Lin Yu stared intently at the Troda before him. Without revealing his other abilities, Lin Yu's taijutsu combined with the Adamantine Sealing-Metal allowed him to barely hold his own against the three opponents, even managing to sneak in an attack on one with the agility of the sealing technique.
However, the opponents clearly wouldn't engage in close-quarters combat with Lin Yu again. While the Cloud Ninjas were a bunch of muscle-bound men who ripped their clothes, not all of them were taijutsu specialists; they were more adept at lightning-style ninjutsu.
Troda turned his head and said to Wentai with a grave expression, "Wentai, can you hold him off for 5 minutes?"
Wentai, with his nearly 2-meter frame, stood tall and burly, possessing muscles that bulged from his clothes, similar to the Fourth Raikage. Yet, he regarded the red-haired boy who only reached his chest as a formidable foe, grunting, "I can hold him off for 10 minutes!"
Troda said no more, taking a step back. His eyes flickered imperceptibly towards the fallen and injured Is, and he began to form a jutsu, gathering chakra.
"Oh? Got something up your sleeve? I can give you time to prepare your moves, no need to hold back."
Lin Yu's lips curled playfully. He was curious to see what ninjutsu the Cloud Ninjas would unleash that could cause him to stumble.
Troda ignored Lin Yu entirely, focusing on gathering chakra. As for Wentai, he was already charging towards Lin Yu. His robust physique did not hinder his agile speed, a testament to the reputation of the lightning-style ninja village.
"Take this punch, Wave Ripple!"
Wentai closed the distance to Lin Yu, his eyes wide with anger, and threw a punch at Lin Yu's slender frame.
Lin Yu felt a gust of air rush towards him, followed by a giant fist enlarging in his vision. Daring not to underestimate his opponent, Lin Yu lightly placed his right palm out, attempting to block the incoming fist.
*Bang!*
The force of the punch exceeded Lin Yu's expectations. The moment their palms made contact, a tingling sensation shot up his arm. Lin Yu immediately retreated to dissipate the force and glanced at his right palm, which was already flushed red and slightly numb.
Lin Yu shook his wrist, surprised, "What kind of taijutsu is that?"
"Double Wave Ripple!"
Wentai paid no heed to Lin Yu. Seeing that his first punch was ineffective, his left fist, already charged, slammed towards Lin Yu. One punch followed another, each heavier than the last. This was his self-created Stacked Wave Fist.
Lin Yu had no time to dodge and had to block with his numb right palm.
*Crack!*
The force penetrated, directly breaking Lin Yu's right wrist with its immense power, his palm turning a bloody red. This punch was even more potent and forceful than the last!
"Triple Wave Ripple!"
Wentai gave Lin Yu no chance to recover. The third punch arrived as expected, piercing through the gap where Lin Yu's broken right palm could no longer block in time, striking towards Lin Yu's chest.
The giant fist directly hit Lin Yu's chest. Lin Yu had no time to defend and could only forcibly shift his body slightly, causing the fist, which was aimed directly at his heart, to land on his ribs.
Another loud *bang*.
A flicker of pain flashed in Lin Yu's eyes, but thinking of Kushina fighting on another battlefield, he didn't even let out a whimper. He shifted his foot slightly, the force penetrating through and leaving a deep pit in the ground beneath his feet. He didn't retreat even half a step!
After enduring the blow, without regard for his broken ribs, Lin Yu unhesitatingly stepped onto Wentai's knee. Capitalizing on the lingering momentum from Wentai's Stacked Wave Fist and the brief moment before he could gather his next punch, Lin Yu flew forward and slammed a fist towards Wentai's cheek. Though his fist was small, its power was no less than Wentai's Wave Ripple, and it was a direct hit to the face.
Wentai's face was covered in cold sweat. He wanted to dodge, but he was in the transition between his third and fourth punches, his body unable to react. He decided to meet Lin Yu's fist head-on with his hardened skull.
*Thwack!*
It sounded like hitting an iron pot. Lin Yu retracted his left fist, agilely retreated, and evaded Wentai's fourth punch. He rubbed his fist and said, "What material is your head made of? It's so hard?"
Although his right hand was broken and several ribs in his chest were likely fractured, Lin Yu remained as calm and composed as before. In contrast, Wentai, before delivering his fourth punch, felt his muscles swell with pain, his face rapidly turning an unbelievable shade of red before he violently spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed onto his knees.
"Hey, hey, don't try to fake it. It looked like you threw the first punch." Lin Yu pouted, green light surging in his hand. He needed to heal his injuries; otherwise, if Kushina saw him, she'd definitely mock him!
In a short while, apart from some wrinkles on his clothes, Lin Yu was completely fine. Looking at Wentai kneeling on the ground not far away, he mused, "Is this the after-effect of your taijutsu? It seems the drawbacks outweigh the benefits."
Lin Yu was initially somewhat interested, but upon seeing the after-effects of its use, which were comparable to the state after opening the fifth or sixth gates of the Eight Inner Gates, it directly rendered the user with a significant loss of combat ability. More importantly, the power of the Stacked Wave Fist wasn't particularly impressive.
It wasn't even as painful as Tsunade's Hundred-Force Punches!
"Hey, what's your technique called, how many punches can you stack? Can you reach a hundred?" If it could reach a hundred, Lin Yu might consider studying it.
Wentai, with blood still trickling from his lips, let out a bitter laugh, "A hundred punches? You really dare to imagine. I created five punches myself. When I execute the fifth punch, my body collapses from not being able to withstand it. A hundred punches, I fear only a god could perform that."
Lin Yu scoffed upon hearing this. The fifth punch? That's probably equivalent to the fourth gate of the Eight Inner Gates, yet the after-effects are similar to the death gate, the eighth gate. Useless! Better to discard it!
Lin Yu immediately lost interest. He waved his wrist, walked forward, and said, "Alright, alright, it's time to send you on your way. Hurry back, maybe the soup dumplings are still warm."
Lin Yu glanced around. Kushina and the Sand Ninjas had already fought their way to an unknown location, but the soaring Nine-Tails chakra was still conspicuous; finding them wouldn't be difficult.
Through this battle, Lin Yu understood the strength of his taijutsu. He could probably match an elite Jonin, but against someone with monstrous strength like Tsunade, he would definitely be unable to withstand it.
What? You say even the Cloud Ninja's Stacked Wave Fist could break his ribs, and he's comparable to an elite Jonin?
Lin Yu scoffed internally: I was being deliberate. Didn't you see I didn't even activate my Sharingan? Otherwise, could he even hit me? Taijutsu isn't about who has the stronger body; if you can't hit me, what's the use of your great strength!
Lin Yu walked up to Wentai, preparing to send him on his way.
Just then, a boastful voice rang out, "Finally complete! It's not the perfect version, but it's enough. Wentai! Get into position!"
Wentai, who was heavily injured and lying on the ground, suddenly had his eyes flash with sharp light. He lunged forward, grabbed Lin Yu's ankle, and flung him upwards with force. Then, he quickly dashed off in one direction.
Troda and Is were already standing in two other directions. Is looked at Lin Yu with a ferocious expression. Being beaten up by a small brat was a humiliation he couldn't bear. He was determined to kill Lin Yu to wash away his shame.
Troda had a plan from the very beginning, which was why he barely used any lightning-style ninjutsu during the fight. On one hand, ordinary lightning-style ninjutsu was ineffective against Lin Yu, and on the other hand, it was to conserve chakra for this jutsu.
Wentai also didn't use lightning-style ninjutsu during his confrontation with Lin Yu. It wasn't because he couldn't, but because he knew Troda's plan and intentionally conserved his chakra. Now that everything was ready, they were just waiting for Lin Yu to be annihilated!