Sibling Battle

At that moment, Uchiha Chen's gaze was fixed firmly on Hiashi Hyuga. As expected of the Hyuga Clan's next-generation clan head, he was excellent in both experience and timing.

If Orochimaru had not intervened, Himeji Hyuga, after taking the full Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, should have had no chance left at all.

Was Himeji Hyuga going to fail just like that?

At that moment, the students below the stage watched in complete silence.

Yet faced with such a situation, there was not a trace of panic on Himeji Hyuga's face. Her expression remained icy.

Her composure in battle alone surpassed that of most ninjas by far.

The instant Hiashi's fingers struck Himeji Hyuga's body, a dazzling burst of Chakra lit up around her.

The Chakra swiftly formed a semicircle around Himeji.

"Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven." Himeji's voice rang out.

"This is..." Uchiha Chen stared at Himeji on the stage.

Many students below widened their eyes. They had never seen this kind of Ninjutsu before.

Several streams of Chakra condensed and suddenly wrapped around Hiashi Hyuga beside Himeji. After delivering several palm strikes, Hiashi was caught and spun by the rotating Chakra.

The tide of battle reversed in an instant!

Hiashi, who had thought he could secure a swift victory, was ensnared by the Chakra of Revolving Heaven after only the first few strikes of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!

"Go, Himeji!"

The cheers below the stage rose again.

Hizashi Hyuga watched anxiously from below, but there was nothing he could do.

"Such talent truly is remarkable." Orochimaru, who had been watching the battle closely, gave a slight sigh at Himeji Hyuga's talent. Interest appeared in his eyes.

Revolving Heaven was a secret technique that only members of the Main Family could master. At this time, Hiashi Hyuga was only the Young Clan Head. Himeji Hyuga and Hizashi Hyuga were both still members of the Main Family.

Thus, they were qualified to learn such a secret technique.

But being qualified was all it meant.

Not everyone had the talent to master it, yet Himeji Hyuga was only nine years old and had already learned this Ninjutsu.

Although Himeji Hyuga's Revolving Heaven was still only an incomplete version, lacking greatly in both range and power, it still demonstrated just how terrifying her talent was.

This year's Ninja Academy truly had no shortage of geniuses.

Below the stage, Uchiha Chen was also explaining Revolving Heaven to Mikoto and Minato.

Uchiha Chen explained, "Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven is a secret technique of the Hyuga Clan. At the instant one is attacked, a large amount of Gentle Fist Chakra is released from the body's Chakra points, then the user spins in a circular motion like a top, allowing them to repel all physical attacks."

"Combined with the user's own rotation and the Byakugan's powerful observation ability, this move is also known as 'Absolute Defense.'"

"Absolute Defense?" Minato murmured. "Does absolute defense really exist?"

Uchiha Chen shook out his windbreaker, his smile fading.

"Minato, every Ninjutsu has its weaknesses. No Ninjutsu is invincible."

Minato nodded.

On the stage, Hiashi struggled on the ground for quite some time after being struck by Revolving Heaven before finally getting back up. Blood spilled from his mouth.

Meanwhile, because Himeji Hyuga had been struck several times by the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, her Chakra circulation had also begun to malfunction.

Hiashi straightened himself and said to Himeji, "Little sister, let's end this here."

Himeji Hyuga merely stared straight at Hiashi without replying.

"Himeji Hyuga's plan was a good one. She knew that she was still inferior to Hiashi in Taijutsu, so she allowed him to close in. Then she suddenly used Revolving Heaven to strike the unguarded Hiashi."

"Although her Revolving Heaven hit Hiashi, and Hiashi appears to have suffered more serious injuries..."

"She overestimated the power of her Revolving Heaven. More precisely, those palm strikes greatly weakened its effect."

"Now, as long as Hiashi drags things out, he still has the strength to fight. But Himeji Hyuga can no longer use Chakra."

"In the end, she can only delay things slightly. If she cannot come up with a sufficient countermeasure in this extremely short time, Himeji Hyuga will lose this match."

Uchiha Chen analyzed the situation on the stage.

Himeji clearly understood this as well. If she allowed her brother to continue recovering, she would still be the one to lose.

So she drew out kunai and instantly threw five of them at Hiashi.

Hiashi panted as he barely defended himself. He could not dodge in time, and one kunai pierced his arm. Blood streamed down continuously.

Himeji threw a punch at Hiashi, and Hiashi caught it with his right palm. Then they began relentlessly exchanging Gentle Fist blows.

This brutal clash drew everyone's attention below the stage almost instantly.

The area below the stage was deathly silent.

Even Uchiha Chen could not help widening his eyes, wanting to see who would be the first to collapse.

Orochimaru, standing in one corner of the arena, naturally witnessed everything from start to finish. After his disturbed snake-like eyes lifted slightly, they became calm once more.

This was what ninjas were—a group of tools for killing. What meaning did life have?

Hiashi was in a state where he could not voice his suffering. He still had Chakra, but his injuries were too severe for him to muster any strength.

Himeji's assault, meanwhile, seemed as though it would never stop, relentlessly entangling him.

"It's not over yet!"

His gaze remained steadfast, and even now, he did not choose to give up.

He could not give up, even if his opponent was his younger sister.

If he gave up now, it would mean the Young Clan Head of the Hyuga Clan had admitted defeat.

He wanted to defeat his sister fair and square, earn her acknowledgment, and bring her home.

Hiashi sharply drew in a breath and quickly retreated two steps.

"Gentle Fist."

Hiashi struck at Himeji's seemingly defenseless shoulder.

Bang!

Eyes wide, Hiashi's hands moved rapidly as he drove a punch into Himeji's shoulder.

Himeji took the punch head-on. Blood spilled from the girl's mouth, yet she still did not take a single step back.

What she wanted was to defeat her brother and prove that her talent was greater.

Hyuga Hiashi had his own persistence—how could she not have hers?

It did not matter if her Chakra had been sealed.

She directly grabbed the fist he had thrown.

Himeji kicked Hiashi in the stomach. Hiashi could no longer hold on and collapsed, while Himeji was fiercely sent flying by the Chakra-enhanced Rouquan!

She struggled to get back to her feet.

Seeing this nearly brutal scene, all the students watching below fell silent, their arguments cut short. At that moment, no one could laugh.

"I declare this battle a draw."

At the same time, Orochimaru's slightly hoarse voice carried over.

Yet there were no cheers at all.

Hizashi Hyuga immediately rushed up. He carried his younger sister Himeji on his back and ran toward Princess Tsunade.

Poor Hiashi lay on the ground with no one attending to him. After a while, the other Hyuga children ran up and carried him away.

"Ancient clan ninjas... they really are terrifying," Uchiha Chen remarked.

"But this is what a ninja is. Everyone has their own Ninja Way, and they keep striving forward," Uchiha Chen continued.

"Minato, what is your Ninja Way?" Uchiha Chen asked Minato Namikaze, who stood beside him.

"Me? My Ninja Way is—"

After thinking for a moment, Minato answered solemnly, "My Ninja Way is to protect the people I want to protect. For that, I'll work hard to become the Hokage of Konoha Village!"

"Oh. The Hokage?" Uchiha Chen nodded calmly, neither mocking him nor expressing agreement.

After an inexplicable silence, Minato finally could not bear the awkward atmosphere any longer and laughed as he asked, "What about you, Chen? What's your Ninja Way?"

"Me?" Uchiha Chen thought carefully. After remaining silent for a while, he finally said, "...I don't know either."