Defending the Ring! Yūhi Shinkō's Challenge!

Hyuga Tenzo slowly left the field with the support of his clansmen, his arms hanging limply at his sides. None of his earlier flair remained.

A faintly grim atmosphere settled over the training ground.

Hanma rolled his neck as a blood-red aura condensed around his body. He waved toward the Third Hokage and said slowly,

"Hokage-sama, I've just gotten into fighting condition and don't need to rest. I request to defend the ring."

The Jonin present all fell silent. Given the strength and speed Hanma had displayed just now,

everyone silently wondered how they would deal with him if they faced him.

Those skilled in taijutsu understood the intricacies of that exchange even better. Most had lost the will to fight, and quite a few were already considering how they could trade for Hanma's training methods.

What training method was there?

It was simply actual combat—lots of actual combat—along with Hanma's own effort, plus some not-so-important cheating. What else could it be?

After all, Senior Lu Sheng had said that it was one percent cheating and ninety-nine percent sweat.

The Third Hokage glanced over the expressions of the surrounding Jonin and said in a deep voice, "Request approved."

"Anyone who wishes to spar and compete with Uchiha Hanma may take the stage."

For a moment, the entire venue was silent. The previous battle had been far too swift and clean, while its outcome had been so direct and brutal.

Aside from Hanma's strength and speed, nothing useful had been gathered from that fight.

Nearly the time it took an incense stick to burn passed before someone stepped onto the battlefield, ready to challenge the ring.

The newcomer was Kurenai Yuhi's father and a longstanding Konoha veteran, Yūhi Shinkō.

With the Yūhi Clan's powerful spiritual energy as his foundation, he had extensively studied Genjutsu throughout the Shinobi World. Even within the Uchiha Clan, his mastery of Genjutsu was widely acknowledged.

Some of the watching Jonin nodded lightly. Using Genjutsu to counter taijutsu was a good choice.

Hanma's Anbu colleagues and fellow Uchiha, meanwhile, looked at Shinku with pity.

They knew all too well that Genjutsu ninja with mediocre taijutsu were practically seeking death when facing Hanma.

They had seen countless self-assured Genjutsu ninja die one after another in miserable fashion before Hanma.

"—Please enlighten me."

"—Please enlighten me."

Hanma stood lazily where he was, in no hurry to win this match.

For Genjutsu ninja, facing Hanma was a deeply tragic affair.

Ordinary Genjutsu ninja usually first disrupted their opponent's Chakra flow, causing mental disorientation. Then they used spiritual energy to construct an illusion, making their opponent sink into it and lose the ability to fight.

More powerful ones could falsify the five senses. The Kurama Clan, for example, could throw the body's functions into disorder and achieve an effect akin to "I killed myself."

But before Hanma's passive skill—Unified Origin—all of that was meaningless, unless one's spiritual energy was as monstrous as Hanma's body.

Put simply, Unified Origin meant that Hanma's spiritual energy was as strong as his body. It bound body and mind together, forcefully increasing Hanma's resistance to Genjutsu.

Yūhi Shinkō frowned. He did not understand why Hanma had not attacked.

For a taijutsu ninja, the best way to fight a Genjutsu ninja was to interrupt their hand seals. That prevented them from interfering with one's five senses, forced them onto the offensive, and created an opening for a killing blow.

Yūhi Shinkō was an experienced Jonin, so he did not overthink it.

Every Jonin had a field in which they took pride. In this Shinobi World of complicated abilities, there would always be things beyond one's consideration.

The best one could do was bring one's own techniques to their utmost. There was no need to consider anything else.

Without the slightest hesitation, Yūhi Shinkō's fingers flew through hand seals, openly forming them right in front of Hanma.

Since he had been given an opportunity, there was no reason to let it slip away.

Chakra flowed into the earth like shadows and lay dormant.

The Genjutsu had already been laid in ambush without a sound.

To achieve the best possible effect, he did not choose to attack Hanma directly. Instead, he set Genjutsu Chakra around himself, creating a trap and waiting for Hanma to approach.

But they had yet to witness Hanma's monstrous defense.

Even if Yūhi Shinkō successfully made Hanma fall into a brief stupor, his methods of attack would most likely fail.

Genjutsu ninja did not actually need overwhelming attack power, because under Genjutsu control, a ninja was completely defenseless.

For ordinary ninja, a single Kunai could end their lives.

But for Hanma, defeating him required enough attack power to break through his defense.

That was the true importance of fault tolerance. Ninja were originally a profession with little room for error, but once one had the capital to make mistakes, one gained limitless possibilities.

Hanma lazily walked toward Shinku step by step. His heart remained utterly calm, and he even wanted to laugh. For some reason, he was reminded of his old sparring sessions with clan members who possessed Genjutsu eyes.

Hanma walked closer step by step, precisely stepping into Shinku's trap. Smiling, he said,

"Brother Shinku, your Genjutsu should be set up here, right?

Then let me experience the might of the Yūhi Clan's Genjutsu!"

Yūhi Shinkō was genuinely shocked at that moment. Why would a taijutsu ninja dare to directly confront his Genjutsu?

Yet he did not relax. Hanma's performance just now had already made everyone present understand that he was a merciless killing machine.

His violent, decisive movements had left a deep impression on everyone, and such a ninja could never be an arrogant fool.

"Secret Technique—Tree Hell Binding Kill! Final Act!"

Yūhi Shinkō no longer hesitated. He quietly activated the technique, pouring Chakra from his body into it without holding anything back.

Surging Genjutsu rushed toward Hanma, attempting to disturb his Chakra and mental defenses.

But to his frustration, Hanma still looked calm and untroubled. He even blinked reassuringly at Minato, who was watching anxiously from the stands.

Sweat had already formed on Yūhi Shinkō's forehead as he discovered in astonishment that his spiritual energy was like an ant trying to shake a tree when confronting Hanma.

That was impossible. Shinku could not understand it no matter how much he thought about it. Why was Hanma's spiritual energy so powerful?

In truth, for the Uchiha Clan, who possessed the Sharingan, fighting them with Genjutsu was a pitiful choice.

Though Hanma never used the Sharingan.

Hanma quietly experienced the Genjutsu, but his confrontation with Shinku left him feeling utterly bored.

Sure enough, Genjutsu was a field that depended heavily on bloodline and talent.

Even if an ordinary ninja reached the level of Jonin, without the support of a Kekkei Genkai, it was difficult to break past their bottleneck.

A wave of boredom rose in Hanma's heart. Let's end this. A quick victory.

After winning three matches in a row, he would directly apply for the right to command.

With a sudden burst of force, Hanma silently used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind Shinku.

Shinku was tensely arranging defensive Genjutsu around himself, waiting for the next opportunity.

His vision blurred. He saw only an afterimage flash past, and Hanma had already vanished.

For a Jonin focused on Genjutsu like this, close combat before Hanma was no different from facing a Genin.

Before Shinku could locate him, Hanma lightly chopped at his neck with the side of his hand. Shinku's head tilted, and he immediately fainted.

Hanma carried Shinku to the viewing platform and gently set him down.

He smiled slightly at the Third Hokage, folded his arms, and said calmly,

"Hokage-sama, there are sixteen of us competing. Winning three rounds places one in the top three and grants command qualifications.

I request to continue fighting until I am eliminated or secure a spot."

This was actually disadvantageous for Hanma.

In ninja battles, the priority was to reveal as little information about oneself as possible.

Hanma had voluntarily fought two consecutive matches before everyone. It did him no good at all.

The Third Hokage smiled and turned to whisper a few words to Danzō.

"Konoha's new generation has already grown up. This Old Man is greatly gratified. No problem. Please continue."

Minato ran over like an eager lackey and handed him a bottle of water. As he looked at Hanma, it seemed as though little stars were sparkling in his eyes.

Hanma gently patted Minato's head, tilted back the bottle and drained it, then used the Body Flicker Technique to return to the center of the arena and wait for the next challenger.

For a time, Konoha's two leading figures in Genjutsu and taijutsu had already fallen.