One-Sided

The fifth-year Hyuga froze for an instant, and in that brief moment, he took all sixteen palms head-on.

Palm after palm struck flesh, palm after palm slapped his face!

In the blink of an eye, he was beaten unconscious. In the final moment before blacking out, he heard his opponent's mocking remark.

"You dare show off with punches that slow?"

There was nothing wrong with his Hyuga Style Eight Trigrams Palm, but he was far too inexperienced and had not mastered it proficiently. Against a speed-type opponent like Katsuo, who had learned the Might Style Strong Fist and possessed his unique insight, his flaws were magnified severalfold!

The so-called "Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms" looked like a child flailing his hands in Katsuo's eyes. Katsuo could clearly "see" every move and replicate it!

Of course, his sixteen palms had the form but not the essence. They were merely imitations and could not seal Chakra through acupuncture points.

After taking down another one, Katsuo did not stop moving. He fought anyone he encountered and knocked down everyone he saw. He was truly unstoppable. The overwhelming majority fell with a single strike; only members of the Hyuga Clan could see his movements and exchange a few moves with him!

Miserable cries rang out from the fog-shrouded area, leaving the onlookers outside, unable to see the battle, utterly dumbfounded!

"Byakugan, activate!"

Hiashi had been beaten black and blue, but he had caught his breath slightly. He immediately roared and activated his Byakugan, wanting to see the situation clearly.

But what drove him to despair was...

The instant he activated his Byakugan, he took a vicious punch straight to the eye. The agonizing pain in his eye socket made him scream like a slaughtered pig!

But as soon as he screamed, another punch knocked out his front tooth!

That person struck ruthlessly and heavily. Hiashi only had time to grunt before passing out miserably!

After gritting his teeth, Hyuga Akikaze rushed in to provide support. The sounds of a taijutsu clash between Gentle Fist and Strong Fist suddenly erupted.

"Leaf Whirlwind!"

Katsuo leaped into the air and unleashed a Leaf Style Two-Foot Kick at Hyuga Akikaze.

Unfortunately, the move was blocked outright. Hyuga Akikaze's taijutsu was no weak, and he was far faster than the previous two Hyuga, nearly matching Katsuo's speed!

"Gentle Fist!"

With every punch and palm, the two fought fiercely, neither able to gain the upper hand for the moment. Katsuo even felt an indescribable frustration!

His speed was clearly a little faster, yet he did not dare clash head-on. He also had to be extremely careful not to get hit by the Gentle Fist...

Because if the Gentle Fist hit him even once, he would lose immediately. Its Chakra-sealing effect was not something he could undo at his current level.

"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!"

Hyuga Akikaze assumed the opening stance of the Eight Trigrams Palm, his Byakugan locking onto Katsuo!

Retreat!

Katsuo suddenly retreated at high speed. He went all out, using his fastest speed to escape Hyuga Akikaze's attack range!

If Hyuga Akikaze used the Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms, Katsuo absolutely could not withstand it!

Of course, he had no intention of taking the attack head-on. After their earlier clash of hard and soft styles, he had already roughly figured out Hyuga Akikaze's speed and strength.

He knew his limits. The moment Hyuga Akikaze assumed his opening stance, he retreated with all his strength, instantly opening a safe distance between them.

Even as he retreated, Katsuo sensed Hyuga Akikaze rapidly closing in.

While swiftly backing away, Katsuo formed hand seals at high speed and exited the fog-covered area. His feet scraped sharply against the ground as he came to an abrupt stop. Before the horrified eyes of the spectators, he opened his eyes, rapidly formed more hand seals, and loosely covered the corner of his mouth as clusters of blazing fireballs spewed from his mouth!

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

This time, the fireballs he spat out were larger and more numerous, several times more powerful than when he had fought Fugaku and the others. He had deliberately increased his Chakra output.

He wanted to take down every hostile person within the smoke in one go!

"Water Release: Water Wall!"

A wall of water appeared out of thin air, blocking every fireball!

Orochimaru had arrived just in time!

As clicking sounds rang out, Hyuga Akikaze saw everything clearly with his Byakugan. He let out a relieved breath and stopped moving. If those fireballs had not been blocked, he would have been injured—perhaps seriously!

Is the teacher here?

Hyuga Akikaze thought to himself.

As Orochimaru appeared, another figure flashed onto the scene. With a wave of her hand, she dispersed the purple fog and white steam that had nearly faded away.

Tsunade had arrived!

As the smoke completely dissipated, all the students witnessed the most shocking sight of their lives so far!

More than a dozen people lay on the ground, howling miserably as they clutched the spots where they had been struck. Hiashi and a fifth-year student lay unconscious on the ground, and beside Hiashi was a bloodstained white front tooth!

Hyuga Akikaze, the school's renowned veteran "genius," was also clutching his arm with tightly furrowed brows. He had clearly been injured!

Katsuo's elbow strike had been extremely heavy. If his strength had not still been too immature, that blow would have snapped Hyuga Akikaze's arm outright!

This was the price of underestimating Katsuo. If he had known from the start that Katsuo could see through the dense fog and was so fast, he would not have suffered such a huge loss!

Although he had not looked down on this younger brother, who was several years his junior, before coming here, Fugaku's previous defeat had already confirmed that Katsuo could use ninjutsu and genjutsu.

Strictly speaking, a student capable of ninjutsu and genjutsu was already a ninja. That alone was worth taking seriously.

But after witnessing Katsuo's strength, he realized that this guy's taijutsu was just as formidable!

Is he really only six years old? Terrifying!

This was Hyuga Akikaze's only thought at the moment. Katsuo had shocked him too deeply, and there were simply too many things about him that seemed unbelievable!

"Genius? Perhaps..."

Hyuga Akikaze muttered to himself. He could not find a more fitting word than genius to describe Katsuo. He felt that only Katsuo deserved that title; so-called "geniuses" like himself were nothing but a joke before him!

Because of this, he resolved to train even harder from now on!

"So... so that's it... it's over???"

Nawaki asked haltingly, looking as though he had seen a ghost.

"I think... it's over..."

Minato answered, his face equally filled with disbelief.

The two girls' eyes shimmered with hearts as they stared at Katsuo, unable to look away!

"Hehe... what an interesting little brat!"

Orochimaru laughed hoarsely as he licked the corner of his mouth.

He had arrived before Katsuo made his move. He had even stopped the teachers who came to investigate, then hidden with Tsunade to observe how events unfolded.

After all, if the students had not started fighting, there would have been no need for the two of them to step in.

Besides, they had wanted to see what methods Katsuo would use against so many attackers.

Although the smoke bombs had obstructed his vision, Orochimaru knew that this boy's taijutsu was powerful. Even the Hyuga Clan's taijutsu elite at the school were no match for him!

His ninjutsu was powerful as well. The Phoenix Sage Fire Technique from earlier had tremendous force. The number, size, and temperature of the fireballs all showed that he had mastered the technique proficiently.

What a mysterious child. To achieve this at such a young age is truly unbelievable. I really want to cut him open and see why he is so different from everyone else!

Orochimaru suddenly developed a morbid interest in Katsuo!

Sensing Orochimaru's strange, twisted, venomous-serpent-like gaze, Katsuo inexplicably shuddered!

It was an extremely dangerous gaze. It made Katsuo, whose five senses were abnormally keen, feel his hair stand on end, his muscles tense, and warning bells ring in his mind!

He drew a sharpened Kunai with his backhand. His pupils narrowed slightly as he stared intently at Orochimaru with extreme focus!

That look! It is astonishingly similar to the giant eagle outside Ryūchi Cave that hunts great snakes!

At this moment, Orochimaru, whose body already possessed some Snake Clan traits, actually felt the unease of encountering a natural predator when facing Katsuo!

Orochimaru's smile froze on his face. His brows furrowed, his slit pupils contracted, and killing intent unconsciously surged forth!

Katsuo watched every movement he made. It was as though his eyes had stripped away all color, the watching crowd, and even the entire world!

At this moment, Orochimaru's figure was the only thing left in his vision!

As time passed, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan seemed on the verge of activating on its own!