Mamoru's face was written with total lack of interest, the reward really couldn't get him motivated. He lazily beckoned Tenten with his finger. "Come on, let's make this quick."
Tenten was not provoked by his dismissive attitude and jumped back to create distance. Simultaneously, she pulled a small scroll from behind her.
"Creating distance?" Mamoru raised an eyebrow, still standing still.
Tenten didn't respond, she leaped high with a rapid run-up, and the scroll in her hand unfurled with a "whoosh" in the air. The scroll danced like a dragon, and the Ninja Tool Summoning Technique was instantly activated.
Countless sharp ninja tools fell from the sky, pouring down toward Mamoru like a rainstorm. Mamoru dodged nimbly within the dense rain of ninja tools, while simultaneously catching a flying Kunai. Immediately, a series of clear clangs of metal on metal rang out on the field as the ninja tools attacking him were struck down one by one by the Kunai in his hand.
When this wave of attacks paused, Mamoru glanced at the Kunai in his hand, which was already full of nicks, and tossed it to the ground. "Seems... it's still lacking a bit."
"Damn it!" Tenten bit her lip. "I can't do anything to him even like this?"
"My turn." Mamoru suddenly lunged forward.
Tenten hurriedly retreated, pulling out more scrolls at the same time. She waved her hands, and the scrolls unfurled, interfering with Mamoru's vision. Forced by the situation, Mamoru stopped his advance.
"It's not over yet!"
Tenten brandished the sealing scrolls, moving around Mamoru while activating the Ninja Tool Summoning Technique.
Countless ninja tools poured out from the scrolls, turning into a vortex of steel that firmly locked Mamoru in the center.
The angles of attack were incredibly tricky. The sound of sharp weapons cutting through the air came from overhead, under his ribs, and from his blind spots one after another, forcing Mamoru to push his movement techniques to the limit.
Amidst the dense, rain-like offensive, a faint light flashed in his eyes as the Six Eyes was quietly activated.
While dodging and weaving, he thought that without the help of the Six Eyes, he might not have been able to completely avoid such a dense offensive. At the very least, he would have been scratched up in several places.
Tenten's use of ninja tools had its unique advantages, making him look at her with a bit of respect.
As the ninja tools piled up on the ground, Tenten suddenly discarded the scrolls and yanked on transparent wires with both hands. The ninja tools on the ground rose in response.
"Take this!"
Tenten waved her hands, and the sky full of ninja tools surged toward Mamoru like a tide.
"Hey, do you really want to kill me?"
Mamoru held up two fingers in front of his chest, and all the ninja tools abruptly stopped an inch away from him.
The moment he used Infinity, it meant he had already lost.
"You win." He announced calmly.
In fact, he had already foreseen the outcome if the battle continued. Under the constraint of not being able to use any Ninjutsu, faced with such an airtight attack, it would be impossible for him to emerge unscathed.
Of course, the main reason he didn't want to continue was Guy's reward. To him, that reward was no different from a punishment.
"No way, I actually won?"
Tenten was stunned for a moment, then jumped and shouted with joy, a brilliant smile blooming on her face, "Yay!"
"Is winning against me once really that exciting?" Mamoru's lips twitched slightly as he shook his head helplessly.
"Of course!" Tenten responded excitedly, her eyes sparkling.
"Congratulations, Tenten!" Guy laughed heartily and gave a thumbs-up.
"That battle just now was wonderful. I didn't expect you to actually succeed."
Lee ran up to Tenten and praised her loudly, "Tenten, you're really amazing."Mamoru's strength was constrained, but no matter what, you still defeated him. I've never won against him even once."
Tenten's cheeks flushed, feeling a bit embarrassed by the praise.
Neji had been standing to the side with his arms folded all along, a faint smile on his face. Although he didn't speak, his eyes showed approval.
"Hey! Don't get carried away."
Mamoru approached Tenten, reaching out to poke her cheek and throwing cold water on her at an inappropriate time, "That Ninja Art: Storm Pear Blossom of yours has a very obvious weakness."
Tenten covered her cheek with her hand and puffed out her cheeks. "Storm Pear Blossom? Stupid Mamoru, don't just give my Ninjutsu random names."
However, she still asked cautiously, "What weakness?"
Mamoru was blunt. "Wind Release. Your technique has a poor affinity with Wind Release. If you encounter a ninja skilled in Wind Release, you'll be countered miserably."
Tenten's expression froze instantly. "Is... is it that miserable?"
Mamoru's firm tone provided the answer. "Extremely miserable."
Then he added, "Of course, as long as you don't go head-to-head with a ninja skilled in Wind Release, this technique is still pretty good."
He softened his tone and suggested, "For the next step, your research direction should be on the 'Absorption' and 'Release' of Ninjutsu."
"Absorption? Release?" Tenten repeated thoughtfully.
"Alright!" Guy's loud voice interrupted their discussion.
"You two can discuss Ninjutsu research later, now is reward time."
As he spoke, he braced his hands on the ground and easily did a handstand.
"Tenten, come on up."
"Maybe not, it's really embarrassing." Tenten looked at this bizarre posture, her face turning even redder.
"Hurry up and get on!" Guy maintained his handstand position, his smile undiminished.
"Tenten, this is Guy-sensei's special reward, a rare opportunity, what are you waiting for!" Lee urged excitedly.
"Mamoru..." Tenten cast a pleading look.
Mamoru immediately looked up at the sky, pretending to study the shapes of the clouds.
Ultimately, under the pressure of Guy's enthusiasm and Lee's egging her on, Tenten failed to escape her reward—five hundred laps around the village.
Mamoru didn't want to be seen as a joke by the people in the village, so he took the opportunity to slip away quietly.