The next match was the one that drew everyone's attention the most, because it was a showdown between fifth-year students and this year's graduates.
If Uchiha Chen's match had drawn the loudest support, then the next one would be the fiercest battle of all.
The graduating class team led by the Hyuga brothers faced Hyuga Himeji's fifth-year team.
This was a battle between biological siblings.
"Little sister, if you lose, go home obediently." Hizashi Hyuga looked calm and composed, but he could not hide the concern in his eyes as he watched the girl opposite him.
"Senior, please enlighten me." The girl in the Hyuga Clan's standard uniform replied coldly.
With her pale pupils and long light-blue hair, she looked very similar to the future Hinata.
But unlike Hinata, who always appeared frail and delicate, Hyuga Himeji radiated an icy chill. Her entire body exuded sharp fighting intent, like an iceberg that would never melt.
Uchiha Chen was somewhat puzzled as he listened below. Hizashi Hyuga had just called Hyuga Himeji his little sister, yet Hyuga Himeji called him Senior.
Their relationship was pretty complicated. There was definitely a story there. Uchiha Chen's gossiping instincts immediately flared up.
Hyuga Himeji bowed to Hizashi Hyuga, then assumed a ninja's opening stance.
At the same time, veins bulged around her eyes. "Byakugan!"
"It's the Byakugan!"
"Himeji, go!"
"Beat that bastard Hizashi Hyuga!"
If Uchiha Chen had overwhelmed everyone with his Genjutsu and all-around academic excellence, then Hyuga Himeji was undoubtedly someone blessed with both talent and beauty.
She had become famous as soon as she entered the Ninja Academy in her first year. Everyone in the academy knew of her beauty, and countless male students had confessed to her.
Yet not a single one had managed to move her heart. After that, rumors began to spread that she liked girls.
She had also firmly held the top spot in her grade, with no subject she was bad at.
At only nine years old, she could already use the Byakugan proficiently. Combined with her equally skilled Gentle Fist, most people were no match for her.
On top of that, she was the daughter of the Hyuga Clan head, one of Konoha's great clans.
As a result, she had captured the affection of most of the boys in the academy. She currently ranked first on the list of "Boys Most Wanting to Be Her Boyfriend."
Women really were troublemakers sometimes, regardless of age.
That said, she and Hizashi Hyuga were biological siblings. Yet for some reason, their relationship was like fire and water.
So the moment Hyuga Himeji stepped onto the field, the cheers from below instantly grew louder.
In comparison, there was practically no one supporting Hizashi. Even Hiashi stood with his own sister.
But Hizashi did not care about any of that. The only person he cared about was his sister.
Before the people on the field had even begun fighting, the students below had already gone red in the face, fired up with emotion, looking as though they could not wait to rush up and take Hizashi down themselves.
"Then..." Hizashi Hyuga closed his eyes. When he opened them again, raised veins had already covered the area around his eye sockets. "Byakugan!"
This was a battle of Byakugan against Byakugan.
As one of the three great dojutsu, the Byakugan could see through the human body's meridians and attack various acupoints. The Taijutsu developed from this was the Hyuga Clan's famous Gentle Fist.
When it came to Taijutsu, Hyuga Clan ninjas possessed an innate advantage.
Because their clan had a complete inheritance of Ninjutsu, techniques designed to work alongside the Byakugan, they rarely used other Elemental Release Techniques.
But that absolutely did not mean they could not use Ninjutsu.
Of course, what Uchiha Chen really wanted to complain about was that, as descendants wielding Kaguya's eyes, the Hyuga Clan had only developed their talent in Taijutsu. It was truly a waste of a gift.
Standing on the platform, Hyuga Himeji had only one thought: defeat Hizashi and prove that she was more talented.
Hyuga Himeji took a deep breath, and Chakra burst forth through the Chakra points in her hands.
The two moved toward each other. In mere moments, Hyuga Himeji and Hizashi Hyuga collided at high speed, launching into a fierce Taijutsu exchange.
As Hyuga Himeji blocked Hizashi's first palm strike, her right hand turned lightly and struck toward his face.
Hizashi lowered his head to evade Himeji's right palm, then sent Chakra through the acupoint in his palm and into Hyuga Himeji, intending to attack her meridians.
Hyuga Himeji immediately dodged, sweeping a side kick at Hizashi. After Hizashi avoided it, the two separated.
Hizashi looked at Himeji across from him without trying to persuade her to give up. He understood his sister's personality very well, and he also understood why she had become this way.
But even he could not defy the rules of an ancient clan.
Chakra surged through Hizashi Hyuga's legs. He leaped lightly into the air and flung several Shuriken at the same time, charging directly toward Hyuga Himeji!
"How despicable! Hizashi Hyuga, all you know is sneak attacks!"
"That stinking graduate Hizashi! What a despicable bastard!"
The brats below erupted indignantly. The boys who already liked Himeji were as worked up as if they had been injected with adrenaline.
The atmosphere beneath the stage continued to rise. Some shouted loudly for Himeji to give Hizashi a brutal beating, hoping to disrupt Hizashi Hyuga.
Others were the children of clans that already disliked the Hyuga Clan, joining in the jeering.
The Uchiha Trio worked especially hard. They had even made a banner—"Down with the reactionary Hyuga Hiashi! Save Classmate Himeji!"
Uchiha Chen pulled Mikoto away from the crowded edge of the platform. What a joke—at this rate, the spectators would probably rush up and teach Hiashi a lesson before long.
With the crowd packed so tightly, why stand so close to watch? Wasn't that just asking for trouble?
At this moment, after throwing several shuriken into the air, Hiashi had already closed in on Hyuga Himeji.
Hyuga Himeji used a Substitution Jutsu to evade the shuriken. Hyuga Hiashi rapidly approached, having already realized that Himeji was still slightly inferior to him in Taijutsu.
After all, he was a year older than Himeji and physically stronger.
The Hyuga Clan's attack methods were relatively straightforward. All they had to do was get in close, then unleash the Gentle Fist Style and Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms with full force.
Of course, there were also other long-range Ninjutsu, but those were not something he could master yet.
And even if he failed to take down his opponent immediately, it did not matter. Once all sixty-four palms landed, Himeji's Chakra points would be sealed, and she would have no choice but to surrender.
Faced with Hyuga Hiashi's fierce assault, Hyuga Himeji showed not the slightest panic. Even after he closed in, she remained calm. She quickly exchanged palm strikes with Hiashi.
After blocking Hiashi's punch, shoulder ram, and kick, she finally found an opening large enough for a counterattack and viciously kicked Hiashi in the thigh before he could raise it.
The impact forced them briefly apart. Hyuga Himeji did not pause in midair for even an instant.
Using that brief moment of hang time, she rapidly formed Hand Seals with both hands. Then, "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A violent gale formed and slammed toward Hyuga Hiashi, who had no time to dodge!
"Good!"
Cheers instantly rang throughout the entire Training Ground.
Wind Release might be fierce, but it still had to hit its target.
Sure enough, after the Wind Release struck Hyuga Hiashi, he turned into a wooden log.
Where was he?!
Hyuga Himeji's Byakugan covered a full 360 degrees, and she had already spotted Hyuga Hiashi. But Hiashi moved even faster.
"Little sister, it took me a long time to master this move. Once you lose, admit your mistake and come home with me obediently!" Hyuga Hiashi's voice rang out.
A Two-Symbol Taiji Diagram abruptly appeared on the ground. Hiashi, hidden behind Hyuga Himeji, circulated all his Chakra in that instant. "Gentle Fist Style: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
The two were not far apart. Though Hyuga Himeji was a genius, her failure to react in time reflected a lack of experience and judgment. By the time she realized what was happening, it was already too late.
The formation of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms had already spread out, while Himeji before Hiashi had only just reacted!
"Within my domain, no one can evade this move. Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
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