"How about it? My Six Paths Tools: Vajra Bracelet is amazing, isn't it! As long as you don't stop me from killing Uchiha Ling, then I don't want to fight you to the death!" The Hagoromo Clan remnant was also somewhat wary of Minato Namikaze. Without the Adamantine Bracelet, he would be in danger. (Second setting, since there's already the Bashōsen, Shichiseiken, and Golden Canopy Rope, why can't I have a second setting for the Adamantine Bracelet?)
"Although I don't understand why you're targeting Ling, as a Konoha Jonin, I will never allow you to slaughter a comrade!"
Minato Namikaze held his Flying Thunder God Kunai in a reverse grip across his chest, staring resolutely at the somewhat irritated Hagoromo Clan Ninja.
"Hmph! Then I'll deal with you first, and then go kill that Uchiha brat!" The Hagoromo Clan Ninja believed that with the Six Paths Ninja Tool, he couldn't lose. It would just take a bit more effort to defeat this slippery kid.
Although they had declared war, they tacitly engaged in taijutsu combat. At most, they would use Flying Thunder God or Lightning Release Ninjutsu. Neither of them was skilled in large-scale area-of-effect attacks.
At this point, Minato's weakness became apparent. When facing an opponent who could keep up with his reaction speed and had a way to deal with the Spiraling Compression Sphere, Minato's combat style would inevitably fall into a war of attrition.
Even if Minato used various Sealing Techniques to try and win, facing the explosive lightning from the Hagoromo Clan Ninja's body, it was difficult to seal his Chakra in one go.
Ninjutsu couldn't be used, taijutsu held no advantage, and Sealing Technique was temporarily ineffective. Now, he could only rely on the Flying Thunder God Technique to preserve his life.
Conversely, the Hagoromo Clan Ninja was also helpless against Minato. Although he could easily resolve Minato's continuous attacks, and even if he couldn't, he could rely on the Six Paths Ninja Tool to increase his fault tolerance, he still couldn't do anything to Minato.
He also didn't dare to abandon Minato and go directly after Uchiha Ling, because if he dealt with Minato's attacks seriously, he might be fine, but if he was careless, he would definitely take a Spiraling Compression Sphere.
Minato didn't consider summoning the Mount Myōboku toads for assistance, because against a Six Paths Ninja Tool, the toads' Ninjutsu probably wouldn't be effective.
And the toads of Mount Myōboku who could use Sage Mode were not ones Minato could easily command, which led to the stalemate Ling witnessed upon her arrival.
Ling didn't expect this Hagoromo Clan Ninja to actually possess Lightning Release Chakra Mode. Although it might be a weakened or initial version, it didn't deter Ling from planning to acquire this Forbidden Technique.
One can never have too many skills. Ling was determined to become the most virtuous and skilled female Ninja in the Ninja World. Any Ninjutsu or Forbidden Technique she could learn or obtain, she would learn.
As a small-town test-taker, she wasn't afraid of not being able to learn enough Ninjutsu. This way of acting also made Ling a Ninja with truly no weaknesses.
"Ling, you're here. It seems you've already dealt with that Jonin. How are Kakashi and the others?"
Minato used Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Ling, temporarily stopping his fight with the Hagoromo Clan Ninja.
"I dealt with him. But I didn't expect Minato-nii to encounter a Ninja he's not good at handling. Kakashi and the others are fine; they're almost finished eliminating the other Rogue Ninja."
Ling was a bit eager to try. She felt that this Hagoromo Clan Ninja was a good punching bag, and she hadn't had a truly satisfying fight in a long time.
"Ahahaha, you're Uchiha Ling, a shorty who's not even half my height. I really don't understand why your bounty is so high, but you will surely die today."
The Hagoromo Clan Ninja burst into hearty laughter. Now, he looked at Ling as if she were three hundred million ryo walking. Given Ling's physique, even the same volume of sand gold wouldn't be worth three hundred million ryo.
"Hey, what's your name, Hagoromo Clan Ninja? Does your Hagoromo Clan all have Six Paths Ninja Tools?"
Ling was a bit curious. If he said yes, Ling planned to specifically hunt Hagoromo Clan Ninja in the future. It was truly a low-investment, high-return venture.
"Brat, remember this old man's name, Hagoromo Black Horn. When you die and go to the Pure Land, you can tell the Six Paths Sage that you died by my hand."
Hagoromo Black Horn, true to his name, had black, shiny horns on his head. One look and you could tell he wasn't a proper Ōtsutsuki descendant; his appearance also redefined Ninja diversity.
"Given that you, brat, are worth three hundred million ryo, I'll tell you, I'm the only one left in my Hagoromo Clan with a Six Paths Ninja Tool. How about it? Aren't you disappointed!"
Hagoromo Black Horn swung the Six Paths Ninja Tool on his wrist twice, looking quite pleased. The reason he could remain free and untroubled despite years of pursuit by the Hidden Cloud Village Anbu was entirely due to the Adamantine Bracelet on his wrist.
A hint of disappointment flashed in Ling's eyes when she heard this, but then, blue-purple butterflies, which had appeared at some unknown time, began to flutter around Ling, and the mournful chirping of Cicadas abruptly sounded in the forest.
Minato Namikaze and Hagoromo Black Horn, however, were completely unaware of any abnormality, still pondering how to kill each other.
"Is that so? That's truly a pity. But can you tell me what the function of the Adamantine Bracelet is?"
Ling's eyes sparkled with cunning, and her thin lips curved into a playful smile, but the blue-purple butterflies around her fluttered even more vigorously, and even the Cicada chirping grew louder.
Hagoromo Black Horn completely ignored all of this, remaining utterly complacent, not realizing that he had already fallen into a genjutsu that weakened his will.
"The Adamantine Bracelet can absorb any Ninjutsu and release a full-range shockwave. The Chakra shockwave can defeat enemies, blow away Ninjutsu, and actively infusing Chakra can also activate this shockwave, but there's a three-second interval after each activation… Damn it! Brat, how dare you use genjutsu!"
Ling didn't expect Hagoromo Black Horn's willpower to be quite strong, but facing Ling's genjutsu, he still blurted out the Adamantine Bracelet's functions like spilling beans before realizing what was happening.
"What a pity. The Six Paths Ninja Tool is indeed good, but starting today, it will bear the Uchiha name. As for you, your willpower is not bad; to be able to regain consciousness under my genjutsu, I'm willing to call you the third strongest Hagoromo Clan Ninja in the Ninja World."
Ling had taken a liking to the Adamantine Bracelet. This thing was a weakened version of Shinra Tensei, and its cooldown was two seconds faster. Truly excellent.
"Damn you, Uchiha brat! How dare you mock this old man! Do you think you can defeat me with just genjutsu? Don't be delusional, die!" Hagoromo Black Horn drew his Ninjato, a blazing lightning burst from his body, and with a Body Flicker Technique that cracked the ground, he appeared before Ling.
Ling smiled contentedly, not planning to use the Technique of Ten Divisions anymore. She intended to just play with him using Wind Release Chakra Mode and swordsmanship.
After all, encountering a quasi-Kage-level opponent for the first time made her quite exhilarated. That old scoundrel Danzo didn't count; he was a defeated dog with little resolve to fight.
Ling swiftly drew Ame no Habakiri, which was imbued with Wind Release Chakra, and easily blocked the strike. She didn't use monstrous strength, but Ling's power was still superior.
After all, the continuous enhancement from Heavenly Restriction was no joke. She could defeat an Elite Jonin using only taijutsu with just her physical prowess.
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