"Don't panic, you are safe for now. Our previous situation is void, isn't it so Old Man Hastar?" Rikuo said turning to the old man who was glaring at Jun. The Old guy glared at Rikuo for a moment before turning his head away with a snort.

"Don't worry about him. He is just grumpy since he lost for the first time in a while to outsiders. Anyway back to the point, You are an outsider traveller. If you want to stay here, then you will have to pass the test. Oh and don't worry about your other two companions. I felt them worthy of passing the test since they contributed a lot in the fight previously, so they are safe and resting. In fact out of all five of you, I can pass everyone except you based on their contribution. They all contributed their utmost based on their capabilities. You on the other hand held back due to you pride and got them injured. I can clearly see the power you hold inside you, It burns like the sun. You let out only a fraction of it before. So, if you want to stay alive, you better give your all in the test. Else I promise you on my name as Prince of the Wind, I will destroy you."

Jun felt true danger at the end of the guy's speech as Rikuo's eyes started shining with a chilly light. Jun could feel a suffocating pressure materialize around him and he felt as if the very very space around him was trembling and being suppressed.

Jun readied himself as they brought him to a huge field surrounded by Ice Crystal Flowers which didn't release any hints of cold outside but held incredible amounts of it hidden in those ice crystal flowers. Rikuo stood calmly in front of him and watched him psyche himself up. Jun took a few moments and readied himself, before getting into a loose stance, ready to react to anything.

"Ready then I suppose?" Rikuo asked a rhetorical, "Here we go then. Baby steps first : Air burst!"

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Jun felt as if the very air in front of him exploded, flinging him back like a rag doll. If that was not enough, it was just a starting move, as he was attacked by the air explosions again and again as he was blasted around like a shuttle cock on a badminton match.

Wanting to retaliate, he first needed to stop this abuse of him "Chakra Repulsion Shock-wave!!" he responded in kind to Rikuo, countering his air explosions instantaneously with use of Seitengan to give him maximum advantage. He finally escaped the continuous series of chain blasts that controlled the rhythm of the battle, although he had to suffer somewhat to do that. What infuriated him the most was that Rikuo didn't move even half a step during all this. His Jutsu execution was as fast and perfect as himself even though Jun had the advantage of Seitengan.

This time Jun decided to take the lead and attacked first, "Chakra Transformation Ninja Arts: Yasaka Magatama! Gentle Fist Infusion!"

Suddenly Six Huge Yasaka Magatamas formed around Jun and started revolving around him in a high speed. They also grew more translucent in the next moment as they were infused with Gentle Fist Chakra. Jun sped up towards Rikuo to engage him in the attack.

Rikuo smiled and as if without a care in the world softly said, "Wind Blade Barrage!"

Jun was forced to stop that very moment as a whirlwind made out of wind blades formed around him. The Yasaka Magatama formation he had made to attack were instead now used to desperately defend. In fact he had to summon a second formation of it to let off a bit of the pressure from the Wind Blade Barrage.

"Giant Spiraling Destructive Disc!" Jun held out his hands in front of him and formed a giant black ball with purplish swirling lines and having flat bladed rings of black light spinning around it. Glaring at Rikuo, the attack was launched from Jun's hands like a canon, even slightly hurting Jun's palms with the power it was compressing to the extreme. It destroyed the Wind Blade Barrage as if it was a bunch of swirling leaves and blasted towards Rikuo.

For the first time a slight frown marred Rikuo's eyebrows as he raised his hand. Chakra concentrated on his hand before he muttered softly, "Nadeshiko-Style Hardliner Gale Fist". Wind was sucked towards his hand that he clenched in a fist so fast that everyone had trouble standing still. Wind was compressed into a protective coating like layer on his fist that he punched the speeding black ball with. Everything was in standstill for a moment, but then Jun's Giant Spiraling Destructive Disc crumbled into chakra particles without having a chance to show its true might.

Everyone on Rikuo's team had smile of relief, which got transformed into a gasp of shock as they saw Jun appear at the spot where the Giant Spiraling Destructive Disc was destroyed with his palm outstretched.

"Chakra Transformation : Fierce Bladed Claw Dragon Palm ! Yang Reinforcement Infusion!" a huge glowing dragon made of compressed chakra burst out from Jun's palm, crashing into Rikuo and pushing him a few tens of meters back before exploding and sending everything into a dust storm.

All of those who were with Rikuo were surprised, they never knew Jun was capable of such attack. They knew exactly how strong Rikuo was, and they also remembered what he had said in the beginning. They realized it was true, Jun could have defeated a few of them back then if he had gone all out, which might have changed the outcome of their little spar.

Suddenly the dust clouds were scattered due to appearance of intense wind around them. Everyone glanced up and found Rikuo clad in a pale greenish-blue energy cloak, with his hair swaying intensely in the wind.

"Bravo little one! You did great, I am not disappointed at all. Now if you can receive this last attack of mine then I will consider you having passed this test with flying colors."

"Rikuo has got serious enough to reveal his Wind Sage Mode? That is new, don't even remember the last time that took place." a girl of Rikuo's group with long messy brown hair exclaimed.

"It always makes me so excited to have a chance to have a chance to see his Wind Sage Powers up close with my eyes" the slim dark blue haired girl exclaimed as her eyes transformed into a pair of Sharingan, "Its so beautiful to watch."

"We better keep it down Nozomi, else they might get disturbed." The brown haired girl said, "I don't want to get chewed off by Rikuo."

"Haha, last time he scolded you was fun to watch Kashikoi!" Nozomi exclaimed with a smirk as they both toned it down and watched the confrontation.

"This is one of my strongest attacks so be careful" Rikuo told Jun "Wind Sage Arts : Divine Wind Great Breakthrough!!"

The moment Jun sensed the intensity and power of the attacked he paled as he realized that none of his elemental manipulation attacks would be useful while confronting a Peak Level Sage Art. His other Jutsus were good for versatility and wide ranging destruction, but compared to this force of nature raging towards him they fell short in power. Just as he thought all was lost, his features calmed down.

To battle a Sage Style, you needed a Sage Style. He gave up his hesitation, his doubts and his fear, and with his complete concentration he first reinforced his body as much as he could with Yang Reinforcement, before he revealed his Sage Arts to the world after a long time.

"Sage Arts : Shokuton (Plant Release) - Nature's Tenacity!" A flood of dense chakra burst out of Jun and into the ground. To those who watched it was like a dam had burst open. In the next moment, before Rikuo's attack could reach Jun, a literal forest of dense foliage of all kinds of plants surrounded Jun on all sides, getting denser with each moment. Before the enormous blast of deadly wind touched him, Jun was bounded up with innumerable layers of foliage that completely protected him and anchored him to the ground.

The moment the wind blast struck him, it was like a literal calamity. Uncontrollable wind blast screamed and shredded the plants they encountered, intent on shredding Jun to pieces too. However, for every layer they destroyed, a dozen more instantly popped up. Although this power was completely focused on defense, yet it was terrifying to see the rate at which this literal forest of plant grew despite the suppression of the opposing force.

The standoff kept on going for a few minutes before the wind started to abate. However, the plant showed no signs of stopping as they kept growing like a greedy calamity wanting to devour the world. Everyone had blank stares of shock as they sensed the amount of vitality hidden in this forest. Just how much chakra had Jun poured into this Jutsu and how the hell did he have as much in the first place.

Rikuo appeared before them as the wind completely stopped, however the plants didn't stop growing as they expanded extremely quickly around them. Giant thick twisted vines lashed out from the forest towards Rikuo at unbelievable speeds, the wind whistling shrilly at the power.

Rikuo powered up his sage mode even more as he dodged and wove in between the attacks. "Quintessence of the Howling Tempest!!" Winds around him became howling tornadoes and clashed against the living forest.

It was like watching a calamity happening in front of them as everyone watched in stunned silence. Winds shredded more and more of the forest as if trying the raze them to ground. Tenacious Forest braved the destruction as it grew more vigorous the more it was destroyed and the barrage powerful giant twisted vines struck with enough force to blast the very winds apart and crack the ground.

It went on and on for a long time without stopping. Both of them threw a wide variety of attacks at each other, but no one could decide a definite winner. Wind blade, Giant vines, Vacuum blades, Leaf blades, raging wind blasts, huge thorn spikes all flew around in a giant confusing mess.

It was a long time before this messy bout of destruction abated. Jun lay on the ground in the midst of writhing plants, completely drained of chakra. Rikuo stood shakily a few tens of meters away from him, although physically he felt better than Jun, mentally he was completely drained from having to utilize his Sage Mode for such a long time. His sage mode was special and took a huge amount of concentration, unlike Jun who had a Nature refined body as if made to host Sage Chakra.

-x-x-x-x-

It took about an hour for Jun to recover enough chakra to calm down his fatigued body. As he stood up, he found Rikuo Sitting on the ground a little distance away, meditating. Rest of his team was also around them in various distance away, all using various things to entertain themselves and pass their time while waiting.

Rikuo opened his eyes as he sensed Jun standing up and he himself stood up and walked towards him. Walking up to Jun, he patted his shoulder with a smile "Congratulations little one. You have passed the test with flying colors. Its always good to spar with a fellow Sage. Come on, I will introduce you to the rest."

He dragged the slightly overwhelmed Jun to the rest of his group and introduced them. The mysterious Uchiha girl was Nozomi Uchiha. The brown haired girl next to her was Kashikoi Monodukuri. The well built man behind them with wild long hair and standing stoically was Saibo Kazahana. The fishnet wearing Katana wielding busty beauty who had threatened Jun earlier was Oichi Oda. The Young black haired blue eyed boy in the back who had been staring at Jun earlier when he came was Ikari Jihino.

"That old man you guys fought and argued with earlier was old man Hastar. He is a bit touched in the head and doesn't like anyone from the five great nations. In fact he and Nozomi didn't get along for a very long time. And as you already know, I am Rikuo Kaneko. Together we are known as Seven Stars of Destruction and we are the protectors of the Divine Ice Crystal Village."