Chapter 128: Suppression

Ding!

As soon as their figures touched and separated, only the clang of their ninja swords colliding remained at the spot.

Also at the scene, each fierce clash left bright, dazzling sparks.

Swish!

One slash shattered the afterimage Kakashi left trying to disrupt his attack rhythm; Dong Shilang didn't pause, his blade slanted outward, once again driving back Kakashi, who had attacked from his blind rear.

Ignoring the opponent's defense, the bright blade flashed, forcing the opponent to retreat again and firmly seizing the initiative; he then launched another wave of attacks like a violent storm, pressing the opponent harder until he could barely breathe.

Dong Shilang's attacks, each time while striking at high speed, precisely control the force in his hand, often causing maximum damage when the strike lands.

His precise control of chakra and force doubled the pressure on his opponent Kakashi; from the start of close combat, his nerves never relaxed, growing ever tighter, imposing ever greater strain on his body and mind.

Ding!

Upon another clash of weapons, Kakashi, now completely at a disadvantage, had to put some distance between himself and Dong Shilang.

To buy himself time to regroup and also to carefully plan how to face the upcoming more dangerous attacks.

If they continued fighting like this, it would not bode well for him now; he might last another dozen or even twenty or thirty rounds, but the outcome would not change.

He flexed his wrist, feeling a burning pain in the inner joint; looking at Dong Shilang, who was not pursuing him about ten meters away.

【Not good!】

Even though the opponent ceased pursuit, Kakashi's mood grew ever heavier.

He recalled the sword technique the opponent had just displayed in the fight.

The opponent's moves are hard to deal with because they can frequently change their attack trajectory in high-speed combat, as if the physical inertia from high speed does not exist in his hands.

Slash! Stab! Cut! Collapse! Bounce! Suppress!

Various basic sword techniques, as if the opponent were playing with them, occasionally cause him trouble, forcing him to respond carefully.

At the same time, they mix in some Leaf Village style and Uchiha style techniques.

The transitions between these techniques are also quite perfect; once executed, they often form a seamless, continuous combo.

This makes dealing with them all the more difficult!

Exactly, it's all about patterns!

In Dong Shilang's view, the so-called secret techniques of various schools, setting aside their sword philosophies, are just layers of patterns.

As long as these sword moves are broken down one by one and then orderly combined, it's easy to form some patterns that are quite useful in combat.

It's quite like the combos Dong Shilang used in his previous life when playing games; combining control, movement, pressure, defense, feints, ultimate output, etc., each yields good results.

And these initially formed patterns, Kakashi is the first test subject; to the elite jonin under Teacher Zhongzheng, this model still seems a bit immature, but after some experimentation, the results are quite good.

Otherwise, Dong Shilang would not have repeatedly given his opponent a chance to catch his breath; he would have already increased his output and swept the opponent away in one wave, so there would be no dragging out the fight now.

"How! Can't you hold on any longer?"

Looking at his opponent, Kakashi, breathing heavily, Dong Shilang teased: "If you can't, then let's decide the match with one move!"

Years of relentless physical training and Yang Release cultivation have given Dong Shilang a considerable advantage.

The most obvious is his height, which is noticeably half a head taller than peers his age; combined with the age gap, it gives Dong Shilang the feeling of bullying a child.

Seeing Kakashi's current state, he timely proposed ending the battle.

Having fought to this point, Dong Shilang has a rough grasp of Kakashi's level; he has also pretty much understood the renowned Hatake sword style.

One could say Kakashi's swordsmanship is merely passable, far from the superb level Dong Shilang imagined.

One can only say that the early death of Hatake Sakumo was too soon; at Kakashi's age, he's merely decent in some sword basics.

As for the profound depths of his family's inherited sword art, he is still quite immature.

This can't be blamed on Kakashi; a five-year-old who can manage his own life and also become a genin is already doing remarkably well.

If merely relying on his father's scattered notes and such, through his own cultivation, to become a swordmaster would still be too much to ask.

The pressure on Dong Shilang is also quite limited!

Not even the Sharingan has been used!

That's right; up to now, Dong Shilang hasn't used his trump card, merely relying on his own swordsmanship to successfully suppress Kakashi.

One can only say that an Uchiha who has awakened his bloodline limit and one who has not are two different kinds of people.

This difference cannot be felt without experiencing it firsthand.

For example, the future Obito, having just activated his Sharingan without any adaptation training, can still cooperate seamlessly with the genius Kakashi; this is the clearest example.

Moreover, Dong Shilang.

After undergoing the meticulous training of Teacher Zhongzheng, his strength is now incomparable.

If it weren't for his age and chakra limits, applying for a special jonin position now would entail no pressure.

"Good! Then let's decide the match with one move!"

Without much hesitation, Kakashi, who rarely speaks, opened his mouth and responded to Dong Shilang's proposal.

This is also unavoidable; if he didn't agree to the proposal, Dong Shilang could win just by stalling.

His disadvantage is truly obvious; anyone can see it at a glance.

And the dialogue between Dong Shilang and Kakashi also made the onlooker, Minato Namikaze, tense up.

In the time ahead, he must muster twelvefold spirit; otherwise, a moment's carelessness could make him regret it deeply.

Meanwhile, the spectators in the stands don't have his state of mind; especially those uninvolved folks, they just keep cheering, as if the two combatants were their own teammates.