In the training ground, Kurenai struggled for a long while before finally giving up on trying to understand Hagoromo's words. "What you're saying might be true, or it might just be a trick to confuse me. But it doesn't matter anymore. Since you want to see my Genjutsu, as you wish—I'll defeat you with my strongest technique."
Kurenai stopped using shuriken. She didn't try to engage in Taijutsu or mere "hiding" tactics, knowing she held no advantage there. Instead, she turned to her specialty.
Her hands blurred through a sequence of signs:
"Ninja Art: Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!"
This was a B-Rank Genjutsu, and the highest-level technique Kurenai currently possessed!
Her body seemed to evaporate on the spot. Behind Hagoromo, a massive tree began to grow in eerie silence, its branches snaking out to bind his limbs. Kurenai would then emerge from the trunk to deliver a "certain-kill" blow.
A B-Rank Genjutsu was something an Academy student should have been absolutely helpless against. If executed perfectly, even a Chunin instructor might struggle to break it.
"Not good!" Aizawa-sensei cried out, but it was already too late for him to intervene.
Tree Binding Death was a formidable illusion, but Genjutsu only works if the enemy actually falls for it.
As Kurenai cautiously approached Hagoromo and found him unresponsive, she assumed the trap had sprung. Just as a victorious smile began to form on her face, Hagoromo suddenly moved.
The Genjutsu, as Hagoromo had predicted, failed to take hold.
At that moment, his brain was like a computer monitor that had been struck by a hammer; bright blue electrical arcs flickered across his mind occasionally. It was this internal disruption that had shielded him from the B-Rank technique.
His right hand shot out, seizing Kurenai's wrist as she held her kunai. He tightened his grip!
Kurenai's wrist felt as if it were caught in a steel vise. Under the sharp pain, her kunai fell to the ground with a clang. Then, Hagoromo raised his left hand, stiffened his fingers like a blade, and delivered a light chop to the back of her neck.
She slumped into unconsciousness.
"Match over! The winner: Kamishiraishi Hagoromo!"
Aizawa announced the result loudly. Truthfully, when Kurenai unleashed a B-Rank Genjutsu, he thought Hagoromo was finished. He hadn't expected the boy to be completely unaffected. Even as a Chunin instructor, Aizawa couldn't fathom how Hagoromo had blocked it; caught off guard, Aizawa himself might have succumbed.
The unconscious Kurenai leaned limply against Hagoromo. After the announcement, two medical ninjas quickly arrived to carry her away.
The first victory hadn't been difficult, but Hagoromo was pleased. If he could block that, he could handle most standard illusions.
As Kurenai was carried off, Hagoromo left the arena. To be honest, every time he looked into Kurenai's red eyes, he didn't think of the Uchiha Sharingan—he thought of Kurapika and the Scarlet Eyes.
The students' chatter hadn't stopped. They never imagined Hagoromo could defeat an honor student like Kurenai, especially so simply and quickly.
By the time Hagoromo returned to the sidelines, the next match was underway.
Uchiha Obito vs. Mitarashi Anko.
The highlight of this match was... that there was no highlight. Unsurprisingly, Obito didn't last three seconds before being instantly defeated by Anko.
After the first round, with the exception of the "Dead-Last Among Dead-Lasts" Obito, Hagoromo, Maito Gai, and Nohara Rin had all successfully moved into the Top 15.
Unlike Obito, Maito Gai was only second-to-last because he rarely earned points in any class besides Taijutsu. In terms of physical combat and live sparring, he was undeniably part of the class's elite tier.
"Now, the second round begins. Here are the match-ups."
"First match: Maito Gai vs... Kamishiraishi Hagoromo!"
"Fantastic! Hagoromo, let's settle this!"
Before even hearing the full name of his opponent, Gai had already charged into the center of the training ground. Once the name registered, his shouting only grew louder.
Hagoromo followed quickly; if he didn't, he knew Gai would just keep shouting indefinitely.
However, he wasn't particularly excited about this fight. While Gai's training was legendary, he was still young and his Taijutsu was far from mature. At this stage, he couldn't use the Eight Inner Gates, or even the Primary Lotus.
"Begin!"
"Leaf Great Whirlwind!"
The moment the match started, Gai launched a fierce assault. He leaped high, swinging a horizontal kick toward Hagoromo's head.
In a fight where one lacks a decisive advantage in speed or power, such a jumping attack is ill-timed. Before the kick could land, Hagoromo's hand snapped out and caught Gai's ankle. With a step back and a pivot, Hagoromo used Gai's own momentum to hurl him away.
"Dammit! Again!"
Gai scrambled up as if he felt no pain and charged again. Hagoromo met the incoming punch with his palm, then delivered a sharp kick to Gai's shin, sending him tumbling once more.
Then came a third charge. A fourth. A fifth. A sixth...
Even though Gai often acted like a clown, it was hard to hate someone who worked so hard and refused to give up. Because of that, Hagoromo decided to defeat him using his true strength.
"Gai, watch out. I'm getting serious!"
"That's exactly what I want!" Gai's fighting spirit soared.
Hagoromo slowly closed his eyes, then snapped them open. Again, there were no hand seals. Lightning Style chakra surged through his meridians, and blue electrical arcs danced across his skin.
When Gai charged this time, Hagoromo didn't throw him. He tilted his head to evade the punch, then drove an uppercut into Gai's chin. Before Gai could even process the hit, Hagoromo's right knee slammed upward!
Gai's body arched violently as the sudden explosive force lifted him a full meter off the ground.
He wasn't finished. In the fraction of a second Gai was suspended in the air, Hagoromo tucked his body, leaped, and delivered a powerful kick to Gai's abdomen, sending him soaring even higher.
Both were now in the air, but Gai was reeling from the heavy strikes and unable to resist. Hagoromo spun rapidly mid-air and delivered a final, brutal kick with his left leg.
Gai was hit a third time!
As Hagoromo used the recoil of the strike to land swiftly on the ground, Gai had been propelled over six meters into the air.
Concentrating a massive amount of chakra into his feet, Hagoromo's lower limbs exerted their absolute limit. In the next instant, he had jumped even higher than Gai.
Descending from above, Hagoromo's right leg came down like an axe on Gai's head.
"LIONS BARRAGE!!!"
BOOM!
Gai hit the ground like a falling meteor. When the dust cleared, a shallow, cracked crater had formed in the training ground. In the center of the pit, Gai lay unconscious.
For three minutes, there was absolute silence.
Kurenai, who had just regained consciousness, happened to see Gai's state. She began to feel very, very fortunate that she hadn't tried to challenge Hagoromo to a Taijutsu match...
(End of Chapter 4)