Hyuga Hizashi looked at Hyuga Arin expressionlessly. One hand lowered in front, the other raised behind—he took a stance.
At the same time, veins bulged at the corners of his eyes.
"Byakugan!"
Hyuga Arin mirrored his movements exactly.
His eyes widened.
"Byakugan!"
The two stepped forward simultaneously and collided head-on.
Four hands seemed to multiply, transforming into countless afterimages as they clashed rapidly in midair.
Off to the side, Nawaki couldn't help muttering,
"He still hasn't paid."
As he spoke, he grabbed Uchiha Sōsuke and dragged him backward to a safer distance.
The collision of palms was already kicking up fierce gusts of wind.
Pa pa pa pa pa—boom!
The rapid sounds of impact rang out, punctuated by a dull, heavy thud.
The sound felt close.
Nawaki looked down and saw a pair of confused eyes.
Uchiha Sōsuke had woken up.
Seeing the swollen lump on the back of Sōsuke's head, Nawaki guiltily shifted his gaze away.
"I… lost again," Uchiha Sōsuke murmured, staring toward the center of the battle.
Two members of the Hyuga clan locked in combat.
"Hyuga Hizashi?"
"You know him?" Nawaki asked in surprise.
He wasn't very familiar with the Hyuga.
Uchiha Sōsuke nodded.
"He was a member of Team Ten two classes ago. He was once called part of the 'Hyuga Twin Stars.' But for some reason, Team Ten was suddenly disbanded not long ago."
"That smug-looking guy is a genius?" Nawaki said with open disdain.
Uchiha Sōsuke replied solemnly,
"Don't underestimate him. Team Ten completed B-rank missions before."
B-rank missions meant clashes with chunin—and sometimes even jonin.
"Hyuga Arin can fight someone like that. He's definitely going to lose. No matter what underhanded tricks he uses, they're useless in front of absolute strength."
He said it through clenched teeth.
Although Hyuga Arin had always been called a genius, topping every exam—
No one from their year ever truly acknowledged him as number one.
Because this guy used dirty tricks.
They accepted his written exam scores, sure—but how exactly had he lost just now?
Uchiha Sōsuke fell into confusion.
Watching the evenly matched battle before him only deepened that confusion.
It hadn't been like this before.
Nawaki chuckled softly.
"You have no idea what Big Bro's real strength is. For Hyuga Hizashi to win—impossible."
His eyes shone as he stared at the fight.
As the grandson of Senju Hashirama, Nawaki was no weakling. He already had the strength of a proper ninja.
And yet—even so, he still wasn't Hyuga Arin's opponent.
"Impossible," Uchiha Sōsuke retorted stubbornly.
Though he'd lost cleanly, he still refused to admit it.
How could Hyuga Arin be that strong?
Nawaki said lightly,
"When he fought you guys before, Big Bro just didn't bother getting serious."
The battle shifted.
Their palms collided once more, the force pushing both fighters back two steps.
Hyuga Hizashi took a deep breath. A faint Eight Trigrams diagram appeared beneath his feet.
"Gentle Fist Art · Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
The supreme secret of the Hyuga main family—normally only taught to branch members who had rendered great service.
But Hyuga Hizashi was ultimately Hyuga Hiashi's younger brother, and he had learned this main-family technique.
With a single step, he closed the distance instantly, his fingers stabbing toward Hyuga Arin.
Sixty-four strikes—sealing the opponent's chakra flow by striking sixty-four tenketsu.
Hyuga Hizashi's hands fell like rain.
Hyuga Arin exhaled softly.
His body suddenly felt light—almost weightless.
"Gentle Fist Art · Willow Drift!"
Under the rainstorm of attacks, Hyuga Arin's body swayed like drifting willow catkins, floating with the wind and evading every single strike.
"How is that possible?!" Uchiha Sōsuke's eyes widened.
That was a main-family Hyuga technique—he knew it well.
How could it be dodged so easily?
And since when did Gentle Fist have a technique called Willow Drift?
It hadn't existed before.
This was a combat technique Hyuga Arin had developed himself.
At its core, it still belonged to Gentle Fist.
By controlling his own chakra flow, amplifying perception, and extending Gentle Fist throughout the entire body—
The moment an enemy's chakra approached, his body reacted first, instinctively evading.
In short—
A hard counter to Hyuga-style Gentle Fist.
Hyuga Hizashi clenched his teeth as chakra suddenly surged from his palms.
"Eight Trigrams Palm · Rotation!"
Blue chakra condensed into a hemispherical barrier.
Hyuga Arin jumped backward in advance, easily avoiding the technique.
"Your Rotation isn't very good," he even had the leisure to mock him.
Although Hyuga Arin had never practiced Rotation himself, he knew how demanding it was in terms of chakra control.
Hyuga Hizashi's Rotation flickered and vanished—clearly unsustainable.
It wasn't even as good as his son's.
That boy, at thirteen, had not only taught himself Rotation but mastered it proficiently.
Such a genius was rare even in Hyuga clan history.
Hyuga Hizashi was far from that level.
Still—
"You're stronger than your brother."
Hyuga Hizashi was indeed stronger than Hyuga Hiashi.
"What kind of judgment does your father have, making your brother the clan heir?"
Hearing Hyuga Arin's deliberate provocation, Hyuga Hizashi's heart wavered only for an instant.
Hyuga Hiashi had become heir not because of talent or strength—
But simply because he'd been born first.
"My brother just lacks experience," Hyuga Hizashi tried to defend him.
And that was the truth.
After becoming a ninja, Hyuga Hiashi had rarely seen real combat.
Hyuga Hizashi, on the other hand, had spent two years living the life of a true ninja.
That was the main reason the gap between them had grown.
"What a loyal dog," Hyuga Arin sneered.
He couldn't care less about the brothers' bond.
Hyuga Arin stepped forward.
No longer striking with palms or fingers—his hands clenched into fists.
In a single step, he closed in.
Hyuga Hizashi couldn't deploy Rotation in time and was forced to counterattack.
Hyuga Arin's first move upon closing the distance—
A punch.
Fast. Fierce. Laden with chakra.
Hyuga Hizashi sensed danger. His attacking posture abruptly changed into crossed arms for defense.
"Crushing Fist!"
Boom!
Hyuga Hizashi was sent flying backward.
Hyuga Arin tapped the ground repeatedly, instantly pursuing.
He leapt into the air, leg lifting high.
Hyuga Hizashi's expression changed—his arms were numb and powerless.
"This isn't Gentle Fist—this is Hard Fist!"
Bang!
A downward kick smashed into him.
Hyuga Hizashi crashed heavily into the ground, eyes rolling back as he lost consciousness.
[EXP: 512]
Hyuga Arin nodded in satisfaction and glanced at his panel.
[Chakra: 30/120]
His chakra was nearly depleted.
At the same time, his EXP pool was finally enough to level up.
[EXP Pool: 1965]
[EXP: 160/2000]
Even after leveling, some EXP would remain.
With his current, pitiful amount of chakra, he couldn't continue fighting.
He directly poured all the EXP from his EXP pool into his level progress.
"Level up!"