15. Kagami and Neji

"Now, begin!!"

Iruka shouted, announcing the start of the battle.

However, neither Kagami nor Neji took the initiative to attack. Even though the battle had been declared underway, they acted as if they hadn't heard and continued standing where they were.

Hyuga Neji was the only person in the six months Kagami had spent at the Ninja Academy who made him this cautious. His hand instinctively reached for his waist, only to grasp empty air.

Oh, right. In a sparring match at the Ninja Academy, they obviously couldn't let you use Kunai or anything else that might take someone's life. The moment Kagami got serious, he had subconsciously thought he was fighting Shisui and reached for the ninja tool pouch strapped to his waist. But Kagami had already removed his pouch before the match.

"I heard your shuriken skills are impressive, but in a duel like this, you aren't allowed to use shuriken. In that case, it seems I have the advantage."

Hyuga Neji noticed Kagami's movement sharply.

"No, not at all. It's my honor to duel a senior."

Although many people considered Kagami an extremely arrogant Uchiha, that was simply because he didn't want to waste time on them. When it came to basic humility, Kagami naturally possessed it.

"However, Senior Neji, in this match—"

Neji's gaze sharpened, and he spoke at the same time as Kagami.

"I won't hand you the victory!"

"The victor will be me!"

Kagami had spoken the first sentence, while Neji had spoken the second.

After speaking, Kagami moved, charging toward Neji.

The reason he hadn't attacked immediately was to observe. Now, he had finished gathering all the information he could.

"Byakugan!"

The veins on both sides of Neji's eyes bulged, winding around them and making him look somewhat frightening. This was what he looked like when activating the Byakugan, just as the eyes of Uchiha clan members turned blood-red when they activated the Sharingan.

So fast!!!

After activating the Byakugan, that was Neji's first thought. Although the Byakugan's insight was superior to the Sharingan's, this insight referred to its range. The area the Byakugan could see far exceeded that of the Sharingan.

However, when it came to dynamic vision, the Byakugan was inferior to the Sharingan.

To Shisui, Kagami's movements were no different from slow motion. But to Neji, they were incredibly fast.

Of course, the Byakugan was still the Byakugan. Even with inferior dynamic vision, it was impossible for Neji not to see the movements of an Academy student like Kagami. But the problem was that being able to see something did not necessarily mean being able to keep up with it!

Neji saw Kagami's movements perfectly clearly, but at the same time, he realized that his body would probably have trouble keeping up with Kagami's speed.

The saying that speed was the only thing that could defeat all martial arts wasn't an exaggeration. Even if you could see an attack, if you couldn't keep up, you would still have to take the punch.

Neji twisted his head and barely dodged Kagami's punch. Chakra gathered in his hand.

Gentle Fist!

Kagami's gaze sharpened. As expected, it was highly unlikely that a genius like Neji lacked Chakra. Gentle Fist imbued with Chakra could not only directly injure the internal organs, but also seal the opponent's acupuncture points. Kagami absolutely could not let himself be hit.

Retreat!

When discussing speed in Naruto, many people's first thoughts would probably be Tobirama, Minato, and A. However, Kagami knew that Shisui was also famous for his speed. Many people had heard of the name Body Flicker Shisui.

Kagami didn't know how Shisui's speed compared with those three, but he knew that Shisui was the fastest person he had encountered so far when it came to speed!

After studying under Shisui for half a year, Kagami might be weak in other areas, but he couldn't possibly be weak in speed.

He dodged?

Neji looked at his empty-handed Gentle Fist strike, somewhat surprised. At that moment, he and Kagami had been extremely close, and Kagami had just finished throwing a punch. The momentum of that punch was still carrying him forward. Logically speaking, Kagami shouldn't have been able to dodge his attack, but...

He really is fast. The clan head said he was being taught by that Body Flicker Shisui. As expected of Body Flicker Shisui—even his disciple is already this fast. I can't imagine how fast the man himself is.

Nearby, Iruka watched the two exchange blows in shock. He still hadn't seen the full extent of Neji's strength, so he didn't know how strong Neji truly was. But Kagami's side had already frightened him.

That speed has probably reached the Genin level, right? No—it should even surpass it. And he hasn't used Chakra yet!

Many people knew that Kagami possessed Chakra. Now, even without using Chakra, Kagami's speed was already this astonishing. Once he used Chakra, it should increase even further.

After dodging Neji's attack, Kagami didn't pause in the slightest and continued attacking him.

Punches and kicks flew back and forth.

Kagami suppressed Neji with his incredible speed. But Neji was a genius too, and he had the Byakugan. Although he was handling the situation with some difficulty, he managed to hold on.

Kagami's classmates standing nearby were completely stunned. They couldn't imagine how someone their own age could fight like this.

They couldn't even see the two combatants' attacks clearly anymore. Were they really students of the Ninja Academy?

There was no cheering or shouting during this battle, because everyone had been frightened senseless.

Another person who was equally astonished was an old man in the Hokage's Office.

The Third Hokage stared at a crystal ball above his desk. A scene was displayed inside it—the battle between Kagami and Neji.

Watching the scene, which looked nothing like a battle between Academy students, the Third Hokage couldn't help sighing.

"Young people are truly formidable. Both the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan have produced an extraordinary genius."

On the battlefield, Kagami's brows furrowed tightly. He had discovered that he was actually locked in a stalemate with Neji. As things stood, neither of them would be able to defeat the other in a short time.

But that wasn't what Kagami wanted. He understood very well that Neji possessed the Byakugan. In terms of Eye Power, Neji far surpassed Kagami, who had not activated the Sharingan. If the battle dragged on, Neji could rely on the Byakugan to deal with his attacks more and more effectively, putting Kagami at an absolute disadvantage.

Since that was the case...

Kagami made a decision. After finishing one attack, he immediately retreated far away and stopped engaging Neji at close range.

Neji possessing Chakra was within Kagami's expectations. Therefore, possessing Chakra was not an advantage between two geniuses. To gain an advantage, he needed to go one step further—for example, with a technique!

In the original story, when Itachi's ability to use the forbidden technique Shadow Clone Jutsu was discovered, it had directly frightened his teacher. The teacher had gone to discuss it with the Third Hokage and asked for Itachi to graduate early, saying that he had never seen a student like him.

It was easy to imagine how shocking it was for someone of this age to know a technique. Although Kagami's Great Fireball Jutsu couldn't compare with Itachi's forbidden Shadow Clone Jutsu, it was still enough to startle everyone present. Kagami had originally wanted to keep it hidden, but now it seemed that if he kept hiding it, he might end up hiding himself into defeat.

Therefore...

"I'll concentrate all my Chakra over the next few seconds. This is my strongest move at present. Senior Hyuga, if you can block it, you win. If you can't, then I win."

Kagami spoke like this.

Hyuga Neji watched Kagami with extreme caution.

"Come on!"

Kagami took a deep breath, raised both hands, and held them in front of his chin.

Seeing this movement, an absurd thought emerged in Iruka's mind.

In the Hokage's Office, the Third Hokage was also startled.

"This child... he couldn't possibly be..."

Likewise, Neji, standing directly in front of Kagami, widened his eyes.

"Could it be..."

Iruka: "Is it a technique?!"

Third Hokage: "Is he going to release a technique?!"

Neji: "A technique?!"

The same terrifying thought emerged in the minds of all three.

Kagami responded to their thoughts with his actions.

Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A fireball approximately one meter in diameter appeared in the arena. It dispelled all three of their doubts and made the word genius attached to Kagami shine even more brilliantly in its radiance.