Naruto: I Have Cursed Spirits!

Shiratori took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement surging within him.

Whether it was divine power or cursed technique, it didn't matter, but perhaps due to his constitution, he was vaguely developing in the direction of a battle maniac. And that completely violated his principle of "fight if you can win, run if you can't."

So, while he was standing in the training ground, he forced himself to calm down. Lest his passion for battle override his reason and end up getting himself killed.

The icy air mixed with rain surged into his lungs, and the heat in his blood began to cool.

In contrast to his cooling blood, the cursed energy in his body began to surge wildly. He clenched his fists, compressing the cursed energy within his body. The blue cursed energy enveloping his fists suddenly turned dazzling, like a burning ice flame.

His gaze locked onto Hanzō, and in the next instant, his figure vanished again, even faster than before.

Hanzō squinted slightly, sharply tracking every movement he made. In the blink of an eye, Shiratori's figure had already arrived right in front of him.

He sensed a subtle difference.

It was the same attack posture, but the power was not the same.

A dangerous aura was brewing.

Now!

An astonishing light suddenly burst from Shiratori's eyes.

He threw a punch.

The roaring, rampaging cursed energy synchronized with his physical strike at the precise instant before contact, at a level of "one-millionth of a second" perfect harmony.

Hanzō's pupils contracted. The space before him was forcibly distorted.

Black lightning appeared silently at the tip of Shiratori's fist.

"What is that?!"

"So fast!"

"No!"

"..."

The surrounding ninjas stared, dumbfounded, at the scene before them.

What Shiratori had just used, was Black Flash. A phenomenon caused by perfect synchronization between cursed energy and physical impact, resulting in a spatial distortion. Its power was 2.5 times greater than a normal cursed energy strike.

Even the unfazed expression in Hanzō's eyes finally changed. He raised his armored arms to block and coated them with chakra.

Boom!

Shiratori's punch slammed fiercely into his arms. The ground beneath his feet cracked slightly. The armor on his arms shattered with a sharp, grating sound. Fragments of armor fell to the ground, revealing his arms covered in fine, bloody scratches.

Fresh blood oozed from the wounds, instantly diluted by the rain.

He was hurt.

He was in disbelief.

"Sensei!"

Shiratori rushed to Hanzō's side and immediately began healing his injuries. His eyes filled with pain and concern for the wounded arm.

To Hanzō, these injuries weren't even worth mentioning. But Shiratori treated them so seriously.

Watching the boy earnestly tending to his arm, Hanzō felt a warmth surge in his once-cold heart.

Is this... what it feels like to have a student?

[Affection detected: Hanzō +1000 points]

[Energy transferred to Rika]

[Development progress: 60.1%]

Shiratori's mind was still full of his own heroic moment just now. He mentally addressed the system, Did you register that? I just shattered Hanzō's armor with one Black Flash!

[Combat data logged successfully.]

Thinking of that punch just now, Hanzō's eyes lit up. "How did you do that just now?"

As Hanzō's arm quickly healed, Shiratori looked down at his own hands, allowing confusion to cloud his features.

"I... I don't know... I just kept thinking that I wanted you to see how much I've improved... I didn't want to let you down... and then... my whole body just filled with power..."

His voice carried a hint of panic.

[Affection detected: Hanzō +1000 points]

[Energy transferred to Rika]

[Development progress: 60.2%]

"That's your power," Hanzō said, looking at him. This child had even more talent than he'd imagined. He calmed Shiratori's apparent confusion and added, "Learn to control that feeling. You'll become even stronger."

Looking into Hanzō's trusting eyes, Shiratori seemed to gain strength from them. He nodded seriously. "I will, Sensei!"

[Reminiscence detected: Hanzō +2000 points]

[Energy transferred to Choso]

[Development progress: 36.6%]

Hanzō had to admit, the boy was hardworking, resilient, yearning to be trusted...

"Keep training."

Shiratori had already seen the power of Black Flash. It was time to test his delayed impact technique. He looked at Hanzō with what appeared to be deep gratitude.

This time, he was serious.

Aside from Hanzō, who else would willingly act as his training partner without complaint?

Hanzō, of course, noticed the emotion in Shiratori's eyes. He couldn't help but sigh deeply in his heart. This child was far too kind. And in the shinobi world, kindness was not always a good.

His brow furrowed slightly, a fierce light flashing in his eyes.

He was Shiratori's teacher. He would guide him to become a mature ninja, not just a kind one!

[Affection detected: Hanzō +1000 points]

[Energy transferred to Rika]

[Development progress: 60.3%]

"..."

What kind of mental drama is Hanzō imagining now?

But there was no time to worry about that. Shiratori was eager to try out his delayed impact technique. He charged at Hanzō again, just as fast, cursed energy gradually wrapping around his fists.

He swung his right fist first, emitting a sharp, screeching sound as it lunged toward Hanzō's chest.

Hanzō's eyes sharpened, his palm covered in chakra, moving precisely to intercept Shiratori's right punch. But just as their fists were about to collide, Shiratori suddenly struck with his left fist toward Hanzō's abdomen.

However, his left fist was also caught cleanly in Hanzō's palm. Both attacks had been blocked, yet the tension in Hanzō's mind didn't ease.

His battle instinct was warning him, something was off.

BOOM!

His instinct was dead-on.

A deep, muffled bang sounded from his skin's surface. And a searing pain tore through both of his hands.

His body trembled, a formless force violently struck his hands, and the immense impact caused his palms to be shredded and bloodied. If he hadn't reacted in time and used chakra to protect himself, both of his hands might have been blown apart entirely.

He looked at Shiratori's hands, shock in his eyes.

But his fists were clearly blocked! Then why was he still injured?

Where did the force that injured him come from?

Even as his palms exploded, he had already let go of Shiratori's hands.

His tightly furrowed brow suddenly relaxed. A flash of insight appeared in his mind, he understood.

"A delayed strike effect?" he muttered to himself in realization.

When he said that, a flicker of surprise flashed across Shiratori's eyes.

Hanzō guessed correctly.

After the physical strike lands, the cursed energy's effect triggers with a delay, creating a second impact.