Chapter 421

After leaving Orochimaru's place, Maple left the camp alone and went to the frontline battlefield of the Land of Wind.

But this time, he didn't rush to the battlefield of the Land of Wind at full speed. Instead, he practiced along the way and didn't care much about the speed of his arrival.

By traveling at four times the speed, he could save a few days of practice.

During the three days that he stayed in the camp, he had been practicing. The purpose of this practice was to adapt to the change from a katana to a longsword, to adapt to the characteristics of the Tenbu sword, and to change the Hatake sword technique into his own Hatake sword technique.

After all, the difference between a katana and a katana is only a difference in size, not a change in the form of the weapon, and the key point of the difference in size is the point of force.

The point of force of a katana and a katana is different.

It was very awkward to wield a katana while holding a dagger. Moreover, the slash that was swung out was not strong enough. Therefore, certain adjustments were needed.

…

Somewhere in the forest.

'It doesn't seem like much of a difference, but there's actually quite a big difference. Still, improving it isn't as difficult as I thought it would be …'

Maple held the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi and performed the simplest of swings.

During the three days of practice in the camp, he had improved the Hatake sword technique by about 80%. The more he improved it, the more difficult it became. After leaving the camp, it took him two days to improve it to about 90%.

All that was left was a matter of proficiency. He needed to use the most basic swings of the sword in order to become more accustomed to the slashes of the sword, and slowly push his proficiency to the peak.

This type of mechanical practice was actually the easiest for Maple.

Because of the time acceleration, he was able to practice at a speed four times faster than an ordinary person. Two days of practice was equivalent to eight days of practice for an ordinary person.

He used to practice the Hatake sword technique from zero to a certain level of proficiency. It took him about a million swings of the sword, and it took him about a month.

At that time, he could only accelerate time by 1.5 times, and both his physical strength and chakra were very weak. But now, he was completely different.

A million swings of the sword.

If he practiced at a speed four times faster than normal, it would probably take him less than a week.

Moreover, this number was only a rough number. Maple only roughly calculated the average number of swings of the sword per minute, so it shouldn't take him that long. Besides, he had already practiced a part of the Hatake sword technique while he was at the camp.

"Three thousand two hundred and eighty-one, three thousand two hundred and eighty-two …"

"Seven thousand seven hundred and seventy-six, seven thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven …"

"Twenty thousand … huh? How many is it? Forget it …"

Maple soon gave up on counting.

He only knew that he practiced the most basic sword swings in this forest for three whole days. During this time, he ate two deer and three sheep. Finally, he reached a level where he could swing the sword without any awkwardness, and he could swing the sword with the same effect as the Hatake sword technique.

Swish!

Maple suddenly swung his sword in the distance while at a speed four times faster than normal.

A white light flashed on the sword's edge, and a tree more than ten meters away was cut in half from the center. The cut spread to seven or eight trees behind it, and they all fell to the ground.

"My power has increased by at least 20% compared to when I used White Fang.

"With this power, if I were to meet the previous Leaf Kura again, I should be able to directly cut through her Burning Release defense. I wouldn't need to fight a battle of attrition, nor would I need to rely on time reversal …"

Maple let out a light sigh.

He revealed a satisfied expression as he looked at the results of his cultivation.

He still wouldn't be able to open the fifth of the Eight Inner Hidden Gates in a short period of time. Being able to improve his strength in other areas was also something worth being happy about. After all, he was improving his attack power.

Since his speed was fast enough, and he had the ability to reverse time, he didn't need to worry about defense or evasion. Attack power was the most important attribute.

"It's time to go."

Maple put away the Kusanagi sword and looked in the direction of the Land of Wind. His body quickly turned into a shadow as he passed through the forest and ran towards the frontline camp of the Land of Wind.

…

Land of Fire.

Somewhere in the forest.

Two groups of ninjas met here and fell into a battle. One side was the ninjas of Konoha, and the other side was the ninjas of the Sand Village.

"…"

Kurenai Mashiro's expression was a little depressed.

He just came to this area to explore, but he didn't expect to encounter the Sand Ninjas who were lurking here. He wasn't in any danger, but he was entangled by the enemy's Jonin.

On the other side, there were three Genin from his class, including Kurenai, and a Tokubetsu who followed him to explore, facing another Jonin from the Sand Village.

Although it was four against one, the Tokubetsu on Konoha's side was a scouting-type ninja, and he didn't have much combat power in a head-on battle, and Kurenai and the others were still only Genin, barely close to the level of Chunin, so even if they joined forces, they were still at a disadvantage.

"This is a little troublesome …"

Kurenai Mashiro frowned.

Now he has two choices. One is to continue fighting. If he can solve the Tokubetsu first, he can immediately go to support Kurenai, but it is difficult to ensure that he will win first, or Kurenai's side can't hold on first.

The other option is to use a Genjutsu to temporarily contain the two Jonins from the Sand Village, so that Kurenai and the others can safely retreat.

"Let's retreat."

Kurenai Mashiro finally made a decision.

On the one hand, Kurenai is his daughter, and his daughter's safety will affect his performance. If he continues to fight, the situation will be very dangerous. On the other hand, this mission was originally to investigate, not to fight. This kind of battle is too early for Kurenai and the others.

Wouch! Wouch!

After Kurenai parried the opponent's attack, he jumped and landed in the direction of Kurenai and the others, and said in a deep voice, "Red, Akagi … Retreat."

"Yes!"

Hearing Kurenai Mashiro's order, Kurenai and the others immediately began to retreat, while Kurenai Mashiro made hand seals and used a Genjutsu to affect the two Jonins.

At this moment, although Kurenai Mashiro was also an excellent Genin, she still felt tremendous pressure when facing a Jonin even with her companions. Even the clothes on her right shoulder were torn, and a bloody wound appeared. If it weren't for her companions' timely rescue, her injury might have been even deeper.

"In the end, he's a Jonin just like Father …"

She took a deep breath. Her back was already soaked in cold sweat. When facing that Jonin before, her spirit was almost in an extreme state of tension.

Her companions were almost in the same state as her. The strongest among them also had a lot of sweat on his forehead. Obviously, he was also extremely nervous.

Inexplicably.

Kurenai thought of Feng.

Although they were all students of the same year, if Feng was here, he wouldn't be in such a difficult situation, right?

And almost as soon as her thoughts fluctuated, an urgent voice came from behind her. It was Kurenai Mashiro's voice.

"Kurenai!!!"

This voice instantly woke her up.

Kurenai was startled. She felt a chill coming from her right side. She looked out of the corner of her eye and saw a figure standing next to her. The figure's Kunai was stabbing towards her. It was one of the two Jonins from the Sand Village!

'Oh no!'