My Techniques are a bit off

[Can this really… work?]

Iris felt uneasy. After their brief "exchange" the previous day, the team had agreed to follow Link's leadership. Their strategy for the test was to protect their "leader" while he prepared his jutsu, and then watch from the sidelines.

However, Iris had never seen Link's so-called "jutsu" in action. Facing a jonin opponent, his confidence wavered.

Ami, on the other hand, remained calm. She grudgingly acknowledged Link's leadership—he was young, yet composed, intelligent, and strong. Obedience wasn't an issue, though it didn't stop her from hoping to see him falter after being humiliated herself.

[A jutsu requiring preparation time, with teammates serving as guards?]

Nara Ensui immediately discerned their plan but waited patiently.

Seal, release—

Unlucky.

Link glanced at the red-orange miniature tomato with sharp teeth and stubby limbs floating beside him and sighed internally. Despite a year of practice, the randomness of his Substitution Jutsu remained a glaring flaw.

The summoned Stand was Pearl Jam. When cut and added to food, it could heal the body—though the quality of the ingredients determined the effect. Using Pearl Jam required considerable culinary skill, something Link lacked. He'd summoned it during training before, but the Stand's brief duration rendered it useless for making complex dishes.

Mixing it with water could work in a pinch, but the effect would be greatly diminished. For someone who wasn't a cook, Pearl Jam was practically useless.

Link dismissed the Stand without hesitation, swallowed a soldier pill, and moved on. Unlike in games, stamina didn't instantly recover, so preemptive preparation was normal.

Seal, release—

As chakra drained from him, Link's awareness suddenly linked to his… hair.

A flood of sensory input filled his mind—the air's subtle movement, the warmth of sunlight, even microscopic particles of dust.

[A parasitic Stand that controls hair—Love Deluxe.]

He exhaled with slight relief. Love Deluxe was simple yet powerful, capable of extending his hair into tendrils that could demolish a three-story building or stretch over ten meters with incredible durability. Its offensive capabilities were formidable.

If he had time to experiment, he might develop the Stand's potential further—such as its original owner's ability to implant hair on others' scalps for control. Unfortunately, this wasn't the time for research.

Link's thoughts flashed through his mind as he leapt down from the rock. Bending his knees and channeling chakra into his legs, he launched himself toward Nara Ensui at high speed.

[Here he comes.]

Nara Ensui intended to gauge Link's taijutsu first. Based on his conversation with Kakashi—

To his surprise, the boy stopped about three meters away, and his hair suddenly extended, surging toward him like a tidal wave.

[A hair-based jutsu?!]

Ensui easily sidestepped the attack, moving with the agility expected of a jonin. The hair's speed was underwhelming, and its precision was lacking; it could only target general areas, not specific points.

"Smack!"

The clustered hair lashed the ground, shattering rocks and carving deep trenches in the earth. Dust billowed into the air.

Hovering midair, Link used his hair as support, forming a vast black web that spanned over thirty meters in diameter. The countless strands flowed like a waterfall, writhing with an almost lifelike motion, probing and weaving through the surroundings.

From the outside, the scene was nightmare-inducing, especially for those with trypophobia.

Iris stared in stunned silence. [What is this… this technique?]

Ami held back her disgust and took a cautious step back.

[Found you!]

Clusters of hair pounded the ground, propelling Link toward Ensui like a spring-loaded projectile.

Link aimed to close the distance, intending to leave his hair on Ensui's body. With Love Deluxe, even separated hair retained sensory connections to its user. He could track Ensui's movements across vast distances—even if it wasn't enough to control him.

As long as his hair touched the target, Link wouldn't have to worry about being deceived by clones or ambushed like before.

"Crack!"

A large tree splintered and fell, forcing Ensui out of hiding. He evaded with another Body Flicker.

Even as a jonin, Ensui felt a twinge of frustration. Staring at the massive, thirty-meter web of hair, he couldn't help but feel trapped.

[Can a genin really pull this off? Where's the ice release everyone was talking about?]

Midair, Ensui formed seals. Shadows on the ground morphed into needle-like shapes, slicing through the pursuing hair with sharp, precise cuts.

To his dismay, the severed strands continued to writhe, crawling along the ground like worms before merging back into the larger mass.

[What an eerie and powerful technique…]

Escaping the hair's grasp with his Shadow Sewing Jutsu, Ensui's expression grew grim. This opponent's wide attack range, mobility, and tracking ability made them exceptionally difficult to handle.

[Is it a specialized sensory technique? Or perhaps…]

"Boom! Crash! Crack!"

The forest around them was rapidly reduced to rubble. Trees toppled en masse, dust clouded the sky, and Love Deluxe's hair whipped up violent winds.

The destruction inevitably attracted attention.

The Seventh Training Ground wasn't far from Konoha's residential areas. A massive "creature" nearly thirty meters in size had appeared and was wreaking havoc.

It wasn't long before every jonin with decent sensory abilities converged on the scene, surrounding the training ground.

"This seems to be someone's jutsu."

"Are they fighting in the village?"

"It's Ensui's chakra," confirmed Yamanaka Inoichi, his tone serious.

"Should we intervene?"

"What about the Barrier Team?"

Several jonin were ready to step in when Nara Shikaku raised his hand.

"Wait."

His single word silenced the group.

Among the jonin, Shikaku's authority as the Jonin Commander and his relationship with Ensui ensured no one questioned him.

Moments later, an Anbu appeared before the gathered shinobi and bowed slightly.

"The Seventh Training Ground hosts a jonin-supervised test between Nara Ensui and genin Link."

"Wow." Special Jonin Mitarashi Anko whistled in admiration. "Kids these days are wild."

Kakashi Hatake ruffled his hair but remained silent.

Shikaku frowned slightly, his sharp mind processing the details as he watched the distant, chaotic forest.

"Dismissed."