Compared to Pakura's teaching, Chen's lessons were much more entertaining.
Relying on his powerful taijutsu, he weaved through the crowd of students, using the cane in his hand to repeatedly point out their shortcomings.
Taijutsu—one of the three core skills of a ninja—was often selectively forgotten.
But now, with the addition of Chen, this skill was once again brought into the spotlight.
Especially thanks to Might Guy, who would occasionally shout, "This is youth!"
Then he'd launch a flurry of surprise attacks at Chen. Not that it ever worked—instead, he'd always get thoroughly schooled by the cane.
"Kid, you've been watching for a while. Got any thoughts?"
After knocking down all the students, Chen slowly turned toward Gekko Chizan.
"Impressive as always, Chen-sensei."
"Hmph, brat, you're Gekko Chizan, right? I heard from Hatake Sakumo that you've learned his Thousand Years of Death?"
Thousand Years of Death...
Gekko Chizan's face suddenly stiffened. A certain painful memory he didn't want to recall surged up again.
"Interested in sparring with this old man a bit?"
"Let me see what's so special about the junior he says is worthy of succeeding his position."
Chen threw away the cane in his hand, let his arms hang loose at his sides, and spread his legs shoulder-width apart. He looked relaxed, but only those familiar with him knew—this was the sign he was about to strike.
To those trained in taijutsu, the simpler the stance, the easier it was to throw a punch.
But Chizan furrowed his brow slightly. He was pondering Chen's words.
Succeed him? What does Hatake Sakumo mean? He's planning to make me the captain of the ANBU???
No way, that's impossible! The ANBU specializes in assassinations—it completely goes against his style of doing things.
"Kid, stop thinking about it. If you want to know, just go ask him."
"Right now, let's focus on a little sparring with this old man."
After saying that, Chen bent his knees slightly. In the next instant, he launched forward like a leopard, charging straight at Gekko Chizan.
"Damn, old man! You're not playing fair, ambushing a junior like me!"
"And hey—this is obviously the Konoha Whirlwind! Why didn't you shout the name of the move!"
Gekko Chizan quickly leapt back, dodging Chen's alternating whip kicks.
"I'm way past the age where I need to shout the name of every move."
"You think I'm some twenty-year-old kid?"
"Fine then. I'll tell you now—I'm about to use Konoha Dragon God!"
Chen scoffed and suddenly launched both fists forward.
"Bull! You're just making stuff up now!"
Chizan crossed his arms to block Chen's fists, but the force behind the blow exceeded his expectations, forcing him several steps back.
And this was despite the fact that his stats were much higher now than when he'd gone to the Land of Grass.
[Gekko Chizan]
[Age: 15]
[Konoha Village, Gekko Clan Jonin, Jinchuriki (Chomei)]
[Kekkei Genkai: Transparent Release (Fully Mastered), Second Kekkei Genkai (Inactive. Activation progress: 15%)]
[Ninjutsu: Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu, Eight Gates, Flying Thunder God Technique, Fire Release (Great Fireball, Phoenix Flower Flame), Earth Release (Earth Wall, Headhunter Jutsu), Wind Release (Protective Current, Great Breakthrough, Wind Cutter), Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, Thousand Years of Death]
[Tailed Beast: Chomei, Affinity 100%, Tailed Beast Transformation Progress: 90%. Note: At 100% transformation progress, can use Tailed Beast Bomb directly.]
[Strength: 65]
[Speed: 70]
[Chakra: 70]
[Physique: 82]
[Ninjutsu: 81]
[Taijutsu: 50]
[Genjutsu: 56]
[Hand Seals: 58]
[Ding—Tip: Stats are based on Shinobi Data Book. Ratio roughly 1:10]
The growth in strength and physique let Gekko Chizan clearly feel how tough his body had become.
But even so, when facing Chen's fists, his arms still went numb from the impact.
"Oh? You blocked that? Your body's in better shape than I thought, kid."
"You looked like a twig, but you've got something. Interesting."
Who was Chen? Konoha's undisputed taijutsu master. His strength wasn't just due to the legendary Konoha Dragon God.
Over half of Konoha's taijutsu techniques were created by him.
Konoha Whirlwind, Konoha Gale—they were all his creations.
"Again!"
Chen suddenly developed an interest in the kid before him. He once again transformed into a leopard, charging at Gekko Chizan.
After taking that one hit, there was no way Chizan was going to clash with him head-on again.
He immediately switched to dodging.
Their sparring drew the attention of students from two entire classes.
Even Pakura and Hatake Sakumo were watching.
"Hehehe, this kid—Chen-san isn't someone who plays nice."
"But I didn't expect the boy's physique to be this strong. He took a direct hit from Chen-san and is still fine."
Hatake Sakumo and Chen shared battlefield camaraderie.
He knew exactly how strong Chen's punches were.
At that moment, his evaluation of Gekko Chizan went up a few more notches.
Pakura, on the other hand, was surprised by Gekko Chizan's current speed and reflexes.
She had always assumed he relied on his Kekkei Genkai and secret techniques for his strength.
But now it seemed she had underestimated him. This kid had a strange magnetism that made people want to figure him out.
Yet no matter how deep you dig, he felt like a bottomless pit—you could never reach the end.
"Kid, dodging all the time isn't a good tactic."
"On the battlefield, if you don't defeat your enemy, your enemy will kill you!"
Chen was getting annoyed that Chizan kept dodging. The boy clearly had good strength, speed, and physique—why was he so reluctant to fight?
Was he really the little punk Hatake Sakumo said he was?
"Old man, you said it yourself. If I fight back and embarrass you, don't come crying to me later!"
Gekko Chizan wasn't a pushover.
Even if he disliked fighting, his defensive tools were nothing to scoff at.
"Hmph, if this old man challenges you and you manage to land a hit, then that means you've got skill."
"Come on then—show me what you've got!"
Gekko Chizan smiled—brightly.
Seeing that smile made Pakura's heart suddenly thump. She had a feeling something bad was about to happen.
"Principal Hatake, I think we should stop this spar. I really feel like something bad is going to happen."
"No need. Don't worry, Chen-san is strong enough. Even if Chizan fights back, he won't be able to hurt him."
Hatake Sakumo didn't take Pakura's concern seriously.
After all, Chen's strength was among the very best.
Unfortunately, he underestimated Gekko Chizan's shamelessness.
Because in Gekko Chizan's eyes, defeating an opponent didn't necessarily mean overpowering them.
...
A quick note on stats.
In the Shinobi Data Book, Guy's strength stat is 10, while Kakashi's is 7.
But Guy can send someone flying through a wall with a punch (as seen during the Chūnin Exams).
Even though it's only a 3-point difference, the actual power gap is massive—so don't underestimate small boosts.
Tsunade also has a strength stat of 10—simply because 10 is the book's upper limit.
Tsunade's raw power can shatter Susanoo. That's already top-tier power—after all, even the Raikage's punches couldn't break Susanoo.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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