Chapter 8: The Exam Hall
At that moment, a boy with a distinctive spiky tuft of hair brushed past Reitō, buzzing with nervous energy. He was trailed by his two friends—one noticeably round, the other languidly thin.
"Don't worry, Yamanaka, we'll definitely get in," the thin boy said, his voice a study in practiced nonchalance. His casual glance swept over Reitō, pausing on the pale, pupil-less eyes. He gave a slight, dismissive sniff. "A Hyūga…"
The anxious boy—Yamanaka—huffed. "Of course we will! But I'm aiming for Class A. Don't you two hold me back!"
"No way, Ino-Shika-Chō just needs to stick together in Class B," the thin boy (clearly a Nara) drawled. "I heard Class A is only taking twelve this year. The competition's insane."
"Exactly," the Akimichi boy agreed, nodding vigorously. "Class B is way less pressure. Besides, I really don't want to sit with those pink-eyed Uchiha all day."
The trio moved away, bickering amiably. Reitō watched them go, a flicker of recognition in his mind. So, these were the parents of the future Ino-Shika-Chō trio. Their personalities were already firmly set—the ambitious Yamanaka, the strategic Nara, the easy-going Akimichi. Their conversation was also illuminating: the Uchiha were the presumed elite of this year's intake, so much so that other capable children were planning to avoid them entirely.
Good. Let them have their cliques and their anxieties. Reitō felt no such hesitation. With his inner vision and seal-less mastery, he was confident he could stand even among Uchiha prodigies.
Inside the examination hall, the atmosphere was tense. Children stood in nervous lines, eyeing each other as competitors. Reitō's sharp eyes quickly categorized them. Some fidgeted, sweat on their brows. Others stood with a calm, almost bored assurance—clan children with private tutoring. And then there were the Uchiha. They stood slightly apart, their demeanor not just confident but arrogantly so, their presence creating a bubble of space that others unconsciously respected… or avoided.
"Is that you, Reitō?"
The voice was cold, dripping with displeasure. Reitō turned.
Hyūga Mōri stood there, flanked by his two ever-present shadows, his expression thunderous. All around them, children subtly turned to watch, sensing drama. The Uchiha in particular perked up, their earlier boredom replaced by keen interest.
"I believe I told you," Mōri hissed, stepping closer, his voice low but carrying in the quiet room, "that I'd break your leg if you dared show up."
A snicker rippled from the Uchiha section. "Hehe… that's Hyūga Reitō, right? The clan's so-called 'tail feather'!"
"Hah! Is Hyūga's trash really here to embarrass himself?"
Hearing the Uchiha's open mockery, ignited by his own confrontation, made Mōri's face flush with a deeper, more humiliating anger. The disgrace was now public.
"Get out of here now," Mōri growled through gritted teeth, reaching out to grab Reitō's arm. "Before I make an example of you."
From beginning to end, Reitō had merely watched him calmly. But as Mōri's hand closed around his wrist, that calm solidified into something cold and unyielding.
"A person's destiny is their own to forge," Reitō said, his voice clear and steady, carrying in the hushed hall. "I will not withdraw. Now, unhand me."
The words, and the absolute, unshakeable certainty behind them, struck Mōri with a physical force. He blinked, startled, and his grip loosened instinctively.
The moment his hand fell away, Mōri's shock curdled into pure, white-hot rage. He had been… deterred? By the branch family's cripple? The shame of it burned.
The minor clash had not gone unnoticed. The Uchiha children watched, their expressions shifting from mockery to genuine interest. A branch family runt standing up to a main family heir? This was more entertaining than any standard exam.
Just then, the first child was called into the examination room. He emerged less than five minutes later, face crumpled with defeat. The next name was called.
But the focus in the hallway remained split, many eyes still on the silent standoff between the two Hyūga.
"You… you dare…" Mōri's voice was a low, trembling vibration. His face was dark with fury. He hadn't just been disobeyed; he'd been publicly defied and made to look weak in front of the clan's historical rivals. It was intolerable.
Reitō didn't even grant him a glance anymore, turning his gaze toward the examination room door as if Mōri were already irrelevant.
That final dismissal snapped the last thread of Mōri's control. The anger he'd been suppressing, stoked by the Uchiha's laughter and Reitō's impudence, erupted. "You insolent worm!" he spat, and before his mind could catch up with the consequences, his body moved. Chakra flared at his fingertips, not with the refined control of the Gentle Fist, but with the raw, aggressive intent to punish. His hand shot out, not for a grip this time, but in a vicious, open-palmed strike aimed to slam Reitō against the wall and shatter his pride along with his posture.
The Uchiha kids leaned forward, grins spreading. The real show was about to begin.