"Hey, kid!"
Enma didn't continue the pursuit, but stood in place, arms crossed, his golden eyes scrutinizing the panting Shinichi a dozen meters away.
"Next, you can use ninjutsu."
This made Shinichi pause for a moment. In the hellish special training of the past month, both sides had discarded all fancy tricks, clashing only with the purest physical techniques, strength, and endurance.
Enma had also stated clearly that only by letting the body remember the essence of power first could one talk about anything else.
And in this unreserved sparring, he truly felt the extraordinary nature of the young man's constitution before him.
That amazing strength, recovery, and endurance were simply unlike those of an ordinary human.
If Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't explicitly told him earlier that the boy was a commoner orphan, Enma would have even suspected whether he possessed some unknown bloodline limit or had some connection to the Senju Clan, known for their powerful constitutions.
"Don't you want to create your own ninja body technique?" Seeing Shinichi's expression, Enma's voice explained: "In terms of specific ninjutsu training, I truly have nothing to guide you on. The hand signs and ninjutsu of you humans are not the way of our clan."
He paused and continued, "However, combining existing powers, making them transition quickly in actual combat, and even turning them from separate physical techniques and ninjutsu into a natural whole like breathing... this process might be forced out in battle."
His meaning was clear: in the upcoming sparring, Shinichi could freely use the ninjutsu he had mastered.
The goal was no longer simple endurance or evasion, but to try and truly link the release, distraction, and cover of ninjutsu with the movement, entry, and explosive timing of physical techniques under the immense pressure brought by Enma, searching for that sense of integration and laying the most primitive practical foundation for the future concept of 'ninja body technique'.
"Come," Enma's voice was low and filled with absolute confidence: "Attack me with the determination to kill. Don't worry about hurting me; in today's ninja world, things that can hurt me do not yet exist."
---
Some time later.
The mess in the training ground was even worse than before, with charred fire release marks and new craters everywhere, showing that the battle had entered a new phase.
Amidst an incredibly sharp energy hum, that bllue sphere of chakra—the Rasengan—was seized by Shinichi in a fleeting moment and slammed toward Enma.
Enma reacted extremely fast, raising his right palm at the critical moment to block the high-speed rotating energy sphere that contained terrifying piercing power. The sphere held not only sharp piercing force but also a solid and heavy immense power.
Under the impact of this power, Enma's mountain-like body couldn't stay completely steady. He was forced to slide backward, his feet sinking deep into the ground, plowing two furrows until he finally stopped his retreat seven or eight meters away.
Dust rose slightly.
Enma looked up at the black-haired youth not far away, who was breathing heavily and clearly exhausted. Then his gaze dropped, staring at his right palm that had caught the Rasengan.
In the center of his palm, the hard fur that was usually impervious to blades had been torn away in a large patch, and the tough skin underneath was broken, with a trickle of bright red blood slowly seeping out.
He stared at the smear of blood and fell into silence.
"Enma-san, are you... alright?" Shinichi asked while steadying his breath.
In the battle just now, he had done everything he could, using various ninjutsu to intersperse and coordinate, creating gaps to finally exchange for this close-quarters strike opportunity, forcing Enma to take a full-powered Rasengan head-on.
Although Enma's body enjoyed the reputation of being 'indestructible stick', it wasn't literally impossible to destroy. In the original future, his palm had been cut by the Kusanagi sword controlled by Orochimaru.
Speaking of being indestructible vajra, one must mention another unique talent of the Enma Clan—transformation.
They can thoroughly transform their own bodies into weapons according to the needs of the battle, freely changing into a form called the 'Staff'.
Once transformed into this unique weapon form, their hardness and strength undergo a qualitative leap.
Not only can they clash head-on with divine weapons like the Kusanagi sword without a scratch, but they can also knock the rampaging Nine-Tailed Demon Fox out of Konoha with a single strike.
Even during the Fourth Shinobi World War, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi relied on him in this form to crush the dense wood release attacks of the Ten-Tails in one go, successfully saving Uzumaki Naruto.
Perhaps only in this 'Staff' form does Enma truly deserve the title 'indestructible'.
Conversely, in his regular ape form, 'strong-boned' might be a more fitting description.
In this form, he is enough to ignore the bombardment of most conventional ninjutsu and physical techniques; his defensive power is terrifying.
However, when facing powerful ninjutsu attacks or divine weapons like the Kusanagi sword, this powerful body still has the possibility of being broken and injured.
"Very good..." Enma's low voice broke the silence. He shook his hand, blood splattering onto the ground: "Good performance."
Perhaps feeling embarrassed that his earlier assertion of being 'impossible to injure' had been broken, there was a hint of awkwardness in his tone.
"Let's end this training session here for now," Enma said.
As soon as he finished speaking, without waiting for Shinichi to respond, his massive body vanished in a puff of thick white smoke with a 'bang'.
In the center of the training ground, only a more dilapidated ground, fallen trees, and... some dark red blood on the dust and rocks where Enma had stood, which hadn't completely dried, remained particularly eye-catching.
Seeing this, Shinichi's gaze lingered slightly on the bloodstains on the ground, his eyes flickering.
But he didn't do anything. Instead, just like after every high-intensity sparring session in the past, he let out a long breath of exhausted and hot air.
Then he silently began to tidy up the messy grounds, gathering the broken wood and roughly filling in the most prominent craters. Everything looked no different from usual.
---
One month later, the southern border of the Land of Iron, Ironforge Town.
This border town, bordering the Land of Fire, is famous for its minerals and blacksmithing; the air is perennially filled with a faint smell of metal and charcoal.
Inside an izakaya in the town named 'Sakurami-tei', it was currently a busy time.
The noren curtains hung low, unable to block the rising heat and clamor inside.
Coarse ceramic cups clinked together as people in various dobuku or travel clothes sat around low tables. They were mostly ronin, merchants, and local craftsmen, and the air was woven with the salty aroma of sake, grilled fish, and soy sauce.
People talked about recent ore prices, sightings from border patrols, or which workshop had received a large order.
Rough laughter and boasting rose and fell, creating a cacophony.
Just then, the thick wooden door of the tavern was pushed open with a creak, bringing in a gust of cold outdoor air.
A tall figure stood at the entrance against the light. After a brief silence, a clear voice, filled with undisguised eagerness and confidence, rose above the noise inside and reached everyone's ears clearly:
"Everyone, let me ask you something."
"In this Ironforge Town, who's the strongest fighter?"