Battle, Battle, Battle

The girl swaggered over and stopped beside Mikoto. Her large eyes carried an indescribable charm as she openly observed Katsuo.

This sudden arrival looked very familiar to Katsuo, but he could not recall the girl's identity right away...

Not long after she joined Katsuo's side, a student who had sided with Hiashi immediately shouted at her:

"This is Konoha's business. An outsider like you has no right to butt in!"

"That's right! Transfer student, outsider—get out of Konoha!"

Clearly, someone recognized the girl, and their words were exceedingly harsh. Her cheeks flushed red, and her face filled with fury!

A large part of why she had stepped forward was to help Mikoto. Since arriving in Konoha, Mikoto had been her only true friend!

As a transfer student with a striking head of blood-red hair and such a carefree personality, not only had the boys bullied her at school, even the girls in the class had disliked her...

Even the female students feared the girl's violent temper. In their eyes, this red-haired girl was a strange anomaly...

Only kind and caring Mikoto had ignored the judgment of others and rescued the girl from the bullying of several boys. The two had become the closest of friends because of it!

That was precisely why she had chosen to step forward and support Mikoto now!

Of course, that also indirectly meant supporting Katsuo!

"You are... Kushina Uzumaki?"

Katsuo's puzzled voice briefly dispelled Kushina's anger. She tilted her head and gave Katsuo another look before nodding firmly.

"Heh."

Katsuo gave a quiet, inexplicable laugh, then looked in Hiashi's direction and said:

"Thank you for your support, but please step aside for now. This rabble... I alone am enough to deal with them!"

Katsuo's words once again stirred up outrage and commotion... but upon hearing them, Hiashi faintly sensed that something was wrong!

"But..."

"No buts! Listen to your big brother, or I'll get mad!"

Katsuo cut off Mikoto's worried words before she could finish.

Hearing his words, both flippant and serious, Mikoto was instantly covered in black lines...

Though they were all worried about Katsuo's safety, his unquestionable tone and utterly confident posture ultimately made his friends choose to believe in him...

"Don't get beaten to death, big brother..."

As Kushina pulled Mikoto away, she turned back with a grin and said.

"Believe in me, brothers!"

Katsuo said to Minato and Nawaki.

"All right..."

"Go, Boss! Beat them down! I support you spiritually, and I'll cheer for you from the side..."

Seeing the two compromise, Katsuo gave them a satisfied smile.

This had originally been a setup he had arranged for the sake of putting on a show. He had not expected events to develop beyond his expectations and turn out like this!

"This is getting a little serious, but it's still within my ability to handle. It's time to end this farce!"

Inside the Hokage Office, Jiraiya looked at Minato Namikaze and asked with sudden curiosity:

"What's that blonde youth called?"

"I think his name is Minato Namikaze."

The Third Hokage exhaled a puff of smoke and gave a rough introduction. He did not actually know much about this child, yet he could accurately state the child's name!

"Not bad. He dared to stand up against so many people in a situation like this. And those two girls, too."

"Huh... isn't that little girl from the Uzumaki Clan?"

Only as Jiraiya spoke did he realize it.

The Third Hokage did not answer his question. Instead, he leaned closer to the Crystal Ball and said in a low voice:

"They've started fighting!"

"That kid made the first move!"

Outside the classroom, Katsuo threw three purple smoke bombs into the crowd opposite him!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three explosions like firecrackers rang out, and the purple smoke released by the bombs instantly engulfed Hiashi's entire group!

Confidence was one thing; arrogance was another. He was not arrogant enough to face so many students head-on...

Even though he possessed the strength of a Chunin now, he was certain that if they fought openly, he would lose terribly. After all, not everyone at the Ninja Academy was weak. The descendants of great clans had no shortage of capable people...

To put it simply, the other side could kill him just by throwing rocks at him, let alone the fact that they had blunt training Kunai and Shuriken in their hands!

Therefore, defeating this group of aggressive elementary schoolers required unconventional methods...

For example... obscuring their vision and fighting this group of "blind people" by relying on his own spiritual perception, thereby defeating them one at a time!

Bang!

"Ah!!!"

From within the dense smoke, Hiashi suddenly let out a scream!

Most people coughed in panic, a small portion covered their mouths and guarded themselves warily, while some simply abandoned the group and fled!

"Byakugan, activate!"

Several older Hyuga students activated their Byakugan at once. In their vision, a figure with Chunin-level Chakra was brutally beating Hiashi. That figure was close to them; there was no need to guess who it was!

"Uchiha Katsuo!"

A Hyuga clansman cried out.

Their clan's young master was being viciously beaten. They had no time to marvel at Katsuo's Chakra reserves or think any further... the three strongest Hyuga instantly intercepted the rampaging Uchiha Katsuo!

All three were elites of the Hyuga Clan within the school. The strongest among them struck first. Hyuga Akikaze thrust a palm toward Katsuo's head, showing no mercy. Chakra coated that palm; if it landed, Katsuo would at the very least cough up blood and would have no chance whatsoever of turning the battle around.

Gentle Fist had the ability to seal an enemy's Chakra. If he was struck head-on, Uchiha Katsuo would undoubtedly lose!

However, the result before them shocked the three once again!

Katsuo merely tilted his head and easily evaded the attack, as though he had seen Hyuga Akikaze's strike coming!

It had to be known that he did not possess the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan. In smoke this dense, there was no reason he should have been able to see!

Even if he has the Sharingan, he couldn't possibly see my attack through smoke like this!

Hyuga Akikaze was shaken to the core.

But what happened next left him with no choice but to believe that Katsuo really could see through the smoke and perceive everyone's every move!

After dodging Hyuga Akikaze's punch, Katsuo drove a reverse elbow into his chest, moving with astonishing speed!

In his terror, Hyuga Akikaze only had time to raise an arm to block. The instant they collided, he let out a scream.

"Ah!"

Elbow against arm—Hyuga Akikaze suffered badly!

Another older Hyuga student stepped forward to help. He launched a rapid series of attacks at Katsuo, and the sounds of fists and kicks colliding rang out continuously within the smoke!

In terms of taijutsu, Katsuo thoroughly outclassed him. After only a few exchanges, Katsuo found an opening and kicked him. The boy rolled across the ground, clutched his stomach, and collapsed, unable to rise!

Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms!

After exchanging a few moves with Katsuo, a fifth-year Hyuga student unleashed Gentle Fist's ultimate move. Though it consisted of only sixteen palms and was the introductory technique of the Gentle Fist Art, he had used it to defeat many outstanding students his age!

Facing this formidable enemy, he used his trump card!

Yet the moment after he unleashed his ultimate move, he discovered in horror... that all sixteen of his palms had been blocked!

Being blocked alone would have been one thing, but the enemy's next action left him utterly stunned.

Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms!

Katsuo shouted and actually assumed the opening stance of the Gentle Fist!