Lion and the other two held their swords, staring at Nawaki floating midair. They looked at each other in disbelief.
None of them could fly—how were they supposed to fight someone airborne?
And none had enough raw strength to jump that high either.
How were they supposed to fight if they couldn't even reach Nawaki?
"Ah, can't reach me, huh?"
"Hmm, guess I didn't think that through properly."
Nawaki's calm voice drifted down from above.
Then he slowly lowered himself until his feet touched the ground once more.
This move silenced a great deal of malicious gossip from the gossips.
Avoiding battle? Impossible. If it weren't for this place being unsuitable for large-scale Ninjutsu, Nawaki could have used those three as target practice.
But that wouldn't align with his plan.
"Now we're even."
Nawaki drew the sword off his back. He wasn't bringing any special weapon into the fight—no unfair advantage.
A storm of emotions churned within Lion and his comrades. From the moment Nawaki lifted into the sky, they had already accepted defeat in their hearts.
Still, the atmosphere had built up too much now to just walk away without a fight.
Facing so many gossips, he couldn't possibly back down either.
Win or lose, after this match, he'd just follow orders obediently.
Lion bent his knees slightly, muscles tensing throughout his body.
Boom!
The earth exploded beneath his feet as tremendous force propelled him forward.
He shot forward like a missile, attacking Nawaki at full speed.
No tricks, just brute force and raw speed.
Even the watching gossips couldn't help but admire his speed.
"Lion's still lightning fast."
The other two quickly split apart, and together the three charged at Nawaki from three different directions.
Calmly, Nawaki spun his blade, testing the weight of the borrowed weapon.
Underneath his mask, a faint smirk curled his lips. He pushed off the ground and rushed head-on toward Lion.
Clang!!
The metallic clash echoed through the battlefield. It felt as though Lion had slammed into an iron wall.
A massive force traveled up his sword and into his body, sending him flying backward.
"Incredible strength."
Planting his rear foot firmly, Lion stabilized himself. Two deep grooves had been gouged into the ground before him.
"Is his weapon specially made?"
"Senju's Chakra Enhanced Strength?"
Murmurs rippled through the gathered gossips.
His name carried weight for a reason. Nawaki's abilities had clearly earned everyone's recognition.
Just after that first impact, the other two attackers reached Nawaki.
Seeing how Lion got driven back, they guessed Nawaki's physical strength was overwhelming.
Changing tactics was essential—they couldn't afford a direct clash.
One changed his chopping strike into an upward slash while the other shifted his downward cut into a precise thrust.
Nawaki saw the shift in their attack styles immediately. He sidestepped one blow effortlessly.
Then he kicked the attacker right in the butt, sending him flying several meters forward before slamming face-first onto the ground.
A clear shoe print was left on his backside.
As for the last strike, Nawaki didn't have time to dodge again. He blocked it with his sword.
Using the enemy's momentum, Nawaki redirected the blade toward his wrist.
When it came to swordsmanship, Nawaki never backed down.
"Such quick counter-maneuvers."
The ninja inwardly trembled at the sight.
The ninja barely managed to retreat.
"Try again if you dare!"
In the blink of an eye, Lion and the two others regrouped.
They had been utterly defeated in the first round, losing badly.
Faced with Nawaki's taunts, the trio remained silent.
They exchanged a glance and scattered again.
Lion rushed forward first, while the other two began maneuvering around the battlefield.
Now they started working together in perfect sync, showing great coordination.
"You *should* work together better now," Nawaki said casually but kept his focus.
After all, they were three Anbu members—not just pushovers or rookies.
This time, Lion was smarter, avoiding Nawaki's direct assault and just barely holding him off.
It seemed he had put serious effort into training in swordsmanship.
[Shadow Binding Jutsu!]
Taking advantage of Nawaki being occupied, a dark shadow extended from a distant location.
"A Nara?"
Frowning slightly, Nawaki struck harder, delivering a powerful downward blow that forced Lion back.
He pushed off the ground hard, shooting upward into the air.
He dodged just in time, evading the shadow creeping toward his feet.
"Damn it, failed!"
The Nara clan Anbu agent slapped his thigh in frustration.
The moment Nawaki landed, he felt his mind grow dizzy.
His surroundings suddenly shifted—Kawaki's blade was already rushing straight at him.
Caught completely off guard, just like last time.
It was one of those rare moments that filled him deep inside with fear.
"Nawaki's teammates are pretty strong," Minato remarked.
Seeing Nawaki frozen in place, he immediately realized it was a genjutsu.
A team combining both control and offensive capabilities could certainly be called formidable.
"Is Nawaki going to lose?"
Konan watched anxiously as Lion and the others charged toward Nawaki. He now stood in clear danger.
Hard to tell.
Minato didn't know exactly what kind of genjutsu Nawaki had fallen into, though honestly speaking, losing wouldn't be a big deal.
Nawaki had already shown immense strength, and it was obvious he was holding back.
At this moment, every pair of eyes in the audience focused on Nawaki—the outcome would be decided in an instant.
"You're my favorite future brother-in-law after all…"
Nawaki abruptly snapped out of it.
That's right—why would his brother-in-law want to kill him?
Regaining clarity, three gleaming blades were suddenly right in front of him.
[Earth Body Flicker Jutsu!]
This was a new ninjutsu developed with Orochimaru—an idea inspired by Hanzō's Water Body Flicker technique.
Right before their eyes, his entire body transformed into a pile of earth, through which all three blades passed harmlessly.
"Damn it!"
[Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!]
When Nawaki's voice emerged from behind them, Lion immediately knew something was wrong.
A massive force erupted from below, pulling Lion and the Nara Anbu deep underground.
Within an instant, only their heads remained visible above the surface—completely helpless.
Nawaki appeared beside the Anbu who had used the genjutsu but didn't strike.
"Do you still want to continue?"
He held his sword in one hand, his voice showing no emotion.
"We surrender."
Without waiting for his teammates, Lion plainly admitted their defeat.
"So am I qualified?"
Nawaki asked again.
"From today onward, if we tell you to go west, you won't go east."
Lion's ironclad response was clear; Nawaki had completely crushed them.
"You're all quite skilled," Nawaki said.
He wasn't teasing them. After all, this was just a training field—not an actual battlefield.
There were still many techniques the three hadn't shown, but he recognized their current level of skill.
He stepped forward and helped the two up from the ground.
At that moment, thunderous applause erupted from outside the arena.
The thrilling battle had finally ended. Today marked the official formation of the Anbu Fire Unit.
In the end, Anbu still valued strength above all else. With Nawaki's abilities, he would surely be sought after for major missions.
This had always been one of Nawaki's goals.
Before long, everyone began chatting together, and Nawaki and the others had already begun to fit right in with the Anbu family.
...
"Now are you reassured?"
Sakumo stood in the distance, with Kawaki right beside him.
He felt he had more faith in Nawaki and the others than Kawaki did. This guy had actually come specially to secretly watch.
"Haha, I just came over out of boredom to take a look," Kawaki laughed it off, stubbornly unwilling to admit the truth.
"You're pretending in front of me?" Sakumo shot him a glance, giving Kawaki no face at all. Everyone knew exactly who the two of them were.
Fans of Naruto: Starting from Pursuing Tsunade are encouraged to bookmark it: (m.
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