I, who just wanted to be lazy, was forced to become the Hokage.

Chapter 402 shows progress, but not complete progress.

Valley of the End.

A gentle breeze ripples across the water.

Yekura almost greedily inhaled the fresh air; she hadn't been to such an open wilderness environment in a long time.

Although Nara Rinka has recently stopped restricting her activities.

However, Yekura is very aware of her current situation.

More importantly, she had a deep enough understanding of Nara Rinkazu.

On the surface, Nara Rinka promised her a certain degree of freedom of movement.

But it's best to just listen to those kinds of words.

Yekura had no intention of risking her life to challenge Nara Rinka's bottom line.

The most profound lesson Yekura learned from Nara Ranka was that this man was a devil who liked to toy with people!

But today's situation is different.

Yekura was brought to the Valley of the End by Nara Rinka.

Both Scorching Release and Swift Release are bloodline limits that require a wide open space to be used.

If we limit the battleground to the underground research institute...

The inability to test Yekura's full strength is a minor issue.

The key issue is that the underground research institute's buildings are easily damaged, which makes things very troublesome.

After careful consideration, Nara Rinka brought Yogura to the Valley of the End.

Oh, and I also fed her a few soldier pills to help her recover the physical strength and energy she had consumed during her previous training.

"I'm ready!"

Yecang exhaled a breath of stale air, his eyes shining brightly as he looked at Nara Rangsuke.

She was well aware that her skill level was still somewhat inferior to her opponent's.

However, given that they have already mastered [Swift Escape], the gap between them... should have been narrowed considerably, right?

We're going to teach that guy a lesson today!

If I don't show my power, do you really think I'm some fat cat?

"bring it on."

Nara Rinka remained noncommittal, but waved to Yokura.

Yekura was not careless at all. She calmly and steadily took off, rushing towards Nara Rinkaku with a speed as fast as a falcon skimming across the water.

Nara Rinka stood there calmly, without making any reaction.

He just wanted to test Yekura's current strength level, not that he really wanted to kill Yekura.

Let's wait for the opponent to make the first move...

No sooner said than done.

Just as Yekura stepped into the ten-meter radius around Nara Rinka, the [Swift Release] chakra that had been quietly gathering within her body suddenly erupted.

The already incredibly fast Scorching Release ninja is now further enhanced by Swift Release, making her speed so fast that she seems like a blur, and ordinary ninjas might not even be able to catch her movements.

"It really was [Swift Escape]!"

Nara Rinka's combat experience was far superior to that of ordinary ninjas. His senses remained firmly locked onto Pakura's location from beginning to end, and he was not worried at all about a sudden attack from the opponent.

"It seems that Yekura has really put in a lot of hard work lately..."

As if in the blink of an eye, Yekura "teleported" from the wide expanse of water directly in front of her to the left rear of Nara Rangka.

With a menacing air, Yekura swiftly pulled out a finely crafted kunai from her ninja tool pouch. Under her mental control, the [Swift Release] chakra was attached to the kunai, adding an extra edge to its sharpness.

"Swift Escape·Deer Cutting Knife——"

Yekura gripped the kunai tightly, as if holding a short dagger, and fiercely slashed towards Nara Ranka's nape.

puff--

Yekura's jet-black kunai slashed precisely across Nara Ranka's nape.

The emptiness that came from the kunai into her palm reminded Yekura that her explosive attack had failed to hit the enemy and had been dodged instead.

Where is he?

Yekura smashed the afterimage left behind by Nara Rinka, and her body continued to run forward a few more steps due to inertia. Her eyes widened involuntarily as she tried to find the location of her target.

Pakura, who uses the Scorching Release technique, does not possess any sensory ninjutsu.

But being able to see in all directions and hear from all sides, this ability to locate by sound is a fundamental skill for ninjas.

Just then.

Nara Rinka's figure emerged from Yokura's shadow, and his shadow became completely connected with the latter's shadow.

【Plain Shadow Manipulation Technique】!

Feeling the warm breath gently blowing from the back of her neck, Ye Cang felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, and a thin layer of cold sweat immediately soaked her clothes.

The first thought that came to Yekura's mind was to use [Swift Escape] to escape.

But at this moment, Yecang discovered with great despair that her body was completely immobile, and she couldn't even exert any force with her calves.

"When?!"

"I recently learned [Swift Escape], which has significantly improved my speed, but I've neglected it for too long, and my combat awareness hasn't caught up immediately."

Nara Rinka's tone was calm and composed as he released the restraints on Yekura's body.

"If you miss your first strike, get away immediately. Isn't that the most normal thing a ninja should do?"

Why are you still standing there blankly?

"Do you also possess the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan?"

Yecang's face immediately turned bright red. After confirming that the strong binding force had disappeared, she didn't say a word and jumped out of the spot like a rabbit.

It must be said that the [Swift Release] ability greatly enhances a ninja's mobility.

Yecang jumped several meters high.

Leaping into the air, Yekura forced herself to forget the embarrassing scene from just now, placed her hands on her chest, and smoothly formed hand seals.

Even though it had been kept like a pet by Nara Rinka for so long.

Even the most basic vigilance of a ninja has been almost completely lost.

However, there are some abilities that Yekura will never forget, even until her death.

Leaping high into the air, Yecang suddenly twisted her waist, turning herself around in mid-air. The [Scorching Release] chakra she had instinctively refined was conducted through the meridian system and gathered around the acupoints in her mouth.

"Scorching Release: Overheating and Killing!"

His signature ninjutsu creates a giant fireball several meters in diameter, its scorching heat even causing the surrounding air to distort slightly.

A colossal fireball radiating an orange glow descended from the sky, relentlessly bombarding the location of Nara Rinka.

Nara Rinka didn't even lift his eyelids. Two rows of rather crude black skeletons emerged from his shadow, like a shield protecting him.

boom!

"Burning Escape: Over-Steam Kill" hit [Black Warrior], and immediately burst out with a shocking roar.

The lingering heat waves crashed against the water below, instantly evaporating the flowing water and creating rings of folds, but these folds quickly returned to their original shape thanks to the replenishment of nature's power.

However, the evaporation of a large amount of water inevitably created a thick white mist that floated on the surface of the water.

"Did you hit it?"

Yekura fell onto the water's surface, her eyes fixed on the direction of the mist, eager to see Nara Ranka, who was covered in soot from the heat.

Although she knew that this was most likely wishful thinking.

However, after the fog dissipated, they looked at the eerie black skeletons that remained motionless on the water.

Yekura's inner alarm bells rang constantly.

Nara Rinka glanced at the panel.

After enduring a direct hit from Yekura's "Over-Steam Kill" by the [Black Warrior], the panel surprisingly displayed a new mission prompt from Yekura.

It's no longer that extremely embarrassing C-level mission.

It is a B-level combat mission.

"Bring out some new ninjutsu, Pakura."

Nara Rinka's gaze, through the skeleton of the [Black Warrior], pierced into Yokura's soul like a nail.

"Like that 'Deer-Slaying Blade' from before, it's quite a nice name for a ninjutsu!"

(End of this chapter)