Chapter 2: One Thousand Year of Death
[Host: Liumu - Personal Attribute Panel]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 11]
[Strength Value: 999999999 (Under Blessing of Saitama Template)]
[Defense Value: 999999999 (Under Blessing of Saitama Template)]
[Stamina Value: 999999999 (Under Blessing of Saitama Template)]
[Speed Value: 999999999 (Under Blessing of Saitama Template)]
[Intelligence Value: 125]
[Talent Value: 59]
[Summoning Beast: None]
[Ninjutsu: Substitution Technique, Clone Technique]
[Genjutsu: None]
[Equipped Template: One-Punch Man - Saitama (Active)]
[Available Skills: Normal Series - Normal Punch, Consecutive Normal Punches; Serious Series - Serious Punch, Consecutive Serious Punches, Side-to-Side Jumps!]
"A talent value of only 59?"
Looking at the numbers in his mind, Liumu finally understood why learning ninjutsu on his own had been such a monumental struggle. If 100 was considered a full score, then his talent couldn't even reach the passing line.
"Liumu?"
Suddenly, Might Guy's voice called out beside his ear.
"Huh?"
Turning his head, Liumu saw that Might Guy's expression had suddenly turned serious. His eyes were fixed, not on Liumu, but on the countless shattered stone fragments scattered at Liumu's feet.
This was the aftermath of Liumu familiarizing himself with his newfound strength and speed after fusing with the Saitama template. He hadn't expected anyone to show up on Hokage Rock, a place usually deserted.
"Liumu… did you do all this?" Might Guy frowned, his gaze intense. He knew the stones used for Hokage Rock's construction were special ten-thousand-pound stone cores. To break them into such a state…
"Liumu, you must have been training incredibly hard!" As Guy said this, his eyes began to sparkle. He clenched his fists, surged with excitement, and rushed to Liumu's side, grabbing his hands. "Spar with me! We've been classmates for so long, and I've never seen you truly fight. Let me see it today!"
Hearing Guy's words, Liumu gave a wry internal smile. It wasn't that he didn't want to fight before; he had deliberately avoided actual combat to hide just how poor he was at it.
"Guy," Kakashi sighed wearily from behind them, "personal duels between students are forbidden by Academy rules."
"But…" Disappointment flashed clearly in Might Guy's eyes.
"It's fine." To everyone's surprise, Liumu, who would usually refuse, suddenly agreed. "Let's spar. No one else is here anyway. As long as you don't tell, I don't tell, and Kakashi doesn't tell… who will know?"
To Guy, this sounded perfectly reasonable. He immediately turned his hopeful, gleaming eyes toward Kakashi. Kakashi simply squinted his visible eye, shook his head, and said, "Don't look at me. I'm asleep. I don't know anything." With that, he actually walked over to the stone wall, sat down, closed his eyes, and pretended to nap.
"As expected of my eternal rival!" Guy laughed heartily, his fighting spirit blazing as he focused on Liumu. "Come on!"
The moment Guy finished speaking, there was a soft whoosh. Green energy seemed to flicker around him, and he vanished from his original spot.
"So fast!"
Seeing this, Liumu wasn't startled. Instead, a slight smile touched the corner of his mouth. He abruptly reached out his right hand, grabbing at the empty space behind him.
Snap!
His hand closed firmly around Guy's ankle.
"This…!"
Shock flashed across Might Guy's face as he found his surprise kick caught with pinpoint accuracy. But seeing his first move fail, Guy immediately adjusted. Planting one hand on the ground, he spun his body, both legs shooting out in a powerful, chakra-enhanced barrage. "Konoha Rising Dragon Kick!" he shouted.
Liumu's smile remained. He raised his left hand, calmly and precisely blocking each and every kick aimed at his chest with the flat of his palm.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The sharp sounds of impacts echoed continuously, kicking up a large cloud of dust around them.
Even after nearly thirty consecutive attacks from Guy, not a single one landed cleanly. The spar continued, but no matter how Guy attacked—high, low, from the side—Liumu remained rooted to the spot, defending effortlessly with just one hand. Guy couldn't gain even the slightest advantage.
In the distance, Kakashi, who had been watching through barely slit eyes, saw Guy now kneeling on one knee, panting heavily, while the Liumu before him seemed as calm and unruffled as a gentle breeze. Kakashi, whose insight already surpassed that of his peers, quickly assessed the situation. It was clear now: Liumu had been hiding his true strength all along.
"You are very strong," Liumu said, looking down at Guy with genuine sincerity. "Among our peers, in terms of pure taijutsu, you are absolutely first-rate."
"But why won't you attack?" Guy asked, looking up almost pleadingly. "You only defend!"
Ninjutsu was not his forte, and his chakra control was below the class average. Taijutsu was Guy's most cherished belief, his pride. And now, it felt utterly useless against Liumu.
Guy fell silent, a wave of self-doubt washing over him. He stared at Liumu, who was the same age and size as him, wondering just how the other boy had trained to become this strong. Had his own training simply not been intense enough?
"Alright then, get ready," Liumu's voice broke through his thoughts. "My attack is coming."
"Huh?" Guy, lost in his thoughts, heard Liumu's words. But when he looked up toward where Liumu had been standing, the spot was empty.
"Where did he…?"
Almost instantaneously, Guy heard Liumu's voice come from directly behind him.
"Konoha Secret Technique: One Thousand Years of Death!"
Might Guy: "???"
Kakashi (peeking): "???"
Poke.
…
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
...
...
...
At dusk, Kakashi was helping Might Guy—who was walking with an extremely careful, pained gait, one hand clamped protectively behind him—slowly make their way down from the mountain. Following behind them, Liumu hummed a strange, cheerful little tune.
Watching Liumu from the corner of his eye, Kakashi's expression was one of deep contemplation. There's always someone better. He had believed that among his generation, he, having already earned his Genin status, was undoubtedly the foremost genius. But after witnessing Liumu's true skills today…
"Liumu," Might Guy finally managed to ask through his discomfort, the question that had been burning in his heart, "how did you train to get so strong?!"
Liumu just shrugged upon hearing this. "About the same as everyone else. Nothing special."
"But…" Might Guy wanted to press further, but was stopped by Kakashi beside him.
"Guy." Kakashi looked seriously into Guy's eyes and gave a slow, deliberate shake of his head.
In this turbulent shinobi world, whether between villages or down to individual ninja, everyone had their own secrets. Even Might Guy's own clan guarded a secret taijutsu technique known to very few.
To probe as deeply as Guy was doing, without reason, was undeniably a trespass. Some things were better left unasked.
(End of Chapter)
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