The tension, already high, became almost suffocating.
Hinata gently placed one foot on the ground—a movement so simple it seemed insignificant.
But the earth trembled.
— The Tear in the Wind, she murmured in an almost inaudible voice.
Her foot rose in a precise arc, then struck the ground with a sharp snap.
The air contracted, then exploded.
A shockwave burst forth, but it wasn't just a simple gust:
it was a frayed wind, a wind that cut.
The blades of air spread in all directions, so fast they became blurred.
The spectators screamed, stepped back, covered their faces—a man even had his sleeve cut off just by standing too close.
Salomeh moved.
Not like a human being.
Not like a fighter.
She moved like a line of light that refused to be touched.
She slipped between the winds, pivoting on the tip of one foot, leaning as if gravity was no longer a constraint for her, even advancing against the gusts.
Each air blade passed just millimeters from her skin without ever brushing it.
Hinata felt her throat tighten.
No human should be able to… that.
These winds… they cut through bone. Metal.
How…?
Salomeh, after a long almost graceful dodge, fixed her eyes on Hinata.
— My turn to attack! she announced with childlike joy.
She extended… her pinky finger.
— But just a little, she specified.
Hinata squinted.
The pinky? Is she mocking me?
She took a fighting stance, slightly annoyed but not intimidated.
Then, she felt the intent.
A murderous intent. Pure. Compressed into a tiny surface.
Hinata dodged with a sharp move—and behind her, the ground exploded.
A perfect, huge cylinder had been carved by the mere push of Salomeh's pinky finger.
The crowd screamed.
The old gambler fell from his chair, mouth open.
Bakuran and Niyus⁵ froze like statues.
Hinata blinked.
… A hole? With a finger?
Her heart missed a beat.
Salomeh smiled, almost innocently.
— It's not over yet!!!
She charged.
Not a sprint. Not a charge.
A teleportation visible to the naked eye.
She reappeared in front of Hinata—her pinky already in motion.
Hinata dodged.
Barely.
Then again.
And again.
Salomeh chained attacks one after another, each leaving behind a trail of distorted air, each impact throwing up dust or digging a new hole in the ground. The terrain now looked like a field riddled with tiny but deadly craters.
The spectators didn't even see Salomeh move.
They only saw green flashes, bursts of light, and Hinata's silhouette wavering to avoid death.
Because Hinata dodged.
Naturally. Fluidly.
But above all… not alone.
Around her coiled that famous greenish energy, almost translucent, like a living mist that anticipated movements before she even decided them herself.
A consciousness.
A presence.
Every time Salomeh's pinky was about to touch Hinata, the energy abruptly tilted her body to the side, twisted her spine at the right angle, or bent her leg with an almost inhuman suppleness.
Sometimes, Hinata dodged without understanding how she had moved.
She was breathing fast.
Her vacant gaze trembled slightly.
She wasn't panicked—she was overwhelmed.
This… energy.
It decides for me.
It forces me to stay alive.
It reads her moves… before they even exist?
That's… impossible.
Meanwhile, Salomeh was having fun.
— You hold well! she said warmly.
You have something… something familiar.
Hinata dismissed the phrase with a blink.
She couldn't speak.
Her breath was entirely dedicated to avoidance.
Bakuran, who was watching the scene frowning, leaned toward Salomeh—or tried to, but the speed of the fight forced them all to keep distance.
— That girl… what is that energy around her? It's alive, isn't it?
Niyus⁵ answered without taking his eyes off the fight:
— It's not a simple aura.
It's… a guardian.
An autonomous consciousness optimizing her movements.
An artificial dodge… but organic.
As if something… protected this child at all costs.
Salomeh laughed softly while dodging an involuntary counterattack from Hinata, the little girl's body having reacted on its own.
— You're fascinating, she breathed.
You're not just talented.
You're guided.
She stopped her attacks, just for a moment, and watched Hinata catch her breath.
— And then… she continued, something about you vaguely reminds me of… us.
Hinata, panting, clenched her teeth.
Her greenish energy pulsed like a heart.
And the little girl lifted her head—her gaze vacant, but determined.
She didn't understand what Salomeh meant, but one thing was sure:
She had no intention of giving up.
And nor did the consciousness around her.
Hinata stared at Salomeh with an unreadable expression—almost worry.
She breathed quickly, her chest rising in jerks, and the greenish energy surrounding her body shone with a slightly brighter light… but less stable.
She had felt it.
She would never admit it out loud, but she had felt it:
Without this energy, she would be dead.
She would have been pierced, dismembered, torn to pieces by a mere pinky finger.
Salomeh didn't fight like a human.
She fought like… something beyond that.
The energy had done everything in her place:
it dodged before she even realized she needed to dodge,
it pulled back before she perceived danger,
it attacked spontaneously when her mind was still paralyzed by incomprehension.
It was an older, faster, more violent consciousness than she was.
Hinata now felt it in every fiber of her body:
this energy wasn't here to help her—it was here to keep her alive.
And now… it was exhausting itself.
Hinata looked at her own hand trembling slightly, as if holding a coal burning her palm. The green aura pulsed weakly, consuming itself along with her.
A few more minutes.
After… I'll be vulnerable.
I have to strike now… before it's too late.
She raised her head toward Salomeh.
Salomeh, meanwhile, stood calmly, hands on her hips, her smile almost… mocking.
— Oh? she said, tilting her head slightly.
What? You want me to attack again?
Hinata clenched her teeth, her gaze becoming more intense, more focused. She swallowed, aware that underestimating this energy would be a fatal mistake.
Every movement of her body was no longer entirely her own. The greenish energy surrounding her was almost independent, a protective consciousness capable of reading and reacting before her mind had understood the danger. Every time the energy was touched, it automatically guided her limbs, dodging, moving, even breathing before she did.
To put it simply: before hitting Hinata, one had to first get through that energy enveloping her.
And if an attack grazed that barrier, the energy already anticipated, redirected, bypassed, and Hinata had already dodged.
A multitude of rifle bullets fired down a narrow corridor five centimeters from her face? Nothing. The energy had already bent her body, adjusted her posture, absorbed the impact before Hinata had time to react.
It was a deadly dance between anticipation and survival. A fight where even time seemed bent to the energy's will. Each dodge seemed instinctive, yet it was the result of a calculation impossible to conceive for an ordinary human.
However, this perfection had a price. Each use pushed Hinata a little closer to her limits, a little closer to utter exhaustion. Fatigue accumulated, invisible at first, but devouring. After a few moments of maximum intensity, her body would scream under the effort, her muscles, her lungs, her mind—all would demand a break the situation wouldn't allow.
It was a precarious balance: every move of the energy ensured her survival, but every move brought her closer to the point where she might collapse if the battle dragged on.
Hinata raised her eyes toward Salomeh, the energy vibrating all around her like a living armor, and she understood this duel was not just a test of strength: it was a confrontation between pure bodily mastery and the autonomous consciousness of the energy.
Hinata bent slightly, her eyes fixed on Salomeh, and wrapped her fist with the other hand. A spiral of greenish energy began to swirl around her arm, vibrating with an almost living intensity. Salomeh's eyes widened, a cold shiver running down her spine: No… it can't be what I think!
Hinata, determined, then shouted with a voice that echoed through the stands: "Killer Punch!!!"
A surge of greenish energy shot out from her fist, illuminating the scene with a supernatural light. The wave sped straight toward Salomeh with a speed and force that would pulverize any ordinary opponent. Salomeh froze, her eyes fixed on the attack inexorably advancing toward her.
Heartbeat racing, she recognized the stance, the gesture, even the name of the attack… and her breath caught. A tear slipped down her cheek. "It's Sakolomeh's very signature…" she whispered, her voice choked with emotion.
Without thinking, Salomeh stretched out her hand. Hinata's attack was immediately countered, the shockwaves rolling through the whole hall. Greenish lightning streaked the air, lifting dust and debris. The power of the impact made the ground tremble, but Salomeh, with disconcerting fluidity, just slid her hand to the side.
And then, as if the wave of energy had been nothing but a breath of wind, the orb vanished. The light faded, the vibrations ceased, and all became calm, as if she had just swatted away a simple fly.
Salomeh took a deep breath, her gaze still fixed on Hinata. Her heart was still pounding wildly, but a strange serenity overcame her: she knew this child possessed something exceptional… and very close.