After Ootani Yuuto made the announcement, he immediately pulled Akeshi out of the ground. Seeing her disheveled state, Ootani Yuuto instinctively glanced at Yuzuru. Setting aside Akeshi's identity as an Uchiha, she was still a girl. Though she was somewhat arrogant, as long as she kept quiet and one ignored her haughty expression, she was essentially still an adorable little girl. He had not expected Yuzuru to be so ungentlemanly toward her. He could not help worrying for him—would he have a girlfriend in the future?
Come to think of it, he was already over thirty and seemed not to have found a girlfriend either...
Ootani Yuuto's face darkened as he thought that.
"Form the Seal of Reconciliation!"
The scoring teacher also walked over from the side. Looking at the indignant Akeshi and the calm Yuzuru, he spoke in a routine, businesslike manner.
Akeshi reluctantly formed the Seal of Reconciliation with Yuzuru, then turned and strode off toward the lounge.
After forming the Seal of Reconciliation as well, Yuzuru used the Body Flicker Technique to leave, heading for the lounge just like Akeshi.
"Next match..."
After watching the two geniuses, Akeshi and Yuzuru, leave, Ootani Yuuto continued calling up the students for the next battle.
Lounge.
When Akeshi saw the calm-faced Yuzuru walk in, she could not help gritting her teeth. Her strength had improved so much over the past month—why was she still nowhere near his match? And the Shadow Clone he had created had been so realistic that even her Sharingan could not spot any flaw. She simply could not identify his fake body as a Shadow Clone...
"Hey!"
Akeshi called out to Yuzuru, who was sitting across from her. He glanced at her but did not respond.
"Don't tell me you're still a Shadow Clone right now?"
Seeing Yuzuru looking like he did not want to deal with her, Akeshi did not mind. Instead, she suddenly asked this, making Yuzuru look at her in surprise, as though he could not understand why she would say such a thing.
"My grandfather told me that the Tenseigan's Dōjutsu Power far surpasses that of the tomoe Sharingan. Since you have the Tenseigan, you naturally wouldn't lack Chakra. Creating several Shadow Clones wouldn't be a problem..."
As Akeshi spoke, she felt more and more certain that her guess was correct. Yuzuru's strength could not be judged by ordinary standards. He was a monster among geniuses; even she was far inferior to him.
Though Akeshi did not want to admit it...
"Stop overthinking it. Hurry and recover your Chakra instead. Don't you still have to fight the upperclassmen?"
Yuzuru spoke to Akeshi, and his last sentence struck directly at her heart.
That was right. It was one thing for her, a proud Uchiha, to lose to Hyuga Yuzuru, a "genius monster." But if she could not even defeat upperclassmen from the ninja academy, that would be truly humiliating!
So Akeshi really stopped paying attention to Yuzuru and began regulating her breathing, speeding up the recovery of the Chakra within her body.
This little girl isn't that stupid...
As Yuzuru watched Akeshi enter a meditative state, he thought this to himself. Ever since awakening the Tenseigan, his true body had never left the Hyuga Clan. The one who went out was always his Shadow Clone. He did this because of the strict demands of the Hyuga Clan head and elders. After all, Hyuga Yuzuru was the Hyuga Clan's only member to have awakened the Tenseigan. Before he fully matured, he would receive layers of protection from the Hyuga higher-ups. No matter what, they could not allow him to die young...
Though Yuzuru himself did not really care, given his extraordinary strength...
Time slowly passed, and after lunch, the students continued with the final few matches.
At the same time, more than a dozen upperclassmen from the ninja academy who had been arranged by the teachers waited quietly nearby. They would soon serve as the challengers' opponents, accepting challenges from these adorable younger students.
"...The final match: Kageka Maple versus Takano Takeha."
As Ootani Yuuto's voice fell, the two girls, Kageka Maple and Takano Takeha, walked straight into the arena...
Kageka Maple had a baby face. When she smiled, her dimples and little canine teeth showed, and her adorable appearance immediately drew the attention of several upperclassmen.
"What a cute junior..."
"I wonder which one of us will be her opponent later! Let's agree in advance—whoever fights this junior had better go easy on her!"
"Of course. Faced with such a cute junior, I couldn't possibly bring myself to hit her!"
"..."
The upperclassmen whispered among themselves while sizing up Kageka Maple and her opponent.
Compared to the sweet and adorable Kageka Maple, the girl standing opposite her looked utterly ordinary. She had freckles on her face, somewhat dark skin, and a build that seemed even burlier than some boys'. She did not look like a girl at all...
In the arena, once the scoring teacher gave the signal, the two formed the Seal of Confrontation, then began their battle.
Takano Takeha launched the first attack. Her unusual physique gave her incredible explosive power, and she charged at Kageka Maple like a small wild elephant, her momentum overwhelming.
Among students her age, Takano Takeha, with her "burly" build, was practically a local tyrant. After all, ninja academy students at this age did not know any powerful ninjutsu. To defeat an opponent, they could only rely on taijutsu or ninja tools, both of which were Takano Takeha's strengths. Her aptitude for ninjutsu was average, but her talent in taijutsu and controlling ninja tools was excellent...
"Ha!"
Takano Takeha rushed in front of Kageka Maple, shouted, and viciously swung her fist at the latter's face without any intention of holding back...
"Takano Takeha is the strongest student besides the two of us. Kageka Maple is in for it."
Akeshi, whose Chakra had mostly recovered, returned to the edge of the viewing area. She walked up to Yuzuru, who had apparently been standing there for some time, and spoke with a teasing expression, seemingly looking forward to seeing Kageka Maple's adorable face beaten into a "pig head."
Yuzuru glanced at Akeshi, then said calmly, "Kageka Maple won't lose."
"You're that confi—"
Before Akeshi could finish saying the word "confident," she saw the situation in the arena reverse dramatically.
Kageka Maple's frail body should not have been able to withstand Takano Takeha's punch, but an eerie scene unfolded!
Takano Takeha's fist suddenly stopped just one centimeter from Kageka Maple's cheek. No matter how much force she used, she could not move it forward even an inch!
"This is..."
Takano Takeha stared in shock at the black substance that had suddenly appeared on Kageka Maple's cheek. That shadow-like thing had somehow become tangible and spread from her fist, making it look from afar as though she were wearing a black glove...
"What is that?"
Akeshi outside the arena naturally saw this as well. It was the black substance that had suddenly appeared on Kageka Maple's face that stopped Takano Takeha's fierce punch!
"Yeah, what could that be?"
Yuzuru secretly revealed a faint smile. He was looking forward to Kageka Maple displaying Youying's power...
Before you continue