Natural Enemy

From the feedback of her chakra, Kurenai could clearly sense that Hyuga Kagami had broken her Genjutsu.

And the result left her utterly shocked!

Under normal circumstances, even if an enemy could break a Genjutsu, they would usually need to go through a process to do so.

That process could involve forming hand seals and manipulating chakra to stimulate themselves, or it could involve self-inflicted pain. In short, some form of dispelling process was almost always necessary.

Yet Hyuga Kagami had done nothing and broken her Genjutsu anyway. It completely overturned her understanding of Genjutsu.

Hyuga Kagami, standing on the field, had gained some insight as well.

Without question, the Tenseigan possessed an extremely strong resistance to Genjutsu. Against ordinary Genjutsu, he barely needed to do anything; the Tenseigan could passively clear its effects from him.

And the entire process took only an instant!

The spar continued. Hyuga Kagami suppressed the joy in his heart and said to Kurenai, "A word of advice: don't use Genjutsu carelessly when facing a powerful ocular technique user."

Kurenai stared fixedly at Hyuga Kagami. "Why was my Genjutsu ineffective? How did you do it?"

Kurenai's loud questioning drew quite a bit of attention. Many Chunin who had not yet taken the field turned their eyes toward Hyuga Kagami and Kurenai's match.

Seeing that there was quite an audience, Hyuga Kagami pondered briefly. He felt this was a good opportunity to establish the image of a strong man, so he said calmly, "To powerful ocular technique users, ordinary Genjutsu is meaningless. That's why I said earlier that you were unlucky. Your Genjutsu is completely ineffective against me."

Kurenai was not someone who admitted defeat easily. She snorted coldly, then formed hand seals again and cried, "Genjutsu: Sanzezakura!"

Whoosh...

It was as though a light breeze had swept across Training Ground No. 9.

The corners of Kurenai's lips lifted slightly. "You've fallen for it!"

With that, she lowered her body and, riding the breeze, pounced fiercely at the motionless Hyuga Kagami.

Hyuga Kagami remained completely still, seemingly caught in some kind of Genjutsu and unresponsive to everything around him.

But just as the watching Chunin thought Kurenai was about to succeed, Hyuga Kagami suddenly raised his right arm without warning, accurately blocking her attack route.

"You!?"

Her sure-kill strike had been stopped, and Kurenai froze on the spot.

Hyuga Kagami did not even turn his head. He merely spun and kicked, sending the stunned Kurenai flying.

"It seems you still don't understand. Disruption-type Genjutsu is ineffective against me as well."

Hyuga Kagami spoke slowly and evenly, as though he were merely stating an obvious fact.

Kurenai climbed up from the ground with an unwilling look on her face and asked somewhat dazedly, "How... how could this be!?"

Genjutsu was the Yuhi Clan's specialty, and it was also what Yuhi Kurenai had always taken pride in. Yet today, that pride was shattered by reality.

Not only Yuhi Kurenai, but many of the watching Chunin were shocked or astonished. Uchiha Shisui, who had just defeated his own opponent, also noticed what was happening here.

Hyuga Kagami knew that Kurenai had lost her father during the recent Nine-Tails Incident, and he had not wanted to provoke her too much. But on second thought, the disadvantage ordinary Genjutsu-type ninja faced against powerful ocular bloodline users was an unavoidable fact.

Letting Kurenai experience this sooner might not be a bad thing for her.

Thus, Hyuga Kagami continued in an icy tone, "Someone will make you understand this sooner or later. Rather than letting an enemy tell you, it's better that I tell you."

Kurenai looked at Hyuga Kagami. "Can your eyes really see through everything?"

Hyuga Kagami shrugged without answering.

Then he recalled how Kurenai would someday be effortlessly crushed by Itachi and kindly reminded her, "If you encounter a true ocular bloodline user skilled in Genjutsu, remember this: don't rely too heavily on Genjutsu, or the consequences may be unpredictable."

Kurenai nodded solemnly, then decisively chose to concede.

Though she had lost this battle, it was not without gain. On the contrary, it had made her recognize her own weakness and understand what kind of ninja were her natural enemies.

On the viewing platform in the distance.

The Third Hokage watched this scene and pondered for a while before instructing the Anbu beside him, "For the final round, arrange a match between Hyuga Kagami and Uchiha Shisui."

The Anbu beside him seemed to be looking forward to a clash between the Sharingan and the Byakugan as well, so he nodded. "Yes, I'll arrange it right away."

As expected, Hyuga Kagami won another two rounds in a row and qualified for the final round of the assessment.

At this point, only thirty Chunin remained in the venue.

Among those thirty Chunin, the only familiar faces Hyuga Kagami had left were Guy, Asuma, and Uchiha Shisui. As for all the other classmates from his generation, they had already been eliminated in the previous matches.

Asuma had long expected Hyuga Kagami and Shisui to keep winning, but he had not expected Guy, who had always been dead last, to win three consecutive matches as well. He clicked his tongue in amazement. "Guy, you've improved quite a bit!"

Guy struck his signature pose, flashing a mouthful of gleaming white teeth as he laughed. "Wahaha! I am Konoha's Blue Beast!"

Seeing all the winners looking over, Asuma awkwardly waved his hands. "Don't look at me like that. I don't know him. I really don't know him!"

At that moment, the Third Hokage slowly walked over with a pipe in his mouth.

The Chunin hurriedly saluted the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage smiled. "You are the finest Chunin in the village. As Hokage, I am proud of you. However, the number of Special Jonin positions is limited, so you must still undergo the final round of assessment."

Upon hearing this, everyone examined one another, their expressions turning grave in unison.

At this stage of the selection, the remaining thirty were nearly all outstanding among the Chunin. None of them dared claim they could certainly defeat another, so the final round was bound to be a fierce clash.

"Cough, cough..."

After coughing twice, the Third Hokage announced, "Let the drawing for the final round begin."

The results were soon revealed. The first match of the final round was Hyuga Kagami versus Uchiha Shisui!

Hyuga Kagami was not surprised by the draw. He had never believed in so-called random drawings. In his view, manipulating the outcome of a draw was a necessary skill for every superior, and there was nothing to criticize about it.

Shisui was only briefly stunned before returning to calm.

Unlike Hyuga Kagami and Shisui, who remained composed, everyone else immediately became deeply interested upon seeing the result.

As the village's two great ocular techniques, which was stronger between the Sharingan and the Byakugan had always been a topic repeatedly discussed throughout the village. Therefore, the duel between Hyuga Kagami and Shisui was certain to draw immense attention.

Without needing anyone to urge him, Hyuga Kagami lightly leaped onto Training Ground No. 1.

Looking at Shisui as he slowly stepped onto the training ground opposite him, he said, "I'm very curious just how strong the Uchiha's newest generation of genius is. Don't disappoint me."