Chapter Forty-Four: Fierce Battle

In contrast to Li's bulging veins and agitation, Mu Qianrou, who had descended from the sky, seemed to stroll through a garden at leisure. She moved her hands with elegance, yet an awe-inspiring aura suddenly pressed against Feng Xue's heart—

“I can't take this head on!” Even with his AT Field, Feng Xue had this thought flash through his mind, for the power was simply too sharp; for an AT Field that disperses or deflects attacks through vibration, such force was its natural nemesis!

If even Feng Xue, with his limited combat experience, could sense this threat, Li certainly would not overlook it. Almost at the very instant Mu Qianrou revealed her intent to attack, Li pushed off with his foot, shooting forward like an arrow loosed from its bow, leaving behind only the cracked earth to testify to the terrifying power that had erupted from his seemingly comical body in that split second.

“Do you know there's a martial art that strikes from above?” Mu Qianrou’s lips curled in a faint smile as she passed Li at high speed, her expression calm but laced with deadly intent.

“Buddha’s Palm?” Feng Xue blurted out, but quickly dismissed the idea as Xia Mi supplied the answer—

“Nanto Suichoken?” Xia Mi looked completely bewildered. This did not fit the usual style at all. Even though Mu Qianrou had a heroic air, she was still a beauty; even a tomboy would hardly fit the image of the muscle-bound men from Fist of the North Star. Why? Just picture replacing the leading ladies of Hong Kong or American comics with those from Japanese manga, and you’ll understand the visual disconnect…

“Wow, amazing! Did you last travel straight to Fist of the North Star? And you learned the villain's Nanto Suichoken?” Feng Xue switched to English for lines not meant for the story’s characters, excitement bubbling in his voice. After all, that series boasted one of the most iconic lines in history—“You are already dead!”

Feng Xue could almost recall the embarrassment he’d felt as a child in his previous life, when he and his friends would vie to shout that line while playing make-believe in the streets… (Ah, does this reveal my age? Actually, what I used to shout was Special Beam Cannon—should I admit that?)

As they spoke, the two combatants had already switched positions. Mu Qianrou’s heroic face remained untroubled, while Li hesitated for a moment. In the next instant, a gash appeared on the green bodysuit covering his chest, and beads of blood seeped from the wounds beneath.

The outfit, reputed to be the toughest in the entire Hidden Leaf, had been torn!

“What beastly instincts—you managed to counterattack even while dodging my strike!” Mu Qianrou rubbed her shoulder, seemingly struck, but spoke with utter nonchalance.

“No, I didn’t dodge it,” Li said grimly, glancing at the wound across his chest. Though it was only a shallow cut, it was enough for him to acknowledge the formidable taijutsu skills of his opponent.

“No matter what, I will protect you!” Li turned to glance at Sakura—not because he was carelessly distracted in battle, but because that brief exchange had already told him that this woman was not the type to attack someone unguarded.

“The Lotus of the Leaf is about to bloom!” Li's expression grew solemn as he removed his astonishingly heavy training weights.

A great cloud of dust rose. Even having seen scenes like this in the original manga, Feng Xue couldn’t help being amazed—just how heavy were those things?

Though the dust obscured their vision, neither fighter moved; the discipline they called the Heart of the Martial Way led them both to wait, ready to strike only when the dust had settled.

Whoosh!

Both moved at once, but only a single sound echoed in the air—their movements were perfectly synchronized!

“So this is a martial artist’s resolve?” Feng Xue rubbed his head. While he agreed it was passionate, and certainly powerful enough to draw Orochimaru’s attention, he worried that if the fight dragged on, more enemies would soon appear!

With that thought, Feng Xue turned toward the nearby undergrowth—

“Come out. As much as I hate to miss this duel, I suppose I’ll deal with you first!”

“This is your fault—we’ve been discovered!” Blonde hair, trademark of the Yamanaka clan, poked out from behind the bushes. Energetic Ino, troublesome Shikamaru, and Choji sneaking snacks into his mouth all emerged from behind a tree.

“So it’s you three!” Feng Xue massaged his temples. “Looks like that person lying over there is your acquaintance? So, are you planning to fight?”

At those words, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio felt a powerful aura erupt from Feng Xue—a pressure not unlike a rabbit facing a tiger, a shudder that prey feels before a predator at the top of the food chain.

“Your cooking is delicious, but the Hidden Leaf never abandons its friends!” Choji spoke first. Despite being a chubby kid often teased for his size, he valued his companions above all else.

“Then you must be prepared to die in battle,” Feng Xue took a step forward, his aura intensifying. Among them, Ino—most sensitive to spiritual presence—was nearly forced to her knees by the sudden pressure.

It was more than just the predatory intimidation of his Gourmet Cells; Feng Xue had combined it with the AT Field’s spiritual contamination. The more perceptive the enemy, the heavier the impact.

“Genjutsu?!” Ino reacted instantly. “Release!”

What followed, however, surprised Feng Xue—somehow, Ino really did break free from the mental onslaught.

“I see. The essence of mental contamination is to inject soul particles carrying one’s will into the opponent’s mind, causing confusion. In a sense, soul particles plus spiritual will are much like the yin chakra that makes up mental energy. In other words, could I use some yin-release jutsu too?” Feng Xue wondered rapidly, but at last abandoned the idea. There were only two and a half known yin-release techniques: the Nara clan’s shadow jutsu, the Sage of Six Paths’ power to create tools and divide tailed beasts, and Kaguya’s creation of Black Zetsu—which counted as half, since it’s unclear if it’s a technique, an innate ability, or simply another form of the Sage’s techniques.

Of these, the latter was completely inaccessible to Feng Xue, and as for the shadow arts—frankly, his Imaginary Number Concept could make the entire Nara clan call him father!