'So, that's her strategy,' Senba thought. 'But how could I be defeated by a Fire Style Jutsu that even dogs can survive?'
Feeling no pressure, he vanished again with the Body Flicker Technique, reappearing directly behind Mikoto. "Mikoto, your Fire Release and Lightning Release coordinate well, but if your opponent's speed is much faster than yours..."
A flicker of surprise crossed Mikoto's eyes. She had poured almost all her strength into that series of attacks, yet Senba had dodged them effortlessly, even having enough energy left to get behind her.
"You..."
She was about to say something when she suddenly remembered.
"Right, you haven't shown me your Ninjutsu yet." She put her hands on her hips. "Just dodging isn't enough. Let me see what you can do."
Senba thought for a moment, then raised his hand. Chakra gathered in his palm, rotating to form a small vortex.
The vortex spun faster and faster, eventually becoming a blue sphere of light that emitted a sharp buzzing sound in his palm.
Looking at the new, seal-less Jutsu, Mikoto's eyes widened. "What... what Ninjutsu is that?"
"It's the Rasengan. I created it not long ago."
Senba retracted it and explained, "It's a seal-less Ninjutsu that doesn't require hand seals. If you consider its power and the difficulty of learning it, it should count as an A-Rank Ninjutsu."
'An A-Rank Ninjutsu?' Mikoto looked stunned.
He created an A-Rank Ninjutsu at six years old? She suddenly felt quite embarrassed about just being a Genin.
"What else?" she pressed.
Senba thought about it and blinked. A touch of scarlet appeared in his pitch-black eyes, and a single tomoe slowly spun within his pupils.
'Sharingan!' Mikoto pointed at him, stammering, "Senba... you, when did you..."
"Two years old," he said calmly.
Mikoto opened her mouth, but couldn't find the words. Activating the Sharingan at two, learning an A-Rank Ninjutsu at six.
Knowing gambling techniques, Genjutsu, and even having Lady Tsunade personally come to see him... She suddenly realized that the boy she had grown up with was far more formidable than she had ever imagined.
But immediately afterwards, a surge of pride swelled in her heart. This was her Senba, the one who had grown up with her since they were children!
"Alright," she walked over and ruffled Senba's hair. "I get it, you're very impressive."
Senba squinted as she rubbed his hair. "Then are we still fighting?"
Mikoto thought for a moment and shook her head. "No more. If we keep fighting, I'll just lose all my dignity."
She took his hand and moved away. "Come on, let's head home."
Under the moonlight, two small figures left the training ground side by side, walking towards home.
Just as they were about to part ways, Mikoto couldn't resist asking, "How did you create that Rasengan?"
Senba paused. Create?
Of course, he hadn't created it himself; he had simply replicated it using his MAX-level Chakra nature transformation, but he couldn't exactly say that.
He thought for a moment and said casually, "I was playing with filling balloons with water, making the Chakra rotate inside. Later, when the balloon burst, I got this inspiration."
Mikoto blinked. "Balloons... filling with water?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "Come to my house for a minute and I'll teach you."
Mikoto was pulled by him toward the study, muttering, "But this is an A-Rank Ninjutsu, can I really learn it..."
"You'll know if you try."
In the study, Senba dug out a few balloons from a drawer; he had bought them earlier, intending to teach her when they got back.
He handed one to Mikoto and took one for himself. "This is the first step."
He filled the balloon with water and tied the opening securely. "Inject Chakra into it and make the water rotate inside until the balloon bursts."
Mikoto copied him, filling a balloon with water, then carefully controlled her Chakra, injecting it bit by bit into the balloon to make the water inside begin to rotate slowly.
"Right, that's it." Senba watched her movements and nodded, "The second step is to switch to a rubber ball, letting the Chakra rotate even faster inside until the ball explodes."
"I understand." Mikoto nodded, taking it all in.
"The third step is to condense Chakra directly in your palm to form a rotating sphere. This process requires a lot of practice, but it's very helpful for improving Chakra control."
Mikoto looked at the balloon in her hand; the water inside was still rotating slowly. She looked up, her eyes filled with a touch of emotion.
"You're teaching all this to me; aren't you afraid that once I learn it, I'll surpass you?"
Senba was taken aback, then a slight smile touched his lips. "I would only be happy if you surpassed me."
"Then just wait for me." Mikoto averted her eyes and refocused on the balloon, then suddenly thought of something else.
"However, this Rasengan is an A-Rank Ninjutsu. My current Chakra probably won't be able to use it too many times."
She analyzed seriously, "And learning it will definitely be slow; it might take a long time to master."
She looked up at Senba. "So I've decided to learn a few Genjutsu first!"
Senba raised an eyebrow.
Mikoto continued, "When I've mastered a B-Rank Fire Release Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, and my Chakra reserves and control have improved, then I'll start learning Rasengan."
Senba nodded in agreement. "That makes sense."
He turned around, walked to the bookshelf, and pulled out several scrolls.
"All the Genjutsu scrolls at home are here." He handed the scrolls to Mikoto. "You can learn whichever one you want."
Mikoto took the scrolls and opened them to look.
One D-Rank, one C-Rank, three B-Rank.
She looked up at Senba. "Did you learn all of them?"
Senba shook his head. "Of the three B-Rank Genjutsu, I haven't learned Genjutsu: Tree Binding."
Just remembering the embarrassing scene of Kurenai trying to trap Itachi in such a Genjutsu made him hesitate to learn such an unappealing Jutsu.
"I believe you'll be the best ninja in our generation," Mikoto sighed, but her tone was filled with pride.
Senba looked at her and suddenly said, "Don't put yourself down. You're also a very impressive Genin who mastered Fire Release and Lightning Release at nine years old."
Mikoto smiled at the encouragement and picked up a scroll. "Alright, stop praising me. I'll start learning Genjutsu today; I'll start with the simple one."
Senba nodded, walked to the desk, and sat down. "Then I'll keep you company."
Mikoto glanced at him, her lips curving into a gentle arc.