share his shape. Even the folds of his clothes and the strands of hair on his forehead were copied perfectly, without the slightest flaw.
But Izumo quickly realized the problem.
The basic version of the Substitution Technique used an object that had no offensive capability, and the fluctuation of its chakra was still subtly different from his real body. Against an enemy with sharp sensory abilities, the trick would be exposed almost immediately.
He remembered the advanced forms of the Substitution Technique he'd seen in manga.
There were clone-based types, like Deidara using a clay clone as a substitute. After switching places, the clone could be detonated to counterattack while escaping.
There was also Yamato, who used Wood Release clones as substitutes, taking advantage of the physical properties of wood to interfere with an enemy's ability to distinguish between real and fake.
And then there was something even more outrageous—the "Orochimaru-Style Substitution Jutsu," which avoided fatal damage by shedding skin or separating parts of the body. Even a technique like Amaterasu could be evaded that way.
Right now, he had no access to those high-level techniques.
All he could do was continue refining his basic Substitution Technique.
Izumo adjusted the rhythm of his chakra output again and again, polishing every tiny detail of the jutsu.
As he trained deeper, his understanding of the Substitution Technique sharpened further.
"Substitution isn't a passive escape. It's a tool to actively control the rhythm of battle."
In the end, he even learned to tweak the chakra fluctuation when activating the technique, making the substitute object emit an aura identical to his real body's chakra, further misleading his enemies.
The proficiency on the panel—[Substitution Technique: Expert (191/1000)]—kept climbing, and soon reached 312/1000.
…
Early in the morning, the warning alarms in the camp suddenly rang out.
Ninja from Iwagakure were launching another surprise attack.
"Team Eight, with me!" Akimichi Doto's voice boomed, heavy and full of power.
He charged toward the battlefield, with Izumo, Kotetsu, and Kurenai right behind him. Following the tactics they had drilled before, they immediately slipped into combat mode.
"Izumo, take the three Iwa ninja on the left! Kurenai, Kotetsu, you two provide support!" Akimichi Doto called out as he clashed with an Iwa jōnin. His massive fists slammed into the enemy's Earth Release, making the ground quake violently.
Izumo nodded.
The Body Flicker Technique activated.
His figure burst forward like a pale blue flash of lightning, charging straight at the three Iwagakure ninja on the left flank.
The three Iwa ninja were genin.
Seeing Izumo rush in, they quickly formed a formation. Two of them hurled shuriken to slow his advance, while the third gathered chakra, preparing to unleash Earth Release: Earth Spear.
"Too slow."
A cold glint flashed through Izumo's eyes.
The neural reaction speed granted by his expert-level Body Flicker Technique let him clearly read the enemy's hand seal movements.
He didn't force a block.
The chakra in his legs abruptly shifted direction, sending his body sliding sideways at a sharp, impossible angle.
As he dodged the shuriken, he flicked three kunai. They flew true, striking the wrists of the ninja forming seals.
The enemy's hand signs froze instantly, and the Earth Spear technique collapsed before it could even take shape.
"So fast!" The three Iwa ninja cried out in shock.
Just as they tried to adjust their jutsu, Izumo's figure had already appeared behind them.
Using the precise control of his expert-level Basic Taijutsu, he launched a side kick at the bend of the left ninja's knee.
At the same time, his clenched right fist smashed into the ribs of the ninja on the right, and a straight kick sent the third one flying.
All three Iwa ninja screamed in pain at once as their bodies lost balance.
Izumo seized the opening and finished them on the spot with his kunai.
"Kid, your speed is pretty impressive."
A voice of praise suddenly reached Izumo's ears.
He jolted in shock.
Who was this?
Someone who could appear at his side without making a sound at all.
In the middle of the battlefield, a yellow shadow streaked past at blinding speed.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Join my Patreon here:
🔗 patreon.com/FaaanzKun
✅ Enjoy 25+ chapters ahead of WebNovel
✅ 2 new chapters every day (Monday–Saturday), exclusive on Patreon
🌙 Note: Sunday is a rest day, so there will be no updates tomorrow. Regular uploads resume as usual on Monday.
Join now and dive deeper into the story—weeks ahead of public release!
Thank you for your amazing support 💖
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —