"..."
Kaede glanced at Hyuga Homon.
He was completely uninterested, and didn't even feel like responding. Still, he stepped out from the crowd and walked to the clearing in front of the Chūnin instructor.
Seeing that Kaede didn't respond, Hyuga Homon frowned slightly and snorted, "Getting a bit too arrogant, aren't you, Hatake Kaede? Don't tell me you think you're as good as your brother."
"How could I possibly?"
Kaede shrugged.
If Kakashi had time acceleration, he'd probably be flying by now.
The Chūnin instructor didn't comment on the tension between Homon and Kaede. After all, this was the Ninja Academy, conflict between students was entirely normal. In fact, instructors would sometimes even encourage a certain level of competition to stoke the students' drive to excel.
"Go Kaede!"
"You can do it! Let's go Kaede!!"
At that moment, many girls in the stands had already begun cheering. Yuhi Kurenai, Nohara Rin, and others were among them.
Although Kaede wasn't ranked number one in the class, his popularity was unquestionably the highest and this scene made it crystal clear.
Naturally, this made the boys clench their teeth in frustration, and they all started shouting toward Hyuga Homon in the ring.
"Damn it…"
"Homon, show him what you've got!"
"Beat him up good!"
The voices behind him sharpened Hyuga Homon's expression even more.
After a short pause, the Chūnin instructor raised his hand and called out:
"Begin!"
Almost the instant his voice fell, Hyuga Homon rushed toward Kaede. His Byakugan activated in a flash, and he immediately launched into the Hyuga clan's signature Gentle Fist style.
Kaede expressionlessly gripped a kunai and waved it up and down, each swing precisely intersecting the path of Homon's punches, forcing Homon to halt his movements every time.
"This guy…"
After a brief exchange, Homon became more serious. He wasn't sure how Kaede was doing it, but it seemed like Kaede could see through his moves.
But he wasn't intimidated, if Kaede could read his attacks, then he, with his Byakugan, could do the same to Kaede. In close combat, he had no fear of Kaede using ninjutsu.
As their clash continued, Kaede just needed to slip up once. If Homon's Gentle Fist landed even a single hit, its unique properties would inflict significant internal damage.
"As expected from his descendant… even the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist can't break through."
The Chūnin instructor couldn't help but praise what he saw.
Although Kaede couldn't compare to Kakashi, he was still an exceptionally talented student. That he could hold his own against a Hyuga in close combat was proof enough. Still, the longer this dragged on, the more the situation would tilt against him.
After all, the Byakugan's observational power was something normal eyes couldn't match, and a successful Gentle Fist strike could reduce one's combat effectiveness in an instant.
The cheers faded away.
Even Kurenai and Obito were now watching the match with unblinking eyes, focusing on the intense clash between Kaede and Homon.
"So this is the Gentle Fist of the Hyuga clan…"
Kaede continued blocking attacks while carefully observing Homon's strikes. From his perspective, the Gentle Fist still had value worth studying.
Although in the original series, the Eight Gates' violent style utterly crushed the Gentle Fist, in reality, when trained to the extreme, the Gentle Fist had its own terrifying techniques like Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack, which could smash even a complete Susano!
The difference between hard and soft styles lay in how chakra was used. The former erupted from within to strengthen the body and enhance pure taijutsu techniques. The latter, however, used chakra as a "bullet," firing it out with precision and control.
"Without the Byakugan, I really can't see the essence of Gentle Fist…"
Kaede murmured in his heart. Surface-level observation just wasn't enough to unravel its secrets.
Besides, chakra wasn't exactly his strong suit.
If he had the physique of someone like Naruto Uzumaki, a Jinchūriki of the Nine Tails, then a chakra-based Gentle Fist might suit him better than a brute-force style. But in his current situation, the hard fist style was the obvious choice.
Homon's relentless assault, empowered by his Byakugan's tracking, continued to push Kaede back. It looked very much like Kaede was being overwhelmed.
"Looks like Kaede's going to lose."
"Of course, his opponent is a Hyuga prodigy."
Voices began murmuring across the stands.
And then—
Whoosh!!
A shadow suddenly appeared at the edge of the training ground, drawing everyone's attention.
The figure wore a cat-like mask and a cloak, clearly, an Anbu from the Hidden Leaf.
The Anbu glanced at the battle between Kaede and Homon, ignored the other students and the instructor, and spoke directly to Kaede in a deep voice:
"Hatake Kaede. Lord Hokage wants to see you."
Shhh!
Kaede flicked his kunai and stepped back two paces. He looked at the Anbu with a quiet sigh, his expression calm, unsurprised.
So it's finally here.
Once last night's events were investigated, it was only a matter of time before they traced it back to him, especially since he used the Hatake sword style in the end.
He had considered pinning it on Kakashi, but it didn't seem worth it. Not only could it be easily exposed, it might also put Kakashi in danger.
The Anbu's appearance stunned the Chūnin instructor and all the students.
"…Lord Hokage summoned Kaede?"
"What happened?"
Many looked at Kaede with surprise and uncertainty.
Even Hyuga Homon froze, frowning. He hadn't expected something like this to happen just as he was about to win. "The match isn't over…" he muttered, but didn't finish.
A summon from the Hokage clearly outweighed any class sparring match. Whether or not it was finished no longer mattered. Still, the timing annoyed Homon. He had been moments away from victory, now it was all left unresolved.
The Chūnin instructor also understood the priorities and nodded toward Kaede. "Go ahead and see the Hokage-sama. If there's still time when you return, we can resume the match."
However—
Kaede shook his head and replied:
"No need."
Since the investigation had already reached him, there was no point continuing to pretend he was evenly matched with Homon.
As soon as he finished speaking, Kaede's figure suddenly vanished, and reappeared silently on Homon's right.
Homon's face changed. Without hesitation, he struck out with a punch.
Bam!!
His fist hit Kaede squarely in the chest, but it didn't feel like it hit anything real. Kaede dissolved into a puff of white smoke.
A clone!
"Damn!"
Homon cursed in his heart. His Byakugan could see through clones, but the suddenness of the situation made his counterattack a reflex. He hadn't expected Kaede to move that fast and use a clone at the same time. By the time he realized, it was too late.
Silent as a shadow,
Kaede's real body appeared behind Homon.
Thwack!!
A simple knife-hand strike to the back.
Homon couldn't maintain his posture. His body pitched forward and—thud!—he collapsed flat on the ground.
"Let's go."
Kaede withdrew his hand and looked toward the Anbu ninja.
The Anbu gave him a deep look before leaping toward the Hokage Building. Kaede leapt to follow.
Leaving behind a stunned Chūnin instructor and a sea of dumbfounded students.
Silence fell across the field.
Just now… what the hell happened?