First Place, Secured

Aburame Tetsumaru naturally took this battle very seriously, because the Byakugan clan was the only one he had yet to fight. They watched their children far too closely.

Whenever he passed by their home, their gate was always tightly shut, rarely ever opened. That was why Tetsumaru found it strange—how had Lady Hinata managed to walk out on her own years later and get bullied?

The Byakugan was one of the three great ocular techniques in Legend of the Eyes: Five Villages Brawl. Though it was underpowered and not part of the main storyline, it still ran throughout the plot.

Compared to things like Magnet Release, Lava Release, and Flame Release, a Kekkei Genkai that mutated an actual organ like the Byakugan was a true Kekkei Genkai, something only members of that clan could possess.

However, although the Byakugan had a high ceiling, the chances of advancing it into the Tenseigan, Jōgan, or Rinnegan were practically nonexistent. Its advancement was also a single leap to the heavens—either it was nothing special, or it stood at the peak of the Shinobi World. The gap was simply too vast.

The Sharingan, on the other hand, had a clear advancement path. Every stage brought a substantial increase in strength and entirely new abilities. It was practically perfect.

But setting aside the Byakugan's future, at the Chunin level and below, its abilities were already powerful enough. It was also easy to awaken, and the Gentle Fist Technique that accompanied it was currently the strongest Taijutsu system.

The two stepped onto the field and formed the Seal of Confrontation.

Hyuga Tokuma raised both hands into palms, one before and one behind, settling into his stance as his Byakugan fixed on Aburame Tetsumaru.

Aburame Tetsumaru steadied his breathing and stood sideways, his right fist slightly extended, his left fist held before his chest, and his right leg clearly forward.

In a Taijutsu match, Tetsumaru's advantage was his body. He had learned Taijutsu from his clan's ninja, but the Aburame clan's Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu were all at the same level: worthless.

Tetsumaru also had an unexpected weakness of his own, one stemming from the Knowledge Barrier of his previous life.

In his previous life, he had been a lab rat. Plagued by suboptimal health in middle age, he had intermittently practiced several combat arts, but never achieved much. When it came to fighting, he was still at the level of wild flailing punches.

Yet from those fragmentary impressions, he had somehow developed something during his Taijutsu training.

It was not actually strange. In his previous life, Aburame Tetsumaru had been the shut-in sort of lab rat, then later became useless office furniture. He had learned boxing to lose weight. It would have been stranger if he had become proficient.

The conditions in this life were completely different. He lived in chaotic times, had inherited a family profession built on combat, possessed extraordinary Chakra, and had an exceptional physique. Thus, several highly practical fighting styles had naturally become accessible to him during combat training.

Unfortunately, whether Xingyi Boxing, Bagua Boxing, or Jeet Kune Do, they had all evolved around the bodies of ordinary humans. They could not keep up with the highly agile combat of ninja, and instead became obstacles to Tetsumaru's Taijutsu studies.

Of course, these fighting styles were merely unsuited to the Shinobi World. They needed their force-generation techniques, training methods, and combat applications adjusted for the new circumstances. Once properly revised, they would naturally display extraordinary combat power. But that required a grandmaster like Bruce Lee.

Aburame Tetsumaru was not capable of that.

Hyuga Tokuma stepped forward in a sudden advance and tested him with a left palm strike. Tetsumaru made a short cut with his right hand, striking Tokuma's wrist with the back of his hand. At the moment of contact, he clenched his fist, knocking Tokuma's right hand aside and using the force to swing a punch to the left.

His jab was caught by the opponent's right palm. Tetsumaru immediately felt his right fist being gripped tightly and dragged to the right. He instantly raised his left hand before his face while lifting his left leg, bringing knee and elbow together into a blocking stance.

Just as expected, Hyuga Tokuma dragged Aburame Tetsumaru's right fist and turned, while throwing his left elbow at Tetsumaru's head.

Borrowing Tetsumaru's force, he used the turning motion to drive the strength of his waist into his left arm. The strike was incredibly fast and powerful. The only problem was that the distance was too close for a palm strike, leaving him no choice but to use his elbow.

Though it was not Hyuga Gentle Fist Technique, the powerful elbow strike still smashed into the outside of Tetsumaru's left arm. His arm could not hold at all and collided with his head, breaking apart his guard.

As Aburame Tetsumaru toppled to the right, his bent left leg gained enough room to attack. Unable to open his eyes from the blow, he kicked toward Hyuga Tokuma's estimated position.

Luckily, he kicked Hyuga's upper left leg. Using the force of that kick, Aburame Tetsumaru yanked back his right hand.

One of them planted his hands on the ground and flipped forward, while the other performed a side backflip. They broke apart.

Once the two boys regained their footing, they rushed at each other without hesitation, fists, elbows, knees, and feet all in motion as each sought to overwhelm the other with rapid attacks.

Aburame Tetsumaru could interrupt every attack Hyuga Tokuma made, yet he was suppressed by the opponent's unceasing assault. Gradually, even the Slime's dynamic vision began to struggle to keep up.

Hyuga Tokuma was not having an easy time either. Every move of his painstakingly trained Gentle Fist Technique was interrupted. Each time, he had to forcefully erupt with power to maintain the pressure. To avoid being countered, he could only keep increasing the speed of his attacks to cover the openings, multiplying his stamina expenditure several times over.

The clash between the two boys was spectacular, drawing admiration from the spectators as applause rang out again and again.

After a minute of stalemate, both had severely depleted their stamina, their movements becoming warped and disordered. In the end, Aburame Tetsumaru was the first to slip up. A palm struck his chest, sending him staggering backward.

Fortunately, Hyuga Tokuma's arms were aching unbearably, leaving him unable to attach Chakra and seal Tetsumaru's acupoints. Otherwise, the victory would have been decided on the spot.

Taking the opportunity, both sides retreated several steps to catch their breath.

Fierce applause and praise immediately erupted from outside the field.

"As expected, you're incredible. No wonder you're Aburame Tetsumaru."

Hyuga Tokuma rubbed his arms and stared at Aburame Tetsumaru. "But I will defeat you next and prove that the Hyuga are Konoha's strongest clan."

"Nonsense! We Uchiha are the strongest Ninja Clan!"

Before Aburame Tetsumaru could speak, an Uchiha outside the field fired back first.

The arrogant Uchiha lifted his chin and said, "Uchiha Fūka. Remember my name. I will be the final victor."

Neither Aburame Tetsumaru nor Hyuga Tokuma paid him any attention. They simply stared intently at each other.

"Sorry, but in Taijutsu, Hyuga Gentle Fist is number one!"

Hyuga Tokuma shouted, then rushed toward Aburame Tetsumaru with strange footwork.

Gentle Fist Technique: Eight Trigrams Palms

Two Palms

Four Palms

Eight Palms

Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms was the Hyuga clan's ultimate technique. Every hit sealed the enemy's acupoints, and it also possessed the characteristic of stored force bursting forth—the more hits landed, the greater the explosive power.

It was said that Hyuga of the Warring States Period could train it to one thousand and twenty-four palms, destroying Susanoo in a single strike. No one knew whether that was true.

Facing the Eight Trigrams Palms, Aburame Tetsumaru had no intention of dodging. He planted his feet, crossed his clenched fists before his face, and allowed Hyuga Tokuma to strike him.

At that moment, Aburame Tetsumaru shifted his attention to the grand circulation within his body. Following the rhythm of the Eight Trigrams Palms attacks observed by the Slime, he released the Chakra circulating within him, countering the Chakra imposed by the Eight Trigrams Palms.

Whenever Hyuga Tokuma's palms touched Aburame Tetsumaru's body, an explosive boom erupted. It happened eight times in a row, leaving Hyuga Tokuma completely baffled. The Eight Trigrams Palms had never made sounds that loud before.

Several experts outside the field nearly had their eyes pop out. The Eight Trigrams Palms could be dealt with like this?

No, how did that Aburame boy have so much Chakra? By their senses, he only had a little more than the Hyuga boy, so why had he erupted with more than triple the Chakra?

"I thought accompanying my teacher to watch this sort of match would be a waste of time. I didn't expect to see something genuinely surprising."

After saying that, Orochimaru extended his tongue and licked his face. This Aburame seemed to have about as much Chakra as his disciple. How fascinating.

The situation in the arena had become clear.

Hyuga Tokuma was only six years old, after all, and had only just begun training in the Eight Trigrams Palms. He had truly only reached the Four Palms stage. Today, he had erupted under pressure and broken through to Eight Palms.

After barely completing eight palms, Hyuga Tokuma's entire body ached. His hands and feet twitched uncontrollably, forcing him to drop to one knee.

As Hyuga Tokuma's offensive ended, Aburame Tetsumaru shifted from his defensive stance into a crouch, then sprang into the air and lunged forward.

Tetsumaru swung his right fist, striking the Hyuga boy as he barely turned over into a half-kneeling position and knocking his right arm aside. Then he put all his strength into a left uppercut.

Hyuga Tokuma's chin took the blow hard, and the impact sent him spinning out of the field.

Out of bounds. The victor had been decided.

The thrilling contest had ended, and the spectators outside the field cheered, applauded, and praised them loudly.

Mixed into the uproar was Uchiha Fūka's provocation. He jumped up and shouted, "Aburame Tetsumaru, just wait! First place is mine!"

"Fine. I'll wait."

Aburame Tetsumaru pushed up his sunglasses. He had not originally liked wearing them, since they always felt pretentious.

However, the swelling in his face when he opened the Chakra Grand Circulation had ultimately left him with a pair of frightening dark circles. No method could eliminate that lingering side effect, so he had no choice but to wear sunglasses to conceal them.

Aburame Tetsumaru did not care about Uchiha Fūka at all. He had watched his earlier match and confirmed that he was a weakling, at most a weakling drenched in oil.

He was far inferior to Hyuga Tokuma and posed no threat to him.

His luck in this exam was good. The most troublesome opponent had been dealt with, which meant he had fulfilled Elder Shihui's request.

"Uchiha Fūka, enter the field."

"Yamanaka Yu, enter the field."

During the wait for the next match, Aburame Tetsumaru took the chance to examine his body.

The results were unexpectedly severe. The areas Hyuga Tokuma had struck heavily showed varying degrees of disrupted meridians. The worst were his chest and both hands, each containing dozens of ruptured fine meridians, with several even tangled together.

Of course, this damage was severe only by Aburame Tetsumaru's standards. If a medical ninja examined him, they would see only reddened, swollen skin—as good as no injury at all.

From the perspective of Insight, Aburame Tetsumaru's requirements for Chakra flow efficiency and smoothness were much higher, at least four or five orders of magnitude higher.

What current Shinobi World knowledge regarded as a single Chakra channel was divided into more than a dozen channels in Aburame Tetsumaru's understanding. They intersected, ran parallel, and even twisted around one another.

Based on this understanding of subdivided meridians and the concept of the Chakra Grand Circulation, Aburame Tetsumaru used Kikaichū to perform microsurgery on his meridians, continuously optimizing their openness and toughness. The thickness and smoothness of meridians determined their openness, while the twisting structure of fine meridians determined their toughness.

The meridian adjustments nourished his body in return, improving Aburame Tetsumaru's aptitude. His Chakra volume was increasing faster than that of the Senju. The amount of Chakra he had released during today's match was actually less than one-twentieth of his total. Fortunately, the grand circulation could suppress Chakra fluctuations, or the trouble would have been enormous.

But meridian adjustment was not without drawbacks. Since it was performed through surgery, Aburame Tetsumaru's entire body constantly contained numerous wounds. What he feared most was injury.

To fight for first place in this exam, he had specifically suspended the adjustments to ensure all his wounds healed.

Yet the intense battle with Hyuga Tokuma had still caused considerable damage. This proved that his meridians lacked resistance to impact, and future adjustments would need to focus on strengthening their toughness.

Aburame Tetsumaru silently adjusted his future plans, writing down the key points in the small notebook he carried with him.

By the time he put away the notebook, the match in the examination field had already ended. Uchiha Fūka had kicked the girl with the short ponytail out of bounds with a spinning stomp, claiming victory.

The cool Yamanaka Yu rose to her feet, dusted the dirt from herself, and silently returned to her parents.

The little girl was fierce and sparing with words. Her small fists focused solely on Uchiha Fūka's face, and her fearless momentum overcame her clearly inferior physical attributes. She suppressed the Uchiha throughout the match until her stamina failed.

Though the girl had lost, the watching ninja still gave her encouraging applause.

Aburame Tetsumaru liked the girl's personality. Unfortunately, his type was girls with long black hair and bangs. Blonde hair was not his thing.

The victorious Uchiha Fūka looked utterly dejected. One eye was swollen like a peach, the other blackened with bruising, and the corner of his mouth was split. Both nostrils were bleeding. The damage was not great, but the humiliation was extreme—his face had been thoroughly beaten out of shape.

And since his opponent had been a girl, he could not strike too ruthlessly. With a bellyful of frustration and nowhere to vent it, Uchiha Fūka searched around for a target and spotted Aburame Tetsumaru sitting cross-legged at the edge of the field.

"Aburame Tetsumaru! Come duel me!!"

His furious howl echoed throughout the examination grounds.

Aburame Tetsumaru naturally ignored him. In the examination grounds, heaven came first, earth came second, and the examiner came third. Volume had nothing to do with it.

The examiner watched the clock and waited fifteen minutes before calling the two onto the field for the final fight.

"Both sides, enter the field."

"Form the Seal of Confrontation."

"The exam begins!"

After applying medicine, wrapping his wounds, and especially after his father had raised a huge bump on his head, Uchiha Fūka had calmed down.

But being calm did not matter much. Unlike his earlier opponent, the tall, long-limbed Hyuga skilled in Taijutsu, Aburame Tetsumaru held a massive advantage in this match. All he needed to do was charge straight in.

Uchiha Fūka struck first with a punch. Aburame Tetsumaru neither blocked, parried, nor dodged, instead returning the attack in exactly the same manner. Relying on greater speed and longer reach, he struck later yet landed first, sending blood spraying from the Uchiha's nose.

There was a saying in fighting: a slight edge in speed made one overwhelmingly stronger, and an inch of reach gave an inch of advantage. This was exactly what it meant.

Struck first, Uchiha Fūka recoiled, his movements distorting. As a result, none of his punches could even touch Aburame Tetsumaru. After this happened seven or eight times in a row, Uchiha Fūka completely understood. The gap between them was too great; he had to take a risk to have any chance.

The Uchiha performed several backward flips in succession, opening the distance. Then he sprinted at full speed, leaped, and turned.

"Leaf Great Whirlwind!!"

He had actually shouted it out. Uchiha truly deserved their reputation for being terminally chuuni—they really shouted out the names of their moves.

Aburame Tetsumaru's mouth twitched as he mocked him inwardly. But when the Uchiha spun in midair and turned his back toward him, he did not hesitate. He rushed forward, lifted his leg, and kicked Uchiha Fūka in the butt, sending him out of bounds and claiming victory.

"Ah, he lost."

Outside the field, Uchiha Tiger, Uchiha Shangyu, and the others all shook their heads. They understood that Uchiha Fūka could not be blamed. The difference in strength between the two was too great. Even risking his life before Aburame Tetsumaru had been a foolish move.

That night, Aburame Tetsumaru discovered the greatest loss he had suffered in the exam.

The Slime had died.

After the exam ended, the Slime refused to eat again. Once night fell, it began trembling continuously. Around midnight, bodily fluids started leaking from it, then its pupils dilated. In only two minutes, the adorable Slime had turned into a puddle of mucus.

Aburame Tetsumaru could do nothing. He could only watch helplessly, his entire body trembling with heartache.

"Ninety thousand ryo!"

Through Insight analysis, the Slime had died from organ failure and damaged membranes.

Clearly, the Slime's toughness had not met practical combat standards. The Chakra vibrations generated by battle had ruptured its cell membranes, ultimately causing its death.

There was an eighty to ninety percent chance that the fight against Hyuga Tokuma had caused it. The Chakra agitated by Hyuga Gentle Fist had been extremely powerful.

Under financial pressure, Aburame Tetsumaru could only suspend his Eye of Truth plan. Once his wallet had recovered, he would consider how to cultivate a tougher Slime.